Hi All,

Do our car's have the ride height and suspension that the car was designed for? Did Mitsu have to raise it to meet Federal standards and/or did they soften it up for the US market?

I'm used to Euro cars where they typically raise the ride height and soften it for our US cars. I like the idea of lowering that fender gap, but I'd like to know why Mitsu engineers put it where it's currently at before I think about messing with it.

I haven't seen anyone talk about it and a quick search didn't pul anything.

 

I have the same question......
I am going to the tuner shop tonight to scope out a set of tein High-Tec lowering springs. Should lower me about 1.2"ish all around. I'd imagine if you lived in a snowy area to watch the ground clearance because you may be able to snowplow and screw up your front airdam. I live in Mich and It definitely will come into play, but i don't plan on driving her in snowy conditions. I have a ranger 4x4 for that occasion.

Tim

 

I don't think either are true.. definitely not ride height since the JDM Ralliart springs don't lower the car at all. The extra front fender gap is designed in, probably for better wheel travel, if you look at the WRC cars, the front gap is much larger than the rear one as well.

Here's a link to info on the JDM evo:
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/cor...003/15E_22.pdf

You'll see that ground clearance is 140mm, which is identical to the 5.5 inches we get here.

 

Maybe for the fact that the car was Rally Race inspired, I don't think they worry about wheel gap while Rally Racing.

 

Nope, they worry about getting the car fast and keeping it going.

 

The wheel gaps and overall ride height is designed for a particular suspension travel and is certainly designed to mimic the rally setup visually. There is nothing magical about for street driving, hence the desire to lower the vehicle to optimize tarmac performance

 

The US Evo is the same height as all other Evo VIII's. As a matter of fact we have the EXACT suspension setup as all other VIII's.

BTW, the Ralliart springs lower the Evo .5"

 

i read an article (small snippet) in a car mag a while ago that said european cars may soon be getting a facelift due to car+pedestrian impacts. With ride height where it was pedestrians were more likely to be seriously injured. I'll look for the article. Anyone hear anything about this?