It actually helps, by lowering the car you lower the center of gravity, so I don’t understand how wouldn’t improve handling. In addition the spring constant (K) on lowering springs in general is higher than stock, which helps body roll, so handling has to improve.


Actually with the new Subaru RA spec, Subaru claims they weren’t able to lower the car to improve handling, so they made it wider. So I have to agree with Deetz, I think lowering spring will definitely improve handling, especially in a heavy car like the Cayenne.

 

I just linked an article that proves otherwise!

Just because you lower the car does NOT mean handling is improved!!! There is a LOT more to suspension geometry and design than ride height and spring rates!

 

Jenner:

I do agree with you. I apologize for not expressing myself clear enough on my previous post. I know there is much more to suspension geometry than ride height and spring rates. It is true that lowering a car does not specifically mean it will improve its handling. You could lower a car by cutting the springs, but I guarantee you that if you lower the same amount the exact same car with a spring that is appropriate for the weight of the car, the geometry of the suspension, etc it will handled better than if you simply cut the springs. So I guess it all depend the approach taken to achieve the desire ride height.

On my previous post when I mentioned that a lowered car will handled better I was assuming that the suspension was tuned to its best for each of the different scenarios.

If you assume there is no suspension on a car, just a solid connection between the wheels and the frame (imagine a box with wheels), I am sure that the car with the lowest CG will handled better, well at least it will be the last one to rollover. I guess at the end it all depends on how HANDLING is described.

 

In regards to the article, I think there are so many parameters that will influence the outcome of the test. For instance, was the same driver? If so, how long was he driving for? Was he tired? Did he had a better run just by luck? Did both Cayennes use the same set of tires? If not, did the tires have the same mileage? Was the tire pressure the same? Was the temperature of the tire the same? Were the conditions of the pavement exactly the same? Did both truck weighted the same? Were both suspensions tune to its best? Etc!!!
A 1.7 mph difference could have been produced by any of the thing I just mentioned above.

I completely support the idea that lowering a car does not improved its handling unless it is done right. So, if all of the parameters mentioned above and all other I didn’t mention were exactly the same in both cases which is just impossible in real life, I guess the Techart people need to go back to the drawing board

 

yup that should explain it. i just noticed that your X5 is 5-Speed