Why do awds sit so high in the rear?

[92tsifwd]

Why do awds sit so high in the back? I just bought my 91 tsi awd and it looks kind of funny sitin so high just in the back. A little more than usual. Any thoughts?

 

[Nautica985]

Finally some one else notices this.. Im use to my 92 gs that is lowered 2" and when i bought my gsx i thought something was seriously wrong with the rear suspension. To me it almost looks as if some one put a lift kit on the rear. I really dont know why they sit up so high

 

[92tsifwd]

I agree, it does look as if someone put lift springs in just the rear.

 

[PaulPDX]

2 guesses.

1) Allow a good degree of suspension travel... less straing on the drive shafts.

2) With the added weight of the rear differential and driveshafts, the engineer may have tried to transfer some weight balance towards the front to decrease understeer slightly. If the rear of an AWD rode as low as a FWD, it'd probably understeer even worse. You might say that the car still understeers... true. But designers and engineers tend to send cars to the assembly line with some degree of understeer to make the car safer to lesser (most) drivers. Obviously don't want to put a kid who just got his license behind the wheel of say... a Viper (which can easily be steer with gas pedal input in mid corner).

If it was an SUV or truck, I'd say it could be for towing too... but if anyone is towing with a DSM... they ought to be shot.

The rear up look doesn't really bother me and not that noticeable. I've seen far worse on other cars.

 

[jtmcinder]

Originally posted by PaulPDX
If it was an SUV or truck, I'd say it could be for towing too... but if anyone is towing with a DSM... they ought to be shot.

Please make it a head-shot and not one in the belly. TIA

- Jtoby <- has trailer

 

[92tsifwd]

Would lowering springs help? Just rear, or both front and rear?

 

[GPTourer]

Just about all cars and trucks sit high in the butt. But then when you stick a couple of people in the back seat, some groceries in the trunk, a couple of 12's in the hatch, or some mulch in the bed they squat down.

 

[igs]

Originally posted by PaulPDX
2 guesses.

2) With the added weight of the rear differential and driveshafts, the engineer may have tried to transfer some weight balance towards the front to decrease understeer slightly.

Raising a corner or side increases the weight on that corner or side. You guessed wrong.

 

[igs]

Originally posted by PaulPDX
2 guesses.

1) Allow a good degree of suspension travel... less straing on the drive shafts.

So a driveshaft that travels more has less stress on it? You guessed wrong again.

 

[PaulPDX]

Originally posted by igs
Raising a corner or side increases the weight on that corner or side. You guessed wrong.

. Raising a corner shifts weight to that corner?

. Pure genius.

Originally posted by igs
So a driveshaft that travels more has less stress on it? You guessed wrong again.

Think about it "smart" guy. More travel means when the rear end is loaded down with people or cargo, the rear end won't be forced so low so that the joints on the drive shafts are at such an angle where they are strained. Drive line angle. The suspension compensates or takes up the added weight ( which results in drop) before the added weight forces a change in axle angles with respect to a plane along the longitudinal axis of the car that is perpendicular to the ground.

At least I did say it was a guess... unlike you who often state your guesses as fact. If you're going to say someone is wrong, at least have the balls to say why you're right. Any idiot can say "you are wrong".

 

[igs]

Originally posted by PaulPDX

At least I did say it was a guess... unlike you who often state your guesses as fact. If you're going to say someone is wrong, at least have the balls to say why you're right. Any idiot can say "you are wrong".

Good point, however, what I'm saying is not something I made up or figured out myself, it's common knowledge you can find in any book or other resource. Why should I go through the trouble of retyping pages and pages of information when you can simply read it for yourself? If I post something that is my own theory or conclusion then yes, I had better back it up. But what I've posted isn't.

 

[PaulPDX]

Originally posted by igs
Raising a corner or side increases the weight on that corner or side. You guessed wrong.

.

 

[HokieDSM]

This may be slightly offtopic, but I'd noticed the reverse. My 1G AWD sits visibily lower in the rear most of the time than it does in the front - see some pics in my gallery for clarification. I dunno whether this is due to my Prokit/AGX combo - but I always think the front is a little high compared to the back.

 

[PaulPDX]

Looks fine to me. Optical illusion perhaps. The front wheel well is larger than the rear. So more fender gap in the front than the rear, making it look like the front is higher. Hard to tell, but the pictures in your gallery look just fine.

 

[igs]

. Raising a corner shifts weight to that corner?

. Pure genius.

· If you raise the ride height at a given corner (put a turn in or add a round of wedge), the weight on that corner will increase, as will the weight on the diagonally opposite corner. The other two corners will lose weight.

· If you lower the ride height at a given corner, that corner will lose weight as will the diagonally opposite corner. The other two corners will gain weight. This will not change the left-side or rear weight percentages.

· To add weight to a given corner, raise the ride height at that corner or lower the ride height at an adjacent corner. For example, if your initial setup is 52 percent cross-weight, and you want 50 percent cross-weight, lowering the right front or left rear corner will decrease cross-weight percentage. You could also raise the left front or right rear ride heights to do the same thing.

http://www.grmotorsports.com/cornerweight.html

That is just one of many resources both online and offline. So at yourself. I'm done, and welcome to the ignore list.

 

[UnderPrssureDSM]

If it was an SUV or truck, I'd say it could be for towing too... but if anyone is towing with a DSM... they ought to be shot.

I've been thinking about putting a class one hitch on her to attach a trailer for holding and extra set of wheels and a tool kit for autocrossing. Maybe even a SeaDoo or something. Call me crazy.

 

[jtmcinder]

Before you put a hitch on a 2G to tow a set of race tires, please note that four 245s will fit across the car right behind the front seats. Note, also, that 245/45/16 is the "standard" size tire for autoXing or roadracing a 2G.

With that said, if you don't like the smell of hot rubber all the way home after an event or you take lots of tools with you or don't like heaving the tires into the rear of the car, etc., a Hidden Hitch works very nicely and the 28# that it adds is down low and far to the rear, which doesn't hurt much.

But be sure to watch out for Paul. He's been known to get violent when he sees a hitch on a DSM.

- Jtoby

ps. speaking of Paul - sorry, man, but igs got this one right ... you raise a corner to increase the weight ... don't think of it as raising the corner ... think of it as pushing the wheel in that corner down and it will start to make sense.

 

[spaceball]

its true that raising the ride height on one corner will increase the weight on that tire and the tire on the opposte corner. lowerinng the ride height on one corner will decrease the weight on that tire and the tire on the opposite corner. this logic is clear when you see a lowrider doglegging. but wasnt this post about the rear sitting higher than the front? simple logic tells me that raiseing the rear / lowering the front will transfer some weight to the front. probably only a pound or two if your speaking of only a few inches difference in height. my money says the back sits higher so the driveshafts maintain straight during normal driving. i know someone is gonna shit on me if i am wrong, just think before you do

 

[PaulPDX]

ps. speaking of Paul - sorry, man, but igs got this one right ... you raise a corner to increase the weight ... don't think of it as raising the corner ... think of it as pushing the wheel in that corner down and it will start to make sense.

With respect to the center of mass of the vehicle... okay. I'll give you that. But with respect to 4 corner scales placed under each of the 4 wheels, you mean to tell me that raising both rear corners will shift weight to the rear?

I don't think so.