**REPOST: I posted this last night in the "Performance Modification" section, because for some reason I couldn't find this "General Discussion" sub-forum, but I think it's more appropriately placed here, so I'm making a new post. Sorry for any confusion!**

So I've been shopping for an affordable solution to get my cars up in the air, all four wheels off the ground. Recently I stumbled upon Jackpoint Jackstands, and it seems like Rennlist has the highest density of users of the product, as far as I could tell, so I thought I'd come here to ask a few questions.

I've got a couple of cars I'm working on at the moment, and so far for most jobs, I've managed to get by with ramps, or by jacking up one end at a time on cheapo stands. I've done my fair share of paying other people to do work on my cars, too, but going forward, I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible, both to save some cash on labor costs, and just because I enjoy working on/learning about my cars.

Enter the need for a lift. It's just not practical to do some jobs without being able to get a car in the air with the wheels off. I've been going back and forth between the QuickJack and the MaxJax, or something similar, when someone pointed me in the direction of the Jackpoints.

Okay, I get that they're not a lift. They're just very expensive jackstands, but with a novel (and quite brilliant!) means of allowing one to use the same lift point for both jack and stand. Now, the appeal here is obviously cost - but I do also like the elegant simplicity of just using jack stands that can't really fail and can be used anywhere.

I'm so close to pulling the trigger on these but would love to hear from real users first - my one really big concern is clearance. I mean, they look great for brake jobs and some suspension work, etc., but will I really be able to get under the car? I'm not expecting the same clearance of the QuickJack, or especially the MaxJax, but is there enough space to do exhaust work? Can I pull a driveshaft? Drop a transmission slightly, like to change mounts?

And will I feel safe under the car? These things look pretty squat and sturdy, so I'm not as concerned about tipping as I would be with traditional stands, but how would you feel pulling hard on a breaker bar underneath the car on these things?

Thanks for any input.

 

B-Bob - I haven't used the Quickjack but I think it's a nice product. I created the Jackpoint Jackstands so I like them too. I have a 4 post lift in my home - which I bought before I invented the jack stands. So my opinion - if you have under car work to do (fully under car like exhaust on a front engine vehicle) - I prefer a lift. For most of the routine work (brakes, suspension, oil changes, 911 exhaust, wheels) or for taking to the track - I prefer the Jackpoints. If I had the option when I bought - I'd have gone with a 2 post lift over a 4 post. Having said that - I still use the stands more than the lift. They're easier to get out and get the car up (but in fairness to Quickjack I store a car on my lift). I also like that the jack stands are out of the way when I'm working. By contrast - I have to work around my lift. Again - fairness to Quickjack - it doesn't look to be the obstacle to work around that a full size lift can be. I've had some potential customers decide on the Quickjack instead my product and I've never heard them express any regrets. On the other hand - I haven't had customers return the jacks stands to switch to another product. In the end - I like having both the jack stands and the lift in my garage. I won't tell you which you should pick. Like so many tools - you need to select the option that best fits your needs. As the owner of Jackpoint - I'd rather you get the option that works best for you than try to sell you Jackpoints and have you wish you had selected a different product. It's nice to have options that didn't exist when I bought my 4 post lift. Good luck.

 

I'll give my thumbs up for these. Very sturdy and easy to use with a great design.

Here's when I was thinking about changing the exhaust on my Cayman to give you an idea of their lift.

Plenty of room IMO for all kinds of work and fairly easy (much easier 20 years ago) to get under the car.


Eddie

 

Thank you for your very candid response, and also for bringing what looks like a very cool product to market. I get that the Jackpoints are not an ideal solution for working under the car, and that they don't totally replace the need for a lift - but I guess my main question is can they fill in for one, in a pinch. The reality is that, most of the time, my needs are going to be fairly routine - swapping wheels, brake jobs, changing gear oil in my LSD once or twice a year - and for these purposes, I know that the Jackpoints would do well. In fact, I think they'd be preferable to a lift in terms of ease of use. But I wonder, for that occasional odd job when I might need to be all the way under the car - changing flex discs for example - will I be able to squeeze under the car safely and somewhat comfortably? I'm a fairly skinny guy, so I think the answer will be yes, but I'm just not sure.

Thanks for the response. Beautiful car and garage, by the way! Looking at your pics, I think I see enough clearance for my needs. The stands look very sturdy - do you feel pretty safe underneath the car with these things?