I had 3 large (200-300lb; "I'm not fat, I'm big boned") passengers in my car the other night and I had severe clearence problems (and one of them getting caught in the rear seatbelt; he should have learned the first time, roflmao). I crawled over a speedbump, but it still just about ripped something (felt like the shift linkage) off my car. My car was probably pushing or over it's maximum recommended passenger weight, but I've always had some clearence issues even when I'm the only person in the car, and it only gets worse with passengers (even if they are light).

Are my springs/shocks worn out or is this a normal problem? Obviously, the more weight in the car, the lower it sits, but I'm wondering if I can lessen the consequences of extra weight... If I were to get aftermarket springs (say 0.75 inch drop) and shocks, it would initially be lower than stock, but would it maintain the ride height better than my stock setup? Stiffer springs/shocks would make the height less sensitive to weight, right? Could I expect to find an aftermarket setup that would be stiff enough to sit higher under extra weight than stock (and still ride nicely)?

Thanks

 

haha when i read the topic title.. I thought you were going to say when u have passengers and they open the door it slams the sidewalk.. cuz I freakin HATE when passengers do that to my car.. but anyway yeah thats normal for the car to sit lower when you have load/weight on it/the springs.. maybe you can get stiiffer springs that don't drop it as low.. or get coil overs to wind it back up when u intend to give your "big boned" frenz a ride.. lolz..most of my friends all have our own cars.. I havent packed my car (had rear passengers) since college.. so its not realy a problem.. we usually just take 1 passenger and follow each other instead of packing 4 ppl in 1 car..

 

My car is a maximum 3 person car, and typically only 2. That way I don't have to worry about it. All my friends know ahead of time, if we're all going somewhere, don't expect me to put anymore than 3 people in my ride!!!

 

I dont have a back seat and I have racing seats so no one over 220 even fits.....