Low front end scraping ground on inclines

Does anyone have a suggestion to keep the front end from scraping the ground on slight inclines if not driving slow enough? When entering a driveway that has a sudden steep upwards incline, unless I slow down, there is a good chance that the front end scrapes the ground. It also happens when doing the same thing in reverse. My previous car was higher at the front so I'm not used to this situation. It may just be something I'll have to get used to.

There are lifters you can buy, their called Saggy Butt, I’ve seen 1/4 inch to about 2 inches of lift. They run about $165 for a pair and you can find them on most Subaru aftermarket webpages

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Does anyone have a suggestion to keep the front end from scraping the ground on slight inclines if not driving slow enough? When entering a driveway that has a sudden steep upwards incline, unless I slow down, there is a good chance that the front end scrapes the ground. It also happens when doing the same thing in reverse. My previous car was higher at the front so I'm not used to this situation. It may just be something I'll have to get used to.

 

My previous Legacy, 2006 Limited GT, was lower and always crunching the curb in parking spots. My current Limited XT is higher and doesn’t hit the curbs, thankfully, since it has a higher hood line and the curbs are not visible as I approach. The GT had a sloping front end and I could see the curbs as I came closer.

 

At one time I had a trailer hitch installed on my old Legacy. That was a big problem and always scraped on inclines such as going into a gas station. Fortunately getting rid of the hitch solved that for me but I still had to be cautious. This Legacy has given me no such issues.

Danny.... Thanks for the information regarding the lifters. Next time I go to the dealer for maintenance/inspection, I'll be sure to ask about them. If they have them and are not too expensive, I'll get them. I don't have the facilities or know-how to do it myself. Do you know if they affect the performance/safety of the car?

 

JP..... I appreciate your comments. I have the limited edition. It is so low in the front that when I diagonal park against a curb, the front end scrapes along the curb. I'll follow Danny's suggestion and look into the lifters.

It may affect you gas mileage a little bit, and you may get a little bit more sway when turning either sharp corners, or turning at a higher rate of speed, but it shouldn’t be to bad, it shouldn’t affect the safety of the vehicle at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lift kit/get taller tires/remove front bumper.

 

 

tried my best to not give a sarcastic answer.

Check with your dealer to see if something is wrong. Otherwise my Legacy has more ground clearance than most other cars. If you are coming from a truck you do need to learn to drive in a more conservative manner.

 

You are supposed to slow down entering a driveway.

... Otherwise my Legacy has more ground clearance than most other cars...

 

My Legacy XT has the 18” wheels I’ve had no issues with this. With my previous ‘06 Legacy GT with 17” wheels I did. I just checked and if he does have a Limited 2020 he should also have 18” wheels so there really shouldn’t be a problem. My previous Legacy I would scrape the bumper on the curbs in my community when I parked. I no longer do with the new one and have not scraped any driveways but I can imagine certain ones could be a problem.

One thing to “try” is check the air pressure all the way around. You can decide if you want to add a few pounds to all four tires, of course never going over the psi on the tire. Or maybe the recommended pressure on the side door placard isn’t being met.

I noticed the low clearance pulling up to a curb. I think it may be the low profile tires. Must get used to it and possibly use the front camera.

I noticed the low clearance pulling up to a curb. I think it may be the low profile tires. Must get used to it and possibly use the front camera.

On my previous car, a 2006 Legacy GT, I had 17” 45 tires and would always scrape a curb if I wasn’t careful. I was paranoid about this when getting my new Legacy Limited XT because it is much more difficult to see barriers or curbs as you approach, the ‘06 Legacy had a down sloping hood and was a smaller car overall. So now I wind up parking a foot or two out from the curbs in my neighborhood but the car has 18” 50 tires and even if I pull all the way up to the curb there’s no scraping. My model does not have the front view camera so I was sweating it at first but now I find I can pull all the way up till the tires bump the curb without an issue. Although I’m still usually out further than I had intended.

It may affect you gas mileage a little bit, and you may get a little bit more sway when turning either sharp corners, or turning at a higher rate of speed, but it shouldn’t be to bad, it shouldn’t affect the safety of the vehicle at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Danny, thanks for the info. I don't want want to sacrifice performance, so I think I'll just drive more carefully....i.e.:go up driveways slower, be care approaching a curb.

Check with your dealer to see if something is wrong. Otherwise my Legacy has more ground clearance than most other cars. If you are coming from a truck you do need to learn to drive in a more conservative manner.

 

You are supposed to slow down entering a driveway.

Stuff thanks for your input. I do have the 18" tires. As I mentioned in other replies, I'll just be conscience of the low front end when driving.

One thing to “try” is check the air pressure all the way around. You can decide if you want to add a few pounds to all four tires, of course never going over the psi on the tire. Or maybe the recommended pressure on the side door placard isn’t being met.

Thanks, Famduke for your input. My tires are correctly inflated. I just drive more conservatively.

Are you SURE the front end is scraping? Have you looked at the underside of the front bumper to see if there are scrape marks? This car has a LOT of ground clearance. Unless you go bombing into driveways at 20 mph, it seems unlikely it's rubbing the bottom of the front bumper.

 

One possible explanation for the sound you are hearing is that the car may be slightly spinning one tire. If you enter the driveway at an angle, and apply power, the unloaded wheel may spin momentarily, causing a brief noise that can sound like grinding. Maybe have someone stand outside the car while you do it and they can observe what's happening?

 

Dan

Mach V

FastWRX.com

I have scraped mine a couple of time coming out of a drive way a little to fast and the drive way goes down and up again. On the downside right before coming up it would scrape. Again I was doing about 10 coming out of the drive way and the car bounced a little.

This car has a LOT of ground clearance. Unless you go bombing into driveways at 20 mph, it seems unlikely it's rubbing the bottom of the front bumper.

 

Dan

Mach V

FastWRX.com

I have to agree, this has more clearance and the whole body structure is higher than my previous Legacy. In it I always had to be very careful and slow and still on some surfaces such as inclines into gas stations I’d still occasionally scrape. On this one I don’t even come close, but it’s less than two months old, I don’t go bombing through anything.

Ground clearance really isn't an issue for me.

 

I actually went into deep forest trails last weekend, and though I was scared a few times regarding ground clearance, after stopping a few times by precaution, I finally ended up seeing that the ground clearance is actually fairly impressive for a car.

 

I usually baby my cars, but what a blast it was driving on dirt forest roads!!

 

PS: Love the fact that I have my 2015's Legacy wheels. Already have winter tires on for the upcoming Canadian winter