[Badmojo]

Dirt road and road salt.......that is going to suck ass. Driving season is unbelievably short. I give you 12-18 months before you move back.

[DevilsReject97]

Originally Posted by Filiper

Hey Guys,

My wife and I are making the unfortunate move from Austin to Michigan. While I'm sad my car will have to deal with the worst roads in the country, my primary concern is that our sub-division is off a dirt road (not my decision!). The sub itself is paved, but it's roughly a .4 mile drive on dirt to get back to pavement.

For those that potentially have experience in this area, is this doable with a 1LE? My car is immaculate and I'd hate to sell it, but I'm worried I'll be paranoid to leave the house. While I realize the decision is ultimately mine, I'm looking for advice that may steer me in the right direction on this.

Thanks in advance.
-Eric

Sorry to hear about the move...but you should already make plans for going to the Woodward Dream Cruise in August (every year)

You should be okay honestly on the road...and I do imagine it will get paved once the edition is complete....

[Homeless Junkie]

And I thought the worst roads in America were California!

I have friends who haveca driveway similar to yours. One loads his cars and bikes up in a trailer to bring toys down off the mountain. The other spoke with a paving company and had them dump millings down his driveway. Once bladed out and compacted the road is pretty much as smooth as asphalt.

[BDivine76]

Certainly if there is a whole subdivision it won't stay a dirt road for too long, right? I agree with most - it will be fine...annoying, but fine.

[Mark R]

I'm building a house now that is located down about 1/3 mile of gravel road. I have driven my ZL-1 out there, and going slow, it is not a problem.

[unavailablezl1]

Originally Posted by Homeless Junkie

And I thought the worst roads in America were California!

I have friends who haveca driveway similar to yours. One loads his cars and bikes up in a trailer to bring toys down off the mountain. The other spoke with a paving company and had them dump millings down his driveway. Once bladed out and compacted the road is pretty much as smooth as asphalt.

I have been to California from LA to SF, over to Tahoe and back down. No, the worst roads are in Louisiana. It takes a 4x4 just to get home in a lot of places.

[mblum]

I live down about .4 miles of gravel, it is doable but does kinda suck.

One major factor is the level of traffic on this road. If there is a lot of traffic it will tend to get torn up easy and have ruts. With these cars that won't work. If other traffic on this road is often enough and you meet other people I have found most will recognize you have a nice car and that you are driving 5 mph to keep it a nice car, those people will generally slow down to reduce dust and throwing gravel. Then you have the hill-billy redneck in his rusty 90's dodge truck driving 65 mph and he will toss rocks at you as he passes by.

Your tires will be just fine, mine have shown absolutely no damage from gravel. Make sure you do not do any aggressive driving right before you enter the road, if the tires are hot they will pick up everything. ZL1 add-on rock guards are great and will need those. Honestly I have gotten more chips in the paint at the race track than on my road.

Last thing, I will use compressed air to blow the car off when I arrive home. This will remove a majority of the dust in 2-3 minutes.

[kaydoe]

I would find a storage unit close on a good road before driving down a mud road.

[VAZL1]

Don't forget to consider that a-hole that has to pass you because your going to slow and throws rocks your way.

[Scottyz]

PPF the whole car and rock guards. I’m sure you’ll be fine then.

[Northtrack]

I live on a dead end gravel/dirt road about half a mile from pavement and have a gravel driveway as well. It helps being a dead end as there is limited traffic to deal with, but overall it's really non issue for me as drive the dirt section slowly and avoid following any vehicles closely. It does suck for keeping the car clean, but overall entirely manageable. FWIW I find rough/broken pavement much worse to drive on.

[JoeP@TeamBeckyD]

Originally Posted by Filiper

Hey Guys,

My wife and I are making the unfortunate move from Austin to Michigan. While I'm sad my car will have to deal with the worst roads in the country, my primary concern is that our sub-division is off a dirt road (not my decision!). The sub itself is paved, but it's roughly a .4 mile drive on dirt to get back to pavement.

For those that potentially have experience in this area, is this doable with a 1LE? My car is immaculate and I'd hate to sell it, but I'm worried I'll be paranoid to leave the house. While I realize the decision is ultimately mine, I'm looking for advice that may steer me in the right direction on this.

Thanks in advance.
-Eric

Hi Eric



Yes - the roads can be frustrating here ...
.............
I invite You to Join:
Motor City Camaro Club

Great People & Fun!
......

Becky

[mlee]

Oh man... Austin to Michigan with a ZLE. Tough one there.

I'm guessing it's not a daily driver so you should be able to deal with it for .4 miles on dry roads.

Get a trailer and do the track events with Becky.

[ETGZL1]

just a suggestion, I have clear filmed my entire front end, behind the front wheels, side mirrors and behind the rear wheels. clear is barely noticeable without any seems. I only drive in good weather on the weekends but drive it hard.... so far no road rash in any areas