Rigamortiz said:
Holy fuck! Thats crazy! Never once imagined anything like that could happen from going over a speed bump.
It cant. - on a stock suspension or one retaining stock bump stops, you just experience a big bang and you might hit your head on the roof. (unless the suspension balljoints are horribly worn out - but that would have been picked up on MOT and servicing). Bump stops are there for a reason.
If the suspension is lowered too far then theres not enough travel left to give any suspension movement. The only way for the suspension bodger to get some travel is to change or remove the bump stops.
The bump stops are designed to stop the suspension from compressing too far. If it is allowed to move too far then the ball joints run out of travel. This results in, at best, short ball joint life and at worst complete failure under road bump impacts (which can be minor when laden)
I have lost count of the number of times I have been flamed for saying things like "you can go too low" etc.
Doubtless there will be those who read this and once again scoff at the old gits comments but I am convinced there are far too many people out there willing to sacrifice their own safety and that of others in the vain pursuit of a "look" that they hope will impress other people whom they dont even know.
There is nothing unsafe with lowering your suspension a bit if you want to. It only becomes unsafe if the suspension is changed to the point that its components are being forced beyond their tolerances and limits of movement. eg if you mess with the bumpstops for example.
Next, assuming the suspension has been lowered in such a way as to avoid these errors the next obstacle to the ultra low look is scrub. At max suspension compression and / or when you have a flat tyre it must still be the wheel rim that is the only part of the car in contact with the ground. Anything touching the road that is not a wheel is something the driver has no control over and is by definition dangerous since it can and does cause the vehicle to steer or slew unpredictably to one side or the other.
Here endeth the repeat of the lesson :|