Lowering Car/Getting Down Driveway??

[`redoctober]

Hey guys, I'm really interested in lowering the Calais just a bit so it sits a little lower than 4WD mode.

The only problem I have is my driveway, it is a steep decline and between the footpath and where the driveway starts there is a steep slope. With one passenger or more, the centre of the car scrapes on this point, even at stock height! With just me in it, I have at least 1cm of clearance from the bottom of the car to the peak of the driveway.

I want to lower my car but I need a way to get around this, what solutions are there (if any)? I know there's airbag kits but that's out of the question due to costs and the fact none have been developed yet.

I could try and modify part of my driveway so I could drive in on an angle, but even then I'm not sure how much clearance I would have or if it would even work.

So if there are any technical ways to get around this problem, please tell me!! :(

PS- Parking on the street is also out of the question, I live on a busy road.

Cheers,
-Rob.

[Evman]

Airbags :)

[`redoctober]

I know there's airbag kits but that's out of the question due to costs and the fact none have been developed yet.

:lol:

Thanks though mate :)

[Evman]

:lol: Sorry, missed that bit! Bit cheaper than having work done on the driveway though

[UTESRULE]

like u said modifi ur drive depending how steep in goes down from the point get a concrete sander and sand it down

[RIDE:42]

a good run up will get you in the drive

[surfwagon]

Its either spend the money on airbags or the driveway, no cheap way around this one.

[Clubby317]

Sounds like your in a real spot of bother. Buy a new place with a flat driveway:)

[Hos]

Hey guys, I'm really interested in lowering the Calais just a bit so it sits a little lower than 4WD mode.

The only problem I have is my driveway, it is a steep decline and between the footpath and where the driveway starts there is a steep slope. With one passenger or more, the centre of the car scrapes on this point, even at stock height! With just me in it, I have at least 1cm of clearance from the bottom of the car to the peak of the driveway.

I want to lower my car but I need a way to get around this, what solutions are there (if any)? I know there's airbag kits but that's out of the question due to costs and the fact none have been developed yet.

I could try and modify part of my driveway so I could drive in on an angle, but even then I'm not sure how much clearance I would have or if it would even work.

So if there are any technical ways to get around this problem, please tell me!! :(

PS- Parking on the street is also out of the question, I live on a busy road.

Cheers,
-Rob.

i have the same problem with my ute, but driving a lil' truck pisses me off so i'm gonna lower it then alter my driveway, hire a bobcat, bit of concrete, hopefully job done!

does your driveway/footpath slope up from kerb or down?

could you tell council its a tripping hazard if itd ridiculously steep?

[TommyVTss]

Move out ?

[The Cook]

i have a mate with a pretty step driveway, and we solved the problem by getting someone to look at where your botteming out, and then look at the angles for instance if you come in strait on then you know that your going to bottem out, but we found that by making the entrence wider at the start allows for you to get a grater angle to approach on and this allows you to get down the drive with mimum or no scraping at all,

[max350]

I have a similar problem, with 18" rims I cant get my ute in or out of my driveway as it is lowered. 20" inch rims solved the problem and filled the guards nicely also.

[Bravotwozero]

like u said modifi ur drive depending how steep in goes down from the point get a concrete sander and sand it down

Except the problem is with the crossover and not his driveway which is a council asset. Start messing with that and the council will rip you a new one. :)

Why worry about the cost red? Isn't that what your parents are for? You could always just lower the car then complain to your shire that you can't gain access to your property. I mean that's what you pay rates for...

[LukeSV6UTE]

Coilovers might be your best option

[Knawful]

Steel ramp's to lessen the angle, theyre a potential trip hazard near pedestrian walkways though.
Work's for me at my brother's place.

[Ghosn]

I'm in the same dilemma as red. I want to lower my GTS, my driveway is pretty steep. But I can clear it with a few cms at the front. But I'm worried if I get it lowered, the car will then scrap. I contacted the council a few months ago with concerns about the driveway, they reviewed it, cleared it and then sent me a letter saying no action will take place.

My question is, if I lower my car within the legal limit, drive up my driveway and scrap my bumpers, would I have a case against the council?

[UTESRULE]

Except the problem is with the crossover and not his driveway which is a council asset. Start messing with that and the council will rip you a new one. :)

Why worry about the cost red? Isn't that what your parents are for? You could always just lower the car then complain to your shire that you can't gain access to your property. I mean that's what you pay rates for...

is that true cause i saw a bloke the other day sanding his whole driveway i suppose he might of got council permission

didnt no that

[BIGALROKS]

Park on the verge?

[XUV]

Its either spend the money on airbags or the driveway, no cheap way around this one.

yeah , exactly what do you want us to do for you .???

If you want low , dat's the price you pay .

Good luck at the macca's drive thru .
a
You could get your friends to wait on the street for you while you back out
and get out on the street while you drive in .

[`redoctober]

Except the problem is with the crossover and not his driveway which is a council asset. Start messing with that and the council will rip you a new one. :)

Why worry about the cost red? Isn't that what your parents are for? You could always just lower the car then complain to your shire that you can't gain access to your property. I mean that's what you pay rates for...

Correct! The problem is with the footpath being the peak. We've ground the tip of the driveway down but we can't modify the footpath, that's the biggest concern. I don't think the council would be too responsive in fixing the footpath for us, it's not within their best interests.


Steel ramp's to lessen the angle, theyre a potential trip hazard near pedestrian walkways though.
Work's for me at my brother's place.

Steel ramps? Could you provide pics of what you're using exactly :) I want to see this, might be a pain every time I drive in the driveway though, but it could work.

[Lincoln87]

im in the same sorta boat too.

cept my cars front will scrape on the driveway coming in,and the rear bar will scrape the road.

a bit of 4x2 will fix all.

its fine atm not lowered. but i know she'll hit after.
so its about a 2inch drop. but the 4x2 will bring it up 2inches =)


not worried about other driveways and speed humps.. as i dont HAVE to go into these places. when its your home the car kinda does have to go in thedrive.



but as mentioned before, blocks, bricks or ramps are potenial trip hazzards and are illegal in NSW.



and i have also contemplated the sanding of my driveway to lower the angle.

[Knawful]

.....
Steel ramps? Could you provide pics of what you're using exactly :) I want to see this, might be a pain every time I drive in the driveway though, but it could work.

Not really, my brother lives in Adelaide and has no camera.
2x 3 foot length's of 1/2" plate

Scuse the rough pic and scale lol.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc322/Knawful/rampex.jpg

[sjhugh]

If modification to the driveway is your preferred option than it’s not as hard as you may think regardless of how steep the driveway may be. When I was in my 20’s I used to teach young Engineers how to design laybacks and aprons for steep driveways to allow access for low vehicles such as Ferrari’s etc. You’d be amazed what can be achieved with some forethought and minor level adjustments. We used to break the back of the apron so to speak and instead of having a few changes of direction in the profile as is often the case as it’s easy for formwork, it would have many and a good concreter will then smooth it out and make it look like a seamless transition. There may also be the need to make changes to the street footpath to match the change in apron profile. The same principal can be done for the layback but may not be as successful as you do need to retain the height to allow water flow consistent with the gutter and not allow it to run back down the drive. You may need adjustment to the roadway which is not always possible depending on the road profile. Some Council’s will even offer to design driveways for you, at a cost of course.

If you wish to have a go at it yourself, what you first need to do is draw a template to scale of the undercarriage of your car. This is easily done. Make sure the vehicle is on a flat surface and then measure the dimensions both height and length from the front bar to your front wheels, front wheels to rear wheels, rear wheels to rear bar paying particular attention to any low points, exhaust, cross member, suspension components, tail pipes, diff etc and draw them in at their correct distance to scale. It’s the same as an Elevated View used in most construction plans. Once drawn, you can cut it out and you now have a scale template of your car. Remember the vehicle height will change depending on the number of passengers and the initial measurements must be taken with a driver in the car as a minimum. Air pressure in the tyres can also have an affect, as can fuel load and other items in the car. The next part will be easier if you have an Automatic Level to do the same for the driveway but if one’s not available some smarts to measure up the points of level change using string lines, a line level and a tape measure will achieve the same. If both are drawn to the same scale, you will be able to run your car template along the drawing of your driveway elevation and see where contact is made. Then you can play with theoretically cutting away sections of the driveway (or increasing its height if necessary) until the car passes over without coming in contact. A word of advice, it usually doesn’t take much of a cutaway to make a difference, a big cutaway will only move the problem further along the driveway, so think about what you are doing and it will eventually fall into place. The next step is to finance the work.

I hope what I’ve written is understandable, it not a hard thing in practice.

Note: Most Council’s will allow modification to their footpaths within reason at your expense. Also when measuring the driveway, start from the middle of the road and end inside your garage or parking area.

[Bravotwozero]

Not really, my brother lives in Adelaide and has no camera.
2x 3 foot length's of 1/2" plate

Scuse the rough pic and scale lol.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc322/Knawful/rampex.jpg

Red's driveway slopes down, not up. So basically unless the crossover is modified he can't do anything.

[`redoctober]

Sorry guys, the issue here is not with an upward angled driveway. My driveway is on a downward angle.

This is the driveway setup:
http://i33.tinypic.com/10n5pqh.jpg

This is the issue when there's people in the car or if it's lowered:
http://i34.tinypic.com/14njupe.jpg

-Rob

[XUV]

go to the hire shop and get a concrete grinder ,
it's got an aggressive tungsten grinding bit .

Run it over the apex , take off an inch or 2 / 20mm - 50 mm .

[`redoctober]

go to the hire shop and get a concrete grinder ,
it's got an aggressive tungsten grinding bit .

Run it over the apex , take off an inch or 2 / 20mm - 50 mm .

We've already done that, any more and it's council property.

[XUV]

We've already done that, any more and it's council property.
Well then ,
have someone trip on it ,
and send a letter of impending court action if hazzard is not fixed .

[sjhugh]

Sorry guys, the issue here is not with an upward angled driveway. My driveway is on a downward angle.

This is the driveway setup:
http://i33.tinypic.com/10n5pqh.jpg

This is the issue when there's people in the car or if it's lowered:
http://i34.tinypic.com/14njupe.jpg

-Rob

First off, how much water runs along the footpath? The footpath when originally constructed would be graded to allow for the runoff to fall towards the kerb line and not the property. If water is not a problem then a simple grated drain will usually be accepted by Council. Secondly you’ll need to come back a couple of meters along either side of the footpath and change its profile to make an easy transition into the new apron. Again if you are not changing the direction of the stormwater runoff that can’t be caught by the grated drain the Council will usually allow such changes. The rest of the design is easy. When presenting your case to Council, if you say it’s because you want to lower your car then you’ve wasted your time. Tell them you want to buy a Lamborghini or something suitably low.

[Knawful]

Sorry, my mistake, should've read the op better.

[sjhugh]

The other alternative where only internal work is required, is not to chip away at it but instead, add material to achieve a better roll over. This will depend on how much internal space you have.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn249/sjhugh/14njupea.jpg

[Ron SS]

Agree entirely, the best way would be to raise the driveway, but do it in ramps, hence not raising the driveway all the way across. Hence the front wheels are raised a bit as the crucial part (near the gearbox) passes over the footpath edge. A scale drawing is best to play with, as suggested previously. Same problem exists when trying to load a car onto a trailer ... the centre bit catches, hence raising the ramps will help. You could experiment with two bits of wood planks to get the size right.

[SSDVL!]

Sorry, my mistake, should've read the op better.

Yeah but as Knawful said earlier, if the problem was an upward sloped driveway, than a steel plate bout 8mm or more thick and hardward underneath for support would do the trick. Some councils require you seek permission first, but than again play the dumb card, "its was there when i moved in". i have at least 16mths b4 my place is built and i leave, so for $80 compared to a new exhaust system its worth it.

cheers ed

As above you could try the same set up as what builders use across driveways, best way to describe it is like bed slats held together with rope, hope that makes sense