Cars Ride Too High

[cnelson]

Anyone have any idea why this is the case?

I’ve just installed the game after a 4-year break to see where things are at.
One thing that seems to persist is the cars standing on their tires as if on stilts.

I’ve read a number of threads on this regard, both on Reddit and on Steam and the suggestion is that it is caused by the chassis, with ladder being the tallest. However, neither then nor now can I get the cars to look like they should, no matter the chassis and/or the suspension type.

Thing is, when I first start designing, the stance looks right. Once I arrive on the trim and fixture page however, the car goes up like 2-feet.

Should’ve taken a screenshot to show you what it looks like, but I’ll add it later.
On BeamNG especially, it looks pretty ridiculous.

Actually, it looks like this:

Except with a '50s family saloon on top.

Appreciate insights.

[Riley]

I believe what you’re talking about is when you select a trim, the car moves up? (To make way for the wheels and suspension etc)

You can just finish the car to get to the suspension tab and then lower it again before designing? Hopefully that’s what you mean.

If you drop the car body name here as well so we know what it is

[Hshan]

Also solid axles make it ride high.

[Jaimz]

@Hshan

Also solid axles make it ride high.

It’s only the front suspension that causes this. If you have MS or DW on the front then the car can be lowered.

[cnelson]

Can’t lower it lower than the default, unfortunately. That is, with ladder chassis and coil & leaf springs at least.

The bodies I was using were '40-'50 4-door and 2/3 door chassis.

[thecarlover]

The default is a low rider and not a “realistic” height for most cars. And yeah, with solid axle even in the back only you can’t get very low. That’s just not how production cars are built.

[cnelson]

I can’t seem to make the point across that I’m not trying to make the cars go very low.
I’m only trying to make them look normal.

Here are a couple of quick builds that illustrate what I’m talking about.

Cars look like they’re ready to tackle the Paris-Dakar Rally.
I mean, look at the size of that ground clearance. A horse can fit in there.

[thecarlover]

The issue is that you’re using a solid axle in the front. You cannot go low without independent front suspension.

A solid axle needs to sit below the engine and cannot fit on either side like independent suspension, hence the high ride height. Front solid axle is only for large pickup trucks and off roaders that need the rugged capabilities of it.

[RobtheFiend]

How many cars (excluding pickups) have you seen after 1946 that uses solid front axle?

[cnelson]

Here’s a monocoque chassis with double-wishbone suspensions on both ends (note that in the original design, the engine is rear-mounted):

Here’s a space frame chassis with double-wishbones on both ends:

And here’s a ladder chassis with double-wishbones on both ends (with an all too obvious clipping going on):

Just for the record; I have progressed through the design steps in the hopes that the look would eventually “snap” into place, to no avail.

Edit: Upon further testing, I have noticed that you need to change the ride height manually under the “Suspension” tab, after swapping suspension types. I wrongly assumed it would revert to what would be an acceptable height for the given suspension, to show the visual difference if nothing else.

My bad. I apologise.