Parking your Z....straight... in the lines.
 

Unless I stick my head out the window, I have a hard time getting the car parked in the lines correctly the first time.

Give me your techniques, especially interested in situations while backing in to a spot. Unless there are cars next to the spot, it's hard to guage where the lines are. I don't have any problem with my Jeep. Thanks

i can see the lines in my mirrors...and i just go from there...maybe you could angle your mirrors a bit more down

I usually like to take 2 lanes anyways. So no-one scratches or hits my baby. But if only one spot is available I stick my head out the window

When going into a spot, you have to turn a bit wider. The Z may have a tiny turning radius but it is much wider.

When backing into a spot, I use the side mirrors. My side mirrors are angled out and slightly down (so that I can see the fenders) and my rearview mirror is angled so I see straight back. I have never needed a rear camera although it would be very convenient.

Are you using your side mirrors and you still have problems? The only time I have problems is at night when the mirrors don't help. But you should angle down your mirrors so you can see the ground.

i just look at the lines too in the side mirrors to aim and just back in.

usually i dont park anywhere at night so im fine...but i can use additional lighting from the rear fog lamp as needed and rear view camera helps as well.

I hope you park a long distance from the entry of the building you hog up the spaces for. If I am in my beater and somebody pulls that stunt and they are close to were everybody wants to park. I will fit in there if at all possible. People in the dorms used to do this alot. I would spend 5 minutes easing in spot, 1/4in margins and climb out the window. and use a coat hanger to rollup my window. If you don't want people mear your car park in the back.

Our cars are small enough that doesn't matter if you are perfectly square in the spots. It isn't a H1 hummer.

Mirrors angled slightly down... got it.

I used to never use my mirrors to back up, I am a put-my-hand-behind-the-passenger-head-rest-and-twist-my-body-to-look-out-the-back-window kind of person. Mirrors make me doubt myself.. but in the Z it may be the only good way if nobody is adjacent to the space.

yah, i back in my dd everyday onto the driveway and i park it like 1-2" from the edge... even in that little car i use the side mirrors to aid. :)

if im backing up, i just unlock the door, open it wide and back in with my head out the door.

if im getting into a spot normally, i just guestimate it, after a while you get a feel for how wide hte car is..

wat if you need to line up the passenger side?

then i guess...thats when i tilt the mirror down and in. this is where driving an acura is handy. the mdx we have automatically does it for you!

i was thinking of adding the KP technologies mirror tilting module

KP Technologies

60bucks for the standard module (1 mirror) or 100 for the deluxe which has modules for 2 mirors

^ my 5 series did the same thing. I miss that feature so much.

If you are at one with your car you do not need mirrors or a back up camera. You know where the edges of your car is in space and can maneuver into place without hitting anything. Pulling straight in isn't rocket science, swing wide so you can see where you are going and straighten your steering wheel.

use all your mirrors and angle down the side ones..
if they are adjusted right for driving should be ok...


one sure thing in life about our cars. if you try to park it safe and out of harms way. when you get back there will be a 20 year old beater parked next
to you,never fails.

I always back into spots with mine, I just use the side mirrors, a habit I picked up from driving trucks. I don't angle down my mirrors or anything but the way I have them set is fine for me

You do if you don't know where the space is. Sometimes there isn't an opportunity to actually see where the lines are...

my feeling about parking is don't take any chance. if sticking your head out of the window works for you then do it. it's better to be safe than to be sorry :)

If you have the Nav system, get a backup camera kit from the forum... it works great as a guide for backing

I enthusiast park (azz in first) all my vehicles most of the time. In the 370, I angle my mirrors out to minimize the blind spots. Even with that, I can still see the rear wheel well bulge in the side mirror. I use that hump in the mirror to judge how far I am from the curb or from the lines. In my FX45, I use the rear door handle as a point of reference. You just have to find some reference point on each vehicle...to me the wheel well hump works.

I also just installed the same back up camera that Wheee! has, so that will help out too next summer.

one of my pet pieves are people like you. Whenever i see people do that, i park in the lane they are taking up, about 1/2 - 1 inch away from there door so they have to go through the passenger side. Then i take pictures of there plates and car incase they decide to do anything to my truck. Did it to one women at the base gym. Got a PA through the building about needing to move my truck, went outside, women started bitching me out, i told her to **** off and went back to the gym. Stop being a bitch and use one spot like your suppose to.

Well that depends, does he park far far away? If you do, then what someone else mentioned will happen; you'll either have some ugly POS park next to you, or you'll end up with ricers/other tuners (typically less mature) parking RIGHT next to you. Not in front, not two spaces away, but always on your drivers side.

Taking up two spaces is just unnecessary. Park five cars down from the densest area and you'll avoid having your car keyed, dinged, or boxed in by other cars.

I just back up or creep forward until i hear a thud on my car

thats my point exactly. If someone is that worried about there car being dinged, they should park far enough away from other cars. That being said, theres still no excuse for taking multiple parking spots, regardless if you are at the back of the parking lot. Not saying who, but someone on these forums was taking up 4 parking spots in a parking lot. If i didnt have such respect for others peoples property, i would have key his car myself. But like i said, i have respect for other peoples property, so i wouldnt do something like that..... but theres still no reason why he or anyone else has to take up 4 spots.

Hell its been -30*C lately, i go to the mall with my srt-10, i park at the end of the parking lot and walk to the entrence. And if i bring my ZX6R, i park at a "non offical" parking spots for bikes....its kinda like a side walk that devides the parking spots and the entrence to the lot...pretty much where bikers park so they dont take up spots just for their bikes.

Rear camera is great for gauging distance behind you. I love mine on my HU. Its a nice luxury.

But as far parking straight that's all drivers skill. Practice maybe ? Haha

I use my mirrors. Never had a problem. No angling or anything , not any different than any other car...

Kinda like just close your eyes and hope for the best? LOL

I agree with fullmonty that using your mirrors to back up all/most of the time will help you get more skilled at getting into those spots straight.

I also use the stick on blind spot mirrors on all my cars. You can see the lines of a parking spot easily with those.

A related pet peeve, anyone notice that MANY drivers don't try to stay between the lines when they park, they either just try to split the difference between cars (causing a domino effect of car after car parked right on the line) or favor the drivers side of their own car, parking too close to the car on the p-side?

+1, I always back in with my drivers door open and mind the line with my own eyes.

haha this thread was all about seeing if anyone else had done this. I do this somtimes and feel like an idiot if I think someone is watching. "Nice car and you have to open the door to see the lines?" but it is so effective and it feels neat to be hanging out the door feathering the clutch/throttle.

Thanks for all the responses.

and one of my pet peeves is people like you who drive those ugly land yachts and just have to park in tight spots. The width of the truck coupled with the usually narrow parking spots means there is usually less than 2 feet between my car and the truck. This, coupled with the longer doors of sports cars like the Z make it very hard to get into or out of the car. And it doesn't end there. The length and height of most trucks means that when I'm pulling out of the parking space, I can't see if any car is coming across, so I have to creep out very slowly and hope that no one hits me until I'm far enough out of the spot to be able to see the traffic.

I can definitely attest to that. Haven't had any experiences with ricers, but there's always a 20 yr old rusty piece of junk just waiting to park right next to you even if the entire parking lot is empty and even if you are parked far away. It's like they do it on purpose or something.

+1 for using wheel well bulge as a reference point. This seems to be helpful

blind spot mirrors on both sides that show the lines.....

I usually do 2 things when backing into a spot:

1) Use my side mirrors to get inside the lines with room to spare on each side.
2) Once I cant see the lines anymore, I go back and forth looking at the parking spot across from mine to make sure I am straight (usually they line up perfectly) and to the spots next to me to make sure I back in as far as I want.

It helps me back in perfectly all the time :tup:

why is this a pet peeve? If someone is parked off centre and close to the line, and if you then park right in the middle of the spot, it will be impossible to get out of the car. Not to mention the huge risk of getting scratches and door dings. Yes it leads to a domino effect, but you can't control it. Its all the fault of the idiot in the first spot who parked off centre, or sometimes in winter snow accumulation can block part of the first parking spot, which then forces the first car to be parked off centre.

Too many people are afraid of walking a couple of spots - I park a few spots off when I can find room.