How’s the creep

[Twincam23]

Hi guys,
I live in a house with a very small garage. Doing the measurements, the M3 will only have .5” of space on the front and .5” of space at rear when the garage is closed.
I have a laser pointer that I will guide me when to stop from hitting the wall.

My question is, how slow is the creep setting? I basically want it to crawl to prevent me from hitting the wall.
If I don’t enable creep, is the acceleration too jumpy? We’re half an inch from the wall.
Thanks

 

[Tiger]

Same as with regular ICE automatic transmission, you use the brake pedal to gauge the creep. You can make it as smoot as you want. However, half an inch is ridiculous and just waiting for an opportunity to miss when you are tired or something, it will happen.

 

[hacer]

So long as the floor is level you will be riding the brake to adjust the speed to however slow you like. With no brakes, creep can accelerate to several MPH on the level. If you have any kind of slope or need to get over a bump into the garage you may need to use the throttle a little. If there is a bump entering your garage it might be difficult (the first time) getting it just right.

I agree that the half-inch clearance is too little. You should mount some front wheel-stops to the garage floor so if you bump, you'll bump them instead of the nose hitting the garage wall.

 

[cellogig]

Tennis ball hanging on a string from the ceiling

 

[Sprandt23]

View attachment 298989
Tennis ball hanging on a string from the ceiling

Have the exact same thing!

 

[Need]

We got a parking mat (the one that has bumps to stop the wheel) from amazon and it stops the creep at the exact position. You can also add the tennis ball if you want, but for us it was not needed.

 

[fseir]

So long as the floor is level you will be riding the brake to adjust the speed to however slow you like. With no brakes, creep can accelerate to several MPH on the level. If you have any kind of slope or need to get over a bump into the garage you may need to use the throttle a little. If there is a bump entering your garage it might be difficult (the first time) getting it just right.

I agree that the half-inch clearance is too little. You should mount some front wheel-stops to the garage floor so if you bump, you'll bump them instead of the nose hitting the garage wall.

I use the motion sensing laser, too, but given your garage tolerances, I think hacer has the right idea. Use wheel stops, and make sure there’s no way they can slide out of position, by bolting them to the floor.

 

[boaterva]

If the same car will park in the spot all the time, the parking stops are the best bet.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000EDUUIA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_E4D7AbGT232RS

I use a stop and also the laser guide. If you need sideways guidance also, perhaps a mirror would help. I still just stick my head out the window for that!

Bolts seem excessive but every case is different. The double sided tape is pretty good if the floor is clean. You can also buy a roll for $10-15 to move and reuse the stops if you need to adjust/move etc.

 

[Need]

IUse wheel stops, and make sure there’s no way they can slide out of position, by bolting them to the floor.

Yeah, the double sided tape that comes with wheel stops will slide eventually. I found out one day when I saw that the front of car was a lot closer than I like. I don't really want to put holes to the garage floor so I just use some liquid nail instead. It seems to hold pretty good so far.

 

[firelegend]

Hi guys,
I live in a house with a very small garage. Doing the measurements, the M3 will only have .5” of space on the front and .5” of space at rear when the garage is closed.
I have a laser pointer that I will guide me when to stop from hitting the wall.

My question is, how slow is the creep setting? I basically want it to crawl to prevent me from hitting the wall.
If I don’t enable creep, is the acceleration too jumpy? We’re half an inch from the wall.
Thanks

My Garage is super tiny.. I have no intention of putting it in there for fear of scratching it, maybe if it could self park and that was VERY reliable... but I am instead going to park it in my 1-car length driveway which is outside the tiny garage so its very short distance for the cord to go to reach the card if I back in.

 

[xmetal]

I'm just gonna say that if you have just a half inch tolerance, someday, at some point, for some reason your garage door is totally gonna rip your rear bumper off.

You'll either mess up, your parking mat/light/tennis ball/whatever will slightly miscalibrate and that will be game over.

No way I would ever park in that situation, the anxiety everyday would ruin me.

 

[Twincam23]

this might work. thanks for all the replies. you guys help me find what I was looking for!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007CVSF84/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[CameronB]

Half inch sounds pretty crazy!

A positive stopper like the one above would probably be your best bet, but you'd also need to figure out a way to positively secure it...maybe bolt it to the floor somehow with concrete inserts and lag bolts? Because if it moves, with only 0.5 inch "margin", that thing has to be perfectly stationary (somehow). If it slips even a little..well, you know.

But just wanted to add one thing I didn't see mentioned...you can turn creep off! I think a lot of Tesla drivers do. Some like it, some don't, that's why it is an option.

I have it off and with it off, you have much more control. I can edge it forward an inch or two per accelerator press. So definitely turn that off for your close-quarters garage needs. Creep turned to off will give you a bit better odds over having creep turned on. Still will be challenging though.

 

[Need]

When I read the original post, I kind of thought it was a typo. Should have been .5' instead of .5"? I have .5' in front and back and that's why I need the wheel stop and it is tight. If it is really only .5", I would just skip parking in the garage all together.

 

[Tezlanian]

I think once you use get used to it you won't want to use the creep setting. Same with liking regenerative braking. Acceleration is pretty precise but even at that your tolerances are pretty tight. I wouldn't feel comfortable parking in that every day. Eventually you're going to be tired or distracted and make a mistake.

 

[deonb]

When I read the original post, I kind of thought it was a typo. Should have been .5' instead of .5"? I have .5' in front and back and that's why I need the wheel stop and it is tight. If it is really only .5", I would just skip parking in the garage all together.

He did repeat it later, so don't think it's a typo: "We’re half an inch from the wall."

 

[phigment]

View attachment 298989
Tennis ball hanging on a string from the ceiling

If you're using the tennis ball against the window I'd caution against it. Different weight in the car will cause the car to be higher or lower which would result in the car being too far back or forward.

The hard stops are the way to go as long as they are secured.

Also, my garage has drywall installed. If yours does too, you may consider removing some to give yourself a couple more inches.

 

[mrsandman]

Half and inch is crazy. I can’t even imagine doing that every day. One brain fart and you’re gonna damage the car. There must be a way to get a little more. Is the front wall dry walled? Can you remove drywall and get an extra inch or so? I also have a tight garage but that’s because of storage shelves and cabinets. I did a little rearranging and was able to get about 2” of clearance on the right and about 12” front to back. I use creep and find it extremely helpful. It’s consistent and I’d rather ease my way in stepping on the brake rather than stepping on the accelerator. If there is a slight miscalculation, that fraction of a second it will take you to let off the accelerator and step on the brake could mean the difference between a scratched bumper or a completely misaligned one. I wouldn’t recommend using the accelerator in this situation. If you must do this, use creep and control it with the brake.

 

[SDKoala]

He did repeat it later, so don't think it's a typo: "We’re half an inch from the wall."

Yeah, this is a little crazy and an accident waiting to happen. I have one of these in my garage secured to the floor so it can't move. It's heavier and higher quality than the little parking mats OP linked to. Even with it and creep on, getting the car to stop at the exact same spot every time wouldn't be easy. Sometimes after bumping against the parking curb, the car rocks back just a bit as it settles from drive to park. I'd bet it's more than a half-inch.

 

[cellogig]

If you're using the tennis ball against the window I'd caution against it. Different weight in the car will cause the car to be higher or lower which would result in the car being too far back or forward.

The hard stops are the way to go as long as they are secured.

Also, my garage has drywall installed. If yours does too, you may consider removing some to give yourself a couple more inches.

Thank u for the heads up.
I actually put it towards the front of the frunk . It is an approximation and has some room for error. It is for my wifes model x. It is a larger vehicle then we have had in the past and do not want the garage door to come down on the back of the car.