I noted a while back that my driveway has become less Corvette friendly with my neighbor's tree uprooting a section of the concrete. Well, the situation has become downright hostile. I had the Z06 for a weekend and was skirting around the offending bump as I was departing and WHAM! A litany of expletives followed immediately thereafter.
As I surveyed the damage, I felt that sickening feeling in my gut. It's moments like this that make you wish you had a Tivo skip-back button that worked in life. Maybe I could've driven further away from the hump. Maybe I should've taken a motorcycle. Maybe I didn't need to run this errand.
Then I looked at the offending piece of driveway concrete. It was no longer a moderate hump, it now sports a jagged edge protruding above the hump. It looked to me like the slab on the downslope side of the hump cracked under the weight of the front wheel. This forced the peak to jut upwards, right into the Corvette's rocker panel (see the animation below).
That fresh concrete edge took a chunk of fiberglass out of the Vette's underside that was the size of my fist. It also put a crack in the side of the panel. Now that the Z06 is back in service after the most recent tire-shredding incident, it's time to see how much damage I inflicted. I'm hoping that it really was just the fiberglass that took the hit, not anything structural.
I sent a picture of the damage to my landlord to let him know that this is most definitely a problem, but he's dragging his feet. I'm thinking I'll have to take care of the problem myself. In the meantime, I'll have to avoid bringing the Corvette home.
Let the internet flaming of Takahashi begin.
Mark Takahashi, Associate Editor
kevm14 says:
03:20 PM, 10/27/10
I don't personally want to blame you OR the car. It's a low car and that's a sucky driveway, that's all there is to say. That piece should be replaceable, possibly even a DIY job if it comes silver (or you obtain a used piece somehow).
ed124c says:
03:29 PM, 10/27/10
Your honor, I call your attention to this animation that the plaintiff has produced. I am sure you will find that.......
htr_hardtech says:
03:52 PM, 10/27/10
I bet you could get the guy next door, or the landlord to pay for it to be fixed, providing you have complained enough and sent in requests. I know as a landlord I would be f'ed if that happened. I would be paying for a fix.
stephen987 says:
04:13 PM, 10/27/10
Should've activated the Omega-13.
captainvw says:
04:18 PM, 10/27/10
stephen987: +20
maxedoutmax says:
04:38 PM, 10/27/10
And yours isn't even lowered :(. Its a very common place to bottom out... most ppl get additional frame rail protectors... I have it on my C5. And you have to go slowly over every bump, this car is looow with wide overhangs.
jlaszlo says:
06:11 PM, 10/27/10
A little soda water will get that out.
hybris says:
09:13 PM, 10/27/10
Warm up the lawyers if the landlord refuses to fix the problem.
chirsch3 says:
09:46 PM, 10/27/10
I have an actual question
So when something like this happens to an edmunds car are you personally responsible for its repair and subsequent cost because it was your fault?
stovt001 says:
10:55 PM, 10/27/10
I think and hope Kevm14 is right about this being a relatively simple repair.
The animation was great and I think scores you enough points to make up for the damage. And yeah, I think checking out a vehicle with a bit more ground clearance until things are literally smoothed out would be a wise decision. If only we could all temporarily switch cars as conditions warranted.
sharpend says:
02:41 AM, 10/28/10
Come on Mark, you should know better since you are a Lotus Elise driver. Bumps and dips are not your friends and your radar should have been up for these nefarious threats.
jasond52 says:
05:12 AM, 10/28/10
Have there been any concrete pillars in your past, perchance?
cello_one says:
07:19 AM, 10/28/10
I find it hard to fault Takahashi here - fessed up to it and provided a great graphic demonstrating the damage to a Blog not known for being gentle for these kind of offenses against great cars.
I still can't believe how many cars are damaged by overly aggresive concrete poles in the parking structure. They are poles. They are concrete. They do not move. I want to see a fun graphic demonstrating the damage to the Volvo!?!
Hope it is just a simple matter of removing and clipping a new body piece back on the car!
cruiserhead1 says:
08:49 AM, 10/28/10
kevm14
I totally agree with you.
Mark,
bummer but stuff happens. I like your animation to explain it.
Does this mean you will add the Raptor next to your dream list Ariel Atom? ;)
actualsize says:
09:07 AM, 10/28/10
@stephen987: But we don't know if that will end the universe, do we? This episode was badly written.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
09:30 AM, 10/28/10
Ouch. Another example how car designs and our road's reality have been out of sync.
FYI, I drove Audi's latest A4 Avant, and quickly discovered parking it in the new dealer's shiny parking spaces would grind off its underside (front end lack of clearance). Portland OR offers much worse, which is why high-clearance vehicles are so popular up here.
banhugh says:
07:54 AM, 10/29/10
"Let the internet flaming of Takahashi begin."
-Mark is an idiot with balls!
stingray454 says:
10:56 AM, 10/29/10
Yeah, frame rail protectors were an early upgrade I did to my Z06, to prevent this kind of damage. Haven't needed them yet, but it's nice to know they're there. The frame rail protectors were sold by an aftermarket company (DRM maybe, possibly Lingenfelter, I forget), and they are solid strips of aluminum that bolt into the frame rail, and run the entire length of the rocker panel. If something hits, it'll hit the frame rail protector first, avoiding the rocker panel. They're also useful for jacking the car up, in the likely possibility that a mechanic who doesn't know the proper jack points for the Corvette, damages the rocker panels too. The frame rail protectors make jacking the car idiot-proof.
Oh well, too late for that now. I doubt there is any frame damage. Although I don't know how easy it is to replace the rocker panels - definitely a body shop needs to get involved. Man, fiberglass sure looks ugly when it's damaged. Looks far more scary than a dent.
stephen987 says:
12:18 PM, 10/29/10
+1 actualsize
fast402 says:
07:37 PM, 11/11/10
It looks to me like your car may have been lowered. It has factory ride height adjustment bolts that can take it down about 3/4" from stock and then lots of guys slam them lower with aftermarket lowering bolts. Since this is a recurring theme, you might want to have somebody take a look and set it back to factory specs if it was lowered - of course then you will need another alignment too.