Will weight lower your ground clearance?
After adding a steel bumper I lost a little space between my wheels and fenders. Did this also lower my ground clearance?
Also, what things raise your ground clearance besides tire size on a Jeep? Would anything cause it to lower?
Posted May 8, 2015, 8:17 PM UTC
12
Depends on how you define 'ground clearance.'
Normally it is defined as the distance from the ground to the chassis (or the lowest part of the car hanging off the chassis). So, yes, you have lowered your ground clearance by adding weight to the vehicle.
Front and rear bumpers, larger spare tire on the carrier, winch, all those things add up and lower your ride, by compressing the suspension.
You gain ground clearance by getting larger tires or by installing different suspension components.
Some people define 'ground clearance' as the lowest thing on the vehicle - which includes the axles/diffs. You can only raise the axle up by getting larger tires or by going with one of those weird off-center 'portal axles'