Lowered Suspension, Lowered Fuel Costs!
Recent research commissioned by suspension company Eibach has revealed some good news for credit-crunched car tuners and modifiers. In a recent series of tests undertaken by Testpilots, an independent testing facility in the US, cars fitted with Eibach suspension were found to have returned better fuel consumption than their standard counterparts – by up to 16%!
Under controlled conditions, a multitude of different cars were driven in stock form across a measured route, before having Eibach lowering springs fitted and aligned and then being driven around the same course by the same driver. All tests were done back to back to eliminate any ambient variables such as air temperature or wind speed.
It’s no real surprise, of course. The reduced turbulence under the car – and improved airflow over it – created by a lower ride height have been known to race teams for decades. Manufacturers haven’t been slow to cotton on either, with all of the current crop of low CO2 ‘specials’ like VWs ‘Bluemotion’ range sitting considerably closer to terra-firma than their standard brethren.
In Eibach’s US test, a standard Honda Accord’s MPG figure was taken from 16.5 MPG to 19.16 MPG, simply by the fitment of the firm’s lowering spring kit. Interestingly, the cars top speed was also raised from 119 mph to hitting the cars limiter at 130 mph, also due to the reduced level of wind resistance. Naturally, the cars cornering ability was also considerably enhanced, but this will come as little surprise to Eibach aficionados. Over a measured course that took the standard car 1m 27s to complete, the Eibach-equipped car shaved an addition 7.7 seconds from this time, despite returning a 16% improvement in economy in the process. Braking distances from 80 mph were also decreased from 182 feet to 171 feet, due to the car’s more stable attitude under retardation.
With an average enthusiast seeing their Eibach springs paying for themselves in well under 12,000 miles, in addition to the numerous dynamic benefits and class leading 100,000 mile warranty, this is one modification that you can buy with the heart and the head!
For more details on the Eibach range, please visit www.eibach.co.uk or call the team on 01455 285851
Tags: Cheap Petrol, credit crunch, lowered suspension
