I have to believe I'm not the only one to have this problem. I have a 2006 Dodge Magnum SXT. I don't think the Magnum is too low but the long wheelbase has caused some ground clearance problems. The first day I drove it home I wacked the body brace that's under the exhaust between the catalytic converter and muffler. That was the worst feeling considering it was our first new car. The driveway has a somewhat steep transition from the street to the flat part that is level with the house.

One side got bent, the other was fine. The problem is it wasn't just the brace that bent. There's two screws on each side of the brace that are attached to a plate that is spotwelded to the Magnum's body. The plate underneath bent as well as the screws. That was about a year ago... Almost 1 year later, just this past weekend, I had an incident with an unmarked speed bump and five adults in the vehicle.

I wasn't going very fast and braked as soon as I realized what it was but the bottom hit hard.

The other side of the brace is now bent as well. The hole thing is bent downwards and somehow the screws/studs didn't snap off from the body.
Why didn't they put a 1/4 inch thick steel piece instead of that crappy shaped sheetmetal that is over an inch high. The ground clearance is reduced in that spot by just over an inch due to that thing.

My thoughts on taking care of this problem is to have this repaired but I was also wondering whether the springs on the AWD magnum can be used on the RWD SXT. The AWD versions that I have seen seem to have slightly higher ground clearance. I believe the specs say it has 6.6 inches versus 5.6 for the standard RWD Magnum.

I know this seems counter to what most people seem to do but I can't stand hearing my nice ride hit the driveway and other uneven areas.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Has anyone else had this problem? Has anyone else raised their RWD Magnum??

Thanks,
MAP

 

Sounds like your driveway is like mine raised, so lowering my car is out of the question.

Speed bumps are not your friend even when riding alone, with five people I can imagine how low the lady was sitting.

You will have to go air suspenion to get over that hump...pun intended.

 

Map,
I am actually surprised to hear that. I lowered my Magnum about an inch or so, for better handling and I am totally shocked that I haven't bottomed out on anything. I have found only (1) driveway and my son's school that I can't exit, but everything else is fine. Speed Bumps, Dips in the Road, Gas Station Caps, Driveways and Crests and Pitfalls over the Intersections are all OK. Trips me out, because the ones I get worried about have all these Deep Gouges in the Asphalt, so I figure I also will scrap, but nope! I have scraped the bottom, but once was intentional... I jumped some railroad tracks a few times to see the differnce between ESP On and Off. Engine shuts off in mid air with ESP On. Engine screams and barks the rear tires on landing with ESP Off... The other time was with five people in the car doing about 50 mph over a Dip in the Intersection. Everyone hit their heads on the ceiling! It was fun! Car runs great!

Note: Time to re-grade your Driveway...

 

I as well have not had any clearance problems...school, mall parking lots etc....The only beef I have is scraping the chin on curbs when going into parking spaces,lucking nobody see it unless it's on a hoist.
I'm a little better now but took a while to get used to the length on the hood(of course I went from a '91 Nissan Sentra to my R/T wagon).

 

You think YOU have problems...

[IMG]local://upfiles/55162/6333D667C93540ED9C0B7CB1D37DDFE4.jpg[/IMG]
Sorry, couldn't stop myself! Good luck with your deal!

 

only I word explains "OUCH"

 

Hey, I just bought a 06 Magnum SRT8. I have banged my underside a few times coming out of my driveway too. Let it be know, you are not along. lol My driveway is a very steep one, and to boot, I had to have a speed bump put to help control the water flow past the entrance. ( a real drag)

Once I found the sweet spot on going over the bump, I hardly hit in now. Mine is very to toll. I have the low profile tires with 20" rims. I also have a problem parking curbs. Coming up the one on my 1st day taking the baby home, I hear this scraping sound, yelp, cleared the curb. Heavy sratches abound. Now I stop 2 ft from them.

Not to sure about your hitting the bottom. I will check at work. I work at a new Dodge dealership.
Will keep you posted.
Takecare
thankuhal

 

Holy ****. Man, did you have brake failure? Hope you got it fixed

thankuhal

 

Not me, I found the pic on the web! Looks like it hurt though!

 

just leave the brace off, i ditched mine years ago, haven't missed it, my car still drags every now and then, but usally in the back, but then again that happens when you lower it 7 inches