Suspension Poll: Lifted, Lowered, or Standard Height?

[cvollers]

Lifting allows you to fit tires that wouldn't otherwise fit. I prefer keeping center of gravity low, so I wouldn't lift unless it's for that reason. Lifted trucks with tires that don't require the lift look goofy to me.

For solid-axle 4x4s lifting the Chassis doesn't necessarily raise clearance because it doesn't move solid axles upward and the differential(s) are usually the limiting factor.

That might be different for the Slate.

The Slate has Independent Suspension in front and De Dion in the rear, so presumably the differential is mounted in a raised position to provide clearance. I doubt the De Dion crossbar is the lowest thing under there.

I haven't seen any details yet about how Slate will do the lift. I'm assuming its a simple hat at the top of the MacPherson strut in front and maybe a longer coil in back...possibly longer shocks in back too. Has anyone seen enough of the MacPherson knuckle they are using to see if there is accommodation for a future drive axle?

 

[AZFox]

I haven't seen any details yet about how Slate will do the lift.

I'm curious about that too.

A pickup truck Leveling Kit (modest lift kit for the front suspension) is an inexpensive strut spacer that looks something like this:

$42-$109

Remove the strut.
Attach the spacer onto the top of it.
Reinstall the strut.
Possibly get an alignment.

Will the Slate have coilover struts in the rear?

FWIW, there are coilover struts that have Ride Height Adjustment designed in as a feature.

DDG AI query:

Briefly describe how a Bilstein 5100 strut can be adjusted to change ride height.​

Response:

The Bilstein 5100 strut can be adjusted to change ride height by using multiple snap ring grooves on the strut body, allowing the spring seat to be positioned at different heights. This adjustment enables a ride height change of up to 2.5 inches, depending on the specific application.​

 

[cvollers]

I'm curious about that too.

A pickup truck Leveling Kit (modest lift kit for the front suspension) is an inexpensive strut spacer that looks something like this:

$42-$109

Remove the strut.
Attach the spacer onto the top of it.
Reinstall the strut.
Possibly get an alignment.

Will the Slate have coilover struts in the rear?

FWIW, there are coilover struts that have Ride Height Adjustment designed in as a feature.

DDG AI query:

Briefly describe how a Bilstein 5100 strut can be adjusted to change ride height.​

Response:

The Bilstein 5100 strut can be adjusted to change ride height by using multiple snap ring grooves on the strut body, allowing the spring seat to be positioned at different heights. This adjustment enables a ride height change of up to 2.5 inches, depending on the specific application.​

I have Bilstein 6112s (with height adjustment snap rings) on the front of my FJ. They are fantastic. Shock Surplus assembled the struts with coil over for me, then I installed them DIY, then I got an alignment. I know the rear of the Slate has coils but I don’t know if they are part of coil over struts or if the dampers are separate from the coil (like my FJ).

 

[AZFox]

Adding clearance for driving over snow could be a good reason for lifting. Not sure how important that is because my snow-driving experience is limited due to living in The Valley Of The Sun.

Being able to see better (because you're seated two or three inches higher) is another reason for lifting. I've owned high cars and low cars -- usually one of each at the same time. Higher is better for seeing what's ahead. Arguably your taller Slate can be seen better, too, although not by much.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

If my Slate doors hits the tall curbs or the front bumper scrapes the parking berms & driveway apron, I will lift it.

Had to do a 1.5" EIbach lift on my Mach E to clear the curbs, not scrape the front bumper dam and not hit the steep driveway aprons.

Now my lifted Mach E is a breeze to drive.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Lowered is great until you start scraping things!

 

[evtruth]

This is exactly what I was thinking. Lowered is great until you start scraping things!

It's tall enough it shouldn't hit a standard height curb based on what I saw in Warsaw.

 

[PACMAN]

What are your reasons for lifting or lowering?
What do you think the tradeoffs of lifting or lowering will be?

Why: I'll be having the OEM lift installed because I love the look & I like a little extra ground clearance for dirt roads. I love my Maverick Hybrid, but my favorite vehicle was my 2001 single cab Tacoma on 31x10.5 R15 tires. My slate will be a modern version of that. I'm kicking around which tire size to go with; we'll see what they offer as the OEM off-road option. Those 245/75R17 BFGs that are on the beta models look cool, but they are crazy heavy, so I'm pretty confident they won't be it. Right now I'm looking at the Toyo Open Country AT3 in 245/70R17 (35 lbs) or 255/70R17 (37 lbs). With 200 HP and 195 lbft of torque, it has plenty of power to handle these, but I think anything much heavier than that will start to push it.
Tradeoffs: Reduced range. Having never had an EV, I don't really know how much of a range hit it would be. In an ICE vehicle, I'd expect 3-5 mpg loss. I'm definitely picking the bigger battery, and I'd like to maintain 200+ miles of range. We'll see...

 

[Dorbiman]

Why: I wanna lower it cuz I think it looks cool.

Tradeoff: Maybe marginally better efficiency, at the cost of having to duck more when I get in.

 

[sodamo]

No lift = my frugal nature.

 

[gouacats]

As of today - Lowered...looking for that 80s mini truck feeling. Might be lifted tomorrow.

 

[Trace26]

I'm planning on a lift because the roads around here are pretty bad so I need the ground clearance.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

Why: I wanna lower it cuz I think it looks cool.

Tradeoff: Maybe marginally better efficiency, at the cost of having to duck more when I get in.

This is one reason for a lift for me…less ducking (and more reason for useless A/T tires!)

 

[metroshot]

I'm planning on a lift because the roads around here are pretty bad so I need the ground clearance.

Yup, lift for sure here in pothole city So Calif!

 

[Driven5]

Even the lowest factory suspension will probably have more clearance than my Green Bay winter beater Miata had. This also actually has a LOT of potential for really fun handling too. My interest in Slate is predicated on them managing to NOT screw that up. By that I especially mean decent steering, decent strut geometry, and driver defeatable traction/stability control that hopefully still allows '1-pedal driving' control for some amazing rear-only trail braking... Then, and only then, low is the way to go.