Automatic Height Adjustment

[NA_Goodness]

Hey guys,

My driveway has a bitch of a curb. My car looks like a 4WD at the moment, and it still only has a few cm of clearance when I'm pulling in. Add an aftermarket bodykit and lowered suspension, and I'll have to park on the street, something I really want to avoid.

I've talked to a Suspension speciallist, and they told me that airbags will not fit on the skyline because there is not enough room up the front. My question is, what else can I use to raise the height of my car while still retaining a car that handles as if it was on rails?

Thanks,

Rhys

[Basti]

use blocks of wood as ramps. should solve your driveway problem. bit of a pita setting them up everytime u wanna use ur driveway tho

[NA_Goodness]

Yeah, i was thinking making myself some car ramps, but it'd be a little annoying to have to set them up everytime. Or just move house. There is a cheap alternative...

[Cain]

i just put up with the scraping..

[adam-__-]

I know how you feel mate. My driveway would have to be the worst for a car enthusiast. I live on a main road and there wouldn't be any chance of using ramps.

Just adapt to your drive way. My car's pretty low, but I can still manage to get out. Just experiment with the ways you can go out of your drive way. At the moment, I'm reversing out at the maximum angle my drive way will let me and making my rear wheel go over the curb so that it clears the lowest section of the road/driveway. Doesn't make any sense. hahaha. You'll understand when you see it though. I'll try and get a picture up of how I get out of my driveway.

[NA_Goodness]

Kinda makes sense adam. I was always going to go out on an angle, cos its a wide street and very quiet, take up as much of the road as i need. A picture would be really helpful if u've got one. Now I just have to afford the coilovers...

[adam-__-]

Here are some pictures of my driveway. As you'll see, its bloody stupid, but I can still manage to get out okay. There's also a picture of how low my car is. Only sometimes would it scratch the fuel tank.

Is your driveway as bad as mine?

I use the curb to get my car over the lowest part of my way out.

Here's how low my car is..

[NA_Goodness]

Yeh, that is very bad!! Mine isn't a square like that, but it is still steep. More like a crazy triangle. and it's the same all along my side of the street, but the otherside is fine. Kinda weird, here is a photo of it. It looks decieving, but that may be because I am so used to it, only curb I've had!

[NA_Goodness]

Ok then, it wont let me. Bugger! Stupid thing, won't let me post pictures. The picture is http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/gallery-image65980.html

[NA_Goodness]

Hope this one works!

[NA_Goodness]

YAY!! There you go. It doesn't look like much, but it will definately scrape when lowered with a body kit. So, I could come out sidewards, that might help a bit. Or park on the street, but I don't want that!! I won't even park in the private carpark at work, someone might scratch it!! I park out the back now, next to a written off VL Commodore. Makes my car look so much better!

[adam-__-]

I would swap drive ways any day of the week! The lowest you can go legally is 100mm from the floor, but sometimes, people go to about 80mm ground clearance. I reckon you can get up that pretty easy. Just go up/down at a really sharp angle. So much that it looks like you're parallel parking. haha. No really, your driveway isn't that bad. Take up as much room as you can by driving on an angle.

Once your two front wheels get on the driveway, you should be able to straighten up and it should be fine.

[some_cs_student]

Front is normally much lower than the back so get someone else out there with you and practice the angle. Take it really gentle until you have one front wheel and one rear wheel up on it. My driveway looks much steeper than that, I take 3-4 turns and drive up the nature strip to make it in .

Someone has made it in once without scraping it with 1 or 2 turns, I've never been able to repeat it without scratching my front bar.

And I'm 11.5 or 12.5cm off the ground (roughly) on the front bar and you have to use angle at some petrol stations to get in.

If you go below 10cm at any point its a defect so I'd be careful, that and you will have so much trouble at some peterol stations and other places that you will fear all driveways/speedhumps

Personally I reverse in but I think your driveway might be easier going forwards.

[NA_Goodness]

yeh, i reverse in as well. But I can drive up onto the neighbours verge and reverse in. My aim is about 100mm (or 10mm :-)!!) at the kit. I'll try practising my angles, and my verge and my neighbours verge are all paved, so I can take up as much room as I could. I hate speed bumps as it is, and try to avoid them as much as possible. Just have to avoid places like Hillaries, where you can't go around the bumps. I'd prefer to have some sort of height adjustment, but oh well, you get that!

[BRUNSKIGTST]

lol get hydrolic suspension ahhahahahahhahha and bounce away like a pimp :P or just get a quote from a concreter to redo your drive just how you want it prolly cheaper than hydrolic and air bag suspension LOLZ

[Cain]

my drive way is much worse. ill get a pic tomorrow. i hit my freaking GATE STOP *electric gates* and going up my driveway into my shed i hit the concrete slab

[Eug]

that driveway is a piece of cake Rhys. i've seen steeper speed bumps.

even stupidly low cars could take that on. take it on an angle, no dramas

[DECIM8]

OMG you guys are pussys, Try driving up an mountain to get to ur garage.. No bullshit my drive way it about a 45 degree angle.

Tein once made adjustable height coilovers adjustable in car which raise and lower on a button, $4,000 tho.. Thats what I need, your just crying about nothing

Edited February 1, 2008 by DECIM8

[adam-__-]

Yeah, from what I've seen my driveway's pretty bad, but I still manage to get up fine. Sometimes it would scratch, but with practice, it all works out. The worst part about my driveway isn't the driveway itself, but the road, gutter then driveway... if you know what I mean. It goes into a little 'ditch' which it scratches everything. That's why I use the curb to get around that.

[n15m0]

Beat this for a driveway from hell

I've lowered the car since and it just touches the driveway before my tyres hit the driveway...all good with 0.000001mm clearance