Inmate99
Inmate99 None
3/30/19 11:46 a.m.

Howdy y'all, quick question . How low is "too low" for autocross? Got a newer Jetta (2016) lowered about 2 inches on KW V1 Coilovers and looking to dip my feet into autocross this spring. Just worried about suspension geometry and such at this height, should I raise it up more? For reference you could see the pic below. The coilovers are spun all the way down minus one thread, maybe half a finger gap tire to fender . Thanks all

Ovid_and_Flem
Ovid_and_Flem SuperDork
3/30/19 11:55 a.m.

 Pretty car. Lower it to where your front tie rods are parallel to the ground or close. Just get your suspension geometry set where it's not all wonky and bump steering when cornering and you will be fine. Main thing is the suspension geometry being close to correct..  Make sure you arent riding around on bump stops.

Welcome to forum.  I'm sure some more knowledgeable vw autocrossers will chime in with better advice.

iceracer
iceracer UltimaDork
3/30/19 12:01 p.m.

Doesn't look low.

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
3/30/19 12:18 p.m.

That's fine. For your first couple of autocrosses you'll be learning how to drive around cones and how to control the car. As long as the car doesn't do anything super weird at the limit, just make sure it's safe and reliable and go have fun. 

84FSP
84FSP SuperDork
3/30/19 12:20 p.m.

No worries - I’d get a decent alignment and pickup a cheap air pig from harbor freight.  Along with tire chalk you can use tire pressures/roll over scrub to determine how much more pressure you need to run.  I typically found myself running 45-55 on softer side wall tires.

Inmate99
Inmate99 New Reader
3/30/19 12:51 p.m.

Thanks all, guess I will proceed as is. I'm not really expecting to be class competitive (since the wheels and suspension bump me out of stock) just looking for a good time.

freetors
freetors Reader
3/30/19 5:15 p.m.

The only cars I've seen that are legitimately too low for our normal local autocrosses are c5 Corvettes. They have that super long front end and air dam that hangs down and scrapes every time they hit the brakes.

SkinnyG
SkinnyG UltraDork
3/30/19 6:25 p.m.

Phase 1: Lower it until the chassis skiffs the pavement just a couple of times each run. Mudflaps dragging on turns is a good second.

Phase 2: Add enough spring and bar to stop the suspension from doing anything bad.

Phase 3: Profit!

 

Mr_Clutch42
Mr_Clutch42 SuperDork
3/30/19 7:48 p.m.

I don't know enough about suspension geometry yet to know, but each chassis is different. I do know that my 97 civic that was lowered at least 2" wasn't to low, but I'm pretty sure that generation civic has a two control arm front suspension, which can handle a low ride height better than a mcpherson strut setup that your Jetta likely has.

 

Edit: also, with autocross, since you're at the limits (and go past it devil) of your cars' handling, spring rates are much more important than how low you can drop your car without going past the geometry limits, especially if you stick with it and become a fast driver. 

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