its seems like I hit the cement parking dividers everytime I go into a shopping center (I know the Z doesnt belong in a shopping center) no visable damage yet, underneath you can feel where I ran on top of the cement. Any ideas from other Z owners on how to avoid them.

 

Minivan.


J/K... I usually just park close enough that my rear is not beyond the extent of the lines, but far enough that my front does not hover anywhere close to the cement stoppers. The Z is short, so I have no problems fitting spaces with ease.

 

Yeah, the Z isnt very long you can be ok parking atleast 1 foot away from those cement thing's.

Atleast the Z bumper doesnt get pulled off when that happens like it does with the VW Jetta's!

 

When lucky, i used the reflection from the car parked next to me to guide me (but only with a fairly nice/new car)...

 

the underside of my front bumper is rough from the concrete bumpers...masked off and painted the underside black...can't be seen.

There is a European car--BMW, MB, Audi?? whose right outside mirror automatically tilts down so that one can see a curb on the right side of the car when parallel parkng. When I first bought my Z, I scraped my wheels several times on the curb--hard to judge where the curb is. Had the wheels painted and I don't want to repeat the scraping, so I have been using the outside mirror adjustment switch to tilt the passenger side mirror down so that I can see the curb when I am backing into a parking space. Works well so far.

 

Interesting difference...

In the US... most people head in when parking.

In Japan... due to the tight and small parking areas and spaces... most people back in.

Backing in gives you clearance in most cases.


And the simple driving rule -->>> GOAL.... if you are not 100% certain, Get Out And Look ! Works all the time.

 

You could use those cool neon colored curb feelers.......those things are AWESOME, and they add 3 hp's!!!

 

I do the exact same thing when backing in!

 

n/m

 

that is pretty much what i do too. the car is so short there is no need to get it close to those cement things. of course, i learned this the hard way. i also scraped the bottom a couple times in the beginning. no visible damage luckily.

 

also try to avoid hitting armadillo's and opossoms, make a terrible sound not to mention the dammage and clean up

 

I use the back in method.I learned when I had my Vette that the front lip on sports cars are just too low to pull in.

 

heh I look at the reflection too!

I scraped in the first month, but I was used to pulling in till my wheels hit, then backing up a bit. it was a full size pick up tho so it was nescessary to fit.

but in the Z, youll find even a foot away from the curb your 2 feet farther in the spot than the SUV next to you. theres really the same amount behind you as in front, if not less. a little somthing to get used to.

 

Somebody needs to design some type of laser/sensor that mounts just below the spoiler and beeps when you are about 2 feet in front of any type of solid object.

I have designed over a thousand things in my life, but I know nothing about sensors, etc.

DeZigner

 

could just use the backup sensor systems in the front, itd do the same thing no? tho Id rather know about 6inches rather than 2 feet.

 

I thought it would be cool to install one of those rear view cameras in the front of the car and wire it up to the screen of the head unit (if yours has an input for this like some do) then you could see the parking curb on your LCD! saweeeet! hehe

-Dana

 

I got some black door edge protector, cut it to size and pushed it on. (Ihave that optional front lip)

It doesn't stop scraping, but as soon as I hear it, I back off. I replace it as necessary, and there are no new scrape marks.

 

Here's an idea...........

Put a 4" lift kit on it or maybe some 22" wheels. That way you could park your $40,000 ride on top of all of the curbs or just take it off-road and park it where ever you want to.

OR

How about just getting your a.. out of the car to see how far you are from the curb.

OR

Make your lady get out and guide you into the parking spot.

OR

Take off the bumper

 

They have this as an option in Japan. If you have a nav on your car, you can buy the adapters and install the camera on your car.