2004 Ground Clearance
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 15,116
Likes: 283
From: Salt Lake City Utah
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (stock)
2004 Ground Clearance
My new 2004 coupe seems to have less ground clearance than the C3 or C4. What's the best way to protect the nose and air dams?
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,080
Likes: 24,732
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
You can get the little wheels that bolt onto the front of the radiator support bars. The air dams are pretty flexible and scraping pretty much comes with the territory - they are relatively inexpensive to replace.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,050
Likes: 1
From: Los Angeles CA
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 36,838
Likes: 438
From: Manassas Park VA
St. Jude Donor '07-'08,-'13-'14, '16-'17
FattDaddy for the front of the car and Rocker Skid Plates for the sides if needed.
Peace
Chip
__________________
..................Click for
..................Click for
Racer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 388
Likes: 0
From: Effingham IL
crawl under front and feel how flexable it is, unless you drive it like truck
you will be fine. I dont even use the rollers I still beleve they do more harm than good. If you incounter a ramp going to a parking lot Take out the steep angel by going at it at a angel not nose diving in.
you will be fine. I dont even use the rollers I still beleve they do more harm than good. If you incounter a ramp going to a parking lot Take out the steep angel by going at it at a angel not nose diving in.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,469
Likes: 1,056
From: Chester County Pennsylvania
2025 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2025 Corvette of the Year Finalist - Modified
2024 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
2020 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
crawl under front and feel how flexable it is, unless you drive it like truck
you will be fine. I dont even use the rollers I still beleve they do more harm than good. If you incounter a ramp going to a parking lot Take out the steep angel by going at it at a angel not nose diving in.
you will be fine. I dont even use the rollers I still beleve they do more harm than good. If you incounter a ramp going to a parking lot Take out the steep angel by going at it at a angel not nose diving in.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,058
Likes: 99
From: Southeast, Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
personally, i don't like the "wheel" solution as you need to drill a hole through (side to side) the supports (probably weakening them a bit) to mount them and they can be seen under the car when looking at it head on from a bit back. they make a skid plate that can be mounted over the rails (on the bottoms) that absorb any scrapes and are as easily replaced and installed as the "wheels". the bottom line is that if you hit the front hard enough, nothing is really going to save you as you will probably bend or break the "axles" that mount the wheels and you'll destroy the skid plates and probably damage the rails also. both methods are designed to mitigate a mild bottoming neither will protect you against hitting the driveway exit a bit too hard, lol!
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 12,899
Likes: 1
From: Denver Colorado
personally, i don't like the "wheel" solution as you need to drill a hole through (side to side) the supports (probably weakening them a bit) to mount them and they can be seen under the car when looking at it head on from a bit back. they make a skid plate that can be mounted over the rails (on the bottoms) that absorb any scrapes and are as easily replaced and installed as the "wheels". the bottom line is that if you hit the front hard enough, nothing is really going to save you as you will probably bend or break the "axles" that mount the wheels and you'll destroy the skid plates and probably damage the rails also. both methods are designed to mitigate a mild bottoming neither will protect you against hitting the driveway exit a bit too hard, lol!
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 15,116
Likes: 283
From: Salt Lake City Utah
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (stock)
Thx everyone, much appreciated. The problem is I get used to where the C3 or C4 can go and I assume the C5 can go there as well. Sounds like I'm the problem
