jond said:
Right now my NSX has stock suspension and the nose of it seems pretty low. I took it through a touch less carwash to get some tree sap off, and the nose just barely scraped on the wheel alignment thing in the car wash. I was thinking, if I had this thing lowered an inch, I would have to back out of the car wash!!!
So I'm wondering, if I put new suspension on my NSX, and lower it an inch or so, am I in for a world of pain???
Do you guys ever get stuck places because of it being too low? Do you regret doing it? I want better handling, but I also want to daily drive it without a big headache.
Lowering the ride height an otherwise stock NSX a full inch is typically acceptable for most owners... but...
IMO, lowering the vehicle significantly beyond that is one of the most significant drivability compromises for a daily driver. Because the NSX has such a long wheel base, it's even more noticeable on gradient changes. Add a bigger aftermarket front bumper or splitter, and it gets far worse as the distance from the front lip to the front wheels increases. Every application, geographical area, and personal usage is different, but in general you really need to be willing to make a lot of sacrifices when your front end is 3.75-3.25" or less off the ground as it can really start to get restrictive.
What is or is not tolerable is very much subjective, but I finally tucked my ride height up a little bit, and now shyed toward using slightly larger outter diameters on the street vs. theoretical ideals to keep the ride height up a little, as taken to the extreme end it just gets about ridiculous, and you are essentially confined to either the track or the most smooth roads to the point whereas you find yourself 'scouting out' every road before you take it knowing that about half the roads are essentially un-drivable (the Midwest plains must be a nice commute). Every transition need be taken at an angle, driven slowly.. it gets really old. 90% of the fiberglass stress cracks I have incurred is due to ride height coupled with extreme body roll, and at 2.75-3" flat all around it's really not a lot of fun..
- Unforseen debris, pavement seems, and alligators on the highway-
dangerous.. you must leave distance and retain visibility.
- Most service centers, car washes, oil change places- out. I've even cut it
awefully close getting onto lifts at race shops using long ramps, but part of
that is the canards on the body kit.
- Steep driveways, definitely out without ramps.
- Most convenience center parking lots, gas stations, out.
- Most urban cities with poor roads and steep transitions, out.
- Rail road tracks- always should be taken with care, but look out in the rear view mirror the F150 behind you
usually takes this at 35mph and is probably in a hurry and hates your car.
The point being, that the public roads are engineered for SUV's and passenger cars with relatively higher ride heights. Dropping it down will almost always result in significant compromises. Having an adjustable suspension is invaluable. The air feature on the Gallardo which raises the front end is definitely pretty snazzy. I believe it adds 33 lbs the one owner mentioned to me at the last meet but I have not looked into the systems. There was a thread recently in the vendor forums, how did that work out Brandon do you have that installed on your ride now?
