The problem with the wheel block design and a quick fix + some recommendations

youtube vid provided

https://youtu.be/YVxw4DQGgOg

The suspension can’t always use the travel it already has.

Especially with some of the medium-sized wheels, the wheel sits so close to the suspension block that it bottoms out before the suspension can fully compress.

And when that happens, the suspension assembly itself starts taking the impact—which can damage or completely destroy the block.

So here’s my small recommendation:

Give us a lift-spindle or wheel-offset option.

Basically, allow us to move the wheel center down slightly—maybe 0.25 or 0.5 meters depending on the wheel size.

That gives the wheel more clearance at full compression without fundamentally changing how the suspension works.

Now, if changing the model itself is too much to ask, there is another option:

Give us more control over how the suspension behaves throughout its travel.

For example, the first third of the suspension could be very soft for absorbing small bumps.

The middle third could become progressively stiffer.

And then the final third could become very stiff, with a hard limit before the wheel actually reaches the suspension block.

That could produce a similar result by preventing the suspension from compressing far enough to bottom itself out.

I still don’t think that’s the ideal solution, because you’re artificially limiting suspension travel instead of actually giving the wheel more clearance.

But if Keen simply wants to give us better suspension settings, I think something like progressive stiffness could still help a lot.

And while we’re doing that, I’d also like the ability to move the wheel slightly inward or outward horizontally.

That would give builders more control over track width and vehicle stability without forcing them to redesign the entire body around the suspension.

For vehicles that are right on the edge of being stable, even a small outward offset could make a noticeable difference.

Same basic block.

Same suspension.

Just more usable travel and more control over wheel placement.

I think these changes could make off-road vehicles significantly more stable and give builders a lot more flexibility without fundamentally changing how wheels work.

---some recomendations

Now, if changing the wheel position itself is too much to ask, there’s another way this could be handled.

Give us a custom suspension curve.

Basically, imagine a vertical bar in the suspension menu representing the full travel of the wheel.

The player could place different points along that bar and set the spring strength for each section.

So maybe the first third is very soft for soaking up small bumps.

The middle gets noticeably stiffer.

And then the final section becomes extremely stiff, basically acting as a bump stop before the wheel can actually bottom out against the suspension block.

And importantly, those sections wouldn’t have to be fixed.

The player could decide where each section starts and ends depending on the vehicle they’re building.

I still think physically giving the wheel more clearance would be the better solution, because this artificially limits some of the suspension travel.

But if Keen wants to solve it through better suspension controls instead, something like this would give us a lot more control than just having one spring-strength setting for the entire range of motion.