ukdavew Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 Guys, Time is ticking away towards the arrival of my bonus and the (hopeful) Zed purchase As I've mentioned before the biggest concern I have is ground clearance coming onto the drive of my house. The drive is angle downwards fairly sharply and I'm worried that the centre of the car will ground out. My current and last cars (Seat Altea and Alfa 156) both ground slightly to one side...so I know I'm going to have to do some work to try and make this possible. Does anyone have any detailed pictures of the underneath of a zed, (something like a front view with the bumper off would be awesome) so that I can see which components are the lowest and thus likely to ground out? If anyone has dimensions or anything that would be ideal. I'd really appreciate any help, this is the main hurdle (pun intended) to me getting a Zed! Quote
tmJak Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 i got my car up the slope into the bodyshop yesterday, will try and take a pic of it tmoz when i pick the car up cos it's a bad incline. don't know if i'll get it back out again. know it's not what you asked for but may help. . . also you could get some hydraulic suspension and raise the ride height Quote
GC350z Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 Take a sledge hammer to it and lessen the angle. Had to give up my parking in the city as the Z couldn’t clear the 2 centimetre metal gate post at the top of the entrance to underground parking. Now I have to park on the street. Quote
Stew Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 Get a Zed on a test drive and take it home to see. At least then you'll know. I think the lowest point is the flexi joint in the exhaust. That is the only that has caught up in mine. Everything is fairly well tucked away. You'd be supprised where it can go actually! Quote
Ian Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 My bumper catches the kerb everytime I reverse off my drive. I've also caught my bumper in some multi story car parks & on a ferry. Quote
GIXXERUK Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 my drive angles down sharply, i have to turn as i go onto the drive otherwise is scrapes if i drive straight on Quote
Digsy Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 My front bumper scrapes - must be lower on a MY07 than MY03. Quote
ukdavew Posted March 19, 2008 Author Posted March 19, 2008 my drive angles down sharply, i have to turn as i go onto the drive otherwise is scrapes if i drive straight on That's my concern, I have a long narrow drive so I don't have that option. Quote
GIXXERUK Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 my drive angles down sharply, i have to turn as i go onto the drive otherwise is scrapes if i drive straight on That's my concern, I have a long narrow drive so I don't have that option. angle grinder ? Quote
ukdavew Posted March 19, 2008 Author Posted March 19, 2008 angle grinder ? There's definitely industrial machinery in my future, I'm just trying to work out how drastic. When I came to the forum I was pretty determined but seeing all the zed-love here I must own one! (subject to testdrive of course ) Quote
Stew Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 If it's the 'air splitter' at the front that catches then remove it or buy a jdm as they didn't come with the 'aerodynamics package' like UK cars. Quote
ukdavew Posted March 19, 2008 Author Posted March 19, 2008 If it's the 'air splitter' at the front that catches then remove it or buy a jdm as they didn't come with the 'aerodynamics package' like UK cars. It's something between the wheels that's likely to ground. The house is lower than street level by a few feet so the drive goes down. Quote
GIXXERUK Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 If it's the 'air splitter' at the front that catches then remove it or buy a jdm as they didn't come with the 'aerodynamics package' like UK cars. It's something between the wheels that's likely to ground. The house is lower than street level by a few feet so the drive goes down. my exhaust catches in the middle if i dont get the angle just right, my last car was lowered 40mm on coilovers and i had no problem, the problem is the long wheel base on the zed Quote
Stew Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 Then it'll be the flexi pipe section of the exhaust. As I said before it's well tucked up. Go test one and try. That way you'll know! Quote
Daaave Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 My flexi-joint has been rubbed a bit over some speed bumps and the nose has caught on some fairly easy looking uphill driveways. I also think one of the joints on the centre section of the exhast has met the ground at ome point too, from memory I think one of the bolts looks a bit too smooth... Quote
Chesterfield Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 I have a Seat Altea as well as the Z. The FR model of the Altea that I have is slightly lower than the other variants, but if the Seat catches, you WILL have issues with the Z without question, as the Seat is positively an off roader when compared to the Z. If the Seat rubs slightly on any component, then on the same spot the Z will stuff its skirts into the floor I reckon. Id probably look at lowering the "peak" of the drive by 6 inch or so to be safe. Quote
S1 HNK Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 its likey the catch mate, sharp inclines aren't one of the Z's specialities. there goes the idea to drop the suspension and fit a front lip! Quote
Stez Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 This is the best picture I have of the underside of a Zed. I have the same problem but my drive catches on the two black plastic panels in the middle of the car. Quote
ukdavew Posted March 20, 2008 Author Posted March 20, 2008 I have a Seat Altea as well as the Z. The FR model of the Altea that I have is slightly lower than the other variants, but if the Seat catches, you WILL have issues with the Z without question, as the Seat is positively an off roader when compared to the Z. If the Seat rubs slightly on any component, then on the same spot the Z will stuff its skirts into the floor I reckon. Id probably look at lowering the "peak" of the drive by 6 inch or so to be safe. That was my logic too Just looking at the Zed and the Altea while the wheelbase is similar (Zed is 8cm longer) the 350 is markedly lower. I'm gonna investigate this weekend to see what is touching on the Altea as the clearance elsewhere seems good on the bodywork...and the fact it's coming from the passenger-side would seem to point the finger at the exhaust. Quote
Chesterfield Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 My guess would be the exhaust too, they seem to be quite low on the Altea considering the height of the bodywork. Though there is a plastic tray/lining on the underside of the engine bay which may also be quite low. Quote
GIXXERUK Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 everytime my exhaust scrapes i think ...mmm.... nismo soon :lol: Quote
Chris`I Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 everytime my exhaust scrapes i think ...mmm.... nismo soon :lol: But if you had a nismo every time it scraped you'd be Quote
GIXXERUK Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 everytime my exhaust scrapes i think ...mmm.... nismo soon :lol: But if you had a nismo every time it scraped you'd be i can get if not to scrape if i want to Quote
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