Hi MINIacs,

I just bought my first house, and will be putting in a driveway just for the BABY. The thing is, the only place I have to PUT a driveway is 9.5' wide and about 12' deep, and elevated about 6" from sidewalk level. Can you see where I'm going? I can't excavate because there is a large tree at one corner of the driveway. So I have a choice of having a sloped driveway with a low angle of approach, or a flat driveway (highly desireable for working on the car) with a sleeper approach angle. This is only an issue because the driveway is so short.
Back in the day when i was ordering my car, I remember a diagram showing the front approach anlge for the MCS (no aero kit, no lowering springs), but I can't find it now. Anyone know?

BTW, my car is temporarily garaged out of state, or else I'd go measure it myself.

 

In the large car brochure (ie, the 40 plus page version), there is a 'ramp breakover angle spec' showing a side view of the car, with a line under the car, representing the ground. The line was perfectly horizontal but had a point under the center of the body of the car where the line (ground) goes downward at a 10 degree angle. You might have to do some serious thinking about how this works into your situation... but the text says

"A ramp breakover angle of 10 degrees prevents the car from grounding and makes parking in underground parking garages a much less stressful experience."

p.s, the 2005 cars are 143.1 inches from bumper to bumper.give you the

Hope that helps, enjoy your car !!

 

never mind..I thought I understood the condition, but now reading it
a few times, im not sure...

 

come to think more about it, it does not describe the angle in the opposite direction, ie. ground going up....


hmmmm.......

 

The following info was taken from the MINI brochure dated 2002 ,section entitled "Equipment":
Bumper to bumper length
MC is 142.8
MCS is 143.9

Incline photo (sorry for the poor picture)
the yellow angled area says 10 degrees.

So a 6 inch change in elevation at 12 feet long means a sloped driveway of 4.16% (not sure how to convert percent to degrees); however, you don't want your driveway to be totally flat, otherwise water will drain into your garage.

 

That's not what he needs, but it was a good try.

He needs to know approach angle. On your drawing, imagine a line starting at the contact point of the front wheel and going up and away (to the left). He needs to know the maximum angle before it contacts his front spoiler.

The MINI's short overhang helps here. The effect can be minimized by going into such a driveway at a shallow angle. Avoid a direct approach.

Rawhyde

 

Thanks guys! I have to do some plotting and see what I can come up with. Oh, did I mention that not only is the car not where I am, the house isn't either. I can't wait until MAY!

Ok, worked it up in CAD with the 10 degree measurement and I think I will JUST be able to fit the wheels on a mostly level pad with the nose and tail hanging over. No one else will be able to fit though, a true "MINI Parking Only" Space. I'll HAVE to get one of those signs! Photos to follow... in a few months.

(And there is no garage, unfortunately.)

 

Verruckt - You might want to go less than 10 degrees because that picture does not factor when the car is loaded (weight of driver, passenger, etc). Whether you're going up or down, what that photo is showing is the max. incline before you bottom out under the door sills.

(Too bad you can't excavate, I know a friend who actually constructed a concrete pit in the middle of his driveway, so that he could work underneath without jacking up the car.)

 

Concrete pit to work under his car? Like Jiffy Lube!
Better not do that too close to sea level and have a really rainy day and poor drainage of you'll have a nice swimming pool under your car.

Also remember you can enter a steeply angled driveway one wheel at a time on a slight angle to help to not scrape. If you leave the MINI at stock suspension height the lowest part of the front bumper is about 4 to 4.5 inches off the ground.

 

Yeah, it's a good thing that I passed up those H-Sports!
I'm thinking that 10 degrees is probably safe, considering that they published it in the manual/ brochure. In those situations, technitians and insurance overseers tend to err on the side of caution I will, of course, do some tests before I go pouring concrete and asphault, but I appreciate the help! Worst case scenarion, I can just slope the whole driveway, leaving a shallow entry/exit angle. I just don't want to have to rely on the E-brake too much, as my wife grew up in Flatland, and tends to forget to use it.

 

good comments by all...as a landscape architect I thought I would chime in on one issue. Check to make sure your local codes allow you to construct and park a car in the right of way. Where I live you have to provide parking for at least two cars behind the ROW line.

I also concur with postive drainage towards the street. I also back my car into it's space so I won't have to back into traffic. just a thought.

 

I don't know what you mean by the Right Of Way line. Could you explain? Here is a diagram of what's going on:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d_driveway.jpg

Of course I have to get permits to "cut" the curb and the sidewalk, but my neighbors have done it. I will chack codes, but between the short wide driveway and the narrow long one, I don't see why I couldn't have a narrow short one. And yes, I will absolutely grade toward the street, but that can be very shallow. My concern is to have it flat enough to be able to use a jack and stands safely.

 

R.O.W line in most cases would be your front property line. Right-of-Way means public right of way, the area where the public has a right to travel on, such as the street and sidewalk. In older neighborhoods where there is no sidewalk or even street curb, the right of way line may be at the edge of the street.

In your diagram, if your property line is the same line as the backline of the sidewalk, you should be ok as long as you don't park onto the sidewalk OR overhang over the sidewalk (someone jogging on the sidewalk, trips and falls because your car impedes his/her right of way...you could be liable)

And in regards to ZAKdog's comment on the 2 car requirement, depending on your lots zoning (check your Zoning or Planning Dept), you may be required to provide 2 off-street parking (parking within your lot). Your neighbors are providing 2 stalls.

 

Yeah, I think I'll be ok on the ROW then. But I'll have to check on the zoning. I wouldn never have thought of that. I'm going to be really angry if I am told that I have to have either a two car pad or no pad. Especially when the whole street is metered parking, with no provision for resident permits!


Thanks again!

 

unless you know it for a fact, don't assume your neighbor bought a permit for the improvement


if you have pics of the existing conditions showing the relationship to the street and the garage, it would be helpful...my suggestion: take your proposed improvements along with pics of existing conditions down to the P&Z and/or bldg dept and ask them to review as a pre-application. Most cities are very helpful with these things...