Im looking at getting my first Vette and been looking pretty hard at the C5's. My only worry is my driveway is a 8 degree incline off the street and I don't wanna scrape up the bumper. Does anyone have any recommendations or past experience with steep driveways? I know taking it from an angle might help out. Also I see a lot of people lower them but how many people raise them and will that ruin the driveability of it. As of now I have a harley and the wife hates it so trying to find a new toy and she gave me the go ahead so i'm trying to take it and run while I can.

Thank you all for the help ahead of time.

 

There are guards such as fangs or wheels that attach to the lower radiator supports that will help. I always hit at an angle as I am lowered about 1.5 inches but also moved to C6 wheels which add on .5 inch. It wont be the nose that scrapes, but most likely the 3-piece front spoiler.

 

I have a 4-5" curb that I have to go up to get in my driveway and have to back in at an angle to avoid tearing off the air dams. I wanted to lower it with the factory lowering bolts but I had to scrap that idea because of the curb. You may have an issue with that steep of an angle driveway.

 

I have the same issue but worse. My driveway is about 6 degrees but it’s in paved and has a raised center because 100 years of wheels have rutted it out. It’s also 1/8 mile long. Try getting a vette in there.

 

Hard to tell in camera as it flattens everything out but here’s my drive.

 

See if u can find someone with a C5, 6 or 7 to test it, may not b a problem. The middle air dam on C5 is on a spring so it springs back if scrubbed, the short outside ones do not have a spring. They make devices to place in troublesome spots that will solve your problem if not to severe. Don't let that stop you, some guys take the air dams off

 

my dad used to have a 05 and the driveway at that house at the time wasn’t steep what so ever but it still scraped the damn still.

does removing the damn effect cooling or anything else?

 

yes the functional rubber skirts underneath are spring loaded and flexible for a reason. I would wonder about a used car for sale without them, a full replacement set is almost a hundred bucks, and can be installed in minutes, by twisting a couple of bolts and sheet metal screws into clips.

The middle spring loaded section feeds the air to the radiator, and the outside dams are air control around the front tires above 100 mph, so I am told. The design anticipates the rubber dams will scrape and get torn up, think of them as consumable parts, like tires, or brake pads.

My car came without the rubber front items and installing the bottom air feeder lowered my temps about five degrees with an old radiator . The sides are just cosmetic for my needs, the car looks better with them, more complete. ,I have never been on a road where the kind of speed to trigger aero effects might not get a ticket. I require lees speed more than I require a speeding ticket. Old guys like me need to be more aware of their driving record, it's not a good statistical pool.

Oh, by the way, the side spears are supposed to help hold the car down above !00mph. For the longest time I could only think they screwed up the looks as the only function, and their reason for being was so a dealer could pad the profit I gave it a lot of thought,

I have them on my car, and now feel a slight bit better about them now that I understand they have a function beyond just spoiling the looks. I can live with functional ugly, a lot fo guys take them off.

From the picture, you have all kinds of room for an angled approach, and a car at stock height is not going to create a lot of happy new owners if their new car damages paint on normal roads all over town .

It's when they get lowered and all that front overhang comes into play that the trouble starts. I scrape all the time, my used car came lowered, so my OEM ride height and your driveway is all speculation. But could be solved with any test drive, or hook up at a vette club meeting and ask for help.

You can always throw lumber in the street, or buy dedicated products, if you don't favor a white trash style. Either way, at my house I would have conflicts with stuff in the gutter on street sweeping day. So I just angle the car going in and out. I have a regular narrow driveway, with a telephone pole stuck into one side.

I have a lowered car, it restricts the suspension travel, so not functional as a street upgrade, but it looks cool. I bought some dedicated reinforcements for the side skirts, primarily to judge the construction required to not harm the body, when the side skirts attempt to get ripped off, and now just have a bunch of school supply protractors and such to do the same work on the cheap.

I didn't know much about corvettes when I got mine, am have always been glad I lucked into a model after the 2001 upgrades. Some of the earlier cars have one year only parts that are a tough deal if you need them, and might only seem like a bargain. High line cars still have high line costs, no matter the age.

Have fun. I got into convertibles as a young crazy man , as the closest substitute for motorcycles I could find. I think if you don't buy a convertible corvette, you have screwed up. Your chick will dig styling around town with a lot of flash, and dig that you have ditched an intrinsically dangerous transport. You might enjoy the ability to have a conversation, enjoy a cool beverage, or listen to the radio. The C5 cockpit is well designed to control the air flow when the top is down, and has a bit more room than other body styles.

 

Just based on the pic, I would think that a normal ride height car would be able to get up that driveway by approaching it at an angle. Same with leaving the driveway - do it at an angle.

 

Now that you posted a picture.

 

Strand Rider answered your question so I want repeat. They make a product that lays on the street at the curb to eliminate the problem, google it. The apron going into my shop is much steeper than what I see in you pick. I bought a thick rubber mat from tractor supply 4x4 cut in 2 pieces and made two runners going into my shop that all but stopped my issue. Very heavy duty stuff made for a horse trailer for horsed to stand on.

 

I would think you would have no problem with a standard height C5. You might scrape the plastic air deflector but that's no big deal. I always scraped at my old house's driveway, my neighbors looked at me funny as it make a horrible noise but it does no real damage.

This guy can't have a C5

 

So that's why people drive jacked up Jeeps.

p.s. That's a house I would definitely not buy.

 

Medic, I had the "wheels" on my coupe which were effective and not obtrusive. IIRC, I got them from A&A Corvettes - caveat - a very long time ago. Don't know who sells these now. You want to avoid bending the radiator support, not to mention the horrendous noise from scraping them. Good luck.

 

You'll be fine. The air dam may scrape. Mine does every time I leave my driveway and it's much steeper than yours. The first several times it happens you're going to cringe when you hear it, but it'll be fine. Several months of daily scraping in and out of the driveway and I can't see any appreciable wear on the air dam.

 

I pretty much see those plastic air dams as sacrificial. It's better to hear that plastic scraping than hard frame/suspension parts.

 

The 3 pc air dam ..swings in the middle and I cut a inch off
of each side pc. It helps. And go slow

 

Thank you for all the replies! helps a ton. hopefully with the C8 going on sale some decent trades will start to pop up and I can get the deal done.

 

My wife didn't exactly give me the same deal but it was similar.

We were riding along the parkway on a beautiful 50 degree day in the Corvette with the heat on and the sun coming in through the clear top. We are in shirtsleeves. The CD player is on, the exhaust is burbling behind us.
A couple on a Harley dresser pulls up next to us. They are leaning into the wind dressed in full leathers, balaclavas, gloves, full face helmets and boots. You could see the guy's smile through all that. The girl looks blankly down at my wife, my wife looks up at her and smiles.
My wife turns to me and says, "Honey, I'm never going motorcycle riding again.". And she hasn't. This from a "ton-up" chick.

I forgot what I was going to say about driveways....

I've been scraping the front of my car on my driveway for 13 years. In all those years you would think I would have worn down whatever is scraping. Nope. Sounds just like the day I brought it home. Every time. I do come in on an angle and since I went to non-run flats I have to leave at an angle too. I don't care. Don't do too much motorcycle riding myself these days either.

 

There are many ways to deal with a driveway.