New Falcons and Commodores too low to the ground?

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by ZA-289

Aussie cars used to be Aussie cars built for Aussie conditions, ie. Rough roads, kerbs etc. Every new model seems to have more "European styling" Which means lower to the ground.

The new models are definatly getting lower, but if you are the kind of person that does need to mount kerbs sometimes, you WOULD buy a territory or similar SUV.

Exactly...our G6E was a week old before it graunched on the front lower corners of the bumper and scraped once on the back leaving a normal driveway.

Style is nice...but designers have to realise that the real world isn't a glass smooth racetrack surface and that roads other than city freeways do exist...

It's not "being spastic"...it's expecting to be able to drive an Australian designed car on Australian designed roads and driveways without damaging the damn thing...

[My poor XF]

Can't say I've scraped my lowered BA. And I drive on country dirt roads.

[mcnews]

I know for sure FG FPV resist scraping the front spoiler etc. than BF FPV which really was a bit of hassle.

[csv8]

I could slide under my XD but not my BF Mk2..Its all to do with aerodynamics and improving fuel consumption. My Fez is worse !!!

[Warrenk]

Not just speed bumps or any concrete parking "stops in car parks. I have notice in new car parks that these stops are now lower with enough clearence wto avoid scraping.
I suprised how much gets scrapped of the mudflaps and front bar just driving on the roads.
I had my FG XR6T ute on the hoist and the amount of scraping on the front bar was lot more than few times I have scraped it at parking speeds. All of the mudflaps (front and rear)have had the bottoms scrapped of them as well.
This from a ute that has never had a load in it either.

Anyone who says they never scrap anything either never drives the car or have never seen/felt under the front bar or mudflaps.

Warren

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by BadMax

OMG, a performance orientated forum and people are complaining about low bumpers and cars being too low? What is the world coming to...

Seriously, if you're a spastic that doesn't know how low their car is, needs to be told by the dealer to watch the front bumper because they're to stupid to just look at the car or can't read the road and take due caution...What do you expect?

Passenger sedans aren't built to jump median strips or gutters, end of story.
If you must do this, buy a Territory and stop ya bitching

My AU XLS ute is stock as it came, i can snag the mufflers on carpark speed bumps
Glad there wasnt a load in the tray,id rip the muffler clean off
Fancy a ute, ya know a work horse fitted with low profile tyres from factory
When theres a load in tray, the front of the rear spring hangers is inches if that off the ground
Everywhere we drive we pray that pothole, speed bump,imperfection in the road doesnt rip something out
Yet all factory set up
Oh i miss my 4by ute ,can do an oil change ,just slid under do it,not with the falcon
Love the car,great value but the ground clearance is scary

[Bossxr8]

If your not scraping your undercarriage then its just not low enough in my books


I don't know why people are pin pointing Falcons and Commodores in this, Ford and Holden are just matching what every other manufacturer is doing in regards to ride height.

[Werd.]

Decided to take a short cut yesterday, and drove over a raised sort of.. walkway thing, not sure what it's classified as, but basically a curb/footpath which seperates a carpark from the laneway behind it.



Not a single crap was given by the car. Mines actually missing the front spoiler below the black bumper, I have massive ground clearance at the front haha.

[galaxy xr8]

I don't think the Falcon and Commodore are too low for the ground.....

I think the ground is too high for them both, .

[Nikked]

I think VE's have too much space between the tires and the gaurd...


they are like EA's with towpacks.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Brazen

this time a silver G6 as I gently cross a median to get a job site.

I think I found your problem.

[mickyyyy]

Euro cars have this down patt!!!!

They look low but still have plenty of clearence...

[Nic85]

Too close to the ground was one of the reasons I sold my Evo and went with a 380 instead. I agree that most modern cars are way too low to the ground, and this is a big part of the appeal of new SUVs.

[4.0i_SiX]

umm cars are supposed to be driven on roads

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by 4.0i_SiX

umm cars are supposed to be driven on roads

When all the designated roads are tared and bitumen and well maintained, sure cars are supposed to be driven on them
But for those who live beyond 1/2 a block from major CBDs the roads are terrible
Theres weekly complaints and liability claims to the local council from potholes causing tyre/wheel issues,even road edges can have inches of drop offs
Its pritty sad that we have to buy SUV or high lifted factory specials like RTVs to get a decent ground clearance that was standard on most cars years ago
Is it a marketing ploy,you want the clearance you pay for the top end cars Surely manufacturers can see most roads in australia dont look like race tracks ......

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by Bobman

The main reason they're getting lower than older models is because those old models had poor handling. Just take the EF when it was brand new. Both ends didn't agree with each other.

Just read any new model article and you'll see "Ford.. or Holden.. lowered the suspension by xx mm for better handling compared to the previous model".

Actually I think you will find fuel economy is driving the change to lower ride heights. Every manufacturer is trying to squeeze a a litre or two off the yellow sticker in the window of the car. Bonuses are for handling and aesthetics (in most peoples eyes).

My new Mazda 6 wagon is as low as my old XR8 and has plastics hoops positioned near the wheel arches to change the airflow under the car and around the wheels. Everything that hangs underneath the car has been moved up and tied up to make the underfloor as flat as possible too. You can tell they put quite a lot of effort in doing it. I read somewhere it got them something like 1 litre per hundred by doing all the underbody aero work and lowering it.

It also now scrapes on some driveways like the XR8 did.

[4.0i_SiX]

Originally Posted by 302 XC

When all the designated roads are tared and bitumen and well maintained, sure cars are supposed to be driven on them
But for those who live beyond 1/2 a block from major CBDs the roads are terrible
Theres weekly complaints and liability claims to the local council from potholes causing tyre/wheel issues,even road edges can have inches of drop offs
Its pritty sad that we have to buy SUV or high lifted factory specials like RTVs to get a decent ground clearance that was standard on most cars years ago
Is it a marketing ploy,you want the clearance you pay for the top end cars Surely manufacturers can see most roads in australia dont look like race tracks ......

I have absolutely no issues with our g6e turbo. Different story if I tried to cross a medium strip

I used to live in country NSW and drove a lowered Ford Escort. No probs either, just have to be aware of your underpinnings.

Also the fault lies with the council and the condition of its roads, not car manufacturers

[OzJavelin]

Originally Posted by 4.0i_SiX

Also the fault lies with the council and the condition of its roads, not car manufacturers

Sounds like the old story (true or not) about when German Opel engineers came to Australia to help sought out problems with failing suspension components on the soon-to-be-released VB Commodore. When the Germans reviewed the shock load measurments they were getting during real-life testing in Australia, their general comment was that Holden would be better off to spend money to fix the condition of the roads rather than modify the car to cope ...

BTW: Love the look for lowered cars, but I can't live with them. Most rural roads have drains, driveways, etc which cause a lot of problems with most "sporty" cars ...

[Silver Ghia]

After over 2 years now of being careful, the other day when washing the car I noticed a 50mm scrape underneath the bumper at the front on the right side. Its not that the car is too low, they make those kerbs and concrete blocks facing the parking spaces too high. And those concrete blocks with the studs/bolts sticking up can be really nasty!! I am extra careful with those.

The FG's look better lowered, but I would imagine they would be quite impractical then (for me anyway).

[Rodp]

My FG F6 front bar is in shocking condition, scrapes underneath everywhere as well as the left and right sides which strips off the red paint - looks ugly. There are sites that I have to go to where it's virtually impossible to not scrape - did so today, in a refinery in Kurnell.

There used to be a hump in the upper deck parking lot at Eastgardens in Sydney that was also impossible to negotiate without bottoming out somewhere my BA XR8 (on standard suspension). If I went over it fast, the suspension would compress once you got over it and scraped the hell out of the front bar. If you went over it slow, the metal strip on top of the hump would meet the underneath of your car. If you crawled over it on an angle - scrrrrrrrrrrape.

[Pepscobra]

I don't think it's the cars so much as the roads and surroundings these days.
There are so much more speed-bumps, barriers round-a-bouts and non-mountable kerbs installed everywhere these days. And parking bays get smaller all the time.

[zilo]

oops...

[irish2]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Bought a house early in the year. Didn't think twice about the driveway. All was well for a while, until a had my first heavyish load in the boot. Middle of car scraped. It's ok with a front seat passenger, but put anything of any weight in the back and you hear a nice scrape. Even the grocery shopping will make it scrap.
Coming in on an angle helps with a moderate load, but in a single car driveway there is only so much of an angle you can come on.


image
This photo was not even taking at the worst spot, If I reversed back a foot I would probably not even fit my fingers under the car.

Im thinking about putting some wood where the front wheels are in this picture, hopefully that will reduce the amount of slope enough.
One day I will get it reconcreted with a less of sudden angle. Until then I am sure my next vehicle will be a 4x4.

Driveways sloping towards the house are always an issue to be considered before buying. Not just for access but also water run off traveling at speed towards the property.

Back on topic, my stock FG doesn't have any real problems other than excessively high park stoppers, which are probably designed more for all the 4wd's and soft roadrers anyway. The 3" collectors off the headers on my mustang don't like speed bumps though. As the wheels drop off the speed bump it will usually rub the flange (and not in a good way).

[pottery beige]

i do the zig zag thingy over big bumps

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by irish2

Driveways sloping towards the house are always an issue to be considered before buying. Not just for access but also water run off traveling at speed towards the property.

There is access under the house where there is a sump that pumps water out into the back garden. Seams to work well.

Driveway is the only problem I have had. The girlfriends car is just as low as mine, but hers is only about 4.2m long while mine is about 5m. The extra wheelbase is where the problem is. Lucky it's usually just me in the car so I can get in fine.

Next house I buy will on a flatter block....with no stupid gum trees around.

[Olbucko]

I was disapointed some years ago to find that my new SY AWD Territory had nowhere near as much ground clearance as my old XE van. The sump and the fuel tank are way to low, on the XE they never hit the ground. You could drive the XE across a paddock wthout a problem, not so the Territory.