Suspension data

[Mlin]

When I look under the suspension setting and view the suspension data, I noticed that the ride height in the front and back is always changing. When you see a negative number like "-0.47 inches" for the front left, what does this actually mean? Does it mean it is -0.47 inches below what it is supposed to be?

 

[DerbyDave]

It means to keep your car level, the front left suspension is -0.47 inches lower on the front left side

 

[Mlin]

It means to keep your car level, the front left suspension is -0.47 inches lower on the front left side

I had a feeling that it had to do with the car leveling. I just don't understand the negative and positive numbers. If the car was on perfectly level ground and the suspension was set to medium, would all the ride heights be at 0 inches?

 

[DerbyDave]

I am not sure the only thing it has to do is to be level with the ground, but for sure front to back leveling of the car (and not the suspension). For instance, if you pulled a trailer or had the rear heavily loaded, the car would level itself front to back so that the headlights didn't blind oncoming traffic. Also, my feeling is that the measurement we see has to do with the suspension setting necessary to level the car. A suspension setting of 0 might not level the car, which is where the level is measured -- not the suspension.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

If I had to guess, the neg/pos numbers are the delta from the vehicle's OEM reference point. For example, at 'standard' height, from the factory it expects a certain value from the height sensor, let's say that value is 1.00. So if your sensors are providing inputs as follows:

FL: 0.90
FR: 0.91
RL: 1.10
RR: 1.02

Then your pos/neg number is going to be the translation of the input value vs the reference point, in inches. So in the case above, your front would be a negative number, your rear would be a positive number.

Again, total guess, but it makes sense in my smooth brain.