exige front splitter ground clearance

[bluejae]

i read that the front splitter to the ground measures about 4.3 inches... is this accurate? how much clearance is there for the elise? i've read here and there about people scratching the bottom of their front clam due to normal driving i guess... but that means for the exige it will be even worse...

has anyone had experience (probably not a good one) of going up an incline, ramp, driveway entrance, or just a nasty speed bump that scrapes the bottom?

[ChrisB]

Originally Posted by bluejae

...has anyone had experience (probably not a good one) of going up an incline, ramp, driveway entrance, or just a nasty speed bump that scrapes the bottom?

Haven't we all? I have to believe that the Exige is even more prone to this and the damaged part more visible than the Elise, which tends to be down under the front edge.

[bluejae]

awww man... have you (ChrisB)?... where did it happen?
other than the really unexpected... like a tire on the road at night or something... i think i'm pretty observant... but when it comes to a little hill i have to drive up to get to my girlfriends church parking lot... i'm just screwed then aren't i... i haven't tried yet of course since i don't have my car yet... but just by looking at it i think i'm not gonna make it... i know a kid who has a 350z and he gets up and down it just fine... i'm trying to find out how much clearance his Z has...

ever since i decided to get an exige... i've been looking around for roads, hills, bumps, cracks, etc of things i should avoid... i can always take different and better routes... but this one hill is gonna kill me...

[charliex]

seems like the same height, the only difference is that the splitter extends the front out by about 5cm. so for akward entrances 45 degrees or so should be used, i can clear my driveway with about 1cm to spare head on, which is about the same as the elise, it just gets there quicker, at an angle, no problems at all. the suspension can bottom out making a noise that sounds like it hit the ground.

i scratched my elise up the first or second day i had it, haven't done it yet on the exige , no doubt it'll be soon enough, its going to be very hard to keep that front end scratch free ( especially in LA ) at least this time i made it more than a day or two.

my elan is much lower than either of them , its front underside is a mess, but its a lot easier to replace that bumper, the splitter will probably take the brunt.

i think its just something thats inevitable and not worry about it too much.

be extra careful when you have a passenger and any extra weight, it alters ride height significantly thats when i took out a 2 inch strip in the front clam, $1000 to fix for the dealer ( i never did it, since i figured it'd happen again anyway )

cheers

[mevistox5]

Originally Posted by bluejae

ever since i decided to get an exige... i've been looking around for roads, hills, bumps, cracks, etc of things i should avoid... i can always take different and better routes... but this one hill is gonna kill me...

Are you sure you will still be enjoying the car?

[ChrisB]

Originally Posted by bluejae

awww man... have you (ChrisB)?...

Lot's of places. All it takes is a dip in the road while you're distracted or, in one case, at the Lotus service parking area here...they have a low cement planter right in front of the customer parking spots.

You really can't see the scrapes (on mine, anyway) unless you lay on the ground, but you can feel them. The cement planter caused me concern though because it wasn't underneath the clam like the road scrapes, it smacked the front head on. Felt pretty bad, but I couldn't see any damage.

[bluejae]

Originally Posted by mevistox5

Are you sure you will still be enjoying the car?

yes i plan to very much!!

but still keeping an eye out for anything big...