Cars with very low side-skirts, front & rear bumper lips and lowered suspension

[Mikeyeo]

Recently, I was driving behind a Honda Civic with very low side-skirts, front & rear bumper lip and the body was very low. I believe that young man was not concentrating on his driving and he suddenly applied emergency brake when he saw a road hump ahead. As I was behind him, I too applied on my brakes.

 

The next moment, he discovered that his front bumper lip got stuck on the hump and can't move his car. Instead of reversing which will only affect the front bumper lip, he moved forward and I could hear the screeking sound of the side-skirts and the rear bumper lip against the hump. He then parked his car at the road side to look at the damages.

 

After driving my car over the road hump and stopped behind his car, he was cursing and swearing away for not concentrating and the damages incurred. He then told me that he regretted spending so much money to make his car so sporty and lowering the suspension.

 

He was so frustrated at that moment that he told me he has decided to bring the car to the workshop to dismantle all the bodyworks. As his car cannot move due to the damages affected the tyres and since I am an AAS member, I called AAS towing truck to tow his car to his workshop while I drove him along in my car.

 

All the way from the spot that his car was damaged until I drove his to his workshop, he kept telling me "IF ONLY THIS AND THAT" and if he had listened to his parents' objections, such damages would not have occurred. He told me that he was worried on the amount for the repair costs and does not have the money.

 

I advised him that what happened has already happened and if he has no money for the repairs, he has to be thick-skinned and approach his family members.

 

This is a typical scenario where one has overdone the bodywork of the vehicle to the extent of compromising on the possible damages and consequences.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Mikeyeo

[Ldawn88]

you . still ferry him to his ws.

[Passion]

They always say Honda Civic very good to do modification.But they do until like no taste at all,cant see which part is nice.Low body,low suspension,everything low.Low good meh?Does it increase stability?I doubt so,let him learn his lesson.Low doesnt mean good.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Passion

[Pioneer]

haha.. u say like that.. u hurt a lot of owners.. not jsut civic owners.. there are tons of cars out there with everything low low.... hehe...

 

they nv forget to hear mr brown's zhng my car show...

 

all these modification is not hump-safe..

[Vblaster_w211]

Bodykit when properly designed and used with appropriate ht adjustment for coilovers are hump safe. I have no problem with Mugen underlips, but the lowering should be maintained at 2 to 2.5 fingers.

 

But many of the bodykits you see are not originals, and may be overdone replica's.

[Luv_presea]

low of course increase stability.. bodyroll not so high.. good for cornering.. but not low till like that civic.. the best if wan low, add a hydraulic so can lift the car up when encounter a speed hump.. but cost a bomb.. at least 6K..

[Luv_presea]

i asked the car dealer and they told me the lowest one should go is the height of a coca cola can.. any lower might not pass inspection..

[Sony]

And poorer quality of material used.

 

Without naming whether it's PU, Fiber or acrylic mixture, some will just crack and deform upon impact while some will just spring back to shape (but expect damage such as paintwork and crack mark)

[Sony]

I think there's some misconception. To lower the car is to lower the whole car and not add BK to it so that visually, it's lowered but the CG remain unchanged.

 

Anyway, for lowered car, the driver need to know how to drive around a hump.. using the hydraulic lift suspension is not really feasible in our everyday drive

[Watwheels]

Does his civic look like this??

[Fatfat]

I have lowered my car too, just need to be more careful and slow over humps. Bo bian, since i cant stand the big gap between tyres and body

[Sony]

ask threadstarter leh.. not me

[Hades]

[Mat_wira]

hi,is the civic white in colur bearing a SDU plate number?

[Pioneer]

Bodykit when properly designed and used with appropriate ht adjustment for coilovers are hump safe. I have no problem with Mugen underlips, but the lowering should be maintained at 2 to 2.5 fingers.

 

But many of the bodykits you see are not originals, and may be overdone replica's.

 

Note. That is provided those ppl get the original bodykit and have coilovers right?

 

But most wont do it coz it is a lot more expensive right?

[Icekitten]

Wow you're very nice to stop and help him, and even drive him to his workshop!

 

Actually having a full bodykit and lowered ride does not mean that you can't clear humps or ramps. As long as the kit is fixed at a reasonable height and lowered reasonably, most humps or ramps will not be a problem. There is also a technique to clear large humps or steep ramps where at the most you will just drag your bumper across but not to the extent of cracking it. Of course, what you see on show cars is not practical at all and very often, the rides are especially lowered for the show.

 

I guess before you decide to fix an aftermarket bumper, you have to be aware of these inconveniences and avoid certain carparks which have particularly treacherous ramps and humps. If you can't live with these inconveniences, then it's better to leave your car stock.

 

Btw, I'm curious which road was it where this incident occurred. The hump must really have been ENORMOUS to cause such serious damage and actually leave his bumper stuck on the way up. I do have some friends with really low bumpers but so far none got stuck on a single road hump. Only when it is 2 large humps placed right after one another, like in Wisma Atria's cp. A friend of mine got stuck btw the 2 humps and had no choice but to continue moving forward and tore his front lip in the process but still not to the extent where wheels are damaged and car can't move.

[Luv_presea]

i actually meant lowered as in really lower the car.. not adding bodykits to make the car look lower.. sorry if i wasnt giving a clear statement just now..

[Mikeyeo]

Hi WATWHEELS, the Honda Civic that I posted is not to that extreme as compared with the picture that you posted. I believe such major modification is defintely illegal in Singapore.