C5 ground clearence

[spaced]

I have attempted to drive a C5 into my driveway which is up a somewhat steep incline but some part up front scrapes the ground so hard that I abort the attempt. This happens whether I enter the driveway forward or back-in. I have also tried coming in at an angle but with no success. Is it possible to alter the front air dam or otherwise adjust the front end ground clearence ? A while back I saw someone suggest a set of small wheels, available in the aftermarket, that attach to the frame skid bars. Do those contact the ground before the air dam ? Any help in this matter would be most appreciated.

 

[Gorgon]

Spaced, welcome to the Corvette Action Center.

How steep is the drive? What I believe is scraping is the plastic air dam on the bottom of the front. Mine scrapes a little bit and if I come in at an angle it I can get in without scraping.

I would reccommend that you have someone watch the front of the car to see how much it is getting scraped. You want to make sure that the front bumpber isn't being scraped.

As far as I know the plastic dam is designed to break away some when approaching objects in the road. I also believe I saw another member post that he replaced these regularly (may have the same problem) and they weren't too expensive to replace.

The center piece of the dam is actually spring loaded to give way when encountering debris in the road and then to snap back. I'm sure some others will be along here soon to offer some suggestions. Can you post a pic of the driveway?

Leon

 

[johnl]

Yep...the little hard rubber outer air dams are under $11.00 apiece.
I just bought the center "air deflector" from GM because the spring in one side had just broke. The individual pieces for the spring assembly was going to cost $30 - $35 dollars. The entire deflector with both springs and H/W was $76.42 after taxes and all.

 

[stino7]

Hello... My 97 is lowered and it scrapes on everything...LOL not much you can do.. the center dam is spring loaded and it shouldnt harm it at low speeds. My car had metal skid plates already installed and ive seen them in after market mags etc.. look into them they look like an easy install. good luck. Steve

 

[gonetobama13]

My biggest worry when I ordered my Vette was that it would clear the water drainage curb in my driveway. It does, as long as my approach is at an angle. However, I did have to learn when to stop before hitting those concrete wheel stoppers when in a parking lot. Mid America Designs (www.madvet.com) sells different kinds of front end protectors that you might want to look into. I've ordered several different items from them so far and have been pleased with their timeliness and product quality.
John K.

 

[Ctfoodguy2000]

I believe these are the wheels you are asking about.... scroll down on the following link.

https://www.aandacorvette.com/cart/show_items.asp?MainCatID=5

Welcome to the CAC!!