Hey,

I'm sorry, but I don't have any pics or video! I'm mainly posting to see if my car is still fine. I was going to the Whitetail ski resort in PA (border of MD) and there are some really wavy roads and big dips. I was driving with a couple of friends and one thing lead to another and I was accelerating while going up a part of the road, probably reaching 50mph (in a 30 zone, mind you ) and WOW....I did not realize until I was in the air, how low the dip went. I'm GUESSING my tires (definetley the front, not sure about the back) were about 6-8ft. above the spot it landed! I have included a vague and CRUDE diagram!

My concern was that when the front wheels landed, the sound was loud. I keep thinking the front end of the car hit the ground hard, but it could be just the tires. I pulled over after this and checked the car all over and found no damage. Next time my car gets an oil change on the lift, I'll see if any undercarriage gear was damaged. I know what I did was dumb, but damn was it fun! If I had known that dip was so low (you could not tell because the incline before it blocked the view), I wouldn't have done it!

 

Check engine mounts, shocks.

 

Car are made to drive. Any damage should be covered by warranty. Just play it smart and say..."I was driving along and...."

 

don't lie, we know you guys were singing the dukes of hazard tune!

j/k yea do like 6spdmanual said, check your engine mounts and shocks & struts. on a landing like that you may want to check the tops of your fenderwell's as well. depending on how high up your wheels may have gone after the landing.

 

How do you check shocks and the engine mount besides by visual inspection for damage.

 

wow... nice drawing.. especially the front wheel..

yeah... do what 6speedmanual suggested.. you know, 60ish % of the total weight is on the front wheels...

 

For engine mounts - I believe you can only jackup the car to see any cracks.

For shocks - check any fluid leaking around the shocks and joints. Actually you can feel it when you drive, the car becomes bouncy everytime when you drive over a bump or dip.

Forgot to tell you inspect rim bent and if you find grease or oil surrounding your rims or inner fender, you need new CV Boots.

 

thanks for the tips man!

 

should be ok. hope u dont find anything.

 

i too jumped my car on the exact same type of jump you did, only i was evading a CHP cruiser coming after me for speeding on the freeway.

my buddy and i were headed to another friends house heading south on the freeway. well, there was this motorhome going slow in the fast lane, which blocked a bunch of cars including myself. i finally weaved my way around the cars to the front and it was open space from there on after, so i floored it. went from 65-110 in only seconds, and just as i got to 110, my buddy and i see a CHP cruiser chilling on the on-ramp in our direction. i immediately took my foot off the gas and in that same moment i said out loud "dennis, the exit is up and over that hill a mile ahead and i CAN make it" and before i finished my sentence, dennis was already saying "GOOOO!" . so i punch it! the CHP cruiser takes off with his lights on, only he's going 0mph when he starts and i'm already doing 100+ , plus, he is getting on the freeway right when all the cars i JUST weaved through are passing.

so, 20 seconds later we are up and over this hill and the exit is RIGHT there, so i take the exit faster than i ever have before, run through the stop sign at the bottom, and turn right which goes toward this country club and "the jump" . now, i've jumped this thing a dozen times in rental cars and other friends trucks(and cars) so i know what i'm doing. BUT, in the heat of everthing happening i'm not thinking too smart either.

i hit this jump (just like your diagram) at 65mph, which launches my car so perfectly and smoothly. we must have jumped a good 30~+ feet or so. well, my front end did not come down because of the speed i was going. had i been going slower, my front end would have come down and WHAM! (experience from jumping in other cars). the car lands perfectly level, but because of the weight, it still hits the pavement but not very hard at all. we get to the next street and i'm totally gone and hidden from this cop.

the ONLY damage done to my car was my brand new two week old headers have a slight dent/scratches at the "curve" section before the CAT. (i can post pics to prove this). and my driver side tow hook in the front is totally bent. oh, and my crossmember is scratched up from hitting the pavement.

my friend that was with me, dennis, tells this story to everybody he knows. it's his favorite story of all time.

i've told it to some people, and shown some of the CL club guys my damaged headers. i've even told alot of people about the jump and my experience in rental cars and what i've done to them

anywho, that's my long ass story

 

Don't fly the CLS too far as it is NOSE HEAVY! Something absurd like 64 front 36 rear. In flight the nose will drop long before the rear will.

 

Unless of course you put the car a in vacuum right?


Sorry to hear your bad luck. Hopefully it was not as bad as you said, sometimes our minds make details of height/distance out to be greater than what they actually are in a panic situation.

If 6-8 feet is accurate, your car is definetly damaged. And it wouldn't be driving straight. You would have also most likely have blown the struts. And the car most definetly bottomed out, and you wouldn't have missed that wonderful sound. Trust me, I've never done it in this vehicle before. But I have done it in others intentionally. Getting 6-8' in a car is damb hard.

good luck

 

i love the highly technical diagram!!
Scalbet, could you please explain it to us!!

 

damn typesdragon, your crazy

 

TypeSDragon, sounds just like my episode, took the off ramp once I saw the cop comming up fast, forgot that there was a little launch pad at the end of the ramp and hit it at probally close to 65

 

the pics of the slight damage under my car

http://www.f20c.com/albums/albun29/aaf.jpg
http://www.f20c.com/albums/albun29/aag.jpg
http://www.f20c.com/albums/albun29/aah.jpg
http://www.f20c.com/albums/albun29/aai.jpg
http://www.f20c.com/albums/albun29/aaj.jpg


the tow hook pic is blurry tho :o

 

WOW…..

You’re lucky those weren’t OBX headers or it would’ve rubbed right through the sidewall and broke all the welds.

Shawn S

 

 

Typesdragoon...that story kicks @ss. Funny as hell but damn was that stupid (as you probably know).

Glad you didn't kill anyone, glad the cop didn't get you, and glad the CL came out of it okay.

 

Bring this old topic back up....

Here I am months later and I finally look under the car after it's on jackstands (I'm originally checkin out my CAI filter) when I notice 1/2mm deep scratches on the part of the bumper underneath the car. I move back further and notice same size scratches in my HEADERs (Stock ones). I guess our stock headers are pretty thick becuase the scratches are pretty deep for being in headers, but there is no hole or anything. The oil pan has a bit of scratching too. Lastly, on the bottom-most part of the car frame around the engine bay section has some scratches and what seems to be rust (orange).

I guess I'm getting the rath of the "Exciting" stunt. Another reason to get new Stone Headers Should I have to worry about the little rust in the frame?

 

If you guys are from so cali...theres going to be a meet at craig park on 4/5 at around 1 or 2. check the car talk to find out more.

 

typesdragon: your crazy man! hehe at least you evaded the cop lol

 

:P

 

sorry, i didn't meant to steal your thunder

i saw the pic of your jump and lauged my butt off. so i had to tell the story since it's somewhat similar to your experience. :P

 

It's chill man. I just hope none of the damage will cause me probs in the future!

It's weird how similar our damage is (all in same spots!)

 

yeah

i'm just glad that my front end didn't come down like "rental cars" have when i've jumped it

if i was going less than 60~mph my front end probably would have come down.