winkyyy

I don't know whether this should be placed in suspension forum or not, but I just installed my coilovers currently tucking all my wheels right now. Love the look, but I scrape on 90% of driveways even when I go sideways. How the hell do some of you guys manage to get up and down these things without scraping? I know a lot of you guys are lower than me too.

DMZ

Now you know why I never got the ASpec suspension. With the condition of the roads here in the NYC area, lowering the car is the LAST thing I want to do. The more you lower it, the more susceptible to damage you become.
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WRXtranceformed

I scrape on stock suspension height with my TL-S on some people's driveways. I've even scraped the tips of my tailpipes Having driven / owned super slammed cars it's all about pulling diagonal and slow out of driveways. If you're scraping on speed bumps the only way to avoid it is to avoid them altogether. Keep your eyes open in parking lots, etc.

murph145

gota love it!!!

the best is when i come out of my work driveway sideways and 1 of my tires is off the ground cuz the suspension cant travel that far haha

just go slow u get used to it

jwr0ng626

iTrader: (1)

yea i started scraping places i normally didnt.. my driveway is probably the 2nd most deadliest slope ever... (1st being Mt. Everest)

hahah jk but anyways, the first scrape is the most painful.... u'll get use to it. Theres just some angles we can't avoid no matter how sideways we get

murph145

^ yea and typically all u r scraping is the black plastic valence thingy so no biggy its a warning sound in my opinion!

i just have to go slow over steep speed bumps since my mud flaps like to catch them

It's Clutch

iTrader: (6)

Just wait til you go over speedbumps! Like the others said, you'll get used to it.

You got to pay to play.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

just gotta avoid the places you know you will scrape (or go around)(or park on the street instead of going into the driveway)
or deal with a little bit of scrapeage, and personally as long as it is not major scrapeage, you should be perfectly fine, it's just cosmetic (and basically everything is on the underside even then)(you should see how scraped up my bumper is on the bottom LMFAO, and i still sit f@cking high; not tucking at all)

winkyyy

I actually scrap my Aspec and the plastic piece. I guess I'll just get used to it. I always thought those of you with completely slammed cars still manage to get in n out of most driveways without scaping.

Dougboy

What are you scraping?

The aspec kit is never an issue for me. Whoever designed the kit sacrificed looks for practicality hence why its so difficult for a TL to look "low" compared to other cars even when slammed. Its always the subframe rails and J-pipe that scrapes. I do have some scrapes on the underside of the A-Spec lip but its not really visible. Its always the underside of the car bottoming out. The rear has never been an issue

And i guess it just comes down to knowing your surroundings. Knowing where you can and cant go and making sacrifices... similar to why women wear heels

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

if you go slow enough with enough of an angle, you can avoid most of the scrapping, but scrapping is almost a part of lowering it especially for a daily driver (and shit i still fit over curb stops with mine , barely though)

but then again i drive my car like i stole it at times (advantage of not going too low )

winkyyy

I'm scraping the A-Spec, haven't scraped Subframe or J-pipe yet...Knock on wood though.

Damn lol. At stock height for me I rarely scrapped on anything. I go very slow, I just can't get the angling right. Now when I back out of my driveway, I back out onto the opposite side of the road then go into the correct direction. Other drivers must thing I'm an idiot.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

and i mean like i stole it, when i get 15 mpg too...



and you have learned to recognize low oil, when your vtec does not kick in like it should )(6k redline)(iburning like 2 quarts of oil every couple of weeks)

Elegant TYPE S

iTrader: (2)

This pretty much sums it all.

BTW... I scrape my side skirts ....even when i go side ways... pretty fuked.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

The only way I can get into my driveway without scraping my downpipe is backing in LOL. Pulling head in is very bad but pulling out head first is fine

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

The only way to fix it is go lower

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

forget scraping! start sliding!

VQPower37

damn, mine is stock height and i still scrape occasionally, but on very steep driveways, i have noticed if i back in there is lower chance of scraping

I hate cars

The TL has a relatively long from overhang compared to some cars. This makes a huge difference especially when it's lowered. I've driven a lowered car my whole life with an even longer overhang so the TL was pretty easy to learn.

I see guys starting their angle when going up or down a driveway too soon. You should wait till you're a few feet away and then really crank the wheel to full lock. Starting to angle the car too far away feels like you're doing good but if you pay attention you're not angled that much. Turning at the last minute usually means a better angle.

Speed bumps are a little harder. The biggest thing is to take them slow. If you can take suspension compression out of the equation you would be surprised how much less it will scrape. Good shocks are a big part of this. Taking speed bumps at a slight angle will bring the front swaybar into play, stiffening the suspension slightly. Some cars are just lower than the speed bump. Not a whole lot you can do but add some magnesium scrape plates so it looks cool when you do it lol.

Last, don't worry about scraping the splash guard underneath. That's one of it's functions, to tell you when you're getting close to scraping something more valuable. They're very tough and cheap, basically made for scraping.

winkyyy

Ironically, I am gonna do that. My rears are a little bit lower than my front. Gotta lower the front to even out.


Thanks I'll try angling a little bit later. Hopefully I get this down ASAP before anymore damage is done to the front lip.

I wonder where I can get some of these magnesium scrape plates. lol.

I hate cars

They used to use them on the lowrider trucks. Probably not pure magnesium but they spark a lot.

Just remember the reason for cutting the wheel later is that you can angle the car more without going off track or into oncoming traffic.

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

I've seen too much of that junk. I have an old friend who uses titanium on his little c-notched Mazda B2200. Not my cup of tea but I have a ton of videos of him somewhere hitting switches on the streets and it looks like the 4th of July. I used to get paid good money to trailer that thing to car shows

I hate cars

Yeah, definately not my thing either. I've seen those guys go through an intersection literally skating on the skidplates with little to no directional control from the tires.

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

They have no control over steering when they're laid out, hell 9 out of 10 have the front fender well tops cut out as much as possible. I remember him slamming it in the driveway as he was backing out.. compressor failed and wouldn't air back up. Luckily, he was still head-on with the garage lol

Idiots. There are a few around here that are DD'd

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

I agree with this. I think when many people think their car is "bottoming out", its actually just that plastic piece hitting. I still try to avoid it, but I usually scrape it when pulling out of my driveway in the morning. And that's on stock suspension.

greco9885

iTrader: (1)

if you feel it is too steep, dont go that way, or find a different way. every shopping center has a few different entrances.

lowered 2" on the fronts, 1.5" on the rear. never had a problem driving in the city, just pay attention and your fine

winkyyy

Still trying to get the hang of this. Still scrape here and there but it doesn't really bother me as much anymore knowing my aspec has already been scratched already. But hopefully I can get this whole lowered car thing down. I don't want my bumper popping off like what happened to my cousins accord.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

some of that is also making sure ALL the clips are in the bumper, so it does not pop off easily, but anyhow as long as they are all in, you are going to know when it is going to pop off cause you are going to hear ALOT of scraping going on


but yeah some of it is also devirginizing the bumper with scrapes, so you are not as worry about it

Italiano

mine is dropped about 2 inches and a half. i scrape backing out of the driveway.
still trying to get the angle right I rub like hell when i turn. the front fenders are factory rolled to a extent. any body had problems rolling front fenders. theres a pretty thick piece at one point in the fender

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

where, it's basically all just thin sheet metal, mainly just cosmetic and aerodynamic, no real structural part to it


now the back quarter panels are a whole different story with being multi-layered metal and all

Italiano

my back ones were rolled and those were pretty thick at the back part of fender,the shop didnt want to mess with it too much because they didnt want to mess anything up

mrlal8

iTrader: (2)

im having this same problem just lowered my car and im scraping like crazy trying to get up my driveway...

the actual very bottom of my aspec part scrapes on the drive..should i just raise my car half an inch? I think I am dropped about 2 inches in the front. I cant go into my driveway forward because i think the whole bumper will just come off. I have to reverse in and I have not yet found the angle..I am scraping only the VERY bottom of my front 05 aspec lip. Does it really matter? I cant see it for shit i can only feel it if I put my hand underneath there

what do you guys suggest I do...raise the car half an inch or just suck it up and continue to scrape.

1islandparadise

It does take some getting use to. I let the wife drive my TL ONCE late at night on the highway because I bought a new car. I was following behind her on the highway and noticed some sparks everytime she hit a dip in the road. All I could think about is my ATLPs exhaust and my RV6 pipe I have under there....but it most def $$$ to play!

SDSilverM3

Depending on the driveway/obstacle, sometimes there's not much you can do but eat it (take the scrape). Most of the time, the scrapes to the front lip are hidden underneath and are only visible when you kneel down but one careless moment can definitely change that. It pretty much comes with the territory so unless you want to raise the car, there's not much you can do in certain situations.

What I began doing after owning one of the most impractical cars to drive around dumped (S2000; can we say fender rippage?) is to start planning your routes better and avoid the crazy driveways if possible using Google Street View. Inconvenient, yes, but not as inconvenient as spending $1500 to fix the damage. Don't ask how I know

jwr0ng626

iTrader: (1)

if it bothers u that much.... raise it up half an inch. I scrape coming down my driveway sometimes.... thats why I'm not lower than what I have it at now

1islandparadise

After scraping the black plastic all day yesterday going car shopping, I just noticed that Lambo's sit really low....






















.......and that I can still clear a tennis ball.....








.... and seriously speaking, it's all worth it!

SSM4DR

iTrader: (1)

OP the keys are: Having patience, practice, & avoid places where you know the roads aren't too good.

I myself at 1st thought that driving a lowered car would be hard. But after driving my old lowered car for a yr and a half, you get used to it. And with my TL, I can't wait until Spring so I can get the coilovers on lol.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

but awesome though in that you are low enough to throw sparks just going down the highway though...

there is sometimes a difference between lowered and slammed....



i am with you more with the lowered, cause i can still clear most everything i need too

djflex167

besides scraping, what would you do if you are driving in the highway or oneway street and there is cars right behind you therefore u can't back it up, and is raining like crazy, all over the sudden u see a huge puddle or flooded street and have CAI, being to low would you drive through it? try to back up even though u can't? oh wait there till it clears? lol...i'm asking because i heard a car that is to low that drives through a lot of water with a CAI can shut off? is this correct?

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

if deep enough yes, BUT you should not even be driving through it to begin with though, not just for the engine, but what about your interior (especially if you stop, or slow down enough, and it starts coming in)
or your brakes, and coating them with whatever is in that said water (probably a bit oily too [let alone for people in the northeast with their salt during the winter], from all the residue from cars and such that are on the steets)
or lets start pouring that shitty water into the transmission vent instead
or basically dunking electrical connections in water, and now they start corroding now

, basically what i am saying is that there are many more things to worry about, then just the engine sucking in a little water, that can cause many headaches down the road (the engine is normally just the most apparent at the time though)