Blogs at Fitment Industries

Driving a car that is literally an inch off the ground can come with some challenges, so today, we thought it'd be cool to give some more tips about driving a slammed vehicle, along with some of the best aftermarket parts and accessories you should have installed on your slammed car so you can get the most out of every drive. Before jumping in, though, check out our inventory of wheels, tires and suspension kits for your car so you can get a slammed setup for yourself. Ready? Let's get into it! Table Of Contents: -Get A Skid Plate Installed On Your Slammed Setup -Plan Your Route Ahead Of Time -Tips For Driving A Slammed Car On Bad Stretches of Road -Tips For Modding A Slammed Car To Make Driving Easier -Tips For Jacking Up A Slammed Car Get A Skid Plate Installed On Your Slammed Setup One of the best things you can have on your slammed car is a skid plate - part of the challenge of driving a slammed vehicle is that you are so low to the ground that any obstacle that lies ahead can be a problem, and metal skid plates do a great job of taking away some of that risk. Hitting chunks of rock and steep entrances can suck, but the exact spot that's impacted on your vehicle, 9 times out of 10, is the skid plate directly. You'd be surprised to see that aluminum skid plates are pretty common, and most likely there's a company that makes one for your car specifically, which makes them a breeze to install and not too much of a pain to take off and on between oil changes. It's a lot of screws, but that's easy - take screws up, put them in, and you're good to go. If you're handy with tools, this is something that you could even do yourself. Now, we'll say that this is not the be all end all for your slam car build - after all, it's not like you can just put on a skid plate and be golden to ride off into the sunset, because you'll probably start hitting every pothole on your way there, but it will put one more thing between the road and you. Click here to shop aftermarket body kits for your vehicle! Plan Your Route Ahead Of Time Something that can go along with a skid plate and literally cost you zero dollars might sound kind of silly, but just go plan your route. Obviously, we understand that this won't work all the time, but we're talking more like the drive to work or to go get gas, or go to school, or any routine place that you make stops. We all have bad roads in the areas we're from, but we also know which ones are the best and the most fun to cruise on. We also know the ones that have crazy steep entrances and sometimes there are workarounds, even if that means a commute that's three minutes longer - that's way better ahn having to replace your oil pan every time you drive. Go cruise around for a bit, find out which streets are best, and be sure to take those every day - little stuff like this can save you a massive headache later on. Tips For Driving A Slammed Car On Bad Stretches of Road Now that we're getting onto the subject of bad driveway entrances, roads, and speed bumps, let's talk about how you're going to handle those - avoid them. Don't hit those, but if you have to handle these bad stretches of road, check out our tips for doing so below: Potholes: Don't hit potholes - don't even hit the small ones. Chances are that the small ones you think are okay are actually a lot worse. Speed Bumps: If you absolutely need to drive over a speed bump, take it slow and at an angle but keep your wheels straight - if you turn and try to go over it, you'll probably bash your tire into your fender. Driveways: Take driveways at the maximum angle that's allowed - just because you went in okay doesn't mean backing out will be fine. Take extra precaution while backing out, because this is generally when things like to hook or grip and end up ripping a splitter, a lip, or even your bumper clean off. Side Tip: Side tip for the tip blog, we're going meta - roll down your window and you can listen to see if you're hitting or starting to catch on something. If you are, stop immediately and assess the situation to avoid any more damage. Don't just think "Ah, it's only scraping a bit, it'll be fine," because then you'll back out and your bumper will be laying in the street or your driveway or wherever. Read More: Everything You Need To Know About The Most Popular Styles of Fitment Tips For Modding A Slammed Car To Make Driving Easier Right then - if you're still having some issues moving around with a slammed setup, we've got some more tips that you can do to your car to make things even easier. Stretch Your Tires: Yup, we said it - if you're rubbing like crazy because you're slammed, a different tire size can help more than you think. This is the actual reason people stretch their tires, as it gives you more room in the wheel wells. We're not saying to go buck wild with this and try and put a 195 on an 11.5-wide wheel, but we've dabbled with some 215s on a 9.5-wide before. Getting the sidewall to bend in will give more room from your fender to the tire and help from making bacon on the fenders, or worse. Roll Your Fenders: If you really don't want to stretch your tires, another thing you can do is roll your fenders. Any car that's lowered should roll its fender, and that's not up for discussion. Just roll them and get it done with - also, this absolutely needs to be done if you're slammed. Rolling a fender takes the inner metal lip on your fenders and rolls it up to make it flush so you don't have the tab sticking out, ready to stab your tire like it owes you money. Also, don't cheap out and do this with a telephone book or baseball bat - you've probably seen it done on TikTok or YouTube, but just don't do it. Take it to a shop or find a buddy with a fender roller that knows how to do it and have it done right. Pull Your Fenders: Sometimes, if a little extra space is needed, you can have your fenders pulled, which just makes the edge of the fender pull out a little further than stock to give you a bit more room. This isn't a major change - we're talking about a few millimeters here - but clearance is clearance, and the more you can get, the better. Tips For Jacking Up A Slammed Car So, we're driving around, we're getting over speed bumps, we know all the routes, we're all gravy. Until you need to jack up the car - now what? Here's a few tips for when you have a slammed car and you need to get the jack underneath it and get your car in the air: Get a Low-Profile Jack: This seems pretty straightforward, but go pick up a low-profile jack - yeah, they make those. You've got a lowered car, get a low-profile jack, or a slam jack - we don't care. These will help you get under your car and under the side skirt - also, don't cheap out on it, since the jack is what's picking up your car and then setting it back down, it's worth having one that you can trust. Use Some Wood: In addition to using a slam jack, you can also pick up a few pieces of wood from Home Depot or Lowe's or any other assorted wood store. Take the cut up tree and set the first piece in front of your tire, then drive up on it. Boom, clearance. If that's not enough, stagger the pieces of wood so you drive up on one then you get up on the next little step. By doing that, you should be able to create enough gap to fit your low profile under your car, but be careful when initially jacking up and go slow. You don't want that jack to start creeping up on your side skirt and then cracking it - don't ask how we know that. Get Air: Finally, we saved the answer you probably least wanted to hear for last. "But I don't want air! It's unreliable!" First off, no it's not. Second off, fine - get some air cups then. Fortune Auto makes great air cups and they're a bit pricey, but they literally just sit on top of your coilovers and are specifically made not to be driven on, but just in the circumstance to get it into a steep driveway or get your car in the trailer or the jack underneath it. Shop air suspension components here! You can do that, but then you also have the reliability of a coilover because that's what you're actually driving on the rest of the time. It's literally just to get you up so you can get into those weird spots - we had to bring it up and put the option out there because the air ride is great. Shop Wheels, Tires, and Suspension For Slammed Cars That's about all we've got for today, though we just wanted to reiterate again that we offer the best wheels, tires and suspension in the business for your car's fitment needs, especially if you're going with a slammed setup. Also, if you're looking to slam your car yourself and want some build inspiration, check out our gallery and see how drivers like you have built their slammed setups!

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