You’ll need jack stands that can raise your car higher than standard vehicles. Lift height plays a huge role if you’re working on a large vehicle such as an SUV or pickup truck. In that case, your best bet is to choose a jack stand made from aluminum. If you need to move your jack stands a lot, lightweight ones will make your life easier. Chances are you’ll find yourself pushing them around on the floor with your feet a lot. If you’re going to use jack stands in one location, you can choose ones made from steel, which are fairly heavy. The weight of each stand is particularly important if you intend on moving them around. Remember to check the load ratings when you buy them! Weight Securing a heavy 4×4 pick-up truck is completely different from a Mazda Miata. You should round up your vehicle’s curb weight when comparing the load rating on the jack stand to be certain that you’re not overloading them. Remember that your car’s weight distribution isn’t even from the front to back because of the engine. It’s crucial that you check the owner’s manual for your car’s curb weight. That’s for a pair, which means each stand supports 1 ton. The most common jack stands support up to 2-tons. We’ve mentioned some of the most important ones below. Things to Consider When Purchasing Jack StandsĪ lot of factors come into play when purchasing jack stands for your home garage.Īside from the obvious things like budget, ease of use, and quality, you’ll need to keep an eye out for certain features too. If you want to be extra careful, find jack stands that come with a second safety pin. When opting for adjustable jack stands, make sure they’re heavy-duty and come with a steel pin to insert into the center column holes. You adjust the height with an attached ratchet. Most of them are tripod or quadpod stands that have a notched center column for height adjustment. Besides the ease of adjustability, you can take them with you and store them easily in your car’s boot. Adjustable Heightįor most mechanics, adjustable height jack stands are the right choice. If you head to the race track often, you will probably notice that these are a popular choice among other hobby racers. You’ll find that they’re reliable and durable. However, fixed-height jack stands are perfect if you’re going to use them in the same location and for similar jobs. Also, the units themselves are large, you won’t be able to collapse them to fit in certain storage spaces, so portability can be an issue. Jobs that require higher elevation won’t be possible. The obvious downside is that you can’t adjust the height of the jack stand. The great thing about them is there is no wiggle room for parts to fail and the car to collapse on you. Fixed HeightĪs the name implies, these jack stands can’t be adjusted. If you’re feeling stuck, below are some different things you should keep an eye out for. The type of jack stand you need will ultimately come down to what kind of job you need to perform on your car.Īs a general rule of thumb, go for the ones that are simple, strong, and offer the best protection. In this guide, we’ll review some of the best jack stands on the market and highlight the most important factors you should consider when buying one for your garage. But by using stands to support your car in conjunction with your floor jack, you get an extra layer of protection. Relying solely on a floor jack to support your car’s weight is risky business since it can slip or fail. If you think a floor jack is enough to keep your car safely in place, think again. Whether you need to jack up your car to install a set of coilovers, roll your fenders, rotate your wheels, or drain some engine oil, you want to be safe while you do it. And while people are lucky enough to have a car lift in their home garage, most of us need to find a cheaper way to get our car off of the ground. For some maintenance jobs, it’s only a matter of time before you have to get under your car.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |