In many cities, slowly deteriorating roads are rarely repaired, and where yesterday the car passed freely, today it begins to touch the bottom of the irregularities, as a result of which the owner thinks about how to increase the ground clearance. But despite the fact that everyone would like to solve the problem with a minimum of effort and financial resources, not every method is safe for the vehicle itself. Let's take a look at a few of the methods used.
How to increase the ground clearance at the front of the car underbody
Not a single vehicle, except, perhaps, a trolley, has an absolutely smooth bottom, there is always a protruding part, the distance from which to the roadway is called the clearance, according to GOST. But where is the lowest point? In the area of the engine compartment protruding from below? Among the shock absorbers? Or maybe it is exhaust system? In fact, you can catch on a stone or earthen hill with any knot under the car and it is difficult to come up with a better solution other than increasing the ground clearance.
The part of the vehicle closest to the obstacle on the way is front bumper
... Despite the fact that this part is slightly higher than many others, it may suffer in the first place. Passenger cars ground clearance to the bumper is from 14 to 20 centimeters, for SUVs this gap corresponds to 18-25 centimeters, and for full-fledged SUVs - 20-35 centimeters. You can increase the clearance in this place by removing the so-called "skirt" that protects the bumper, but this will increase its vulnerability. However, instead of a protruding safety pad, parking sensors are often used.
Which is better - cars with variable ground clearance or increased?
Overcoming an obstacle by forcing the car to literally tiptoe through, albeit at the expense of a significant decrease in speed - is this not every driver's dream? However, vehicles that have nodes for increasing the ground clearance at will are somewhat more expensive than models that are not equipped with such a function. And only a few can afford cars with variable ground clearance. But how convenient: the speed is reduced to 20 kilometers per hour, the toggle switch is pressed, fluid is pumped into a special pillow between the body and the shock absorber hydraulically, and the clearance increases. When the speed rises, the vehicle itself sags back to its previous position.
But what about those who do not have such a system? You can also raise it artificially, however, it is not always safe. In particular, inter-turn attachments can be installed in the suspension springs, as a result of which the elastic elements will compress less under the weight of the body, but be prepared for an increase in the rigidity of the movement. Installing more powerful springs reduces the shock absorbers' rebound travel, and at the same time quickly disables these components. Motorists sometimes install aluminum attachments between the body and the pillar support, but there is also a drawback - such elements provoke corrosion with a salt mixture that is used to treat icy roads. The best option- installation of rubber attachments instead of aluminum ones.
Is it really necessary to increase the vehicle's ground clearance?
Greatest risk area - oil pan... This is where the lowest point is usually found. Moreover, damage to the pallet always has the most unpleasant consequences for the motorist. The clearance of cars in this place is 12-17 centimeters, SUVs - within 17-21 centimeters, and off-road vehicles - 20 centimeters abroad. However, it is not difficult to increase the vehicle's ground clearance by removing the protection, but it is quite dangerous, on the contrary, it is better to sacrifice one or two centimeters by installing an additional shield made of carbon fiber or thin metal.
The clearance may decrease, since the springs tend to sag over time, and by replacing them, you can get the same clearance.
Another area that is often tested for strength by various uneven terrain is the exhaust system. Since it runs under the bottom, it is constantly subjected to impacts, and the further the system is from the terrain, the better. Also vulnerable rear suspension, can be easily damaged cardan shaft four-wheel drive vehicle. Unfortunately, it is impossible to close all these nodes, however, having carefully studied their location, while driving, it will not be difficult to avoid breakdowns on an uneven road, skipping hills under safe areas of the bottom.
The car is designed to move on the road. But lately we have to do it on the road, and sometimes it is difficult to determine where one ends and another begins. Therefore, such automotive characteristic, as a ground clearance, and is of increased interest among car owners. In this article, the dimensions are indicated in the comparative table of vehicle clearance, but first, of course, you should figure out what it is and what functions it performs.
The ground clearance is explained by GOST as the distance between such parts of the car as the supporting surface and the lowest point of the central part of the entire structure. In simple terms, this is the distance that separates the perspective of damage to the very bottom of the vehicle and the road surface. More often this concept can be heard in such a form as ground clearance - it is more understandable, easier to remember and therefore it is used with great pleasure.
The clearance value is very important characteristic for any car, since it significantly affects stability at high speed, cross-country ability, maneuverability. And these are, without a doubt, those indicators that can demonstrate the car in the best possible light. As for the passability, it can be increased along with an increase in the value. By the way, you can do this while driving - on some cars.
As a rule, ground clearance is indicated in millimeters, sometimes also in centimeters. The practice of notifying car owners about two values is also widespread - the clearance under the axle of the front and rear location. Sometimes they even indicate the clearance under the crankcase.
In order to make it easier to characterize the clearance, in the future and with the help of a table, a conditional classification of this characteristic should be given. In general, the ground clearance can be divided into three categories: large (SUVs and SUVs), medium (crossovers and SUVs), small (cars passenger type). Now for the specific ground clearance values under the front bumper:
- 20-35 cm for SUVs.
- Not less than 18 cm and not more than 25 cm for SUVs.
- 14-20 cm for "cars".
As for the oil pan, these are the values: 
- From 20 cm for SUVs;
- From 17 to 21 cm for SUVs;
- 12 to 17 cm for passenger cars.
Comparative table of car clearance
Comparative analysis of ground clearance different cars allows you to conclude all these values in the table, which is given in this material. The table will show the lowest and highest ground clearance values of all three groups of vehicles, given earlier. 
The list of SUVs with the highest value should undoubtedly include the following: Land rover Defender (25 cm - under the front bumper, 43 cm - under the fuel tanks), UAZ Hunter(20.5 / 40 cm), Nissan Patrol Y62 (28.5 / 30.5 cm), Mercedes-Benz GL500 (28.5 / 29.7 cm), Volkswagen Touareg(26.5 / 30 cm).
As for SUVs and crossovers, here the table can be explained by two criteria: cars with a ground clearance of less than 18 cm and more than the same value.
The first group includes the following models: Infiniti EX (14.7 cm), Honda cr-v and Nissan juke(17 cm), Kia sportage(17.2 cm), Lifan X60 (17.9 cm), Skoda yeti and SsangYong Actyon(18 cm).
Second group: Hyundai santa Fe and Kia Sorento (18.5 cm), Chery tiggo and Suzuki SX4 (19 cm), Mitsubishi ASX(19.5 cm), Toyota RAV4 (19.7 cm), Suzuki grand Vitara, Volkswagen tiguan and Nissan qashqai(20 cm), Renault Koleos (20.6 cm), Mazda CX-5, Nissan x-trail and Renault Duster(21 cm), Range Rover Evoque (21.2 cm), Subaru forester and Mitsubishi outlander(21.5 cm), Subaru XV and Land Rover Freelander (22 cm).
The group of average passenger cars, the indicator of which is in the range of 14-20 cm, includes the following: Chevrolet cruze and Daewoo matiz(15 cm), Kia spectra(15.5 cm), Lada Kalina(15.8 cm), Chevrolet lanos and Hyundai solaris(16 cm), Volga GAZ-24 (17.4 cm), Hyundai ix35 (17.5 cm), VAZ-2110 (18 cm), Renault Sandero Stepway (19.5 cm).
Renault Duster and SsangYong Kyron(21 cm), Ford Explorer (21.1 cm), Toyota Land Cruiser 200 (22.5 cm), and all records are beaten by the UAZ-469 with a value of 30 cm.
Speaking about the highest values of ground clearance, such a serial vehicle like a row-crop tractor. Their clearance can reach 50-70 cm, and even 200 cm for special ones.
This comparative analysis showed that ground clearance is an individual indicator of each vehicle. Despite the fact that, depending on the purpose of the car, its dimensions and other features, the ground clearance can be combined into three groups, this distribution is still conditional. First of all, due to the fact that, depending on the models, the clearance, for example, in cars can reach values even higher than that of crossovers. Therefore, motorists, before buying themselves another car novelty, are advised to check the clearance values - this is in their own interests.
Video "Increasing the ground clearance of the front suspension"
The recording shows how they pass renovation work to raise the front Renault suspension Duster (20 mm).
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Transport »Project of a service station with the development of a site for repairing the undercarriage of passenger cars for the State Institution Sanatorium" Primorye "st. Okeanskaya Vladivostok "Determination of the need for electricity, heat and water
The first suspension with variable ground clearance for a passenger car was created by the French company "Citroen". Compressed nitrogen served as an elastic element in the shock absorbers, and a fluid (generating and transmitting pressure in the system) served as a power element. Therefore, such a suspension is called hydropneumatic. The hydraulic pump pumps fluid from the reservoir, and the spheres fixed next to the shock absorber. Inside each, liquid and gas are separated by a membrane. Thus, the required pressure is maintained in the shock absorbers, and the rolls of the machine are constantly compensated. In addition, a valve built into the hydraulic system allows you to adjust the amount of fluid circulating in the circuits, and therefore increase or decrease the ground clearance.
In 1954, this scheme was first applied to the high-end model Citroen 15-6. And already in October 1955, the company's novelty - "Citroen DS" - caused a real sensation at the 42 Paris Motor Show. In those days, it was a miracle machine. Its hydropneumatic suspension provided constant ground clearance regardless of the number of passengers and luggage, and an amazingly smooth ride. This car could tilt forward and backward, as well as hang out any wheel without a jack! And finally, the driver of "Citroen DS" could, at his own discretion, stepwise change the ground clearance. This not only increased stability and active security car on the highway (the center of gravity decreased, the air flow under the bottom, creating lift, decreased), but also facilitated off-road driving, which is important for France, which is full of country roads.
Subsequently, such a suspension scheme was used on most Citroen cars and was improved all the time. Latest development firm - suspension "Hydroactive III" - received electronic control with the help of sensors, computer and actuators. As a result, the clearance of the Citroen C5 model is not only maintained, but also automatically adjusted depending on the speed of movement, the quality of the road surface and the driving style. The range of changes in ground clearance reaches 20-30 mm. Citroen made the hydropneumatic suspension its "hobbyhorse", having applied it earlier than others. However, a similar suspension "Hydrolastic" was once installed on its small cars by the English "British Leyland Motor Corp.", and the company "Lotus" developed hydropneumatics for the reconnaissance tank "Scorpion".
In Russia, an airborne combat vehicle (BMD) with a hydropneumatic independent suspension of all rollers has been produced by the Volgograd Tractor Plant since 1968. The car had to lower the bottom of the body to the ground in order to better on the ground and easier to load into the plane. By exploring the possibilities of using pure air suspension in passenger cars many firms were involved. For example, in the 60s, Daimler-Benz (Mercedes-Benz 600 and Lincoln equipped production models with it. And the first SUV equipped with airbag suspension, replacing springs, was in 1992 the Range Rover LSE. ”Large studies in this area were carried out in the 70s by“ Volkswagen ”and“ Audi ”together with the company“ Fichtel und Sachs ”.
As a result, since the spring of 2000, Audi has launched on the market a free-wheeling Allroad model with independent air suspension of wheels, equipped with an electronic control unit. At speeds above 120 km / h, the clearance is set at 142 mm, at a speed of 80 km / h -167 mm, and below the car rises 192 mm above the road. In addition to automatic change of ground clearance, manual change is possible, allowing the driver to "lift" the car to a height of 208 mm.
Similar to " Audi allroad"The air suspension design was received by the all-wheel drive concept car" Volkswagen AAC ": it has an independent long-travel suspension on double wishbones. The range of ground clearance with three fixed positions is simply enormous - from 280 mm to 390 mm. Currently "Toyota" for its SUV " Land cruiser 100 "(aka" Lexus LS400 ") offers an option of the system" Automatic High Control "(AHC). The change in clearance occurs in four fixed positions 50 mm down or up from the base value of 220 mm. Switching positions occurs within 7 seconds after the driver presses a button on the center console.
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Each participant in the movement knows the condition of our roads, and as a result of this, each of them periodically has thoughts about increasing the clearance of his car.
There are many different ways in which the suspension can be raised to the required height. Cars with lowered suspension can often be found on the vastness of our roads, however, for domestic roads, the car, on the contrary, needs to be overestimated. It is clear that there are different reasons that prompted car owners to make a decision to increase the ground clearance of their cars.
We will just dwell on the most basic of them. For a start, this happens due to the congestion of the car when it rear wheels cling to the arches, or mud flaps are erased on the ground, as a result of this, the rear of the car must be lifted. There are situations when a car, when moving on a dirt road, on bumps, clings to the engine protection or the bottom on the ground. By raising the front of the machine, these situations can be avoided. From time to time, road users lift both the front and rear parts of the suspension at the same time. Although such operations quite often lead to the appearance of problems: wear of nodes, the characteristic data of the car changes.
We will try to tell you in this article about how to change the ground clearance of a car, avoiding various consequences of an undesirable sense. You can increase the height of the suspension by the following methods: install inter-turn spacers in car springs; install discs with a larger diameter; use longer springs or non-factory-made shock absorbers for mounting; use spacers between the pillar and the body. The question may arise: "How does the change in clearance have a great influence on the characteristics of the car?"
Spacers are used to increase the clearance. The ground clearance can be easily and quickly increased with their help. Three types of spacers are known at the moment. For starters, these are polyurethane, which cause deformation of the body, because on the bumps in the road they shrink. They are followed in the footsteps of aluminum, which can lead to corrosion of the body, although they do not diminish the feeling of comfort or deform. And in the end, plastic ones, which do not carry almost any negative consequences.
Impact of shock absorbers:
A strong body tilt occurs when the vehicle is rocking, which is a consequence of soft or old shock absorbers. In such cases, the front bumper of the vehicle may be damaged. Shock absorbers do not increase the ground clearance by themselves, however, they have a great beneficial effect on the integrity of the car, and this is already an important fact. It is necessary to pay attention to the length of the rod at the time of choosing a shock absorber.
Influence of springs:
The springs directly exert a great influence on the vehicle clearance, since they directly account for the bulk of the body weight. If the loading of your car is carried out, as it is customary to say "to the eyeballs", it will be rational to choose stiffer springs, for which a huge load will be on the shoulder. However, this will obviously have the worst effect on ride comfort. Before deciding to install springs of a similar kind, use your brains well, so as not to be face to face with a broken shock absorber and a suspension that is not suitable for operation.
Influence of turn-to-turn spacers:
It is quite possible that only a slight increase in ground clearance when using such spacers. The compression of the springs is made less by using them. In accordance with this, there will be no strong swing of the car. Inter-turn spacers protect your car from punching the suspension, but then the stiffness of the suspension increases, the comfort becomes less, because the shock absorber literally stops working.
Spacers under the springs are made of extremely durable rubber, as a result of which they are able to hold any weight of the car and at the same time do not deform. I install them directly between the car body and the spring. Do not forget that it is better to refrain from installing them with a sagging spring, because the turn-to-turn distance is small and when moving, such springs are dangerous. Under the normal condition of the springs and the sagging body, the spacers will not have a negative effect on the car. What are the consequences of increasing ground clearance?
An increase in clearance by more than five centimeters is not recommended in order to avoid negative consequences and considerable difficulties. With almost all methods of increasing the ground clearance, when driving, the stability of the machine decreases, the aggregates and suspension units wear out.
