Driveway survival for the super-low - any tricks?
 

I know you folks with air can easily raise your rides up for entry / egress, but are there any super-low members on coilovers or springs who have some tricks on getting in & out of your driveway? Anything solid you've built to help with that?

My wife is putting aero on the front of her car (which is already fairly low) and will only have a couple of inches clearance. We're getting a new ramp and bumpers for our enclosed car hauler to get the car into the trailer, but still not quite sure how we're going to get it out of the driveway without ripping the aero off the front.

Driveway has a 4 -5 inch swoopy dip getting out into the street. My old GS would drag unless I angled it coming in /out, and it was just somewhat low, not super-low or slammed.

Any ideas?

reverse with an angle almost to the point that you are parallel to the curb

get some wood

I'm thinking of getting coilovers, and ditching air, so any input here is appreciated! My driveway is is 2 times worse than that.

That's like the only driveway hump! Wood does the trick.

Thanks all. She'll have a BIG splitter on the bottom, sticking out 3" from the front of the car and running all the way back to the front axle, so we have more than a lip edge to deal with.

You think just a single 2 x 12 (1 1/2" thick, 11 1/4" wide) 6 - 8 feet long would work and hold up? Or possibly a 2 x 10 (1 1/2" thick, 9 1/4" wide) , would want to measure the gap.

Any way to keep it from scooting around? Attacking some fins on the backside with L brackets?

2x12 should do the trick.

to get into driveways, i hug the left side and angle crazy...

I've tried to wood method before but it got to be annoying after a while since it had to be put in in place each time its usage was neccessary. When i left it there permanently, it kept floating away during the rain because that part of the road is designed to drain the water.

No easy way other than taking it slow at an extreme angle.
I have the same sort of thing in front of my driveway. Got tired of it with my Megans and went to air suspension. I'd consider a cup kit if I were you.
I might go back to coilovers but this time with a cup kit myself.

how much does air usually run for an IS350

Her car only comes in / out maybe twice a month (one or two weekends a month during spring, summer, fall) so I'd be OK putting it out and picking it up when we pull the car in the trailer.

This is on a track car, so no go on air or cup kit (she's got JRZ suspension setup with 900 lb springs, full cage,etc). VIP cars have a similar profile in ride height to what she's going to have on her car - specifically in the front where her aero / splitter, etc are.

your driveway looks like my parents house...I remember that issue allll too well. :(

Nothing beats a couple pieces of wood :thumbup: throw it on the side of the trailor or in the garage. The car doesnt come out "often", so its not really a hassle to get wood


I took that into consideration when I built my house last year: 3% grade to my garage. It Raised the foundation a couple feet, but thats not a bad thing.:thumbup:

I would just call out a paving contractor and have them smooth out the driveway. You can't put wood out every time you want to enter the driveway, and leaving it there permanently will result in complaints from the homeowners association.

I'd never leave wood sitting out there, especially with the limited usage it would get.

The bump pictured is there for a reason - drainage. The same dip / edge goes all the way around the cul-de-sac I live on and I suspect if I tore it up I'd have an even bigger problem with the homeowner's association.

I'm still thinking it might be smart to have something rubberized or ribs or something on the back of the board for additional support and to keep it in place. I might trace out a couple pieces of wood and attach with L brackets, then plasti-dip em for traction.