Car Jacks?

[rmplum]

AC Hydraulics (although you probabaly don't need anything like their cool low profile units for a GTI), Hein Werner or find an old Walker or Lincoln (which became Hein Werner I believe).

We lift a lot of cars here and our Lincoln Jacks are heavy but reliable.

We've also had good luck with a couple of aluminum Craftsman floor jacks, which would be much more palatable for a home garage and certainly not overkill for 2x per year use.

[zachateseverything]

Any veesaloners have one of these? I’m on the fence…

https://www.quickjack.com/car-lifts/5000tl/

We have had one in our car hauler at work for about a decade. It's pretty great for getting the car in the air at the track. No issue lifting relatively heavy cars like Camaros dozens of times over the course of a testing program.

but it all depends on your use case. we're trying to do wheel changes as quickly as possible (private track rentals are expensive) and have the rotation guys ready to do all 4 at once. If it's a smaller crew or you aren't looking at getting under a car on a regular basis you're probably better off with a good floor jack and some stands.

[rmplum]

Any veesaloners have one of these? I’m on the fence…

https://www.quickjack.com/car-lifts/5000tl/

We are buying some. Our garage mates at lightning lap had them (as well as severl other manufacturers) and while we are pretty quick at a jack and stands, the quickjacks are bomber. But if you aren't in a hurry they are more a luxury than a need.

Them:


Us:


And yes it was funny that the most expensive car there was sharing a garage unit with the cheapest car there.

[zachateseverything]

We are buying some. Our garage mates at lightning lap had them (as well as severl other manufacturers) and while we are pretty quick at a jack and stands, the quickjacks are bomber.

Them:

Any issues with your garage mates tripping the breakers via those tire warmers? We've had some experiences at VIR...

[rmplum]

Any issues with your garage mates tripping the breakers via those tire warmers? We've had some experiences at VIR...

They were ok as far as I know (Porsche had a set too), but we did note the posting "maximum 3 tire warmers per garage". How much current do they draw?

Oh, and they STIIIIIIINK in the morning.

[zachateseverything]

They were ok as far as I know (Porsche had a set too), but we did note the posting "maximum 3 tire warmers per garage". How much current do they draw?

Oh, and they STIIIIIIINK in the morning.

1 warmer isn't so bad since it's about 10A (it's going to depend on blanket size). but when you're trying to get 2 sets warm and can't figure out which outlets are on different circuits...

one of our first experiences with trying to run them off of garage power resulted in a tech running back and forth between the tire warmers and the basement where the electric panel is. now we run them off of the car hauler.

we don't leave them on overnight so I've never noticed a stink in the morning (You definitely don't want to leave them plugged in and curled up without a tire in them!). we're mostly just trying to get a little bit of temperature into the tires on cold days. we're less concerned with the pace out of the box (we're testing not racing) and more focused on getting the number of warmup laps shorter. We had a bad experience trying to get some testing done in January one year without them. By the time you got enough heat into the tires that they were no longer countertops we had pretty well cheese grated the treads.

[Drew]

We have had one in our car hauler at work for about a decade. It's pretty great for getting the car in the air at the track. No issue lifting relatively heavy cars like Camaros dozens of times over the course of a testing program.

but it all depends on your use case. we're trying to do wheel changes as quickly as possible (private track rentals are expensive) and have the rotation guys ready to do all 4 at once. If it's a smaller crew or you aren't looking at getting under a car on a regular basis you're probably better off with a good floor jack and some stands.

My concern is more that most modern cars don't have a good place for a jack and a stand at the same time. It's tough to jack up one side or one axle, and have a place for stands as well. Cars are designed for lifts, not DIY jacks. The Quickjacks are the best way I've seen to get around it so far.

[zachateseverything]

My concern is more that most modern cars don't have a good place for a jack and a stand at the same time. It's tough to jack up one side or one axle, and have a place for stands as well. Cars are designed for lifts, not DIY jacks. The Quickjacks are the best way I've seen to get around it so far.

I've never had an issue with not being able to get a jack or jack stand on a subframe.

[cyat.es]

Ah, remember when .1RS’s were trading for less than .1GT3’s are now… like 8 short months ago? Saw your RL thread pondering this one a while back, congrats. I got my meteor .1 GT3 in Feb.

And to contribute to this thread, I’ve changed many a winter and track tire with my Harbor Freight aluminum race jack. I sure has heck wouldn’t get under the car without quality stands… but if you’re doing that, you’re doing it wrong. A Craftsman torque wrench, HF plastic-coated impact socket set, and pneumatic impact wrench for removal complete the setup for now, though I’ll pick up a Milwaukee impact wrench at some point, as the compressor is loud AF in the attached garage.

Yo Jim, hope all is well. Funny is that for most cars I still bring them up at the local $20 garage but for this one I bought a dedicated track set and now do it myself as the logistics of bringing it in then getting another car with the tires in is lame. This and I'd like to know it's done right before heading to the track.

[Saab2000]

Ah, remember when .1RS’s were trading for less than .1GT3’s are now… like 8 short months ago? Saw your RL thread pondering this one a while back, congrats. I got my meteor .1 GT3 in Feb.

And to contribute to this thread, I’ve changed many a winter and track tire with my Harbor Freight aluminum race jack. I sure has heck wouldn’t get under the car without quality stands… but if you’re doing that, you’re doing it wrong. A Craftsman torque wrench, HF plastic-coated impact socket set, and pneumatic impact wrench for removal complete the setup for now, though I’ll pick up a Milwaukee impact wrench at some point, as the compressor is loud AF in the attached garage.

Absolutely never getting under the car without stands. That’s obvious, or should be.

I got the Carlyle jack and other tools from NAPA. Craftsman isn’t what we remember and Snap-On is absurdly expensive for a few times per year usage. I wanted appropriate tools, not F1 tools. I got a 17mm socket (long), a breaker bar, the pictured jack and the pictured torque wrench. They’re exactly what this job requires. I followed the written instructions included with the jack and torque wrench. They’re not unimportant. Additionally, I have a compressor for tubeless bike tires and bought a correct brass Schrader chuck for the job. A lot easier than a bike floor pump.

In the end I’m super satisfied because I didn’t need to deal with the dealership or another garage trying to sell me $900 worth of BS for a wheel change, which most of them do.

It would probably serve us well to learn to do even more but this is a start.

Next is to find a wheel rack to store wheels out of season….

Suggestions…? ;-)

The tools have paid for themselves already by not having to deal with their sales pitch BS.

[rmplum]

If you have the floor space the rolling racks sold by tirerack are just fine. You can also use the industrial racks sold by Lowes or home Depot. Just don't out the shelf in on one of the layers/levels.

[rmplum]

Here are the TireRack units. We've had them for 5 years now and they are holding up well and convenient to move around if needed.



Or just get some industrial shelving and space one shelf out for tires:

[Saab2000]

That garage appears to be slightly larger than my suburban Chicago townhome 2-car garage, which is admittedly a good sized garage and pretty much the best aspect of my house, being what I believe to be slightly above average in width and length. I could use those racks with ease. Or bag them and bring them to my basement.

[rmplum]

Hang em -

https://www.tirerack.com/accessories/detail.jsp?ID=164

Dragging tires around the house sucks. Bag em and keep in the garage.

https://continentaltire.com/learn/se...-storing-tires

[DBordewisch]

Use jack stands. Only adds a few seconds. If things go wrong it can be deadly!

[Lionel]

Ah, remember when .1RS’s were trading for less than .1GT3’s are now… like 8 short months ago? Saw your RL thread pondering this one a while back, congrats. I got my meteor .1 GT3 in Feb.

And to contribute to this thread, I’ve changed many a winter and track tire with my Harbor Freight aluminum race jack. I sure has heck wouldn’t get under the car without quality stands… but if you’re doing that, you’re doing it wrong. A Craftsman torque wrench, HF plastic-coated impact socket set, and pneumatic impact wrench for removal complete the setup for now, though I’ll pick up a Milwaukee impact wrench at some point, as the compressor is loud AF in the attached garage.

Congrat on .1 GT3. These are simply great cars !

[randonneur]

My concern is more that most modern cars don't have a good place for a jack and a stand at the same time. It's tough to jack up one side or one axle, and have a place for stands as well. Cars are designed for lifts, not DIY jacks. The Quickjacks are the best way I've seen to get around it so far.

I've never had an issue with not being able to get a jack or jack stand on a subframe.

Yeah, I have this problem too, and I'd love to hear any solutions. I can fit a car jack, and and I can fit a jackstand, but I find it really hard to fit both, ie - to actually place the jackstands to begin with (since the lifting spot of the jack is right above the jack's wheels, and the jack stands splay out a bit, taking up the same floor real estate as the jack). I usually end up jacking from the center frame to mount the jackstands on the sides.

[cyat.es]

Yeah, I have this problem too, and I'd love to hear any solutions. I can fit a car jack, and and I can fit a jackstand, but I find it really hard to fit both, ie - to actually place the jackstands to begin with (since the lifting spot of the jack is right above the jack's wheels, and the jack stands splay out a bit, taking up the same floor real estate as the jack). I usually end up jacking from the center frame to mount the jackstands on the sides.

Jackpoint stands solve this issue (albeit not cheaply) http://www.jackpointjackstands.com

Some cars you can lift by suspension subframes, or even the engine (like on older 911's).

[Todd Amunrud]

http://www.rennstand.com/

Got two of these on order.

[Will Neide]

FWIW, when I remove the wheel, it always goes under the car for extra security. If I'm going under the car, I always add a jack stand.