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How to raise the rear suspension of a VAZ 2110
How to raise or lower
a car's suspension without the help of others
At some point, the time comes to modify the car’s suspension, or, more simply, the motorist is ready to tune the suspension of his own VAZ. It doesn’t matter what the prerequisites are for the driver to decide to raise or lower the car’s suspension: both suspensions are possible, or only the front or rear
.
You need to understand what responsibility the motorist will have if he decides to lower or raise the car’s suspension. Technologically lower or raise the suspension
repairing a car is not that difficult, even if the driver has little experience as a car mechanic. How to improve the lateral stability suspension on the rear beam of the VAZ-2110 it is more. The meaning is different.
Why is this even necessary?
Imagine a perfectly flat bottom of the car, without any protruding parts.
Maybe in the future humanity will achieve such results, and we are Russians and will build our own roads, but today this is rather a fantasy. Therefore, ordinary drivers should not believe in miracles; they need to continue to maneuver deftly when traveling, trying not to damage the numerous units located at the base of the vehicle on the deformed asphalt road. I’ll tell you even more, there are often cases when even the body gets hit on such a “road,” so you need to use all available means to protect your own car, especially since you can do it yourself! How? Let’s dwell on this in more detail and look at the simplest methods.
How to increase car clearance
What is engine oil starvation?
Modern internal combustion engines have a fundamental design that has not changed for more than a hundred years. But every year, the quality of the materials used improves, the load on the elements increases, and engine operation is adjusted more accurately and with fewer errors. Therefore, the lubrication system is very important for the engine, which also becomes more complex with each generation, which gives the engine elements better lubrication. Additional cooling and cleaning from production. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But the main enemy of any engine is all possible problems with lubrication of parts, including oil starvation. The reasons for which we will consider further, and we will find out how to avoid it and what the consequences may be. Reasons for oil starvation First of all, it is worth understanding the concept of “engine oil starvation”. This concept means that some engine components may receive an insufficient amount of automobile oil, which leads to unstable engine operation and serious problems during further operation of the car in this condition. Three main, but similar reasons can be identified: 1. The most basic and simple reason is that the engine is operated with an insufficient amount of automobile oil. Basically, this situation arises among inexperienced car owners who are lazy or do not know how to check the oil level in the car. In this case, beginners may not check the level for several months, and in some cases up to several years. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Despite the fact that changing car oil is part of routine procedures. This does not mean at all that engine operation does not require regular checks and minimal monitoring. Due to the occurrence of various malfunctions, the consumption of lubricating fluid may increase significantly. Therefore, before the next scheduled replacement, the technical fluid level may reach a critically low level, or drop significantly lower, which will lead to insufficient lubrication of some elements that will begin to work with increased wear. To prevent this problem, it is enough to control the oil level using a special dipstick. In this case, it is enough to check 1-2 times a week. 2. The next reason is exceeding the specified service life of automobile oil. The thing is. That this lubricating fluid tends to lose its characteristics during its service life. If the service life is significantly exceeded, then irreversible consequences begin in the liquid, affecting the operation of the power unit. On average, the service life of automobile oil is between 8,000 and 15,000 kilometers. But different operating conditions can affect this interval up or down. You can read about this in our article on when to change your car oil. As a result, if the service life is significantly exceeded, automobile oil begins to lose its properties of lubricating parts and ceases to effectively wash out small particles of used metal that clog thin oil channels. And also, the process of formation of thick lumps begins, which clog these same channels and collect in the corners. This interferes with the normal circulation of oil flows and leads to irreversible consequences in the operation of the power unit. 3. The last reason for engine oil starvation is an attempt to save money and the use of low-quality materials. The fact is that a cheap technical fluid may not have the necessary properties. This is due to the fact that such oil is manufactured using technologies that do not meet modern standards, and may not have the necessary additives. As a result, such oil can behave completely unpredictably during operation. And after a short period of use, it may become too thick or liquid. This will cause insufficient lubrication of engine parts and, accordingly, lead to oil starvation. Consequences of oil starvation As it became clear, the reasons for the occurrence of engine oil starvation are very simple, and can be solved by basic attention to your car and regularly carried out routine maintenance. But the consequences can be completely different, and vary in severity from minor to complete malfunction. This depends on the length of time the engine has been in operation with the problem, and the degree of deterioration of the car oil. Now let's move on to describing the consequences of this phenomenon. 1. Minor oil starvation, which was detected in time, will not cause much harm. Only if you determine this in time and add the required amount of oil. This is possible due to the fact that car manufacturers often make a small margin, and the mark indicating the minimum mark on the car oil level dipstick is actually above the minimum level. But you should not hope for this, and you should try to avoid such a situation. 2. The previous stage of oil starvation does not yet lead to critical problems, but most likely, a number of preventive measures will have to be taken to flush the engine and completely replace the car oil. Also, it is worth considering that the occurrence of such a stage may be a consequence of a serious malfunction or significant wear of engine components. Therefore, automobile oil can enter the combustion chambers and thus quickly run out. At the same time, the car begins to work unstably and twitch while driving or changing gears. Also, a sign that the car has begun to consume oil is a change in the color of the exhaust gases, acquiring a bluish tint. This is the main sign of oil combustion in the engine. 3. If we assume that oil starvation is not eliminated at the previous stage, and the car continues to be operated with this problem, then more serious consequences will arise. First of all, the camshaft will suffer, which will no longer be lubricated and cooled by automobile oil. This will cause the shaft to begin to overheat and, under the influence of temperature, the metal part will begin to expand. At the same time, the camshaft continues to rotate, which leads to scratches that affect operation, but this is only at the initial stage. Ultimately, the camshaft will jam and, under the influence of great forces, will tear the entire bed out of the engine block head. 4. At the last stage, irreversible processes occur with the camshaft, but the crankshaft and piston group are also at risk. Due to a lack of oil in the engine, the crankshaft will jam, which will lead to deformation of the crankshaft itself and destruction of the cylinder block. In this case, the power unit will no longer be suitable for restoration, and you will have to purchase a replacement, which can cost a third of the cost of the car. Conclusion As it became clear from the information described above, oil starvation leads to serious consequences. And ignoring the malfunction will cause large financial costs. Therefore, the driver needs to regularly monitor the oil level and engine condition. It is worth noting that all modern cars have a special indicator on the instrument panel warning of low oil pressure in the system. And ignoring it leads to the problems described above. Author of the article: Dmitry Gotovchik, 2017View news
Larger tires
I am sure that everyone is primarily interested in how to increase ground clearance with minimal financial costs. Therefore, let's start with the simplest and cheapest method - changing tires. Thus, you can easily win a couple of extra centimeters, but only if the design of your car allows you to increase the tire diameter without any consequences. In other words, the height of the inner wheel arch should be such that the tire does not touch the body when moving.
By turning a blind eye to this factor, the rubber will first erase the corrosion protection, and then the metal itself. If you can’t handle the iron, don’t worry, the moisture will finish the job. In addition, the tire itself will take on an excessively increased load, which will lead to its rapid wear.
Several ways to increase ground clearance
- replacing car springs with stiffer ones;
- installation of tires with a higher profile;
- installation of interturn spacers on springs;
- installing spacers on car struts;
- installing spacers between the spring and its support cup.
We do not recommend that you increase the car's ground clearance using the first method, since, firstly, there can be no talk of any comfort when driving on stiff springs. Secondly, the body and suspension will be subject to shock loads of greater force than with standard springs. Installing intercoil spacers on the springs of a car leads to the fact that the springs will become longer and stiffer, so the result will be similar to installing stiffer springs on a car, differing only in price since intercoil spacers are still much cheaper than springs.
The second way to increase ground clearance is not always possible to implement, since the car’s wheel arches are often small for higher tires. So how to increase ground clearance?
Installing spacers on racks can be done with your own hands in a regular garage. This procedure is best for raising the car.
Required tools and materials
- set of sockets and spanners;
- spring ties;
- steering wheel end remover;
- hammer;
- jack;
- WD-40, lithol;
- stands for a car, or scraps of thick wooden beams.
Installation process
So, you decided to lift the car a little and do it yourself.
First you need to decide: you need to lift only the front or along with the stern. If the front of the car is raised to more confidently overcome small obstacles, then the rear part is usually lifted for cars that often have to transport heavy loads. After solving this issue, you will have to go to the auto parts store. Spacers for the front of the MacPherson-type suspension look like aluminum or textolite washers that repeat the shape of the upper support of the strut, with holes for mounting studs.
Make sure the front spacers come with studs, as the stock top studs are not long enough to fit the spacer onto.
To install them, lift one side of the front end with a jack and place a stand or piece of timber under it, remove the wheel, and then the stand. Change the studs on the top support, put a spacer on them and put the rack in place. The studs are most often pressed into holes on the top support. They are kept from turning by splines knurled on them, so replacing them involves knocking out the old ones and driving in new ones. The type and shape of the spacer for the rear strut depends on the design of the rear suspension.
If the rear pillar of your car has an upper support, then the spacer kit for it should contain everything that is included for the front one.
And its installation is similar to the front one. If the rear strut cannot be removed as an assembly, but its bottom is attached to the bushing of the silent block in the eye of the rear beam, then you need to take spacers called “houses” - this is a piece of rectangular pipe with six holes with a diameter equal to the thickness of the bolts securing the bottom of the strut. Each spacer kit must include: a spacer sleeve and a bolt with a nut for attaching the spacer to the eye. One pair of holes in such a spacer is for attaching it to the eye, and the other two for attaching the silent block of the rack allow you to select the size of the increase in lift. When fixing the spacer into the eye of the rear beam, do not forget the spacer sleeve; it is placed in the spacer and ensures its rigidity. The bolt securing the spacer passes through it. Such spacers are suitable for suspensions in which struts are used - shock absorbers assembled with springs, but if the suspension design is different, that is, the springs are not assembled into one unit with shock absorbers, then you need to use thick rubber spacers between the spring and its support cup, not forgetting also o shifting the point of attachment of the shock absorber to the lever or installing a shock absorber with a large working stroke, but it is quite difficult to select it correctly in terms of vibration damping parameters, so it is better to shift the mount of the standard one.
You can increase ground clearance in a garage based on the conditions in which you plan to use the car. For most models there are already many blanks and ready-made solutions. To increase the car's ground clearance by installing spacers under the springs, do not forget to stock up on zip ties, otherwise your plan will be impossible. When increasing the vehicle's ground clearance, do not forget to diagnose the suspension along the way. Or at least inspect the boots of the ball joints and CV joints.
Larger rims
A similar effect can be achieved by increasing the diameter of the disks. A set of light alloy products will definitely cost a pretty penny, so there is no need to talk about savings here. As with a tire, when choosing a rim you need to take into account a number of nuances:
- Wheel arch height;
- Hub diameter;
- Location of mounting bolts.
Having found and installed a suitable model, minor bumps when driving will become less noticeable, and the car as a whole will begin to look much more aggressive. By the way, by combining the two methods described above, it will be possible to achieve a maximum increase in ground clearance, but not every car will allow you to perform such a procedure. Maybe SUVs with their 20-centimeter distance to the ground.
Increasing ground clearance using spacers: pros and cons
As it may seem at first glance, spacers for springs and spacers for struts have the same advantages. Simply put, you can quickly and cheaply increase ground clearance by preparing your car for bad roads, improve cross-country ability, increase load capacity, etc. In fact, this is true, but there are also disadvantages.
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The fact is that installing spacers to increase ground clearance is fully justified only when there is a change in ground clearance as a result of sagging springs or the car often drives loaded off-road, and at low speed.
By the way, even in this case, you should not install spacers whose thickness is more than 3 cm, and always make allowances for the material they are made of. If the ground clearance is normal and the springs are in order, before installing spacers both front and rear, you should take into account a number of disadvantages of such a modification.
If we talk about the disadvantages of spacers, then:
- an increase in ground clearance leads to a shift in the car’s center of gravity, which impairs the stability and controllability of the car;
- the rigidity changes and the reliability of the suspension suffers, the wheel alignment angles and a number of other important parameters change;
- The steering wears out more, the operation of the shock absorbers changes, and their service life is reduced;
To put it simply, the suspension arms are constantly lowered, the geometry changes, and the operating conditions of the suspension parts change. As a result, the angle of inclination of the steering axis, track width, wheel alignment, etc. may change.
The operating conditions of the silent blocks also change, and the adjustment of the braking forces on the rear axle may change. As for shock absorbers, in the case when, to increase ground clearance, only spacers for the springs were installed, and without spacers for the shock absorber, the average position of the shock absorber piston changes.
We also recommend reading the article about what a shock absorber support bearing is. From this article you will learn how the shock absorber support works and is designed, what it affects and what role it plays in the suspension design, as well as the signs of a malfunction of the car's shock absorber mounts.
As a result, the shock absorber works so that its piston rests against the top cover. Naturally, the service life of shock absorbers is reduced, and noticeably. Of course, all this has an even greater impact on the overall life of the suspension.
However, a much more serious problem is worse handling. In the case of active maneuvering, as well as in emergency situations, the car becomes much less stable. It turns out that if the car is actively used in normal modes, the driver is used to driving at high speeds, then a spacer to increase the ground clearance may not be the best and very unsafe solution.
It should also be noted that after increasing the ground clearance, some owners begin to overload the car with all sorts of cargo, since spring sag is no longer such an acute problem. However, we should not forget that in this case the load on the body, chassis parts, internal combustion engine, transmission, etc. increases significantly.
Replacing springs
The shock-absorbing spring is a key component of the vehicle that has a direct impact on the height of the vehicle as a whole. Not a single tuning of the “iron horse” is complete without replacing them; sports cars are all on rigid suspension. Of course, to complete the operation completely, you will have to work hard.
To change the design of the car (and there is no other way to call it), you need to disassemble both the front and rear suspensions. After which, you can select new springs, which must be the same diameter as the old ones. With rigidity, everything is quite the opposite; its indicator should be higher than that of the dismantled product (see the marking).
Many craftsmen even manage to install springs with an additional link, and then complain that the interior feels like a coward in a tractor. Therefore, when replacing springs, remember - the higher their stiffness, the lower the level of comfort. The final price of such repairs will be increased by shock absorbers, which will also need to be replaced for the benefit of your suspension.
By replacing struts and shock absorbers
The method of installing spacers is the most effective and least expensive. The downside of installing this element is that the suspension becomes stiffer. To raise the rear suspension, you can replace the struts and shock absorbers. In this case, the service life of the entire suspension will be extended.
When raising the rear of the car using springs and shock absorbers, it is worth knowing that the height of the suspension does not depend on the strut, but the handling of the car does. To raise the rear suspension of the VAZ, it is worth buying longer springs, but you need to know the limit, since they may not fit into the struts. To prevent the car from sagging due to overload, it is worth installing stiffer springs; they are not always higher than the factory ones. You should not buy the toughest of them, as driving in such a car will turn into a test.
Replacing the springs will help
You should choose hard shock absorbers, since on the road the car will not tilt from side to side due to the slightest unevenness.
Some people install air suspension on domestic cars, then the ground clearance increases significantly, but the special convenience is that it can be adjusted.
Air suspension VAZ 2114
When raising the rear suspension of a VAZ, you should know when to stop, since after all, this is not an SUV and the components of this car are not designed for such a load.
Gasket backing
Rubber or polymer gaskets (pictured) are another option for increasing the vehicle's ground clearance. They can be found in any auto store, where they will even explain to you where to install them. Here I will take on this responsibility. There is nothing complicated, you need to install a gasket between the shock absorber support strut and the car body. In addition, the cost of increasing ground clearance using spacers is even less than simply replacing tires.
But, like everywhere else, it has its downsides. Not only will the high wear of the gasket force you to change them at least once a year, but the center of gravity will also change, and this will slow down the car’s response to steering column signals, and will also change the braking torque.
Probably every owner of a small hatchback dreams of an additional 2-5 cm of ground clearance. Today, you learned simple, but no less valuable information on how to increase clearance. However, the suspension of modern cars is somewhat different from the good old VAZ, so in conclusion I am attaching a video especially for owners of classics. I'm done with this, all the best!
Replacing air springs in springs with inserts - can this improve the suspension?
The desire of motorists to improve their vehicles is as old as the very existence of cars.
And in principle, there is nothing wrong with this. It can even be said without exaggeration that if individual enthusiasts had not strived to improve cars, then today we would continue to drive what was offered at the beginning of the last century!
But not everything is so rosy. And often motorists spend their passion and imagination, money, time and effort on very strange “projects”. For example, a pendant. There is a lot of discussion about how it can be improved, but rarely a consensus is reached. In addition, in principle, according to experts who manufacture cars, suspensions are very difficult to experiment with and modify. Theoretically, in each specific car, everything possible has already been done with them, and in the starting, factory conditions.
But all the same, many drivers one day think about how to strengthen the rear springs, “making” them withstand a few additional tens of kilograms. And in principle, it’s not so difficult to screw something into the spring besides the air spring. But what will be the effect of this? Is it possible to achieve a benefit or is the real maximum a slight change in spring stiffness and nothing more?
A few words about silicone screws. They are used to strengthen one of the coils, as well as to prevent them from contacting each other, which will allow the car to be raised by 1-2 cm and prevent breakdowns of the suspension, even if it can be described as “tired”. But in principle, you can easily get by with a simpler solution - replacing the springs and suspension bumpers.
However, you should also not underestimate silicone screws and air springs in general - they are really important and needed for the rear suspension. After all, it is the “tail” part of the car that often bears the maximum loads - when transporting goods or simply passengers, which causes the springs to sag.
Comparison of screws, autobuffers and pneumatic cylinders. In principle, autobuffers and silicone screw-ins are very similar in appearance and often in materials. The price range is wide - from 500 to 10,000 rubles, but which is better - one can argue endlessly and often experienced drivers opt for cheaper options.
In search of an answer to the question posed in the title of the article, experienced car enthusiasts conducted several tests. And it turned out that silicone inserts and autobuffers are not only similar, but also in terms of efficiency and benefits, they are almost equivalent in the results achieved.
As for pneumatic cylinders, also often called air bags, their results turned out to be much better. Air springs are also good because they can be inflated - that is, adjusted to the spring, adjusting the degree of “interaction” of these parts.
Bottom line. Thinking about how to improve a car is good, but at the same time it is important to understand that sometimes it is better not to look for something new and not come up with tricks, but to use what has already been tested and approved by millions of drivers. For example, air springs that improve suspension.
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