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Ride Height concerns when entering typical crappy HK Car Park

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Hey guys I also have a very strange question for you and maybe need some expert help if anyone of you guys has encountered this issue?

I have a very steep curve entrance into my parking space, I'm just wondering if it is safe to drive a Tesla over this kind of steep lump in my parking space? I purchased the smart air suspension so I guess I have extra height and it should be ok, but I'm just paranoid to damage the underneath of the batterys or get stuck on the hump.


I only worry because the Tesla has a long wheel base, I worry when trying to get over this steep short lump in the road, it can touch the bottom of the car? (It's really steep I'm not being paranoid and first time I navigated my car park I worried my BMW 118i may die on it but it can clear it without hitting it)


I noticed that there is quite a large BMW 740li parked next to me which seems a similar height and wheel base to the Model S and is not stuck on this hump so that is reassuring, I only don't know if this ride height is taller than Model S or that their wheels are closer together meaning they can get over this steep lump better? Do you know how I can check this because Ideally I want to keep my parking space if possible as its next to my apartment and so cheap compared to other spaces around the area!


Thanks for your help on this.


Lee
 
Hey guys I also have a very strange question for you and maybe need some expert help if anyone of you guys has encountered this issue?

I have a very steep curve entrance into my parking space, I'm just wondering if it is safe to drive a Tesla over this kind of steep lump in my parking space? I purchased the smart air suspension so I guess I have extra height and it should be ok, but I'm just paranoid to damage the underneath of the batterys or get stuck on the hump.


I only worry because the Tesla has a long wheel base, I worry when trying to get over this steep short lump in the road, it can touch the bottom of the car? (It's really steep I'm not being paranoid and first time I navigated my car park I worried my BMW 118i may die on it but it can clear it without hitting it)


I noticed that there is quite a large BMW 740li parked next to me which seems a similar height and wheel base to the Model S and is not stuck on this hump so that is reassuring, I only don't know if this ride height is taller than Model S or that their wheels are closer together meaning they can get over this steep lump better? Do you know how I can check this because Ideally I want to keep my parking space if possible as its next to my apartment and so cheap compared to other spaces around the area!


Thanks for your help on this.


Lee

Which car park are you talking about exactly? So far I have yet to find a car park that increases its slope drastically as you have mentioned, though breaking the rear bumper is not unheard of in Hong Kong.
 
I have seen three car parks (all in public housing estates), where the slope between the different levels is not only steep, but also abrupt. Instead of rounding off the edge from steep to straight, it's a hard angle.

Bottom of these slopes are OK, but the top, this edge is sticking so much out that you need "higher" to clear it. My car now remember these places, and I myself, now remember when I see these types of ramps, I need to use the "higher" setting.

A funny downside is if you are driving past the estate at normal speed, you can get the message of something like "Unable to change suspension" - because you are inside the area of the "higher" setting, despite being next to that parking and not inside it.

Finally - the car is well protected underneath, by a special shield. The first time you experience such an obstacle, go very slowly, maybe even have someone watch from the outside (if possible).
 
Thanks guys you're making me a little less nervous about this. I also had tesla tell me it shouldn't be too risky. So I'll stick with my car park space for now.

The thing is, if you do know which car park has a steep and abrupt inclination, you can request the car park to fix that. Because if the damage of your car is caused by their flaw in design, then they can be sued.
 
I think that if you set the suspension to the highest setting and drive slowly, that won't be a problem.

My story - I drive my girl to school everyday and the entrance to the school driveway has a very high and steep angled edge and before I had the Tesla, I observed a Maserati many times and it just barely cleared it. So I set the suspension to very high. One day somehow I reset it to normal without knowing and I drove over that edge everyday in normal height without problem. So the ride height is not that low.

- - - Updated - - -

An old blog by Elon explaining and demonstrating the strength of the underbody shield. This should give you some peace of mind.
https://medium.com/@teslamotors/tes...inum-deflector-plates-to-model-s-544f35965a0d
 
also it's better to go over the end of a slope with an angle, not going straight.

Well, that's all great yes - when you have such an option. In these car parks, you have to position the car to the extreme opposite side of the upcoming turn, in order not to undercut the turn and scratch the inside of the car. There is only one way to cross the "slope with an angle", dictated by the immensely stupid design. Yes, air suspension is required, as well as a "7 camera look around" system.

I am now a bit more confident of the edges of my car when turning, but it's still often more guesswork, if I make it or not. The challenging car parks are not only a question of saving money and not having enough space: It's most often just designed in such a poor way that it's very impractical (and dangerous)
 
Thanks guys, got my car a day ago and it got down the slope with about 2 inches left to spare, sadly my current parking space for me to turn around and go back up the slope takes about 100 maneuvers and 10 mins of going back and forth, so lucky I can get into the space, but seriously need to move to a better parking spot!
 
Thanks guys, got my car a day ago and it got down the slope with about 2 inches left to spare, sadly my current parking space for me to turn around and go back up the slope takes about 100 maneuvers and 10 mins of going back and forth, so lucky I can get into the space, but seriously need to move to a better parking spot!

Do you mind sharing which insurance company did you go for (comprehensive insurance, I believe) and the annual premium?
 
For insurance, I highly recommend Cindy from Prudential ([email protected]). I got quotations from Liberty, DirectAsia.com, AXA, and Prudential (Cindy) and Cindy's quote was the cheapest and had better comprehensive coverage. Cindy is part of the "Tesla community" and is super responsive and helpful. I also ended up getting $10M public liability insurance for the charger at my private car park stall - again, she was the cheapest, had the coverage I needed and was super responsive and helpful. She has helped many other Telsa owners get the best deal on insurance. I have no relation with Cindy apart from being a happy customer.
 
For insurance, I highly recommend Cindy from Prudential ([email protected]). I got quotations from Liberty, DirectAsia.com, AXA, and Prudential (Cindy) and Cindy's quote was the cheapest and had better comprehensive coverage. Cindy is part of the "Tesla community" and is super responsive and helpful. I also ended up getting $10M public liability insurance for the charger at my private car park stall - again, she was the cheapest, had the coverage I needed and was super responsive and helpful. She has helped many other Telsa owners get the best deal on insurance. I have no relation with Cindy apart from being a happy customer.

Awesome thanks for adding! Please note my insurance was company insurance