Low clearance and angled driveways

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Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2004
Posts
10,829
Location
Kent
Hello motors chaps,

I'll let you know now, this is not going to be the most exciting thread you've read this year (what were you expecting? :p). Im wondering if anyone here has had any trouble with a driveway with low ground clearance and found a good way to combat it?

Myself and my girlfriend are looking at a house and one of the big plus points for me was a driveway and a garage for the car. Tonight was the first time I'd driven there in the GT86. The driveway is annoying in that is slopes down at quite an angle from the footpath.

Turned up, pulled straight onto the drive and clang! Gave my exhaust a quick polish.

I did try again with just me in the car and the car did scrape the high point at the apex of footpath/kerb, but this time, going much more slowly and with only one person, it just scraped the undertray very slightly - you could hear it was just the fibreglass under panels, nothing serious.

This is still pretty irritating however. I was really hoping to be able to use the driveway and possibly the garage (although it's very narrow) to park the Toyota, then leave the old Xtrail on the road. But I'd rather not go scraping the car each time I use the drive, or spending 10 minutes crawling over the footpath to get out.

The best solution I can think of is to buy some thick heavy duty rubber stable matting and place it on the drive. It's only 18mm thick or so, but it would probably be enough to lift the rear wheels enough to keep the car clear (and if not, it could be layered). Does anyone else have a similar problem that they've overcome in a different way?

The car is completely stock by the way, and this is the first time clearance has ever been a problem.
 
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My MX5 doesn't scrape on my drive, but it does when going over the dropped kerb onto the works car park. It looks laughably shallow but it slopes on either side....just slightly scrapes in the middle of the car. I find it only scrapes if I go straight over it...if I go at an angle its okay. The slower the better as well! Front/rear clearance is never an issue although it is low, but its the middle of the car that is lowest.

It doesn't scrape anywhere else that I've dared take it though - and it did it worse before I went for coilovers, the lowering springs were softer than what I have now, and it would scrape in the middle just behind the front wheels when going over speed bumps as it 'dropped' down over the top of them. At some point I may have to park on a multi-storey car park, not sure how that will work, its the top of the ramps that worry me :/

Random side on pic here to demonstrate lows... :p

ziIdqwN.jpg
 
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If I still had my MX5 I would probably have bottomed out and been left teetering on the footpath :p

The problem is, this drive is shared with the house next door, so it might not always be possible to drive on at an angle (and it might annoy the neighbours if I keep driving over their half - something I'd like to avoid living in my first house). This also means permanent alterations to the drive are probably out.

Here's a screenshot from Streetview of what I'm talking about. It probably looks shallower than it is (the drive is the one with the silver Astra parked on it):

driveway_zps717e583f.png
 
That slope will help flood your garage nicely, no? :p

Its that sort of rise that my car struggles with and makes it scrape in the middle. General speed bumps are fine so long as I go slowly.
 
There's a drainage channel along the front of the garages at the foot of the drive.

I'm thinking some of this on the drive might be enough to lift the rear wheels at inch or so and give some more clearance.
 
My Capri wouldn't go down my dads driveway so we had to concrete where the lawn used to be so I could park at an angle because it scraped in the middle.

I used to keep a pair of large wooden blocks at the side of the house in case I wanted to get it down the main driveway to work on it.
 
Iamzod said:
My Capri wouldn't go down my dads driveway so we had to concrete where the lawn used to be so I could park at an angle because it scraped in the middle.

I used to keep a pair of large wooden blocks at the side of the house in case I wanted to get it down the main driveway to work on it.
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This would do the trick but I want something I can leave in place....I'd really rather keep the GT86 on the drive.

A bit more digging has turned up these. Placed at the point where the rear wheels are when the car is about to bottom out should lift the car enough to give it clearance over the apex. Might also serve a double purpose as wheel chocks if the car is parked and the handbrake fails :p
 
Those sorts of things should do the trick, you'll just need to strategically place them and hope nobody fancies nicking one for a laugh.

Alternatives are some bits of wood or even small blocks, again placed at the right point and a bit less aesthetically acceptable.

My problem isn't the drive but the speedbumps in our estate, where the "bump" part curves in wards on the incline/decline. Both the e46 and now fn2 are impossible to get over without at least slightly scuffing the splitter on the front.

Were probably fine when the things were first put in place but have now worn a little and become more extreme. I wouldn't mind if the jacked up pseudo 4wd's that populate the roads now couldn't still barrel over them ( usually then sitting impatiently behind me whilst I crawl over), rendering the things fairly useless
 
I have the same issue getting on and off my drive in my mx5. If you go at it straight it will catch, however going on at an angle and it's absolutely fine. If you still catch going on at an angle you could always get the council to drop the path more to reduce the angle where it meets the drive.
 
Try backing on?

If I drive on my driveway the front scrapes everytime, but reversing on it's fine :)
 
Reverse on from an angle, almost as if you are parallel parking. I wouldn't have thought your neighbours would care as long as you didn't hit their car.
 
Try entering both backwards and forwards, I scrape the splitter on my roads entrance ramp if going forwards but not backwards, also entering at a 45 degree angle prevents it from scraping as the wheel touches the ramp before the splitter.
 
anticonscience said:
Are you buying this or renting?
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godinman said:
Hire a jackhammer for a day and get a few bags of postcrete.
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TheyCallMeAndy said:
Im not being funny, but get a quote on how much it would cost to level the drive :)
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I'm buying and as it's my first house, it's likely that I will move again in a few years time if I can. So I'm trying to avoid making alterations to the drive. Besides, it's likely to be very expensive, as it would involve levelling the council's footpath, and the drive is kind of shared so would need the neighbours on board.

Phate said:
Try backing on?

If I drive on my driveway the front scrapes everytime, but reversing on it's fine :)
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shauncr91 said:
Try entering both backwards and forwards, I scrape the splitter on my roads entrance ramp if going forwards but not backwards, also entering at a 45 degree angle prevents it from scraping as the wheel touches the ramp before the splitter.
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It doesn't matter whether I'm going forwards or backwards because it's not the splitter that's catching. It's the centre of the car bottoming out that's the problem.

This is why I'm thinking laying something on the drive itself, some heavy duty rubber mat perhaps with something underneath, should do the trick. Should keep the rear wheels a couple of inches higher until the fronts have mounted the high point of the footpath.
 
I know rg-tom had some ramps for his driveway at a previous address. Might be worth investing in a set? they could temporarily raise it enough?
 
Conscript said:
Does he still post on this forum? I've not seen his name for ages.
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He still has an account here yeah, although his situation was different to yours (can see photos now I'm not at work)

Hmmm, I'd look into something shaped like an upside-down V to be honest, made out of stainless steel so it doesn't rust, low to the ground and on the downward slope.

So as your car goes over it the front is raised slightly as the middle of the car pivots over giving you extra clearance.
 
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