Why spacers not recommended?

[MalikQasimAwan]

Hello,
I am new to this. My vitz 2014 was touching the ground when it goes on a jumper while having 4,5 adults in my car. So I went to a car mechanic he put some kind of extension they had for Honda City. But now I am seeing some post saying they are not good.

I wanna know why not?
And what are the other solutions? Would they really work?
What do we mean by 180/14/14R. What are these settings people are telling in the forums.

Additional: The extension he put was above the springs. The were of round shape like a donut. And he put only at the rear suspension not front. He told me to go easy on the speed brakers while I am travelling light.

Now I felt it gives some kind of sound (thuddd) when not going slow on speed breakers or broken roads.

Thnx.

[s15]

Just to lift the car height slightly, spacers are better than spring replacement IMHO. Addition of spacers slightly increases suspension stiffness as well.

Once you choose to go for another pair of springs, you just don't know how they are going to perform, like they could be harder, a little too high, or softer than previous.

Spring replacement is hit and trial. Spacers, you know it's gonna work.

That's my personal experience after replacing several spring sets, but then at the end going for original springs with spacers was better and easier solution overall.

[redsony]

Whenever you are going to alter the original design of your car to tailor it according to your personal needs, it is going to have consequences in terms of performance. But the spacer solution is the one having the least effect on the originality of suspension while meeting your requirement of raising the vehicle height.

[MalikQasimAwan]

Additional: The extension he put was above the springs. The were of round shape like a donut. And he put only at the rear suspension not front. He told me to go easy on the speed brakers while I am travelling light.

Now I felt it gives some kind of sound (thuddd) when not going slow on speed breakers or broken roads.

[shaikhrulez]

180/14/14R This is the size of tyre people are recommending, but I would suggest don't opt for this it will ruin your car's fuel average. That's my personal experience, however it did solve the ground clearance issue.

[AAVenturer]

For improved ground clearance I am using 195/60/R15 size tires with original light weight Japanese alloy wheels on my Vitz since the last one year. It doesn’t scrape any speed breaker even with five adults in the back seat. There has been no noticeable change in the pick or mileage.

If you prefer to stick to the 14” stock rims then it is advisable to use 185/70/R14 size tires which will increase the ground clearance by 1 inch.

Spacers or spring change is not recommended at all as it will ruin the rear suspension of your car & affect the road grip.

[AAVenturer]

Correction: With five adults,( three in the back seat.)

[MalikQasimAwan]

How it will ruin the rear suspension?

Please explain.

[AAVenturer]

Fitting spacers between the shock absorber mountings or springs and the chassis to improve the car’s ground clearance damages suspension components after a while. This happens when the upward travel of the suspension struts do not compress fully upwards yet the lower suspension arm continues to move.

The suspension design of your car is calibrated to ensure that you can drive safely at low or high speeds when maneuvering around sharp bends. Altering the height of the car by installing spacers will affect the tolerance or limits of the above design and may lead to accidents due to loss of dynamic stability when driving on uneven roads or through sharp bends.

The only way to safely raise your car slightly to encounter the local speed breakers is by replacing & increasing the size tires or both rims & tires as suggested in my earlier post.

[MalikQasimAwan]

They say putting tyres of size above than company fitted will decrease the space b/w tyre and body. Now the body will touch the tyres.

[pwuser150297899976]

Change yr car. Vet swift or cultus.

[MalikQasimAwan]

Helloooooo Mr. AAVenturer

[AAVenturer]

Hi there, While its theoratically true that fitting tyres & wheels a bit larger in size than that recommend by the manufacturer decreases the space between the tyre and the body but pratically it is the only effective way (without altering the suspension in any way) of increasing the grond clearance of Toyota Vitz to over come the high speed bumps that we encounter locally.

As I mentioned in my earlier post; I am using 195/60/R15 size tires with original light weight Japanese alloy wheels on my Vitz since the last one year. The ground clearance has increased substantially & It doesn’t touch any speed breaker even when fully loaded, Also I haven't noticed any substantial change in the pick or mileage.

[AAVenturer]

So a mere 1inch increase in the size of the rim with wider tyres will overcome your Vitz's ground clearance problem with improved ride & road grip.

In case of some cars models the manufacturer usually allows the provision of installing slightly bigger tyres & wheels.
For example: one of my three cars is a new Suzuki Wagon R. In Pakistan it is factory fitted with 13 inch wheels while in the neighbouring country it comes standard with 14 inch wheels.