Hydro's Gee!! LOL info

What happened next was unpredictable and amazing -- it's one of those strange things that can happen in an evolutionary process. Someone, at some point, realized that with enough power, the hydraulics system could make the car hop! The financial ability to buy car hydraulics and install them an innovation in and of itself took the lowrider to a whole new level.

Car hydraulics systems quickly evolved to make hopping more and more interesting, until cars could eventually hop 6 feet off the ground! Originally, there was one 12-volt or 24-volt pump driving all four wheels in unison. It is now possible to find cars that have four pumps (one for each wheel) and eight, 10 or even 12 batteries to power them. Twelve batteries create two 72-volt systems. These powerful systems are what you see in those movies.

Lowriders feature car hydraulics suspension systems that allow the driver to alter the ride height at will. These systems range from simple to complex and are usually measured by the amount of switches used to control the various hydraulics combinations that ultimately produce a specific motion from the car. The most common motions are dipping/raising the four corners of the car (referred to as corners), dipping/raising the front or rear of the car (front, back), dipping/raising the sides of the car (side to side), and lowering/raising the car as a whole (pancake). A skilled switch operator can manipulate his car hydraulics controls (hitting switches) to raise one wheel completely off the ground (3-wheel motion), or to bounce one end of the car completely off the ground.

Nobody knows exactly what inspired these original lowrider owners to lower their cars. The rear end and front suspension are lowered, its tires are skimpy and its motor is usually left untouched. Another mark of a lowrider is its extravagant amount of accessories, such as chrome pipes, wheel skirts and window visors that can be costly.In 1957, Gov. Edmond Brown outlawed lowrider cars. The California law prohibits drivers from lowering the frame of the car past the lowest point of the wheel rim. Because back then they had only stock tires, the car was usually about 5 inches off the ground and that just wasn't low enough. An enterprising Chicano by the name of Richard Aguirre, tired of getting tickets for his illegally lowered car, figured out a way to lower and raise his car using aircraft hydraulic pumps which he turned into a car hydraulics system.

 

^^nice looking ride...and a good writeup too

 

x2!
if i was a millionare id have to have a 1960 conv. impala on some daytons!! oh yea, sunday car! for some reason i still like switches and wires! lol!

 

hahah ya ... Lowriders are still poppin' out here in socal... saw a 62 impala 2 days ago ... busted a 3 wheel in my face.. im like "dude.. i got a civic.. what you trying to prove..." shit was tight tho hahaha