Ground Clearance?

[RickM]

Getting closer to purchase.
Was leaning towards the Tungsten but have since swayed back to the all-common Red....especially with the 10k lower MSRP...and December pricing is looking fairly attractive for the 2005 cars.

Anyway, I have a tricky driveway that barely allows my (2002) Viper's front air dam to clear without scraping it. How does the ground clearance on the GT compare? Anyone with Viper history have a comparison? Hoping the GT is at least comparable and not lower...otherwise I got some driveway re-structuring to do...

Thanks!

 

[Neilda]

Rick, my GT goes up and down (rather slowly) a farm track - where my Vanquish or Murcielago would ground a little, the GT does not.

Having said that, check out the Top Gear link posted on this site somewhere - it shows where a GT can almost get stuck! It rather depends on the concave (if you see what I mean).

Can you approach your driveway at a slight angle to get one of the front wheels up first?

I would imagine any GT owner would want any excuse to go for a drive - why not persuade one to come and have a test on your driveway?!

 

[saber]

I have found that the GT's clearance is fairly good compared to other sports cars (my driveway can be challenging). If you could make it with your stock Viper, the GT should be similar.

 

[texasgt]

I agree, compared to similar cars the GT's ground clearance is very high. I think I read somewhere that it was one of the design restrictions to have a relatively high clearance. If your Viper clears, your GT should easily clear.

I do think the ride height is something of a compromise, and I'm looking into lowering mine. But if you have a challenging driveway you should be fine.

Mark

Getting closer to purchase.
Was leaning towards the Tungsten but have since swayed back to the all-common Red....especially with the 10k lower MSRP...and December pricing is looking fairly attractive for the 2005 cars.

Anyway, I have a tricky driveway that barely allows my (2002) Viper's front air dam to clear without scraping it. How does the ground clearance on the GT compare? Anyone with Viper history have a comparison? Hoping the GT is at least comparable and not lower...otherwise I got some driveway re-structuring to do...

Thanks!

 

[barondw]

I think there are two distinct issues:
1. Ground clearance is a non-issue
2. Front overhang (as seen in the BBC clip) is a major problem and restricts the ability to enter driveways and other changes of elevation. This is a real issue and not easy to resolve.

Some people with dips at the end of their driveways have placed thick wood boards there to easy the transistion.

Dave

 

[Neilda]

Dave, you described what I was struggling to describe. That is the exact problem - it's that angle of dangle thing! So it depends what our friends' driveway is like when it hits the street.....

There's an Aston owner who dug up his entire driveway to enable him to get his new Vanquish S up and down without grounding - the photos he sent showed it to be a massive engineering project!

 

[barondw]

Its easy to describe the angle of the dangle when you started the thought process.

Dave

 

[texasgt]

The front overhang issue is still much less of a problem with this car than with a Modern Ferrari or a Porsche GT3. The Ford GT in this arena is not even close to the monumental difficulty with front clearance on a Carrera GT.

Mark

I think there are two distinct issues:
1. Ground clearance is a non-issue
2. Front overhang (as seen in the BBC clip) is a major problem and restricts the ability to enter driveways and other changes of elevation. This is a real issue and not easy to resolve.

Some people with dips at the end of their driveways have placed thick wood boards there to easy the transistion.

Dave

 

[barondw]

Texas

That really isn't the point that was raised. Whether its better or not is not important if it scrapes when going into driveways or other spots with dips. And the car does scrape at least here in the States and in Paris.

Dave

 

[texasgt]

Well, the exact original point was whether or not the GT's "scrape factor" was comparable to a Viper or not. The car in my experience is surprisingly compliant with most driveways, compared to other "exotics".

Of course there are driveways all over the world that it will scrape; just as there are driveways on which a Taurus will scrape.....

Texas

That really isn't the point that was raised. Whether its better or not is not important if it scrapes when going into driveways or other spots with dips. And the car does scrape at least here in the States and in Paris.

Dave

 

[GT703]

Getting closer to purchase.
Was leaning towards the Tungsten but have since swayed back to the all-common Red....especially with the 10k lower MSRP...and December pricing is looking fairly attractive for the 2005 cars.

Anyway, I have a tricky driveway that barely allows my (2002) Viper's front air dam to clear without scraping it. How does the ground clearance on the GT compare? Anyone with Viper history have a comparison? Hoping the GT is at least comparable and not lower...otherwise I got some driveway re-structuring to do...

Thanks!

Rick,

My experience with my GT vs. my Viper GTS is that the Ford's clearance is GENEROUS compared to the Viper. Although my driveway hasn't been an issue with either, the Viper was more difficult from a clearance standpoint. My Ferrari Challenge Stradale, my Viper and my friend's Carrera GT all have clearance problems that is (so far) irrelevant with the Ford.

Good Luck and I hope that I have been helpful.

 

[RickM]

Thanks for all the input guys!
Yes, it was more of the front air dam clearance or overhang that I was concerned about. My driveway does indeed have a dip at the street entrance. My Viper clears its barely when entering at an angle.

Can someone repost the link that was mentioned (BBC Clip).

Thanks!