I’m looking for some driving tips. The front of my 2013 base model Corvette scrapes when I drive through intersections where the road surface has a lot of curvature.I have pretty well mastered the speed bumps where I work. I cross over them diagonally or put the passenger side wheels close to the curb. But in certain intersections, crossing diagonally right at the peak of the road surface curvature doesn’t help much. Yesterday the car’s front end scraped terribly and left fresh scrape marks on the plastic beneath the front bumper.

 

is the bumper cover actually scraped? gotta lay down and look....

otherwise get used to the sound, won't go away unless you remove the air dams....

 

If its been lowered, raise it back up to stock.

 

Yeah bumper cover is scraped. I could tell that it was a fresh scrape. I don’t think the car has been lowered any.

 

I purchased my stock height GS 4 weeks ago and it takes a little bit of planning to driving it in some places. There are places that the Vette simply cannot enter/exit.... without scraping. I avoid those places and have done so successfully. I had to take the car to the courthouse to register it and had to back out of the parking lot (at an angle) to avoid scraping..... the departure angle for the "exit" would have likely scrapped the front splitter. I cannot imagine having a lowered C6..... not for me. My daily driver is a 2000 4wd Tacoma, so the Vette is the other extreme.

 

Drive at 45 degree angles in intersections that have channels for storm water.

My driveway is about 33 degree angle but I come in at about 70 degrees. Sometimes hit the side skirts air dams but most of the time I dont.

I drove 2nd generation and 3rd generation camaros/Z28's since I was 17 so I know how low they are.

Experience and practice and driving around around your town would help. I know one intersection near our church is low so I avoid it.

Practice. Practice Practice.

 

My GS is pretty low, but I have never scraped the actual bumper cover. I scrape the air dam and the front outer edges of the splitter on a regular basis, however. I try to minimize it as much as possible, but have simply resigned myself after 7 years of ownership that it's going to occasionally scrape no matter what. I will replace the splitter when it wears down enough that it needs it. I will just leave the air dam as is; hopefully it will eventually self clearance enough that it mostly stops scraping.

This is my 3rd Vette, and the 1st one that scrapes on any more than a very rare occasion. The GS is considerably lower than either the 03 C5 vert or my 07 coupe were.

 

A tip my stepdad taught me when learning to drive is to give the brakes a slight punch right before you hit the bump. The thought being that will make the nose dive a little and then be on the rebound back up (hopefully higher than normal) when you go over the bump. Obviously make sure no one is tail gaiting you when you do it. Only other thing would be to take it slow through the intersection, which may or may not be safe depending on traffic conditions.

 

Good tips. I also avoid Food Lion parking lots because they have some of the worst speed bumps.

 

This, or as stated above, get used to it. Both my C6s (previous 13 GS and now 12 ZR1) scrape a lot, especially the ZR1 with the splitter and lowered. As you've learned, take speedbumps or inclines slowly at an angle. And don't apply the brakes (causing the nose to dive) right before going over something.

 

Sounds like you're not 100% certain that the car has hasn't been lowered, so you might want to verify that it's at stock height and that the donuts on the adjusting bolts aren't worn out. The air dams are going to scrape occasionally. The manual even states this, but scraping the bottom of the front fascia? That just doesn't sound right IMO.

 

You’re probably making one mistake, hitting the brakes too hard and too late before going through intersections. I can get mine to scrape the front on speed bumps if I hit the brakes too late and the nose dips. Never hit the brakes right before a hazArd, especially hard. If anything you would want to hit the gas a little before hitting the brakes.

 

Exactly! I have had people almost rear end me when I slowed to exit a deep parking lot to roadway entrance.

Tom

 

I'm guessing that most of the time, the sound you are hearing is the air dam below and behind the front of the bumper. Even though my suspension is completely stock, the air dam scrapes frequently on speed bumps, driveway entrances, etc. Sometimes, it scrapes at speed over uneven pavement. I have a gravel driveway and sometimes, especially when recently re-graveled, I can hear it brushing over the top of the gravel.

I pretty much consider the air dam to be disposable. I've never replaced it because it's almost completely invisible from anywhere but under the car, but I think it's a pretty cheap part if you feel the need. The C5 that I had before my current C6 had a hinge at the top of the air dam so it could swing back when it made contact with something. There was even a mention in the manual to not worry about it. The C6 air dam is not hinged, and I don't remember a comment in the manual about it.

Since you have scrapes on the under side of the bumper, it's clearly hit something at some point. My guess would be that the scrapes didn't happen with a driveway entrance or speed bump. I would bet that someone parked the car too close to one of the cement blocks at the front of a parking spot, or too close to a sidewalk curb. As low as the car is, it's pretty important to park far enough back so that the very front of the bumper never goes over any obstruction. It takes some practice to get into that habit so that you don't have to think about it.

My car is a 2008, and I've had it since new, and the under side of my bumper is still unscraped. I try to keep the air dam from scraping (by going slow, approaching at angles, etc.), but if it scrapes, it scrapes. I don't worry about it. Sometimes passengers get concerned if they hear it and I just tell them that it's normal and sometimes unavoidable.