Fix for too steep of a driveway.

Dig out the steep angle to adjust it? Will probably need some steps or such put on the sides.

 

You could consider what I think you were getting at; pave a widening of the driveway so it will have more frontage. This will allow you to attack the driveway at an angle.

Yes, climbing the hill to approach the driveway and entering it on an angle (seen from above) will reduce the "approach angle" as it's called in the offroad world.

I still might invest in some skid plates if you buy the house. I recall some vendors selling them within the past few years, but I don't remember who.

 

What about an aftermarket hydraulic suspension? Is there a way to raise the front nose without compromising the handling? I think Edo Competion did that with the Carrera GT.
Just a thought

When you do fix the problem of bottoming out, then there is an extra clutch wear issue. Having these nice high end sports cars sometimes requires us to compromise.

 

Skidplates give you even less clearance and will cause more damage when you hit something hard thinking you are "protected."

Solve it with minimal paving, your angle of approach, and how fast you transition onto the driveway.

Don't worry about scrapes on the underside. They do not hurt the value and most of the cars have them.

And if it is a F1 car... Don't try to do it in reverse...

 

Good points. A cheap idea might be to strategically place boards(2 x 6's) to lift up the front of the car high enough. You can mark the location of them so there's no guess work. Between that and approach angle you should be fine? It depends on how often you drive the car as you'll have to lay them out each time?

 

Have you given the Driveway Bridge from Griots any thought??

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/curb+bridge.do?sortby=ourPicks

 

Pictures?

 

Apart from filling and paving, you could trade it on a car with better clearance (e.g., 911) or a nose that raises (e.g., Gallardo).

Of course those are all expensive options.

I think the temporary fixes like boards and ramps are going to get annoying pretty quickly. I've passed on a house or two because of the driveway angle.

 

I've asked this before but no one has responded. When approaching a steep incline do you keep the wheels parallel to the vehicle or angled out of the wheel wells?

 

If you get skid plates added to your car, you might want to try the nylon (plastic) ones. They flex a bit and it seems to help. None will help if you hit the nose hard.

As far as the driveway is concerned, without seeing it I'd say some permanent fill to adjust the initial entrance/exit transition angle should help.

Check with a local paving company. They should be able to give you an estimate and could also advise if there are any zoning issues related to driveway entrance modifications.

 

I think redoing the driveway would be the best, permanent solution.

Aftermarket, Vivid Racing, a sponsor on Fchat has some front lifters for sale:

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/variant-coilovers-whls-front-lift-system-ferrari-modena-spider-9905-p-144465.html

The price is steep, but so is your driveway. At $11k, the driveway issue may be fixed, but there are lots of steep entrances that even my Accord can scrape. So, the lifter may be something that would be worth looking into.

 

If a front lift is all you seek, it can be done for far less than 11k (which includes full coilovers, so it's kinda apples to oranges)

http://www.ramliftpro.com/

BTW I used several bags of asphalt patch to smooth the transition into my old driveway.

 

I cant see how that helps.

What does work is to approach a dip in the drive at an angle.

 

Well, on first analysis it would be better to keep the wheels straight so they have a better envelope to compress into. Having the wheel turned so it can hit the bottom of the fender isn't desirable. Theoretically, you could try to turn the wheels to take advantage of suspension geometry changes, but I'm fairly confident you'd never come out ahead relative to keeping the wheels straight.

 

i have the same problem on my drive entrance---as to adding something to bridge gap etc etc --BTW (the local street/road dept is very unfriendly towards it around here(mid south) any thing altering or restricting drainage flow will be removed if you don't and a unpleasant note also arrives)--I have the very best luck coming in at an angle(basically putting 1 wheel at a time on driveway) then straightening out after both fronts are on the drive---still have whacked it pretty good more often than i like to think about---the area in front of the drive where you turn in really is the most important to me---my friends place has exact same entrance except mine is from cove and his from street---just can't do it at his place--can't get enough of an angle

 

Griot's driveway bridge and skid plates work great!