[bigmags14]

So my car was in a pretty bad accident last January (2014) where the entire suspension was basically redone. I had to bring the car back probably twice because the left side of the car sat higher than the right. In august, I paid $90 for an allignment because the steering wheel was crooked when driving straight. Fast forward to now, I just brought it in again because the steering wheel was already crooked and the rear of the car sits higher than the front. If I measure from the ground (level surface) to the top of the wheel well, the back is around 32 inches and the front is probably 31-1/4 inches, maybe 31-3/8 inches. It is an all wheel drive charger 3.5L V6. Is this normal for the front to sit a little lower? I just got it back from the collision center and the allignment is good but the height remains a problem. Can anyone help me out? This has been bugging me forever and I cannot get a straight answer. Thanks.

 

[Ddaddy]

My '05 Magnum SXT AWD sat about a half inch or so lower in the front from the day I brought it home new...

 

[bigmags14]

hmm... so maybe it is normal?

 

[bigmags14]

So does anyone else know?? I will post my measurements. These are from the ground straight up to the top of the wheelwell.

Rear passenger- 32 inches
Rear driver- 32 inches

Front passenger - 31-1/8 inches
Front driver- 31-1/4 inches.

So the front is almost an inch shorter than the back. The driver front is a little higher than the passenger front. The accident basically affected only the driver side of the car. So are these normal measurements for a 2010 AWD charger sxt? I really need to know because I am sick of bringing it back to the shop

 

[Ddaddy]

Here is a pic of Ron380's AWD Charger. You can see that the front sits a little lower than the rear just like my Maggie did.

 

[bigmags14]

So here are pictures of the wheelwells... looks abnormally tall to me. and I didn't notice it until after I got the car back.

 

[tgl]

Were your springs replaced?
I wonder if, when reconstructing your suspension, the shop used new springs from a heavier model. That looks pretty tall to me, and it should have settled back by now.

The wrong model gas charged shocks might also lift it, too.

 

[bigmags14]

Yea all four springs were replaced... they started by only replacing the main suspension parts on the drivers side but then i brought it back because the left side was higher after a month... then they replaced all four. So I'll be calling the shop once again tomorrow morning -_-.... it's getting pretty old. I've brought it back like 4 times already. Its a mopar certified auto body shop too. But it's guaranteed for as long as you own the car through the shop and usaa. Hopefully this is the last time I bring it back, but I doubt it.

 

[Ddaddy]

Yeah, that's not right. Can you get the part number of what they installed? It might be on your paperwork.

Those also don't appear to be the stock wheels or tires. What diameter are the wheels and what is the tire size?

 

[bigmags14]

The wheels and tires are the same wheels and tires that came on the car when I bought it. They replaced the ones on the drivers side but its the same exact type of wheel and tire. I believe it's an 18 inch rim. Let me go check the tire size and hopefully can find the paperwork and see what I can find.

 

[bigmags14]

So tires are for a 19 inch rim so I guess the rims are 19 inches. Anyways, I found the paperwork. Obviously many things were replaced like stabalizer bar, control arms, tie rods etc. maybe things that seem relevant are the LT shock w/performance suspension. I can list more parts if it helps, but I dont see any individual springs on here. But unfortunately the sheet they gave me when I picked it up does not seem to list any part numbers.

 

[ssstealth]

This was my 2009 Charger AWD with the same 19" wheels you are running. I always hated the curb jumper look... I always assumed they wanted the front axles to remain level to keep from wearing out CV joints quicker than necessary.

 

[bigmags14]

Ddaddy has told me before that the AWD models sit higher because they needed more space to fit the AWD system in. Mine still looks a lot higher than yours though, which is what mine should look more like.

 

[bigmags14]

So here is a picture of my car this morning, looks a lot lower than it did yesterday. Both of these pictures are right after driving the car.... i drove more today and at faster speeds however on the highway. I think im going to hold off on calling for now. But to me the rear of the car still looks too high compared to the front and it sits almost an inch higher in the back. Any ideas?

 

[ColdSteel]

Do AWD have load-levelling shocks in them or conventional gas?

Also the 1/8 inch difference higher on the driver's side could be to account for the drop when a car primarily only has a driver in it adding weight to that side.

 

[bigmags14]

No idea on that

 

[Ddaddy]

So here is a picture of my car this morning, looks a lot lower than it did yesterday. Both of these pictures are right after driving the car.... i drove more today and at faster speeds however on the highway. I think im going to hold off on calling for now. But to me the rear of the car still looks too high compared to the front and it sits almost an inch higher in the back. Any ideas?

I looks like the highway speeds produced more down force on the rear and it settled more. You should see if you can get a few big guys to sit in the rear seats while you drive around a bit and see if it settles even more. The other alternatives are to put a bunch of heavy stuff in the trunk and drive around for a week or you could also simply sit in the trunk yourself for a half an hour or so (with the lid open obviously) while it's parked in the garage.

 

[CTown R/T R&T]

How much gas is in your car now versus when it was sitting higher?

Your rake looks about right for an AWD. You're probably just noticing it more since you've had work done and you're more sensitive to it.

 

[bigmags14]

About the same amount of gas, i only drove about 20 minutes. I think theres a little over half a tank in there.

 

[Ddaddy]

About the same amount of gas, i only drove about 20 minutes. I think theres a little over half a tank in there.

A full tank will add another 60 lbs over what you have now just in front of the rear axle. That should help getting it settled too.

A couple of adults in the rear seat will add 250-200 lbs+ to do even more.

You need it to fully settle so you know what the actual stance is.