as of now im running suspension techniques lowering springs good for around 1-1 1/8 inch drop. i have to two jacks (one under the a arm then after i get it up high enough one under the kmember) to jack my car up. it still isnt low enough for me and im willing to deal with the scrapes etc associated with it lower but how am i gonna jack this thing up? it takes long enough as it is. is there a super long and very short jack available? whats everyones methods used to jack these puppys up?

 

Drive up on some boards or ramps.

 

I can't get crap in under the front, I always have to lift the rear end first.

 

ive thought about trying air jacks like the indy cars use but that is as far as ive gone with it ... not too sure i was sane at the time ... if you figure somthing out let us all know ... tao

 

I drive it up on boards then hit the k-member. Otherwise I can't even get the thing past my ground effects. Sportlines and Bilsteins.

 

his is probably what you need :

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/jack.htm

Its the sort of thing that we use for lifting my brothers kit car. I've not tried this on a 3rd gen etc. So you would be perhaps the first, and you would have to get one that was the correct size.

Si.

 

I have to use the emergency jack from my car to raise it up as high as it will go and then use a regular hydraulic jack to raise up the front. The funny thing is my car is not lowered at all. Guess I should have bought a low profile jack.

 

Just get a couple of 2x12s and bevel the edges so that the wheels roll up smoothly, then you'll have no problem. Much cheaper than buying a super whamadyne tool to do the same thing.

Ed

 

haha super whamadyne tool, lol. but i guess ill go buy some ramps, get me some 2x12's and get a lower profile jack. i have always thought about the ramps but i then worried about them hitting the front end since it sticks out so much before it even gets to the wheels.
as far as jacking the rear up first....i cant even do that now. unless i go from the rear wheelwell to get to the differential i hit the muffler.
and i wish i could shell out $225 bucks for that jack, id have it in a heartbeat.

 

I have a set of ramps that offer optionial extenders for them, about $50 for both pieces. I still have to use some boards to keep the chin spoiler from hitting but these help alot. I'll get some pics and post them here.

Ed

 

I use a couple of 2x4's and even then, I have to have someone grab from the wheel wells and lift while I slide the jack under.
I'm 1.75" low in the front and 1.5" low in the back.

 

Here's my car on ramps. IIRC, these are "Ultra Ramps" and are at Advance or Auto Zone or the dreaded Pep Boys too. Red ramp extentions are extra but only $25 or so. Here ya go:

 

Even with the extentions, I still have to do this to keep from scraping the chin spoiler:

 

I do it on the sub frame connectors, its ok to do it there right?

 

I have rhino ramps and they hit the front chin spoiler or front GFX whatever you want to call them. I have to put some boards on them to lift the car up higher so they don't hit, it sucks!

 

well i just have to have it lower so it looks as if im going to go with some ramps and good old 2X4's or something. as far as i know its perfectly ok to jack from the subframe connectors and i wish i could get mine installed so i could use that point....damn competition engenering but thanks for the pics ed, looks like ill be following in your footsteps

 

I can't even get mine in the driveway. I have to add like two feet of extension to the driveway to flatten it out. It only has a slight rise to it, but definitely enough that I scrape.

 

i either drive onto a 2x4 and then jack the car, or i just lift the car up by hand (you only have to unload the suspension) and kick the jack under the car (or have a friend do it)

athough i have it easy.. i have a 5"x5" piece of 1/4" steel plate. the plate spreads the weight out, so i can jack anywhere on the convertible bracing.

 

It was hard to get one under the front of my '91 GTA until I removed a bunch of weight off the nose.

 

haha, i know how that is. i hate those neighborhoods with the drainage things in front of the driveways......my ex had one and i was always forced to park up there

 

I've found that since I've lowered mine, if you use one of those small floor jacks and turn your tires to lock, you can slide it between the fender and tire. This lets you get to the front control arm hinge point and jack there. Plus since you have the full fender hight you can use full extension on the jack arm.

Works for me.

Kevin D.

 

I slide my jack under the lower a-arm if I am jacking up either side of the front.
If I am jacking up the rear, I just place the jack under the pumpkin.

 

hmmm....i never thought of turning the wheels. i was lucky enough to have just enough clearnace for my jack now to fit right under the gfx behind the wheel and get at the aarm. that might just work, even with it lowered

and zepher, i used to be able to slide it under the pumpkin in the rear but now it still sits too low to the ground and i cant get my jack past the muffler

 

ebmiller88/Ed - What is the height on those yellow ramps of yours? I've got a set of the black Rhino (I believe) ramps, and actually would like to have something a little taller. Can you let me know how tall yours are? I'm trying to get enough clearance under the car to be able to more easily get my Phat Gut under there to be able to work w/o having to pull the front spoiler on my Formula every time I have to do anything.

Other than that, I guess I'll be making some double board 2x12 bases for my ramps....



- Ye Old Phat Phart, Vern

 

I've got Sportlines on my Formula and there is plenty of clearance out back for the blue MVP jack I use.

 

I made a set of ramps out of 2x12's so they would clear the front end... talk about a long set of ramps, about 5' 6" long and pretty heavy. When the front is up on ramps my jack wont reach past the muffler, so I jack up each side by the shock mount on the axle and slide another set of 2x's under the rear tires. Then I can reach the pumpkin to put the back of the car on jackstands.

To get weight off the front of the car I drive up on the smaller stacks and then my jack will reach the crossmember. Hope I never get a flat!

 

I'll get that distance as soon as I can.


Ed

 

ive got a birthday comin up sat and i told someone to get me some ramps, hopefully ill get them and ive also got my eyes on a new alumnium jack. lower profile and i hate having to pump mine 10 times now to get it to the car

 

Ha, cool, I have to do the same damn thing- and I also have Suspension Techniques springs (1 inch drop, meant for the 2.8/3.1 v6's). It's such a pain. I don't know how some guys get a 2" drop... the 1" is driving me nuts. But man it does drive nice...!

 

Ramps seem to be around 9" where the wheel will sit, about 10" or so to the top of the side rail.

Ed

 

tom how are those springs treatin ya? even though some people i talked to didnt recommend them at all i love them. car drives like a dream, i still want it lower!!!

 

Anybody else have a problem with there ramps like i do. When i drive my car up them, unless i have someone holding the ramps, they'll slide back. This makes it difficult to work on my car alone. Plus its not really worth it for a friend to come all the way over to just hold my ramp for me. (im kinda far from my friends, about 15 min drive so its a hassel unless there is a 2 man job to be done)


Mine look alot like the ones pictured above. Only no extentions. Did the extentions help the sliding at all?

Am i doing something wrong?

 

might try rubber mat under them ... tao

 

i put a set of those helper airbags in the rear of my car to get it in and out of my driveway. i considered putting a set in the front but got cheap and lazy. i would think for about 60 bucks its a good way to raise the front of the car for jacking, just deflate thm when your one.

 

The air bags aren't a bad idea at all, I've thought of that once or twice.

I ran into a new problem tonight. I got the front up on ramps as usual, then I when I lifted the rear to put jackstands under the frame I noticed the car wasn't lifted too level. As I lowered it the one side rested on the jackstand then started to tip the jacstand over! The jackstand was up on the 2 legs towards the front of the car, the rear 2 were at least 1/2" off the ground!! I shimmed the other side with a 1/4" steel plate... and they BOTH started tipping forward. I was using my new aluminum jack and switched to my old undersized carry along floor jack and the same thing happened.... this NEVER happened to me before!!

I wound up putting the jackstands under the axle instead and lost a good 2" or 3" of working room. I'm thinking that the jack didnt' roll back like it used to for some reason!!! Since the jack was 'stuck' where it was I'm thinking it was pushing the car forward as there was still weight on the axle. The car wanted to follow the natural arc of the floor jack while the suspenstion unloaded. I put another steel plate under the jack (in case the jack was digging into the driveway) and still the same problem.

Have I lost my mind?

 

ED - thanks for the height info, I may have to try and find some like those.....

Again, THANKS!!!

 

does your new alluminum jack have greese fittings for the wheels?? have you used them?

 

damn, this all sounds like a pain, I just use a cheap $15 scissor jack then place a regular jack under it once I get it up a few inches.

 

any more info about those air bags???

 

Nope, neither jack I have has grease fittings on the wheels. It really stumps me since I never had this problem before.

 

I just drive it up on 2x4's then slp the jack under the cross member, then put jack stands under the A arms.

 

Ive got Ground Control weight jacks (Fr/rr).front is lowered about 1.5in.My aluminum weight jack goes right under the crossmember.I just angle it so the handle is against the front tire(in the gap between tire & GFX).This gives me the most range of motion to jack up the car.Takes about 30sec to raise the front end 1 foot or so.

 

I have the 1 inch Hotchkis lowering springs and I never had
a problem jacking the car up. I use a "low profile" jack
that works mint. Never have to buy and use 2x4s or 4x8s
or use two jacks or whatnot to get it up. I go in the front,
side or rear of the car, no problems. It's tight, but a few pumps
and it's up there. But the jack I bought is not cheap either.
It's like $100 or something. Get the right tool for the
job and Git-R-Dun!

 

i just got my new rhino ramps today, work great from the rear and give more clearance than i expected but from the front i used a 2x6 and mitered it then the front goes up no problems. next investment will probably be a low profile alumnium jack

 

That would be a great investment! The low profile jacks
are nice! Never have to take any additional steps to
jack up your car. Or make any additional "tools" either.