Steep Driveway - Bottom Scrapes
 

My dad has a steap driveway and when he pulls in and out the "shroud" scrapes on a 06 coupe. Not sure exactly what its called so shroud might not be the best word. Not the front fascia but the black peice below that.

Any help on how to stop it this, what part and where to get it ?

Thanks in advance.

I have a kind of steep driveway too. Back out at as much of an angle as you can. I don't know the width of your driveway, but another trick, when backing out (at an angle), one front tire will exit the driveway first. Before the other front tire reaches the street, go forward and turn in the direction you plan to travel on the street, letting the front tire hit the street going forward. That trick has saved me from scraping my "shroud" (or whatever you call it:) ). I hope my instructions were clear. It's kind of difficult to explain in a post, but it works for me. I wish I had learned the trick sooner.

As for going up the driveway, all I can say is take as large of an angle as possible and take it slow.

It's your air dam. It directs air up to the radiator. You can get a replacement from the dealer or from www.gmpartshouse.com. For your C6, it is one of the least expensive replacement parts you can find. It is designed to scrape. He might try pulling into the driveway at an angle. This might help.

:cheers:

Josh

:iagree: :cheers:

I have the same issue with my driveway. Totally agree, backing out, get one front tire out at a time. Also, if you have a passenger, let them get in the car after you have backed out. :thumbs: This might take some training with the wife.:eek:

Yea tried to pulling in and out on an angle. Its better then backing out and driving right in. I just went in the garage and checked it. But if its supposed to and since its so cheap Ill tell him to deal with it. and its only on the edges anyways. He's had it since august and it only have 1600 miles on it so far. I told him to drive it more and he wont have that problem. Thanks guys! :cheers:

I seem to remember a manf. that offers wheels you can weld under the deflector to act like a skateboard when you encounter a steep angle. Anybodyelse know what I'm talking about??

Yes and mostly folks here do not recommend them. They attach to the radiator supports which are not made for the stress. Outside of the annoying sound, scraping the air-dam is no big deal.

Caster will raise the front of the car if you set up so that you turn the steering wheel to near full lock as you cross the low clearance point. This will prevent a lot of the contact to the air dam entering driveways, ramps, etc.

regards, billb....

GM calls it a "valance." It is only 3" off the ground and is designed to be scraped. The 3 pieces are soft plastic and only cost about $15 each to replace if the get torn up bad. I have a very gentle slope driveway and mine still scrapes every day when I back out. Just go slow and don't worry about it.

This is true- It is actually mentioned in the manual - it says it will scrape and don't be alarmed by it

:iagree:

Any method you decide on and going very slow.

Mine scrapes backing out of my driveway, pulling in and out of some parking lots, and even sometimes on a dip in a road. Its normal.

:iagree:

Lets see $30-40K to completely tear out, regrade and repave driveway or $35 replacement air dam, have the old man spring for the new driveway.:rofl:

You gotten some good advice. If the situation warrants and if it's even possible, a paving contractor could likely build a concrete (or asphalt) cricket or cam-strip to alter the angle of the driveway just enough to avoid scraping.

Be advised tha the C6 has "trim height" (ride height) adjuster bolts at each wheel. You can easily and effectively raise the ride height of the car by say a half inch or more.

My car used to scrape the air dam on my driveway lip no matter how I approached it... even going very slow and going in on an angle. Though scraping the air dam is NOT a problem, the noise can become annoying after a while, plus a little embarassing too.

I adjusted my trim height bolts a bit, raised the car about a half inch, and now no more scrapes... at all... I can even fly straight into my driveway kinda fast, still no scrape. You'd be surprised at how much a difference a half inch can make. Car still looks and handles like it always did, no degradation there.

Pull each wheel, find the trim height bolt, take pressure off the spring end using a small jack, and then turn the bolt about 2 or 3 full turns clockwise... repeat for each wheel.

Note: you may need to have the car aligned after doing this - but if the car has'nt been aligned since new, it is a really good idea to have it aligned anyway.

Doing this may very well put an end to your driveway scrape issues, plus make the car more tolerant of road irregularities in general.

I use the backing out at as sharp an angle as possible, and going so slow, I'm almost sitting still here at my current home. I used to live in a neighborhood that had a real sharp angle where the curbs (for drainage) met the dirveways. My neighbor across the street had a piece of plate steel welded to a piece of two inch pipe (the widge of the driveway), and placed it in the gap wetween the road and driveway. It was about 10" wide and the edges had been angled to 45 degrees to soften the angle. It helped him get his sports car across. My caddy STS had a slight drag problem, but someone else suggested the sharp angle of exit and it worked. Take your time and be patient, it should stop (depending on how sharp the angle is). Anyway good luck.

My air dam has scraped going in and out of my driveway everyday for two years and it still looks good. It's made to flex.:cheers:

I live 200 yards up the side of a hill (really a small mountain). Its gravel, curvey with 3 90 degree turns on it. Drove my 98 Vert on it and now my 05 Z51 vert. As others said, try to get as good of a angel as you can, go real slow. Have had no problems except that noise its scarry, but no real damage occurs. Those parts are cheap and designed to wear,and can be replaced easy.

I never had to replace for the 98 and so far the 05 is holding up fine
Slow is your friend, and my wife can ride both up and down the driveway.