Is it me or it is really hard to judge the distance?
 

I kept making up excuses on why it is so hard, tried to convince myself that i just need to get used to it...In the end i have to convince myself that i suck :/

Long story short: i was out to lunch and i realized that my bumper is only an inch away from the concrete block. Any further i would have crack the bumper :shakes head:

I have driven many cars with similar problems, but the Z takes the cake.

car is 169". why do u feel you have to pull that close? its you, not the car

Some parking space are shorter than others, take the ones around the building i work at for example, the lines/spaces are about 3/4 the length of the normal ones. Normal sedans can park pass the concrete block.

If i leave my car too far out the butt will stick out more than the majority of the cars. And we have a lot of trucks that pulls into the same lane so i am not willing to risk getting hit.. So i have to park closer than i have to

I always reverse in now and if I need to get close I open the door and look back

If possible? Use the car next to you as a guage. Make sure you and the other car have the same clearance up front. You may have a concrete parking bumper and he may not or vice versa.

I've scraped the bottom of the Z's chin several times. It's urethane, so it won't rust. Nobody's really going to see the scrapes unless she's up on a lift. So I just plain don't care. I avoid it whenever possible, but I don't get bent out of shape when it happens.

I have the same problem judging the distance on the front of my vette. No sense in trying to get within inches. A few feet is just fine.

Yup that is what i usually do, especially when i park next to the same car. Either that i just use the reflection on the other car if i can.

The concrete bumper is my main concern. But thanks for the advice :tiphat:

I can't judge either. I use the perceived distance between the bottom of the side mirror and the concrete slab as a guide. Gets me close but not too close.

I havent hit anything as of yet cause i am too careful, sometimes i will get out of the car only to see that theres 3-4 feet of room infront of me :icon14:

Our cars are short as is. Don't feel you have to pull up as far. Figure it out before you get a lip kit or so.

that's a good idea. i use this technique too in my Z and G. not that i park my Z anywhere other than my garage or at the pump.

I can imagine that it is harder on a vette.

Pics of the bicycle you used to take the family out :D

Well, like I said, it just plain doesn't matter to me. I've not bent, dented, or warped my Z, and I've scraped the chin several times. I try not to, but when it happens, I breathe easily, back up, and move on with life.

I already explained on my other post but allow me to explain a little more. For some reason some of the parking spaces in this city is a lil messed up. They are 3/4 of the length of an actual parking space.

Most sedans will park over the concrete block so they are well within the lines, but with the shorter space and a feet or two from the block my car sticks out like a sore thumb. So i have no choice but to park a lil closer.. For today's case, a little too close for comfort

you can also get something called Curb Alert

reverse camera was my best investment so far. I always back in now because I know exactly how far away I am from danger

yah, rear view cameras are a must on this car especially when backing up in tight spots.

Judging distance of the nose from the parking space or wall edge is difficult for me too. I ran several test pull-ins into a parking space with a low curb (so I wouldn't hit the air dam) and found what the correct distance looks like when I'm lined up straight and looking out the side window below the mirror. With a little practice, you can get it down fairly well. If closing on a wall, use bottom edge of wall as the alignment guide as with the curb. In a lined space, use the line in front of you as the alignment guide. The car's short, so you can afford to leave a little more space than usual in front and still not stick out in the back.

That's my approach and I'm sticking with it until I hit something.

Agreed. I am an officiall crappy parker but the camera salvages the worst of my efforts.

This is exactly how I feel when I'm parallel parking LOL. Objects in mirror are not closer than they appear, but in fact further away for me. haha

The secret: look at the reflection of your car in paint of the car next to you, I'd estimate 90% of the time the adjacent car is clean enough to see both your car's nose and the curb.

^^ This.

That's exactly what I do whether I am going forward or in reverse. In any situation I leave about a foot of space since the car is not that long. :tiphat:

Public transit. Haha:rofl2:

Its not a big car so pulling all the way up is like inviting a smart car to share your space. Seriously I developed the habit of leaving a yard extra in front when parking when I used to drive vettes. Nothing wrong with it when you see the size of some SUVs or pick-ups in other stalls

I do this, but it's definitely not 90% of the time clean enough.

I have the biggest problem with backing into my garage. Its the angle of the rear window or something. I love how short our cars are, so most of the time its not an issue. I haven't pulled too far into a spot yet. :tup: