Stuart993

What's the best product?
I have the standard 8'-6" garage ceiling, with the door actuator as an added hinderance.
Thanks in advance.

997Heaven

not surethis is the kind of lift your talking about ,, my ceiling is a bit higher at 11.5.. most spec's are on the internet and thats where I ordered mine, (NOT AFFILIATION WITH THE LIFTSALES >> only the car)

neunneundrei

Depends on what you're looking for - ie. working on the car or additional storage. Mind you, with that kind of ceiling height you might not get any additional storage

So, for just working on the car you could go with a scissor-lift, or a lower 4-poster like the one shown in the thread. Do a search on either one - you'll find lots and lots...

John95cab

The four post lift and scissor lift require no special installation, just an outlet for the plug. The two post lift requires special installation and takes up a lot of room on both sides. There are many height variations of all three types to suit your layout. I chose the scissor type because it took up the least amount of room but from a wrenching point of view the two post is probably the most useful.

The Brewmeister

Hemmings Motor News has lifts from many manufacturers advertised in the
front section of their monthly classified listing. A mid to low rise is probably
best for your ceiling clearances. These style lifts will limit access to areas in
the center of the floorpan. Fortunately servicable parts in this area are few,
unfortunately if it blocks off some of the trans area that could be a problem.

997Heaven

also if u want to lower the overhead height you could go with a siide mounted door operater instead of a center mounted one .. but like most things they are not cheap ...

Slate_Grey

I have read much about the scissor lifts - didn't find as much on 2 posts... I'm in the market for a two post lift so that I can wrench on a car and also store a car underneath. I'm interested in making a 2 car garage into a 3

That being said, can anyone offer advice on:

1) suggestions on ceiling heights if 12' can't be accomodated?

2) Is 10' ceiling too low to be useful?

3) What brands are ok, good and best? Is there much difference? I've been looking at these types of lifts:

http://www.pacetools.com/Products/VTP-9F

4) I was recommended to put about 6-10" on each side of the posts to allow work on the sides (wheels, etc). So a total width of about 12' is ok? Ideally, I would want one side against a wall... Not positive that 1' is going to be enough room beyond the post? I'm just wondering since the car will be a lot less wide than the footprint of the lift...

5) Also, someone told me that you should plan on a half a car length in front + back. I am thinking the garage depth of 22' is fine - offset the lift towards the rear so that if more rear room is needed, just open the garage door?

Sorry for all the questions. I'd hate to miss something and have a useless lift installed... (or worse yet, a "big" garage that isn't useful)

Any answers and experience would be extremely appreciated. Thanks,

Slow Guy

Slate, I would look at www.asedeals.com, I think they have footprint requirements for the various lifts. I would suspect you would want at least 1' outside the lift posts just to walk around but 2' - 3' would be better for carrying wheels/parts ect.

Garth S

Assymetric arms allow much improved utility with a two post lift IMHO - like being able to easily swing the cars doors open for routine parking. Establishing these sorts of things first ( exit paths, access to lift controls, side work room, ...) allows you to plan the lifts bolt down position by drafting out the cars footprint over the footprint of its four lift points - then, work back from where the arms make contact to the hoist post positions.
The garage door, if an overhead type, will severely restrict the lift space when opened ... re: quote "offset the lift towards the rear so that if more rear room is needed, just open the garage door?".

I only have a 9 ft ceiling ( but can modify two trusses to achieve 11.5 ft if required); however, racking a 4' tall 993 all the way up still gives slightly over 5' underneath. Five ft is plenty, especially if you plop a fancy milk carton seat underneath . I have the height to park a second car underneath, even at 9' .... but cannot do so due to the pesky garage door: a catch 22 - the door must be closed to achieve the full lift - and cannot be opened unless the car is ~ 3' off the ground. Maybe if I had a Lotus, it could slip underneath ...

Colin 90 C2

The assymetrical is the way to go. It will give you much better door access as stated before.
I have an old two post commercial lift and wish it was assymetrical.
My ceiling height is around 10' 9". It is a little tight underneath for taller individuals, but I am height challenged at 5'7" and I bought one of those Harbor Freight roll around seats and it works.

For the garage door, I extended the rails higher so it curves about 5" from the ceiling. I still use a garage door opener which takes up an additional 5" but I couldn't live without it.

When installing my lift, I pretty much centered the posts in the garage. Unless you will only be working only on P cars, you will get many configurations. If you go too far in either direction, it may limit what you can use the lift for.

I have about 8" from the side wall in my garage and an open bay on the other side. It is still a PITA to move tires and such around. You can never have too much garage space!

Whichever type you choose, you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

One other consideration, get a lift table. How nice it is to do an engine drop by yourself.

ZSA Motorsport

i have a mohawk A7. i think many would argue the mohawk is one of the nicest, most functional. the thing uses metal thickness which is far greater than a lot of competitors. its a professional quality lift. it cost a bit more, about $5k total installed , which is a lot, maybe $1800 more than another good unit i was going to buy...but....a) i got a lifetime warranty from the distributor/installer as he felt given my personal use of it, it should last forever...b) it has several safety measures, including safety stops every 2 inches i believe so the minute it starts lifting, the safetys are catching every 2 inches from almost inception... once raised, to desired height, pop the release and it comes down the inch or two to the safety and the entire weight rest on these burly safeties rather than on the hydraulics. i thought about going with another product but at the end of the day, i felt that safety was far far more important. it was nice getting the lifetime warranty but more important was that the installer distributor was local incase i had a problem. safety is # 1 concern. this isnt what i do for a living and if i goof, forget something, i wan tto know i have the safest lift out there so i live to fight another day.