Hellaflush: What It Is and Why It Is Hellabroken
PRACTICALITY OVER PERSONALITY. A 1997 BMW M3 is shown with stretched tires on oversized wheels and a suspension kit that lowers and stances the car for that Hellaflush look. Hellaflush puts a lot of stress on the vehicle’s chassis, suspension, and drivetrain components, causing long term damage. It can also be a hazard to the driver and surrounding vehicles. Photo Courtesy of fatlace.com
A new trend has recently struck the motorhead community and the general public itself.
In normal applications, the suspension of a vehicle is designed to provide a smooth and comfortable ride and have the vehicle at a normal height to avoid damage to the chassis or bumpers.
It just looks ridiculous. Like the cars alignment was done by some sleazy mechanic. I don’t understand why people think it looks cool
— Tanner Crocket
Stance nation, most commonly referred to as hellaflush, is a new trend arising in which the car’s fine tuned suspension is replaced with an aftermarket kit that lowers the car so low that it scrapes on any incline or speed bump and damages the vehicle in more ways than one. The control arms may also be replaced with ones that cause the wheels to tilt outward or have “negative camber” in addition to having the tires stretched onto a wheel that is too large for the wheelwell of the vehicle.
Some may argue that the car looks “clean” or looks flush and has perfect fitment. But to the general public and the conservative motorhead, it just looks broken.
“Excessive negative camber does more than just ruin tires. It puts a lot of stress on the drivetrain components, axles, and steering column,” Said Ben Hicks, owner of Precision Motorworks.
“It just looks ridiculous. Like the cars alignment was done by some sleazy mechanic. I don’t understand why people think it looks cool,” says Tanner Crocket (12).
Driving a stanced car is like riding a bicycle to work that’s on fire, or showing up to a photoshoot in a rainbow wig and speedo. It’s just not practical.
We’ve all seen it; the super low cars that scrape everywhere and can’t make it over speed bumps. Sparks fly out when they hit a bump and cause everyone to question the person’s awareness and/or intelligence.
While this not only damages the vehicle, it can also be dangerous. The vehicle can be so low that the fuel lines are more prone to being damaged and torn open. This poses a serious fire hazard not only to the driver, but to the vehicles surrounding them.
In fact, Quebec has officially banned hellaflush vehicles and will not allow them to be registered or have their registration renewed.
“Changing the geometry of the suspension of a vehicle reduces its maneuverability and safety,” according to the SAAQ’s official website.
Others also say negative camber allows for better “handling and cornering”. But in many research studies this has been proven to be a farce. In fact the camber has been found to make the handling and/or cornering worse.
Hellaflush seems to be the trend for now, but soon it will be buried just like the blackout, rat rod, and other car culture trends.
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Adam enjoys mainly working on and upgrading cars. In addition he also loves board sports like wakeboarding, wake surfing, snowboarding, and skiing. He...
Ben • Dec 22, 2019 at 8:25 AM
I agree that stance nation is unsafe, but saying that “camber has been found to make the handling and/or cornering worse” is just plain false. When a car corners hard (like at the track), the lateral g-forces push the car to the side, tilting the tires inwards and reducing contact patch. In order to counteract that, race cars will run around -3 to -4 degrees of camber, which has been shown to help a car’s cornering capabilities at high speeds both theoretically and empirically. Lowering cars too much on the street is bad and can mess up your suspension geometry, but if you track the car and make sure to correct your suspension geometry after lowering (roll center/bump steer correction kits, control arms, etc), then having a lower center of gravity will also make your car handle better.
Camberfail • Apr 13, 2019 at 6:23 PM
It looks awful and people who justify this abomonation of a “mod” are lost in life I’m sorry to say.