Scraping the Driveway

Hello guys. If I knew I was going to purchased an NSX, I wouldn't bought this house. My house sits higher then any house on my street. I have to drive the car in at an angle to avoid scraping. So far, I have about an inch and a half gap. Well..I've ordered a set of JIC FLT-A2 (Planning to lowering it at about an inch) and body kit for the car. Probably going to install it next week. Additionally, I'm about to order some 18/19 wheels. Am I going to scrap eventhough I pull in at an angle? I'm 80% sure it's going to happen. Any recommendation how I can take care of this problem? For you smart ass out there, moving or not modding my car is NOT an option :tongue: Extending my driveway is also not an option because the Home Owner Association will probably sue the hell outta me. However, Last night I did watched Speed Vision how these racers pull and drive in thier Ferraris in and out of their 18 wheelers by extending it with a metal board. It looked really light because the guy just pick it up and threw it into the truck. Is there such a solution. Can anyone come up with a better one? Abybody have the same problem?

can you post a pic of your driveway, I would think you should be fine if you come in at more of a parallel to your drive way then cut the wheels hard when you get on. Hard to say without really seeing what you are up against.

Carl

I'll take a picture today.

sell the house!

air suspension! jk

You may be able to grind away at the sharp edge of the curb area, and thus not affecting water drainage along the street.

Worst case scenario, get a 24" piece of the synthetic wood decking material (grey) from Home depot, and anchor it. You will only need it for 1 tire. Once you hit it with the tire at a 45 degree angle, the front will lift enough to clear the other corner.

I would look into modding the entrance to the driveway. It's something I considered doing when I thought of lowering the car. My Neighborhood Association had no problems with it as long as it didn't extend the driveway further into the street. I was quoted $675 from a contractor pouring a driveway in the neighborhood. They just take out the portion of your driveway with the curb, and usually up to the next crease. He said he would then have to dig a little deeper, and adjust the angle to meet the drive with the street. Take into consideration that he was going to use left over material from driveways he pours, so no special order was necessary.
My house is also the highest on the street, since the water table is so high, and I have a basement. I advise visitors to put the e-brake on, even in an automatic. Never again will I have a steep driveway........it sucks.

jonas1jp said:

I would look into modding the entrance to the driveway. It's something I considered doing when I thought of lowering the car. My Neighborhood Association had no problems with it as long as it didn't extend the driveway further into the street. I was quoted $675 from a contractor pouring a driveway in the neighborhood. They just take out the portion of your driveway with the curb, and usually up to the next crease. He said he would then have to dig a little deeper, and adjust the angle to meet the drive with the street. Take into consideration that he was going to use left over material from driveways he pours, so no special order was necessary.
My house is also the highest on the street, since the water table is so high, and I have a basement. I advise visitors to put the e-brake on, even in an automatic. Never again will I have a steep driveway........it sucks.

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Did you eventually lowered your car and mod the drive way? It sounded like you didn't. I hoped it wasn't the driveway that deterred you from lowering your car.

this may sound like a silly idea, but if your just barely touching, you could do what i do, i drive around on 1/2 tank of gas or below. Im driving a civic now, but I understand te nsx tank of gas is nearly 100#'s so dropping 50#'s will give you a bit more height ^^.

You have what sounds like very similar situation to me, in both equipment & drive situation!

I have 18/19's and JIC FLT-A2's lowered about 1" and with WW front lip & WW skirts (in the process of being replaced by Stacy's skirts)
The worst part for me is not just the slope of the driveway itself, but there is a further depression (water gutter) in the transition from the street to the driveway; additionally, the street itself is on a downward slope perpendicular to my driveway, which is uphill slope! Complicated enough?

Anyway, I can still actually survive that - the most critical point of contact for me on my driveway is actually the front lip which compounds the issue, not just because it's lower but sticks out further. If you have lower side skirts, those can easily become the most critical component however. I noticed when having my alignment done, even with an extremely long ramp (which the shop owner made specially for lowered cars) onto the lift, the skirts were actually the closest point of contact in that situation and still scraped a little.

The "trick" is pretty much just as you describe - approach at 45 degree angle to the drive then cut over once your initial front wheel is on board.

What you will find is that the 18/19's actually help the situation - even lowered where you get a smaller gap between fender & tire, does not actually result in a chassis that is substantially lower than stock - at least at a 1" "drop" from where stock suspension & 18/19's would be. I'll post up a reference height to my fender wells later this evening.

RP-Motorsports said:

Worst case scenario, get a 24" piece of the synthetic wood decking material (grey) from Home depot, and anchor it. You will only need it for 1 tire. Once you hit it with the tire at a 45 degree angle, the front will lift enough to clear the other corner.

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lol. I took the worst case scenario. I grabbed a 12"x24" of wood and I threw it on the entrance to my driveway. It looks like hell, but at least my car is ok. I've been outside and paced around a bunch of times trying to figure out to make a more aesthetic fix...but short of pouring concrete, I don't see how.

I'm hoping that when I go to 17/18" rims (with springs) it will actually sit a little higher off the ground than the current 15" do. That's my wishful thinking.

I do like the idea of grinding the driveway down a bit to lessen the angle...have to see what I can rent from home depot tool wise. (The neighbors are going to love this one)

I suggest you move away. :tongue: The NSX is definitely more important than the house. :biggrin:

KoolinNSX said:

Did you eventually lowered your car and mod the drive way? It sounded like you didn't. I hoped it wasn't the driveway that deterred you from lowering your car.

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No, didn't lower the car. Have decided to pursue other hobbies and I'm selling it. I'm sure I'll get tired of karting and have another one in a couple years...........but, hey, I gotta try it!!

I've got 18/19s with a WW kit all around, not lowered. It's pretty tight, and my driveway has that soft rain gutter lip to it. I back my car into the driveway. No clearance problems in the rear and by the time it gets real close, the front tires are lifting the car up...

KoolinNSX said:

Did you eventually lowered your car and mod the drive way? It sounded like you didn't. I hoped it wasn't the driveway that deterred you from lowering your car.

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It wasn't the driveway that deterred Joe from lowering his car, it was his wife that deterred him. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

my neighbor just had to refloat his driveway to accomadate his new sports car. He build a jig out of wood that is the exact frame height and wheel distance so he could figure out how much driveway needed to be modified. His problem wasn't the entry, it was the peak meeting his frame. I watched him spend a good 2hrs. trying to figure out how to drive his new car into his driveway before he decided to refloat.

djdrock said:

It wasn't the driveway that deterred Joe from lowering his car, it was his wife that deterred him. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

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heh heh... that's the struggle i'm having right now... she thinks i'm crazy, says the car will NEVER get in the driveway. i think otherwise!

I have a weird driveway too.. I pretty much back out the car in a S pattern so I can get the front end at a correct angle to avoid major scraping.

fkong777 said:

I have a weird driveway too.. I pretty much back out the car in a S pattern so I can get the front end at a correct angle to avoid major scraping.

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I have the same problem with the house I just bought. Im closing on Nov 30 and my first thing im doing is my garage and driveway. I was thinking I might need a contractor or just a piece of plywood under I can figure out what to do? Any advise?

BRIDGEWATER ACURA said:

I have the same problem with the house I just bought. Im closing on Nov 30 and my first thing im doing is my garage and driveway. I was thinking I might need a contractor or just a piece of plywood under I can figure out what to do? Any advise?

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I would guess that they have already laid your driveway since you're closing on Nov 30th. However, if it's a new house, you don't have to close if you're not satisfy. Fight for it and ask them to redo your driveway. I'm sure they will do it if you complaint that your car will scrap and it's not exceptable. I didn't ask them to redo my driveway because I thought I would have protection if it ever floods. Getting an NSX wasn't part of the original plan. :wink:

I too have a steep driveway. That is the main reason I haven't lowered my car. I have a friend that used to have a Civic Si. He couldn't pull into my drive because his car was about 1-1 1/2" lower than the NSX. He would have to leave the car in the street whenever he was over.

The most effective way to solve this issue is to hire a contractor to regrind the curb area. It is not expensive and looks better than the plywood.

orbusrex said:

I've got 18/19s with a WW kit all around, not lowered. It's pretty tight, and my driveway has that soft rain gutter lip to it. I back my car into the driveway. No clearance problems in the rear and by the time it gets real close, the front tires are lifting the car up...

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I'm with orbusrex. My car is lowered and will scrape the driveway unless I back in. If I back in, there's no problem at all. Plus I can make a quick getaway when I leave 'cuz I don't have to back out.

larrynsx said:

The most effective way to solve this issue is to hire a contractor to regrind the curb area. It is not expensive and looks better than the plywood.

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Not worth it to me.

too bad they dont make hydraulic systems made out of aluminum =O
isnt there a electronic ride height adjustment system, i think i saw it in a magazine on an M3

it'd be well worth if you could go into 4x4 mode to go over obstacles like steep driveways, speedbumps, and small woodland creatures...

I had the same problem with a brand new home I built six years ago. Let me offer possibly the easiest solution around. Instead of trying to come in the driveway at some extreme angle (which didn't help me btw), I backed my car up into the driveway. Presto! No more scrape. Recently, I just lowered the suspension almost 1" and I am still OK - but it is very close. Also, make sure you back in slowly. Going anything faster than a crawl before the car is fully in the driveway can be an issue. Good luck.