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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 02:21 PM
  #1  
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Default Speed Bumps...

Hey gang, how do you guys handle speed bumps. when took tires off car couple weeks ago, I couldn't even fit jack under there without driving up on boards 1st. I cant imagine going over sped bump with front tires and wondering where the bump will hit as I move over center. (im picturing teetering on the speed bump as if on a teeter totter, lol).
do yous avoid them altogether (which is hard sometimes thru parking lots) or angle over them, other ???
Heck, driving on expressway and highways here in NY can be more of danger than conventional speed bumps, with the potholes, repairs, etc.
I almost want to not drive it, keep it in garage nice and clean and just look at it daily.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 02:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigbully
Hey gang, how do you guys handle speed bumps. when took tires off car couple weeks ago, I couldn't even fit jack under there without driving up on boards 1st. I cant imagine going over sped bump with front tires and wondering where the bump will hit as I move over center. (im picturing teetering on the speed bump as if on a teeter totter, lol).
do yous avoid them altogether (which is hard sometimes thru parking lots) or angle over them, other ???
Heck, driving on expressway and highways here in NY can be more of danger than conventional speed bumps, with the potholes, repairs, etc.
I almost want to not drive it, keep it in garage nice and clean and just look at it daily.
I go over them extremely slow.

Bob.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 03:31 PM
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Angled, still scrape the air dam a bunch. Not a big deal, designed to flex.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by calguy
I go over them extremely slow.

Bob.

that's a given, but after your front tires get over the bump, it doesn't scrape the bottom of the body through the middle?
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 03:33 PM
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The owners' VHS tape gives a recommendation on how to take speed bumps which is the method I use.

When you approach one slow down fairly slow, but right before you go over it accelerate slightly. This dips the rear of the car down and the front of the car up, raising the ride height up front slightly and allowing minimal to no scrape.

Remember also the air dams up front are designed to flex and they're cheap enough to replace (one of the cheaper replaced items for a C5). The center air dam is spring loaded and the side pieces flex when pushed.

Next time you have to remove your tires jack up the rear of the car in the center first and get it on stands. That allows you to get to the front sides and get each side up front in the air. It's the method I use when I do my yearly deep detail work.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 03:58 PM
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Do you have the car lowered at all? If so, that could be a major part of the problem. Mine is at stock height and I've not had any scraping problems with speed bumps. I guess there could be that occasional extra tall speed bump though.

I would just take the car at an angle to the speed bump and that should help you out.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Vetteman Jack
Do you have the car lowered at all? If so, that could be a major part of the problem. Mine is at stock height and I've not had any scraping problems with speed bumps. I guess there could be that occasional extra tall speed bump though.

I would just take the car at an angle to the speed bump and that should help you out.
car stock height, not lowered. i'll have to wait and see about the speed bumps. I know it was very very close when I had my Cobra, always worried about the side pipes..
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 04:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigbully
Hey gang, how do you guys handle speed bumps. when took tires off car couple weeks ago, I couldn't even fit jack under there without driving up on boards 1st. I cant imagine going over sped bump with front tires and wondering where the bump will hit as I move over center. (im picturing teetering on the speed bump as if on a teeter totter, lol).
do yous avoid them altogether (which is hard sometimes thru parking lots) or angle over them, other ???
Heck, driving on expressway and highways here in NY can be more of danger than conventional speed bumps, with the potholes, repairs, etc.
I almost want to not drive it, keep it in garage nice and clean and just look at it daily.
Hi neighbor ! I'm on LI , I go real slow over them no accel or brake and I don't hit em . I'm not lowered either . Getting out my driveway is worse !
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by msandym
Hi neighbor ! I'm on LI , I go real slow over them no accel or brake and I don't hit em . I'm not lowered either . Getting out my driveway is worse !
oh jeez, it's like driving on RR tracks sometimes trying to avoid these potholes, repairs that are elevated, etc in the roads, isn't it. not just side roads, but the LIE, Sunrise Hwy, Belt Prkwy, it's crazy.
all so people don't freak out in an inch of snow.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 05:37 PM
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Both of my C5s are lowered and both scrape (quite loudly) just going in and out of my driveway. It makes my neighbors look at me like I'm killing someone. As far as speed bumps, I try and take them at an angle yet I've still hit bottom. That's a terrible feeling as I have many LED pods under my 02. Because of the pods, I have two sets of A&A's rocker rails mounted to the car. Gives me an inch of protection. Other speed bumps I just avoid. There are even street I have to avoid because of dips or high rise railroad tracks.

http://www.aacorvette.com/performanc...products_id=90
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigbully
that's a given, but after your front tires get over the bump, it doesn't scrape the bottom of the body through the middle?

I travel a street often that has two speed bumps, and one day while crossing one of them, I stopped when the car was at mid point over the bump.

Got out to see how close the rocker was to the top of the bump.

The distance of one finger.

If I went over either one of these at let's say, more than five mph, I would scrape for sure.

Bob.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 05:50 PM
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My 03 vert was lowered using the stock bolts when I bought it and it seemed to drag on everything. I raised it back up about three days after I got it home and it doesn't drag anymore at all.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 07:50 PM
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Lowered...My air dam scrapes in my driveway and I angle over speed bumps. If I let my front tires go down over the bump too fast it will dip down and scrape - usually the bolts on my cats since they are the lowest point. There are some bumps/dips/parking lot entrances that are way too high so I have to avoid them. When I take it to work I have to get creative to miss all the speed bumps. Yea it kinda blows when you scrape but it just looks badass being lowered and eliminating all that wheel gap. Stanced is the way to go.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 08:30 PM
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Stock height here. Slow and angled or avoid altogether if possible. Best wishes!
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Old Sep 29, 2017 | 01:40 AM
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Short speed bumps I take slowly, I have yet to scrape the bottom when going slow. Long speed bumps I haven't had a problem taking them at 25+ mph, but the length of those speed bumps are longer than the car itself, i.e. by the time the the front tires are back on the street, the rear tires have already passed the first third of the bump.
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Old Sep 29, 2017 | 07:42 AM
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when i see one i will park my car get out my stadia rod and surveyors level and shoots it's elevation, if it is above 4.673" i immediately call uber or walk the rest of the distance to my destination ... or call my mommy.

hope this helps

Last edited by ZEEZERO-6; Sep 29, 2017 at 07:44 AM.
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Old Sep 29, 2017 | 09:45 AM
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i deal with speed bumps and deep road gutters all the time i hate them.....stock ride height maybe 1/2" lowered from the front wheel arch compared to stock dimensions i have read and the rear is wth in 1/4" but i am not convinced its lowered since i have about 5.5" to the front and rear cross members.

so its half the speed of my other cars to start.......if it has the ambulance fire truck cut out i aim for that for the front middle of the air dam and its better. but honestly i just change my route to avoid the residiential speed bumps.....my previous DD 06 mustang had no problems with them at twice the speed. same thing with the rain swails inthe intersections.....i hear some guys cut the lower 1 inch off the air damn to minimize this.

the price of beauty i guess....

Last edited by bobs77vet; Sep 29, 2017 at 09:49 AM.
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Old Sep 29, 2017 | 10:00 AM
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Take bumps on an angle. In addition, if you drive over the farthest right side, its usually lower than the center - so that can give you a few less inches of bump to clear.

Also - you should look into a low profile jack - I have this one and it fits under my C5 with (2) hockey pucks on the jack...

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-...ump-61282.html
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