for a dropped (stechs) tC????


im gonna be attending Seattle Univ. next semester and the school is right next to downtown....

i was wondering what to expect there...
what roads should i avoid (etc. bremerton ferry (i think thats how you spell it )) ?
high theft areas where i shouldnt park ?
famous places where dropped cars always SCRAPE?



please please post your feedback for i will need it greatly

 

You should avoid the downtown area. Specifically around the Seattle U area.



I'm kidding.

The hills in downtown aren't that bad. There are a couple spots where you just have to go a little slower, but you shouldn't have too much of an issue. I haven't had problems in my xA, but when I had my accord I had 1/2" clearance at the lowest spot. Every where else was just over 1" of clearance. And I drove around up there all the time and really didn't run into too many issues.

I don't know what the parking lot looks like there, as far as speed bumps and stuff go.

Are you going to be living in Bremerton? I'm confused why the Bremerton Ferry would cause you problems. You're on a boat.

There are alot of railroad tracks down there, especially down near Alaskan Way (where all the piers and docks are). But they have fixed a lot of those. As long as you don't speed over them, you'll be fine.

The only other place that "sounds" bad is on 1st Avenue and Pike St. I say it sounds bad because it's all brick in the road at that intersection (some historic crap with the Pike Place Market). So no matter how slow you drive on it, it sounds like your car is going to fall apart and/or explode. It's even worse if you have some lower profile tires. But...there is nothing to worry about at that point except the sound.

Ummm....There is always random construction around the city. But, if you get to a spot where it is really bad, there are always other routes to take so you can avoid them. LIke I said, for the most part it's not too bad up there.

OH! I-5. North or South bound. If you have any issues of tire rub, make sure you have good shocks. There is a stretch of I-5 that is very bouncy. You should have any scrapping problems (unless your shocks are blown), but if you have issues with tire rub, then it could turn into a problem.


I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

When are you moving up here?

 

The bad thing about the Bremerton ferries is the prospective fear of bottoming out while entering or exiting the ferry. The ramps aren't made for lower cars. Me personally, I haven't taken the ferry to Bremerton while lowered on my tC, but I'd imagine it'd be pretty difficult. But then again, I have TRD springs now, so my car is still relatively high compared to those ramps.

 

i scraped the front of my xB (stechs) getting off one of the ferrys (annacortes route i think)

6th ave just off i-5 is kinda bumpy i take that every day to work...just dont fly down it and you should be fine...

other than that... seattle has gotten better about filling potholes pretty quickly.... so the biggest issue i think would be just transistioning from street to parking lots... normal drive way concerns things like that

 

both of my cars are dropped 2" and i havent had any problems with bottoming out or scraping while driving in seattle. as long as you're careful you should be fine

 

You guys are missing the biggest part...

Yes there is construction that'll get you because they don't care about the road level at all...

But the worst is not the roads but more the driveways into/out of businesses, parking lots, etc. Most places didn't think about lowered cars on these entrances and you'll see the scrapes in the pavement from people who have had issues in the past.

When I used to drive my hubby's lowered Honda, no matter how I turned diagonally into the entrances or how slow I went, I was getting it hung up on the side skirts. Especially in the downtown parking garages which have such steep inclines (and the front nose of hubby's Honday took a huge battering when the inclines leveled w/o enough room to clear the car).

But then again...I could just be a bad driver.

 

solution: dont park in downtown parking garages

ive always parked along the curb

 

Yeah...good luck finding street parking downtown...

 

downtown seattle has a lot of hills, and there are a lot of train tracks by safeco field.

 

Watch out for the Wallingford Dick's on NE 45th St, the Burgermaster on Aurora and NE 100th St., and the View Ridge PCC at NE 65th St. and 40th Ave NE. The driveways on all three of those are pretty crunchy in my experience.

 

Oh...but Dick's is defenitly fun to sit at and watch people that don't know any better.

You know how people will take a turn really quick in between a small gap of cars so they don't have to wait? People do that here. I've seen stock cars bottom out on that entrance. Or when they try to be all extra cool and leave the parking lot fast. All that happens is they dent their muffler and crack their bumper.

Good call though. Defenitly be careful there.

 

phew....i got scared after reading that first sentence....

im actually moving up in september...

 

thanks for the input guys...

i think im in big trouble because my car is dropped on stock shocks w/ stock 17s....
i just recently put the stechs on so it may be okay for a while....



and i asked about the bremerton ferry because i was planning to go on it with my car and i heard its difficult to not bottom out???


and about the driveways or parking lot entrances in downtown...i remember that there was a big drop to go in ..lol.... but i dont know if thats for every parking lot entrance in downtown........




you guys think i should put my stock springs back on????

 

Nah...I'm sure you'll be fine. I have only been on the Bremerton Ferry a couple times, so I can't remember if it is that bad.

But yeah, I'm sure it won't be that bad.

 

Hi 808tc,

I am Mocascion's husband. Having moved up to WA from CA some of the biggest differences are the road lanes are a lot smaller you have no room to take turns wide or enter into parking lots at an angle, or have fun on on ramps and off ramps to freeways. I had an 01 accord before with 18’s that sat about 3 inches off the ground. Here are pics http://www.cardomain.com/ride/340094. There are some areas that even stock cars scrape. The biggest issue is, this area is more mountainous it’s not as flat as most of California is. We don’t have as much room to make lanes wider or to be able to make a driveway to gently slope up or down. The two right lanes on I5 are bad and bumpy due to all the truck traffic. They are working to fix a lot of I5’s issues.

As for the question should you go back to stock it may be worth it to put the stock springs on at least for a few months while you get use to the area. It is expensive to have to deal with paying for body work if you scrape a bumper. It also depends on if you are a careful driver.

As for areas to avoid due to theft Seattle ranks number 6 on this list
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933686.html . So depending on where in cali you live you may be better off in Seattle . For the most part cars that I know of that are stolen are usually used to get from point A to point B. They are usually older cars that are easier to get into. Once the car runs out of gas the thieves ditch it.

People are always going to try and jack your stuff an Alarm and any visual deterrents will help but if you have nice wheels and a nice stereo like most of us do you are a target. People tried to break into my Honda several times and it sucked cuz each time they would not get anything I like to say thanks to my Alarm (what did they think the little blinking red light was for anyway?).

I hope you enjoy WA and are able to make it out to some of our events.

 

I think the Integra (all different years) takes up about 10 of the top 15 most stolen cars in the country.

As long as you don't have anything majorly inviting in your car, it won't be that bad. I try not to drive my car anywhere that it is going to sit in a parking lot unattended all day. That's what the CRX is for. Just don't give them a reason to break into your car, and you'll be fine.

 

fortunately...i got a viper responder alarm for my tc....
so in the event my alarm goes off, i get beeped and i can give an ___ whoopin!!!

also, my car looks stock w/ only the stock 17s / stech drop/ oem lip kit...

but it still looks good





but as far as parking goes.... should i just catch a taxi to downtown???



maybe i should just take off my springs ......
does anyone know what the clearance is with stechs and oem lip kit?

 

I got the viper with the two way remote as well it does not work all that well after about 1/4 or a mile away or in some buildings.

BCS,
I would think the CRX would be more of a target than the TC. The early 90's Honda Civic, Accord and Acura Integra GSR for sure along with the Toyota Camry are all targets.

 

The problem with the ferrys is that the approach angle changes depending on tide and the load the ferry is carrying -most times it is probably OK, but there will be times where it can really be a challenge...

 

wow....i never thought of those factors.... thanks