The Importance of Ground Clearance and Off-Roading

There are lots of factors which should be taken into consideration with off-road vehicles and capability. Arguably, none are more important than having ample ground clearance. The ability to simply clear trail hazards is one of the most critical parts of any off roader. Fortunately, there are ways to increase this, thanks to off road suspension kits, larger tires, and even different axles.

Why Ground Clearance is So Important

While having great tires, proper lights, and good recovery equipment are all important, ground clearance is a fundamental need with an off roader. Simply put, you don’t want trail hazards, such as boulders, stumps, or breakovers on hills to contact the underside of your rig as it can cause damage. Plus, these things can leave a 4x4 vehicle stuck or break components if hit hard enough. Yes, having skid plates can help mitigate damage, but you’d optimally rather not hit them at all.

Increasing Ground Clerance

There are three basic ways to increase your ground clearance. You can add a lift kit, which is often composed of taller springs. This will lift the vehicle up farther, adding ground clearance between the chassis and the ground. Of course, different off road suspension kits will include other important components, such as different shocks or struts, sway bar links, control arms, and other items to help everything work as a system.

Another thing you can do to add lift is to increase your tire size. In addition to an overall lift in height, larger tires provide added clearance under the axles/differentials—something a lift kit alone won’t do.

Additionally, a more extreme way to add clearance is to install portal axles. These unique axles drop down a vehicle’s hubs and use a set of gears at each corner to turn the wheels. Usually very expensive, they’re a neat way to add even more lift to a vehicle, but these are often thousands of dollars and are very specialized.

Can You Have Too Much Ground Clerance?

You might wonder, can you have too much ground clearance? The answer is yes.

Whenever you add ground clearance, whether it be via suspension, bigger tires, or even portal axles, you’re increasing the vehicle’s center of gravity. This can lead to less stable performance on- and off-road. The higher up you go, the more tippy things can get. Too much lift can also mean more wear and tear on CV-joints or other components.

Additionally, whenever larger tires are added, it will affect the vehicle’s gearing. If you install bigger tires, it’s likely the engine will need to work harder to turn them, meaning less power and increased fuel economy. Plus, changing a tire’s diameter also make the vehicle’s speedometer and odometer readings off when driving.

Both these factors can be corrected by changing the axle’s gears, aka, regearing. This is a whole topic within itself, as different gear ratios will yield different levels of performance for on- and off-road driving. Also, many vehicles can have a different speedometer gear installed, or the speedometer/odometer can be reprogrammed via the computer.

How Much Ground Clearance You Need

The amount of ground clearance you need depends on where you want to take your off-roader. If you’re sticking to dirt roads in your Subaru Crosstrek, adding something like a 2” ATS Suspension Lift is great. You might not even need to add larger tires. Conversely, if you’re doing to be in deep mud or need to run big tires on your Land Cruiser or Lexus LX450, a 6” Foam Cell Pro Suspension Kit might be more desired. Also remember the tires size you’ll want to run, as that can directly affect how much lift you need to clear the tires. Think of your use case carefully when selecting how much lift you need. Of course, some people simply want that just-right look to their rigs, too.

Do Your Homework

Before adding a lift kit and bigger tires, ensure you do your research as to what will fit your vehicle and how it will change the way it performs. You can adversely affect the way your rig runs if you go too extreme. But having ample ground clearance will help you get down the trails easier and provide less worries when on adventures.