What is car clearance - photo and explanation of the concept

One of the main parameters of any car, along with length, wheelbase and width, is ground clearance, which is also called ground clearance. What it is?

As the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary says, clearance is the distance between the road surface and the lowest point of the bottom of the car. This indicator affects the car's cross-country ability, the higher the clearance, the more uneven roads your car will be able to drive without damage to the engine crankcase and bumper.

Ground clearance is measured in millimeters.

For row-crop tractors (MTZ-80, YuMZ-6), it reaches 450-500 mm, that is, 50 centimeters, for special tractors that work in cotton or rice fields, the ground clearance reaches 2000 mm - 2 meters. If we take “A” class cars - compact hatchbacks like Daewoo Matiz or Suzuki Swift, then the ground clearance is 135-150 mm, it is clear that the cross-country ability of such cars is low. A slightly larger clearance for cars of classes “B” and “C” - Daewoo Nexia, Volkswagen Polo, Skoda Fabia, etc. - from 150 to 175 millimeters.

Naturally, SUVs, crossovers and SUVs have the highest ground clearance:

• Hummer H1 - 410 mm (slightly less than that of the MTZ-80 - 465 mm);
• UAZ 469 - 300 mm;
• VAZ 2121 "Niva" - 220 mm;
• Renault Duster - 210 mm;
• Volkswagen Touareg І - 237-300 mm (for the version with air suspension).

All these values ​​are given for unloaded vehicles. If you put passengers in your car, throw a couple of 50-kilogram bags of cement into the trunk, then the springs and shock absorbers will sag, the clearance will decrease to 50-75 millimeters. And this is already fraught with problems - a broken tank or crankcase, an exhaust pipe and a resonator, although they are recessed into the bottom, can come off, shock absorbers can leak over time, suspension springs are also not eternal. Trucks can burst leaf springs, which is often encountered by drivers of MAZ, ZIL and Lawn. In a word, you can not overload the car.

How do I change the ground clearance?

The desire to change the ride height occurs in the following cases:

• to increase cross-country ability, if you constantly drive on dirt roads, increase the clearance;
• to improve stability on the track, the clearance, on the contrary, is lowered.

It is worth noting that the deviation from the passport data of the car affects the handling, speedometer and sensors.

The easiest way is to install low or high profile tires. However, just changing the tires is not enough, you will also need to file and widen the wheel arches, and in some cases completely change the gearbox to reduce / increase the gear ratio.

You can also increase the clearance by installing spacers. They are installed between the supporting parts of the racks and the body. Another way is to install rubber seals-spacers between the coils of the damping springs. It is clear that the ride comfort will decrease - the suspension will become stiffer and you will literally feel every hole.

There are also cars with adjustable air suspension, though they are expensive. Such modifications can lead to poor cornering control, but this is not so critical if you really need to increase off-road flotation.

Well, and finally, it’s worth saying that back in the early summer of 2014, information appeared that for changing the clearance by more than 50 mm they would be fined under the article of the Code of Administrative Offenses 12.5 - 500 rubles.

This information has not yet been confirmed, but it can be concluded from it that all changes in the design of the car affect traffic safety, so they need to obtain appropriate permits.

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