Rake is the tilt of a car from front to back. If one end sits higher than the other, the car has rake. It's one of the simplest ways to change how a car looks standing still, and it has meant very different things to hot rodders, drag racers, and truck owners. Usually, rake means the nose sits lower than the tail. That forward lean makes a car look like it's moving even when it's parked. The rake entry in our glossary has the TLDR version.
Nose down: hot rods
Classic hot rods get their rake partly from tires. The "big and little" look, with tall rear tires and small fronts, drops the nose and lifts the tail.
That look started with racing. Tire maker Coker Tire says the smaller front tires "reduced rolling resistance and weight, while the larger rear tires provided more traction and a modification to the final drive ratio." It later became a style for its own sake, and Coker describes the mismatched tires on its own 1932 Ford roadster as giving "the perfect amount of rubber rake."
Nose up: gassers
Gassers went the other way. These drag racing cars sat with the nose high in the air, and Hagerty explains why: the stance was "nose-high, the better to transfer weight to the rear wheels for traction."
They took their name from a racing class that, among other limits, ran on gasoline instead of nitromethane or alcohol. In their heyday in the 1960s and '70s, gassers were often built from old fat-fendered bodies with straight-axle front ends.
The class faded as factory altered-wheelbase cars and Funny Cars took over drag racing, Hagerty wrote. The look came back with nostalgia drag racing in the 1990s, and people still build gassers today, like the 1951 Chevrolet at the top of this page.
Factory rake: pickup trucks
Most people see rake every day without noticing it, because pickups have it. Driving Line says all pickups leave the factory with the rear suspension holding the back of the truck higher than the front when it's empty.
The reason is work. Trucks are built to tow heavy trailers and haul "two tons or more in the bed," and the rake is there "so the truck's steering and braking performance remains safe when towing or hauling." Driving Line adds that the factory rake also helps the truck's aerodynamics.
Some owners don't like the look of an empty truck with its tail in the air. The fix is a leveling kit, which raises the front of the truck to match the rear. Ford sells its own through Ford Performance: a kit for 2021 to 2026 F-150 4x4 models that lifts the front end 2 inches "for level ride height front-rear."
Rake on a street car
On a lowered street car, rake is a judgment call. A car sitting perfectly level can look planted, and a slight nose-down tilt can make it look more aggressive. A car sitting nose-up usually looks like the rear springs gave out, unless it's a gasser and you meant it.
If you're changing your ride height, check whether lowering your car is legal where you live first. Then see how the stance plays with voters on WhipJury.
Sources:
Gasser stance, name, history, and decline: Hagerty
Big-and-little tires and rubber rake: Coker Tire
Factory rake on pickups and leveling kits: Driving Line
Ford's F-150 leveling kit: Ford Performance
Frequently Asked Questions
Jeffrey Wiley has spent more time than he'd like to admit thinking about what makes a car look right. He writes about automotive design, car culture, and the opinions people have strong feelings about. He lives in north Georgia.
