Hi all, We're about to move into a new home, and the driveway is quite steep, and plateaus at the top rather sharply. As such, when I did a test run up in the Gen3, veeeeeeeery slowly, as soon as I heard the plastic undertray start to touch the apex, I gave up and retreated. I was right about halfway over it, so I figure I only need a few additional cm of ground clearance... Is it a possibility to just install different springs that are slightly taller to lift the car up a small amount? I understand this is quite the opposite of what most "tuners" would want to do - but I'd appreciate the extra ground clearance in the winter here as well. Cheers, -Iain
You can install a set of taller tires and get an inch more clearance if you think it will help. A 205/65/15 will give you 1/2" more clearance. A 205/70/15 will raise you an inch+. You will likely suffer a small mpg loss but at least they make LRR tires in that size like the AVID Ascend, Michelin Defender, Ecopia EP422 etc.. You could look into have custom springs made to raise the car as well.
maybe some helper air springs for the rear coil. This way you dont have to 4x4 all day long, maybe you can just lift the back to get up the drive way then release air on the way out. Air Lift AirLift 1000 Air Helper Springs for Coil Springs - Rear Air Lift Vehicle Suspension AL60823
Have you tried driving up the first part of the incline at an extreme angle? That is how I used to tackle speed bumps and steep driveways in my lowered C5 Vette.
I would add some material like concrete to the driveway below the "peak" so that there isn't such a sharp angle. Probably make it a gentle curve instead. Much better IMHO than raising your car and suffering the hit in mpg I would take it up with the builder, seems like a poor design or execution by the contractor/builder. Get them to fix it at their expense as part of your homeowners warranty?
I would take this approach too, flatten out the driveway to make it a flatter approach without the hump.
That sucks. I have a very close clearance at the end of my driveway. I even do all the tricks (angles and such) and it is still pretty close. I wanted to put in lowering springs when I get new wheels but I can only a handle 1/2 inch lowering (1 inch would be way too close) and I think that most lowering springs do 1-1.5 inches. Changing my driveway to accomodate this would costs a couple thousand dollars which I don't care to spend (plus I'd probably have to pay a similar amount to modify my neighbor's driveway). I'm very surprised people are suggesting changing your driveway when they don't know what your limitations may be. Good luck on finding lifting springs.
I'm just suggesting that option due to what I picture in my mind from homes that I've looked at. Many driveways were gravel & could easily be smoothed out. A picture would help a lot in this case.
The warranty probably expired about 85 years ago. (It's an older home) Would the mileage hit spoken of, when talking of raising the car, be purely from an aerodynamic standpoint (since the gap under the vehicle would be increasing)? Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations, looks like modifying the driveway may be our only reasonable option. I suppose I could try placing a few patio stones directly after the apex, where it starts to flatten out, to in effect soften the sharpness. -Iain
Yes, you could place those patio stones both above and below the sharp peak. Then you can get cement and fill in the areas above and below the stones to make mini ramps on and off the stones if you will.
If you could just shave down that point to have 3 levels of driveway vs 2 levels it would look great & work beautifully. If you did some of the work it could be done pretty cheaply.
I see you're in Canada so it's probably different.. but in the United States most homes come with a home warranty for the 1st year following ANY sale... so even a 20 yr old or 85 yr old home would include a 1 yr warranty.
I forgot to ask if you run your tires at manufacturer spec levels or higher. As I was airing my tires up from 35/33 to 44/42 I watched the front end rise just a bit. Depending on how much clearance you need this may help some. Just and idea.
If you do that you will dammage your tires and reduce road safety. The manufacturer's recommended inflation level puts the widest footprint in the ground with the least road resistence (for traveling) and the best for braking. Too much air will bow out the centre causing greater wear on the tire and lestening the road contact. It also makes for a rougher ride.
This will only raise the rear, which will lower the cowel in the front. It will also affect headlight coverage. What one needs is something that will work on all 4 springs.
It shows that you are a newbie at Prius Chat. One of the first and inexpensive Prius mods is to hype up the PSI to acquire better gas millage and it doesn't detriment the safety of the vehicle. I had been driving Prii since 2005 as many other here too.
