Photo: dohcresearch.com
As long as the camber on your ride doesn’t make the wheels look like they’re broken (see pic above), then yeah, a bit of hellaflush looks OK. However, the authorities in Quebec have another opinion on this and might just ban the practice soon.
Their argument is that a hellaflush car is not safe, especially in a region like Quebec where it tends to snow a lot. We can’t but agree with what they say, and you might be tempted to argue that rat rods are basically old rusty death traps in the US and nobody bats an eye for that.
Well, yeah, they are rusty and all, but they don’t usually ride on a crooked suspension. No rat-rodder would fit skinny stretched tires on huge rims and then camber the hell out of his suspension.
Don’t get us wrong here, new cars look better with large rims and low wall tires, but the stretching and massive camber is what’s wrong with hellaflush.
How do stretched tires and a messed-with suspension turn your car unsafe? To start with, those stretched tires are forced to fit a larger rim, so basically they are going through much more stress than a regular tire. Over inflate it a bit more or hit a pothole and it might just rip apart, which at high speeds can cause a crash.
Then comes the huge camber. Not only do you have stressed tires, but they now also don’t sit on the road correctly. Only the inner part of the tire’s tread touches the asphalt, which means you have a reduced contact patch and a much less stable car through bends.
The modified geometry of the suspension itself past manufacturer specification also reduces the vehicle’s maneuverability, while lowering it too much will decrease the wheels travel. Which will make you feel every little bump on the road right in your spine and could also lead to the wheel actually touching the body of the car.
So what happens if you already have a stanced car in Quebec now? If the police sees you, they might send you for inspection, where you will fail, of course. Insurance companies might also refuse to pay for damage if they discover that your ride was modified.
Well, yeah, they are rusty and all, but they don’t usually ride on a crooked suspension. No rat-rodder would fit skinny stretched tires on huge rims and then camber the hell out of his suspension.
Don’t get us wrong here, new cars look better with large rims and low wall tires, but the stretching and massive camber is what’s wrong with hellaflush.
How do stretched tires and a messed-with suspension turn your car unsafe? To start with, those stretched tires are forced to fit a larger rim, so basically they are going through much more stress than a regular tire. Over inflate it a bit more or hit a pothole and it might just rip apart, which at high speeds can cause a crash.
Then comes the huge camber. Not only do you have stressed tires, but they now also don’t sit on the road correctly. Only the inner part of the tire’s tread touches the asphalt, which means you have a reduced contact patch and a much less stable car through bends.
The modified geometry of the suspension itself past manufacturer specification also reduces the vehicle’s maneuverability, while lowering it too much will decrease the wheels travel. Which will make you feel every little bump on the road right in your spine and could also lead to the wheel actually touching the body of the car.
So what happens if you already have a stanced car in Quebec now? If the police sees you, they might send you for inspection, where you will fail, of course. Insurance companies might also refuse to pay for damage if they discover that your ride was modified.
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