New owner: Ground clearance question.

[dethred]

So after more than 20 years of dreaming, in a few days I'll be taking delivery of my first Viper. I am quite concerned with the simple task of getting the car into my garage from the street. I have a bit of a dip going into the driveway but even my S2000 has to be slowly backed in (and I haven't installed the Bilstein coilovers on it because of the clearance), and even then it scapes the undertray on occasion.

The catch here is that the Viper has the front carbon fiber splitters from the aerodynamic package. I have thought of possibly using 2x6" planks to prevent damage, but I am all ears for suggestions! I basically have a few days to find a solution before the car will otherwise face being parked on the street (which I will do anything to avoid!).

Obligatory video of the car being loaded on the truck:

https://youtu.be/eQQN9c5e76s

[darbgnik]

I use curb ramps like these:

http://www.shercomindustries.com/products/curbramps.html

[dethred]

I use curb ramps like these:

http://www.shercomindustries.com/products/curbramps.html
That looks perfect. Do you know if anything like those are available in a store? If not I'll order them but still have to figure out a temporary solution until they arrive.

[darbgnik]

I bought mine from my local NAPA.

[dethred]

I see you live in a region which has lots of retailers, but I'm not seeing anything for that ramp on NAPA. I'll probably just rig something up with staggered wood blocks. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[City]

The ramps look great, but it's all about "diagonals". Is the width of your driveway too narrow to access one wheel at a time?

[dethred]

The ramps look great, but it's all about "diagonals". Is the width of your driveway too narrow to access one wheel at a time?

The driveway is a two-car-width bit of pavement and a two car garage, but even if I hit the curb at a very narrow angle, it still scrapes the bottom of my S2000. I'm pretty sure that the splitters on the Viper are at least an inch lower.

[Ninjakris]

Can you pull up like you are going to park in the street, and make your tire the first thing that hits the driveway slope? That's how I can do it and I don't scrape at all. This technique only works when nobody is parked on the road. That said, I don't have front aero, but I do have those stupid plastic pieces in front of my tires and they sit pretty low.

[ViperSmith]

if i recall correctly the splitter clearance is 3.5-4", body without is 5"

[Brian E]

No matter how hard I tried, i couldn't get my TA up my driveway. I ended up having the end of my driveway redone so it now has a flush curb. Not sure if this is something you want to pursue, but I am so glad I had it done.

11570

[v10enomous]

Is this the car we said was a great deal in another thread ? Was it Catwood's car ? Love that combo.

Congratulations !

[dethred]

Yes, it was a leftover 2014 GTS from San Diego. Carl pieced everything together and it should be here in the next 2-3 days. It feels like I stole it from them, and at 57k off pre-voucher MSRP I pretty much did. I offered the dealer several thousand more only two weeks prior and they declined.

I'm a nervous wreck trying to figure out what to do. I'd buy the $300 ramp on Amazon and have it overnighted, but knowing my luck the car will still arrive before the ramp and I'll be faced with potentially damaging the splitters or parking it outside on the street (I'd probably sleep in it if it came to that).

Does anyone have thoughts on getting a 2x6 or similar and Jerry rigging it until I can work out a better solution? I can try to come in at a nearly parallel angle but I still rub in my S2000 that way, and it'll be hell on the clutch.

[BeBeep]

I have the same issue and do have the curb ramp. Even with the ramp the splitters would rub so as much as I hated to, I removed the splitters. Lots of clearance now.

Only other option was to redo the driveway and I decided I did not want to do that.

Good luck and Congratulations on the Viper.

[St.Char]

Yes, it was a leftover 2014 GTS from San Diego. Carl pieced everything together and it should be here in the next 2-3 days. It feels like I stole it from them, and at 57k off pre-voucher MSRP I pretty much did. I offered the dealer several thousand more only two weeks prior and they declined.

I'm a nervous wreck trying to figure out what to do. I'd buy the $300 ramp on Amazon and have it overnighted, but knowing my luck the car will still arrive before the ramp and I'll be faced with potentially damaging the splitters or parking it outside on the street (I'd probably sleep in it if it came to that).

Does anyone have thoughts on getting a 2x6 or similar and Jerry rigging it until I can work out a better solution? I can try to come in at a nearly parallel angle but I still rub in my S2000 that way, and it'll be hell on the clutch.

My car is lowered on Coilovers and I use 2X12 that is 3' long. I did wedge one end so the car can make an easier transition to the payment, not necessary though. I also put handles on the sides to make them easier to carry. I just lay them down in front of the curb and it works great! These are all you'll need. 2X12's work better because of the tire width. Good Luck!

[dethred]

My car is lowered on Coilovers and I use 2X12 that is 3' long. I did wedge one end so the car can make an easier transition to the payment, not necessary though. I also put handles on the sides to make them easier to carry. I just lay them down in front of the curb and it works great! These are all you'll need. 2X12's work better because of the tire width. Good Luck!

Perfect! I'll grab some tomorrow and do some test fitting in advance. This has eased my stress considerably. Thanks!

[Aspirations57]

So after more than 20 years of dreaming, in a few days I'll be taking delivery of my first Viper. I am quite concerned with the simple task of getting the car into my garage from the street. I have a bit of a dip going into the driveway but even my S2000 has to be slowly backed in (and I haven't installed the Bilstein coilovers on it because of the clearance), and even then it scapes the undertray on occasion.

The catch here is that the Viper has the front carbon fiber splitters from the aerodynamic package. I have thought of possibly using 2x6" planks to prevent damage, but I am all ears for suggestions! I basically have a few days to find a solution before the car will otherwise face being parked on the street (which I will do anything to avoid!).

Obligatory video of the car being loaded on the truck:

https://youtu.be/eQQN9c5e76s


What the heck was that loud bang when he pulled it inside the trailer????......................LOL.....You got yourself a great Viper at a great price! Hope its everything you've been waiting for and more.. :)

[lochnessmonster]

11576

I like your choice of rides...... :smileys-car-driving

[Special Ed]

Ever try backing it in the driveway.

[dethred]

11576

I like your choice of rides...... :smileys-car-driving

Oh wow! I have a 2005 AP2 NFR, just ticked over 15,000 miles on it... and my Viper is similar enough (white stripes). I didn't really want a second red car, but I'm not complaining!



Special Ed,

That's the only way I can get my S2000 into the garage with only minor scraping. Looking at it more this morning, the road dips down into the lip of the driveway, and then the driveway has a relatively steep incline. After looking at it more closely, I don't think any of the purpose built ramps would have helped that much.

[dethred]

11646

2x12" pressure treated planks worked perfectly! Got it into the garage without any problems. I was worried it was going to be too wide but it just barely fit.

11645

[lochnessmonster]

Nice. Yeah, my S2000 is an AP1, MY2000. In pretty good shape for her age. I've had it since 2007. I find the clearance on the Viper is pretty impressive. I expected to have some issues getting in my driveway as well. I don't have any problems with the S but I imagined the Viper would be a lot worse. Fortunately, as long as I come in at an angle with the Viper, I have no problem. The S, I can drive straight in and out all day long.

[Bruce]

The issue I have with my TA is that the front splitters hang about 2" lower than the middle front of the car so taking ramps at an angle is sometimes worse than going straight ahead, a problem I never encountered with all other lowered cars. With that said, I'm really thinking of removing the side splitters so that I can lower the car more, or just sell the TA and get a base SRT w/o the areo kit and go to town w/ aftermarket shocks and racing seat.

[ViperSmith]

Now if this fucking rain would stop

[Dark Overlord]

Now if this fucking rain would stop

11653

[dethred]

Oh the rain is the least of my worries. About to create another thread... :-(