Steep driveway, different problem, any ideas?

[Dave TBG]

My driveway is steep, as in "the rear sensors think the street is an impending collision every time I back out" steep. I'm used to it, I just have to find the angle that works. Two angles actually, the driveway is a few degrees from being perpendicular to the street and there's a slight bend in the road that starts right there so one angle from the north and another from the south. Still, I've always found d a way to get up the hill. My 86 944 had to be backed in and my 2014 Passat needed a very sharp angle but I've always found something that worked.
I knew lowering the Mustang was never going to be an option but today I saw something I didn't expect. When I come home it's usually from the north and I've got that figured out pretty well, but I can't make it up the driveway from the south without scraping, Searching under the car didn't help, there are no scrape marks, so when it happened today I stopped, put on the parking brake and got out to look under the car. Plenty of clearance on the driver's side, more than I expected. I thought the right front was the culprit but there was still room to spare. The right rear was another story, it wasn't scraping, far from it, the tire was almost 2 inches off the ground.
I'm not sure what to do with this. Softer springs? New address? I'm open to suggestions.

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[tj@steeda]

They will put you a little lower (not by much) but you can look into getting the jacking rails - they will take the brunt of the scraping, protecting your investment.

https://www.steeda.com/Steeda-S550-...is-Jacking-Rails-2015-2019-Coupe_p_15941.html

There are threads where people say these have helped them prevent major damage in terms of taking the

• Protects the pinch welds on extremely lowered or air suspension equipped vehicles

abuse.
TJ

 

[Dave TBG]

Thanks TJ. I started this post last night but didn't finish it or post it until this morning. Apparently I left out an important detail. The car isn't actually scraping, far from it. The sound is either the wheel spinning as it leaves the ground or the diff trying to control it.

Edit, jacking rails are on my radar, but I should probably buy a jack first. One Steeda product at a time, the clutch spring had only been cycled 5 times when the picture was taken

 

[Norm Peterson]

Get or make a driveway curb ramp?


(if it was my car those rear sensors would have been put in a DIY-induced coma by the end of the second week . . . if not sooner)


Norm

 

[Racerx009]

Thanks TJ. I started this post last night but didn't finish it or post it until this morning. Apparently I left out an important detail. The car isn't actually scraping, far from it. The sound is either the wheel spinning as it leaves the ground or the diff trying to control it.

Edit, jacking rails are on my radar, but I should probably buy a jack first. One Steeda product at a time, the clutch spring had only been cycled 5 times when the picture was taken

 

[Racerx009]

I beat you out my driveway is steep that I have to come in across part of my lawn at a tight angle. Even trucks have issues

 

[Dave TBG]

I beat you out my driveway is steep that I have to come in across part of my lawn at a tight angle. Even trucks have issues

LOL, not an option, if the front end clears the Belgian block curb it'll bury itself in the dirt before the dirt before the front tires leave the pavement.

 

[VinnAY]

Thanks TJ. I started this post last night but didn't finish it or post it until this morning. Apparently I left out an important detail. The car isn't actually scraping, far from it. The sound is either the wheel spinning as it leaves the ground or the diff trying to control it.

Edit, jacking rails are on my radar, but I should probably buy a jack first. One Steeda product at a time, the clutch spring had only been cycled 5 times when the picture was taken

I have to hit my GFs driveway at a 90 degree angle or I get that same problem with the RR coming up and makes my Torsen go bonkers. I can get it at 90 degrees with no traction loss like that, or scraping. My Camaro though won't do it, I can get up w/o a scrap/traction loss but it scrapes the splitter if I back it out so I have to drive it out forward if that makes sense at a shallow angle.

 

[Nonsequitur]

The scraping sound you're hearing is likely the TC activating your rear right brake. A Torsen diff will not transfer power to the other wheel if one of them is completely off the ground.

I have a similar problem to yours. My car is parked in an underground garage and when I leave there is a 90 degree turn going up similar to your situation. I found that giving the car a little bit more momentum, I can lift off the gas while the wheel is off the ground and then get on it once it's down again.

 

[Ruiner46]

If it is traction control, it's probably worth a shot to try holding the switch to fully disable advancetrac before going up the driveway.

 

[VinnAY]

traction control off didn't help my problem

 

[Rick#7]

traction control off didn't help my problem

Well with the traction control there's sort of off and there's really off. If you just hit the traction control button you'll see an amber message window pop up on the dash screen saying that traction control is off. What that really means is the traction control effect is just reduced, however if you hold the button down for 5 - 6 secs the message will say AdvanceTrac off, that's when your traction control is really off! ;-)

 

[VinnAY]

I know how to turn it "off"

 

[Norm Peterson]

I think what you need to do with a Torsen-equipped car when one drive tire lefts clear of the ground is to apply the P-brake. What this does is give the unloaded wheel some resistance so it can bias some torque over to the side that's on the ground. It may take a bit of experimenting to find out how much P-brake is needed. And the smallest amount of throttle that'll get you past the low spot, so that when the light-side tire regains grip it won't shock the Torsen as badly.


Norm

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