Driveway Problems - bottom out! any suggestions

[huyduchoang]

My fathers driveways is on a high grade - thats not the problem. The problem when the driveway mets the road - there is like a 1"-2" drop. Meaning, where the driveway ends there is a small drop then it mets the road.

Is there any sort of easy fix it yourself solution. I gota have this fix before I buy a new WW lip!

 

[nbovelle]

You have to always approach the driveway at an angle. If you go head on, the lip will scrape. If you try to get one wheel on first and go slow and you will probably be ok. I do the same with speed bumps.

 

[hlweyl]

My driveway is very steep with a significant slope between curb and street. What works for me is backing in at a steep angle, I never scrape. It does scrape slightly when I pull front first at an angle.

 

[Briank]

If you just have a 2" drop to deal with just lay down a 1" X 8" X 8' board to soften the transition. If you paint it to match the road you may even getaway with leaving it in place.

 

[silverNEEK]

I have the same problem pulling into my driveway. All my previous cars have been lowered with the exception of my NSX (i know, i know) so i have been used to coming in sideways and trying not to scape. My neighborhood has the angled sort of curbing that you can drive up onto but its just a little too steep for my stock height NSX. I pull in sideways doing the one wheel at a time deal and it works. It just sucks beacuse i cant have another car in the driveway because i take up both sides pulling in. After i get up i just straighten up and pull in to the garage. Frustrating but better than scrapping.

 

[huyduchoang]

I do go down at an angel... but the design of the curb makes it almost impossible not to scrap a tiny bit. I have to basiclly put my car sideways to avoid the drop. The board painted black... i don't think the people next door will like that.

 

[hungedu]

Talk about no ground clearance

I used to make it up and down my parent's driveway in this thing! Never scraped the front end once. Notice the angle I take the car on. Although the picture's not that clear, those curbs are about 4"-5" high.

 

[huyduchoang]

is that a real lam you had?

 

[hungedu]

All real and original, except for the wheels. The previous owner put '89 rims on an '88 body. The wheels are also real, but the fact that they don't match the correct model year always bugged me. It was a real nightmare to take care of. It spent a good portion of its life in the repair shop and storage.

 

[CDub]

Use the boards but keep them back in the garage.

I was staying at WhiteNSXs's house during NSXPO2003 and he has this increditable patient to park both our cars in his garage. First he'd get out and move 2 pieces of 2" think boards for the curb and 2 more for entering the subterranean garage. Then he'd back both cars in his garage one at a time and collect the boards afterward.

His car is lowered by .9" with Bilstein on lower spring perch without much problem. Mine, with Eibachs, was a bear to get in. It took him around 10 to 15 minutes to get the cars in and out of his garage. Talk about dedication and discipline.

 

[Dtrigg]

You might also want to speak with your father about selling his house and getting something that would provide you easier access.

Doug

 

[nd4spd]

All real and original, except for the wheels.

Did you remove the hideous front bumpers?

 

[hungedu]

They were already gone when I took ownership of the car!

 

[PorknBeanz]

A lot of the Diablo kit car guys add air springs to their front ends. They use a small compressor/air tank package. When you approach a speed bump or driveway, you hit a toggle switch and the front end lifts by about 2". It works well, except that the frame has to lug around an extra 20lbs of air-lift stuff.

 

[AndyH]

Here is my car........stupid driveway

But if I approach at an angle

I still have 1/2" clearance

 

[PHOEN$X]

This is why I've refrained from lowering my NSX. As you can see from the attached pic, my driveway has a steep dropoff. And the bottom pic I took at the store today. I didn't realize I was so close to the curb until I got out of the car. I'm sure I would've heard a scrunch noise had my car been lowered!

BTW: hungedu, I love your Countach! Do you have any more pics/stories to share?

 

[CRX B16B VTEC]

My NSX is stock height so it doesnt scrape the lip, but the CRX does with Mugen kit. What Ido is, I dont drive down straight, I approach the slope at steepest angle I can...

 

[hungedu]

To PHOEN$X

I have plenty of stories about the Countach, which unfortunately, I have since sold and replaced with my NSX. I posted a couple more pictures at this thread:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26419&perpage=50&pagenumber=2

Although I know it is not really welcome on this forum, I have some funny "kill stories" involving teenage kids trying to take me on in their souped-up economy cars!

It's truly amazing to see the traffic jams the car would cause when people would rubberneck to get a look at it going down the street. I became very self-conscious driving the car. It was still a ton of fun! I never had an uneventful drive in this car. Someone was always yelling, pointing, waving, or something when they'd see my Countach driving by.

I had to get rid of the car because it was a nightmare to maintain. I love the Countach and miss it. Perhaps I will buy another one someday. I'm perfectly happy with my NSX, and the performance is actually very similar. It just doesn't attract as much attention.