skid plates

Is that to install the lift or skid plats?

I had some fitted to my 360 Spider for a few hundred pounds, sourced them from Hill. Are they very different for the Cali?


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Not something I'm planning. I think the front will be high enough for my needs. Time will tell.

 

What you need to watch for is suspension travel that catches the chin. Skid plates will not prevent that. Suspension travel happens when there is sudden drop as the ramp meets the road. I've had a few of those here, not heavy catches but enough to shred the wrap under the front of my car.

Always try to make the transitions at a sharp angle to the road putting one wheel through at a time, don't drive straight on to the road at 90°. That's the worst.

 

the nose of my '13 458 spider has never bottomed out.
i just 6 months, the nose of my '14 cali has scraped three times.

 

Well, I suspect it's a combination of that extra weight (3825 lbs vs. 3153 lbs) plus more frontal weight distribution (47/53 vs 42/58); same differences that gives the 458 a crisper turn-in. You can try angling the car more sharply when making those transitions than you were used to with your 458 Spider.

 

Were you referring to inclines or bumps that caused the bottoming?

 

I suspect he's referring to suspension travel.

Abrupt change in incline while all 4 wheels are simultaneously inclined is the main issue for me. Descending an incline is also more dangerous due to the car being pointed downwards, as more of the weight of the car is being press DOWN on the leading suspension, causing greater compression of the shocks when bumped. The speed bumps here are not a issue as they are not higher than curbs and the leading suspension just absorbs the bump. But if all four wheels are being tipped up while the car is being pivoted on the leading suspension, then the nose (or tail) of the car will point further down as the suspension lands over the bump... and will scrape (or crunch).

Every one of my scrapes were due to suspension travel when my car hit an abrupt change in decline as I descended my driveway... thanks to the stupid curbs they have here. I suppose our nasty curbs were designed to prevent rainfall (melting snow) runoff from washing on to people's driveways but they are very annoying when you traverse them because they usually cause a steering shudder and they are a hazard for cars with low clearance. It makes matters worse when there's also a bloody storm drain (extra low point) smack in the middle of the gutter on my driveway entrance.

I approach it slowly but I also try to turn my car at least 60° away from the perpendicular when transitioning my stupid driveway.