What are some performance cars that are not likely to scrape badly? 

"MegaSuper" (megasuper) 04/10/2015 at 05:19 • Filed to: None

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Perhaps a strange question to some, but hear me out: Around here, pretty much every large business/supermarket/shopping center/strip mall has a pretty steep entrance to the parking lot. Think of a gap in the sidewalk, there's a driveway-like slope, and then the sidewalk continues. Even if you manage to make it in, sometimes you can't make it out without scraping the bottom because our streets are very sharply sloped to deal with water run-off.

So, my coworker has a Nissan GTR, and his friend has a Jaguar F-Type. As it turns out, both of these cars have about 4.25 inches of ground clearance. They scrape on about half of the entrances around here. (This happens even when they go slow, and even when they do the "turn in the opposite direction and then quickly swing the other way so that you're super-perpendicular" trick.)

Another coworker has a Lotus Evora. It has about 5.7 inches of ground clearance. It scrapes on about half of the entrances around here too.

How the heck is that possible, you wonder?

Well, some offroad-inclined Oppos will know that there's this thing called "Angle of Approach," which is the maximum angle the car can handle before the undercarriage scrapes.

Turns out for all 3 of these cars, it's the same: 11 degrees. I'm not sure how you calculate it mathematically, but it makes sense in the context of the Lotus. It probably has the most sloping nose, so that explains why the additional ground clearance doesn't help it.

So my co-worker went around calling different dealerships and whatnot. Turns out that this piece of data is rather hard to find.

The only other ones he could find were:

McLaren MP4: 9 degrees (Really really low, but hey, it's a supercar I guess.)

Porsche 911 Carrera GTS: 9 degrees OR 8.4 degrees with the sports suspension (This shocked me. Really flies in the face of Carrera's "easy DD" image. Probably explains why Macans and Cayennes are so popular around here.)

Bentley Continental: 23 degrees (That's a lot. More than some SUVs.)

Mercedes-AMG GLA45: 16 degrees (OK OK, maybe not what you think of when you hear "performance car", but it's still fast and I'm including it for illustrative purposes.)

It's a real problem because it's hard to DD a performance car when you can't go get groceries in it, go to the drug store, go to the bank, maybe go to a restaurant that's in a plaza, etc.

There's gotta be something out there between 11 and 23 degrees. Any of you Oppos know of such a vehicle? I wasn't able to find a ton about other German cars, but AFAIK, a lot of AMGs and M cars have ground clearances of under 4 inches. So while that's not everything, I'm sure it doesn't help. Couldn't find anything about American or Italian performance cars either.

I know this data is hard to find, so if you don't have it, maybe some anecdotes/personal experiences? Or if the supercar owners on here want to chime in if they've measured how steep their driveways are?

Sorry if all this sounds silly, but it's a problem for people I know. My friend's neighbor who bought a 911 GT3 has to park it out on the street because it can't even go out of his driveway without scraping the exhaust pipes! (I know, first world problems, and he could have measured it before buying, but still, I've seen 70s-90s era performance cars negotiate the driveways around here with no problem.)

I saw an op-ed piece that said that even "regular" cars are getting lower to the ground, and it seems to be true. I've seen modern Toyota Yarises and Lexus ISes scrape so badly that sparks flew, and even a Mercedes C-Class that lost its entire bumper! Probably the best was a Ferrari 458 that came real close, and then just "NOPE'D" on out of there by pulling a quick 180 and just giving up on the whole idea of entering that particular plaza.

Thanks Oppo!

E. Julius > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 05:47

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Yossarian > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 05:52

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Porsche has an optional front axle lift on the GT3 for this reason. Raises the front 30mm. Don't know if the option is available in other 911s. Lamborghini has a similar option as well.

MegaSuper > E. Julius 04/10/2015 at 06:02

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Bahahahahahaha I knew I should have mentioned that! You're so right though. The world would be a better place with more cars like that.

You know, it's sort of a Jalop/Oppo "mini-meme" to post that thing, but has anyone ever done a proper review/write-up of one? It it just a vaporware car or did they actually manufacture some? If so, in what countries? Was it any good or did reviewers say, "Center of gravity is a mess, do not buy" ?

MegaSuper > Yossarian 04/10/2015 at 06:03

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Oh wow, didn't know that about the GT3. Sounds like the other models could use it for sure.

Do you know which Lamborghinis? Was it something just for the Gallardo/Murciélago generation, or is it also available for the Huracan/Aventador?

E. Julius > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 06:18

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I'm not really sure how much information is out there about it. It doesn't even have a wikipedia page, and one of the only substantive articles that comes up in google is an older Jalopnik article. It seemed like there might be a bit more information available in French, so I might take a look at that sometime if I'm bored. I don't know how many of them are really out and about or ever got into the hands of reviewers.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 06:34

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I've seen few Aventadors fitted with that options in Indonesia. So does the gallardo. No idea about the Huracan though.

It makes a funny spectacles, when you see some new "stupid" Aventador buyer in here who drive his car out of the shopping center and ended up stuck because he forgot to switch the nose height.

yamahog > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 07:03

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Correct, modern cars are getting lower because it's better for performance (less drag) and fuel economy. Some modern sports cars like the C7 Vette have skid bars to protect from any serious damage, and some type of aero shields underneath the car, so that's probably the scraping you hear unless the grade is steep enough to scrape the front fascia.

MegaSuper > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/10/2015 at 07:09

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AYA! So nice to see you in here. Your posts are fascinating!

Is scraping something you see a lot in Indonesia? Are people with money more into performance cars or performance SUVs there? (I know that in Iceland for example, having a big lifted SUV is way more prestigious than any kind of performance car.)

MegaSuper > yamahog 04/10/2015 at 07:19

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Yeah, CAFE standards and all that, good point.

In all these cases I'm referring to front fascia, the plasticky bits just below the painted area, but still the front of the car, not the underside.

I do know what you're talking about though; most Maseratis around here will scrape, but just the undercarriage, which is shielded.

I don't think any shielding could have saved that bumper in the C-Class, haha… ;_;

jariten1781 > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 07:48

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Have a spring shop make you taller springs.

BigBlock440 > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 08:02

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Look for something that's got the wheels as far to the front as possible. That should help with the approach angle.

MysticStick > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 08:36

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This is a very interesting topic, it's a thing that is indeed becoming more and more common. As others have mentioned some manufacturers have a front lift mechanism which is brilliant (I'm thinking most cars are going to need them soon).

In contrast; there are often graphics available with this data for SUVs.

whatisthatsound > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 08:45

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Lotus Elise, the way the chin spoilers are you won't scrape unless you are trying to.

There is a ton of clearance for the approach angle. 6 months of ownership I only scrapped it once. I had the chin protectors on there as you can see in the pic so no harm no foul.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 08:59

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You're going to be looking mostly for cars with small overhangs, which are typically going to be hatchbacks and the like as opposed to coupes and other typical "performance" shapes. My Bonneville wasn't exactly low, but scraped over a scary number of speed bumps just because the overhangs were so long. My WRX, on the other hand, essentially never scraped, even with the 1.5" drop.

Flat Six > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 09:07

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Approach angle on the base Carrera or S is >11 degrees. These are much better daily drivers than the GTS/Turbo (8 degrees), or GT3 (5 degrees).

CaptDale - is secretly British > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 13:27

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Or places can stop making entrances fucking vertical and 4' tall speed bumps... I mean at some point with the average car getting closer to the ground, there will need to be regulations on this.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 15:23

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Thank you!

Depends, really. Most people are into the performance cars scene rather than performance SUV. I've seen more Lamborghinis and Ferraris than Range Rover Sport Or Cayenne Turbo.

Scraping is quite common in here, because of similar problems that you posted above.

MegaSuper > Flat Six 04/10/2015 at 17:20

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F…Five degrees? Wow. I think that's the lowest I've ever seen.

I can only imagine what the GT3 RS will be O_O

MegaSuper > jariten1781 04/10/2015 at 17:21

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Wouldn't that void the warranty though? Because theoretically, you're altering the car's center of gravity at that point?

MegaSuper > whatisthatsound 04/10/2015 at 17:21

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Wow, would have never considered this. Thanks for the idea.

I guess it makes sense because, as others have written, the wheels are so close to the front; prevents any weird angles from occurring.

MegaSuper > MysticStick 04/10/2015 at 17:23

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This this this! It's funny how it just seems to apply to SUVs only.

A funny anecdote: The Mercedes G-Class is pretty cool in the sense that it's not as wide as other SUVs…but that saved width has to go somewhere, right? Up!

As it turns out, the G-Class is too TALL to fit in most of the parking garages around here ;_; hahaha

Flat Six > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 17:45

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Yeah, daily driving must be a nightmare.

jariten1781 > MegaSuper 04/10/2015 at 18:00

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If you're in the US, nope...warranty stays mostly intact.

You couldn't make warranty claims on the parts directly affected (suspension components). You might get pushback if you tried to make a claim on something like an interior piece rattling since it would change NVH if you don't keep the spring rates the same, but you'd likely win that on appeal. Also stuff like CV joints may or may not be voided depending on the extent you raise it and the car's design.

The big hitter stuff: engine/transmission/electrics/etc would all retain their warranty so you should be good.