Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

[Chaotic Firebird]

Ok, so I was going through a parking lot at night and ran over a sunken drain that I didn't see. It didn't cause any physical damage that I can tell other then knocking out my alignment, which is making the car pull to the right. I didn't hit the drain that hard, maybe going 10-15mph through the lot. The car is in going for a new alignment tomorrow.

When I looked at the car the next day at home, I thought I was being paranoid by seeing the passenger side being a little lower then the drivers side. Well I went out to measure the height of the car on each side to compare them. The front passenger side is sitting about 1/4" lower then the front drivers side.

Could have hitting that sunken drain have cause any damage that I couldn't see to the suspension other then the misalignment? I sure hope not...

[BobDoLe]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

maybe if you ate a bit more this would be more of a blessing than a curse. then you would have more energy to pay attention to the road.

in all seriousness, the alignment guys should be able to tell if something is bent (unless they aren't paying attention either).

[CDNFB]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

I read somwhere quite a while ago (like in the 80's) that the engineers intentionally designed the f-bodies to be a tad higher on the drivers side so that when the driver is in the car the car sits level. This was based on the fact that this type of was operated mostly with only the driver.

When I get home tonight gonna measure my car to see it it's low on the pax side as well.

[Fbody3400]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

Yes, its been discussed. Everybody makes a post that says "Am i just crazy, or does my car sit higher on the drivers side..?" Yes, it does. When you're sitting in the car, it evens out. Everybody wins :tup:

[Chaotic Firebird]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

Well that explains it. I thought I was getting paranoid.

[CDNFB]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

Yup, mines low on that side as well.

Not exactly sure by how much, because the measurement would vary from 1/8 inch to 3/8 inch depending on how the suspension rebounded. I was bouncing the car between measurements to try to find an average. One thing for sure, it was never higher than the drivers side.

[Atreus21]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

Wait a second.

If what you guys say is true, then the engineer who came up with this hair-brained solution should be tarred and feathered. That has got to be the dumbest engineering concept ever invented. There are two seats in the car, hence, you should treat the car as if it has two occupants.

Corvettes manage just fine. Third gen, second gen, and first gen camaros manage just fine. Vipers, 350zs, porsches, and every single other sports car on earth I've ever heard of don't use this ridiculous solution to compensating for a single occupant in the car.

I seriously can't believe that our cars, and NO ONE ELSES, were made to have a lean to the passenger side. Can someone please validate this?

[Den69RS96]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

try loosening your sway bar endlinks and retightening them with the car at ride height with the full weight on the suspension. Sometime this will level out your car. When I installed new hotchkis leaf springs on my 69, I had to do this on the front to relieve some of the bind in the suspension. Car sits pretty level now for a 37 year old car.

[HokieBird]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

I seriously can't believe that our cars, and NO ONE ELSES, were made to have a lean to the passenger side. Can someone please validate this?

I can't speak for all the cars you mentioned, but engineers do consider things like this in other cars. The miata for instance is setup so when the driver is in the car it will have a better front to back and side to side weight distribution. Miatas own at autocross so this can't be that much oh a crackhead idea.

[bradmb]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

i cant believe noone else has said this.. im disappointed with this forum.


make sure the air in your tires is even!!!

[josh98bird]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

Wait a second.

If what you guys say is true, then the engineer who came up with this hair-brained solution should be tarred and feathered. That has got to be the dumbest engineering concept ever invented. There are two seats in the car, hence, you should treat the car as if it has two occupants.

Corvettes manage just fine. Third gen, second gen, and first gen camaros manage just fine. Vipers, 350zs, porsches, and every single other sports car on earth I've ever heard of don't use this ridiculous solution to compensating for a single occupant in the car.

I seriously can't believe that our cars, and NO ONE ELSES, were made to have a lean to the passenger side. Can someone please validate this?

alot of car lean toward the passenger side, when you get involved in stock car racing, that is a big part of it... the weight of the driver to even out the car. probably doesn't do anything for the daily driver, but for those who like to take the bird to the distance, well they appreciate it.

[BobDoLe]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

when i sit in my car, it sits 1" lower on the front left side!

[95camaro3800]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

yeah, mine does too.. but my tires/rims are offset a bunch and stick out a bit, and when i bottom out, my right tire rubs on the fender. Does this mean theres something else wrong or is it just because it's designed that way? by the way, it only rubs on the right side.

[wolf]

Re: Car sits 1/4" lower on front passenger side!

mine sits lower on the pass. rear,but I know why, the rear springs have a 1 in thick rubber insulater on them, and my passenger one is collapsed