[AltoLXI]

I have a peculiar, but not so peculiar question. When I bought my Elite i20 three years back, some of the adjacent and front parking slots were empty. I could easily enter these slots and park in my slot. Even then I took care not to buy bigger car than my parking slot.

Now every parking slot is full and moreover people are parking bikes in the available space in front of their cars - of course within their parking. Another hindrance is the pillar in my parking slot.

The below "paper model" shows the parking to scale. i20 is 13.10 feet long and 5.82 feet wide. Right hatched area is adjacent parking. The small hatched area is the pillar and I have 10 feet space till I hit the vehicle in the front parking space. The rectangle in my parking is the car. I have more than enough length to park my car in my parking slot.

The question is - when all the parking slots are completely occupied, will I be able to take out my car - mathematically? Pythagoras theorem says NO.

The second picture shows that I inevitably have to move a little bit inside the parking in the front just as I escape scraping the pillar and avoid moving into adjacent parking.

Theoretically, though it is not possible to take out my car out in such situation, will the car's steering dynamics allow this?

There is this (Innova's crazy parking video becomes internet sensation!) video in which the Innova is able to park but the space on the side is the slightly larger that car length.

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

Now every parking slot is full and moreover people are parking bikes in the available space in front of their cars - of course within their parking. Another hindrance is the pillar in my parking slot.

If you have your scale model right, then please don't. You can't argue with math and pillars. I have seen my friend lose the argument with his brand new Skoda Octavia.

If you are still curious, besides the paper version, I suggest you try it out in some open place, where the obstacles can be represented with traffic cones or empty buckets.

[nitkel]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

I have a peculiar, but not so peculiar question. When I bought my Elite i20 three years back, some of the adjacent and front parking slots were empty. I could easily enter these slots and park in my slot. Even then I took care not to buy bigger car than my parking slot.

Could you post some images of your parking slot with and without your car parked in it? That would help members find an appropriate solution.

[gkveda]

It is impossible practically, if it is not possible theoretically. Hence suggest, not to go with experiment without a proper solution.

Another big risk I see is, when you park your car by entering the gate, you will drive in forward direction. While taking it out of parking area, it will be in reverse direction. Hence it will be almost 99% prone for an accident.

The question I have is, will the adjacent parking be so tight that left front corner of the adjacent parked car is so near to the point that your car right door locus traverse while turning? I think it cannot be so near to the point that you are indicating in the diagram unless there is a pillar there. Hence you may be in advantageous position there.

Hence, what I think you can try out is, take a test drive car and try out practically. But ask the Hyundai representative to experiment and be an observer. I am sure you will get a good Idea. They will be experts and will know how to park in tight spaces. Needless to say, you already have an i20

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

If you are still curious, besides the paper version, I suggest you try it out in some open place, where the obstacles can be represented with traffic cones or empty buckets.

Yes that will be my next experimentation with cones set according to the obstacles.

Originally Posted by nitkel

Could you post some images of your parking slot with and without your car parked in it? That would help members find an appropriate solution.

Attaching the photos. In the first photo the two wheelers are not there today.

Originally Posted by gkveda

Another big risk I see is, when you park your car by entering the gate, you will drive in forward direction. While taking it out of parking area, it will be in reverse direction. Hence it will be almost 99% prone for an accident.

Yes I enter and reverse park as shown.

Originally Posted by gkveda

The question I have is, will the adjacent parking be so tight that left front corner of the adjacent parked car is so near to the point that your car right door locus traverse while turning? I think it cannot be so near to the point that you are indicating in the diagram unless there is a pillar there. Hence you may be in advantageous position there.

Yes, as in the second photo the next slot owner has two 2 wheelers and his car is away now. He parks almost on the line as he keeps his 2 wheelers next to his car on the other side.

Originally Posted by gkveda

Hence, what I think you can try out is, take a test drive car and try out practically. But ask the Hyundai representative to experiment and be an observer. I am sure you will get a good Idea. They will be experts and will know how to park in tight spaces. Needless to say, you already have an i20

Yes, will try this.

[nitkel]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

Attaching the photos. In the first photo the two wheelers are not there today.

Attachment 2177763

Attachment 2177764

Is there a driveway at the back of your car or is it walled? Your slot looks quite normal by most apartment standards. The problem is making space for your 2 wheelers without obstructing your car's movements. There seems to be enough space at the front to make a 3 point turn to get out of the parking slot.

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by nitkel

Is there a driveway at the back of your car or is it walled? Your space seems quite normal by most apartment standards. The problem is making space for your 2 wheelers without obstructing your car's movements.

No we have wall on the backside. I have no problem taking out my 2 wheelers. Ray, is the most used - hence kept in the front of the car. The issue, as shown in first snap, is the 10 feet space which I need to manage without touching the vehicles parked on the opposite side.

[nitkel]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

No we have wall on the backside. I have no problem taking out my 2 wheelers. Ray, is the most used - hence kept in the front of the car. The issue, as shown in first snap, is the 10 feet space which I need to manage without touching the vehicles parked on the opposite side.

Ok. The only long term solution I can think of now is to park your other two wheeler parked on the side somewhere else (if there's space available within the building), so that you have more space to reverse it in while taking it out of the slot. In the short term, drive your car forward to make space at the back, move the two wheeler on the side to the back to liberate more space, back up the car slightly angled to the right and then make the turn to get out of your slot.

[tilt]

Your neighbour - I am sure they do not park on the line but more like somewhere in the middle of their spot. Therefore you are not necessarily limited to their boundary as in your diagram. You do have that few extra inches to factor into your scenario.

Plus, if there is a parking spot to your Left on the other side of the pillar, there could be a few inches of space there too between the border and the car in that spot.

Secondly, you could maybe try parking as close to the pillar as possible so that you have room on your Right in your own space plus the few inches in your Right-hand neighbour's spot to get out.

From your drawing it looks like you probably back into your spot. If so, you could maybe try driving into your spot instead (or back in if you're currently driving in).

Whatever you do, you would still have to do a 27-point turn (LOL) to get in and to get out.

Having a mere ten feet of driveway between the rows is a major bummer and it will be quite a bit of work to park and get out.

You'd have to do something lke this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGiQOCX9UbM

Cheers

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

I have a peculiar, but not so peculiar question.

Theoretically if you make a slope below the pole and slightly tilt your car, your width will reduce by a bit and then you "might" be able to park it.

But would I try it or recommend? No!

[Rajeevraj]

Maybe I am not understanding the problem clearly. But I don't see an issue looking at the pictures.

Firstly the car is not going to move in a straight line angle, considering the steering dynamics, won't the movement be more of a curve? I don't think Pythagoras theorem is the one to apply here.

Secondly, it looks like the adjacent space is only demarcated by a line and you don't have a hard obstacle, which means unless your neighbour parks exactly on the line, you will have additional space on your right to maneuver.

Also, is this an issue you theoretically identified or you have faced the issue with all slots occupied? Or all slots have not yet been occupied, but will be in the immediate future?

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Firstly the car is not going to move in a straight line angle, considering the steering dynamics, won't the movement be more of a curve? I don't think Pythagoras theorem is the one to apply here.

Yes that is what I have not understood. Considering the turning radius and car dynamics will it be possible to take out the car if all slots are occupied?

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Secondly, it looks like the adjacent space is only demarcated by a line and you don't have a hard obstacle, which means unless your neighbour parks exactly on the line, you will have additional space on your right to maneuver.

The neighbor has many times parked close to the line even forcing me to park to the left as I need to open the door to enter the car. . The reason he parks so close is there is a metallic cover for the water sump in his parking as seen in second photo. He is forced not to park on that.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Also, is this an issue you theoretically identified or you have faced the issue with all slots occupied? Or all slots have not yet been occupied, but will be in the immediate future?

I have faced this in past when the front side slots had 2 wheelers parked in front of the cars and neighbor had parked the car - all three constraints at a time. The security had to move the 2 wheelers to let me take out the car.

[Agarwal_Aayush]

By looking at the images shared by you and judging the space available, I think you should be able to take your car out in this way assuming none of the vehicles are out of the lines as seen in the image. :



In the 2nd point, you will have to bring your car a little inside your parking bay with an angle so that when you take it out you have enough space ahead.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

Theoretically, though it is not possible to take out my car out in such situation, will the car's steering dynamics allow this?

'Expert' vehicle drivers can park their vehicles in much tighter spaces that we can ever imagine.
I have seen one such 'expert' literally bounce the car out of the slot.

Why dont you attempt a trial run by putting some cones or a dustbin as a marker?

Also, please consider that some manufacturers quote the width excluding wing mirrors, and some include the wing mirrors in the dimensions.
You should take an exact measurement (with wing mirror folded).

Also, the width of a car is not constant throughout the length of the Car.
It is the maximum near the mirrors and is much lesser on the other parts.

Similarly the front portion (bumper) of any car is always a Curve (the sides are recessed).
Basically, a Car's dimensions are not exactly a rectangle.

[audioholic]

When you try to simulate vehicle movement using a scale model, you should keep in mind that the vehicle doesn't rotate on its dimensional center. It rotates based on the nature and maximum steering angle that is achievable and that too, with only the front axle steering you will have lot of sideway movement of the car. Hence, its difficult to judge things based on scale model. Since I park my SX4 in one of the tightest spaces, which we never thought the car would make it into, there are a few things that can be considered.

First is to drive in as close to one pillar and check the possibilities. In my case I have less than 1cm gap between the car and the pillar. This must be preferably done on the drivers side so that you can estimate the steering effort better. Next is to carefully take small steps and assess the situation. If you feel you are taking a chance, then never continue. Stop and call it quits instead of brushing against a pillar and then getting stuck there.

Does anyone have an idea if we can get wheeled dollys and then park cars better with the higher steering angle they offer? This would also reduce burden on the steering and clutch due to multiple maneuvers.