Jacking rails for a Twin?
 

Coming from the Mustang world, jacking rails are a very common addition to the unibodies of those cars, usually in conjunction with subframe connectors. Having had my BRZ up on jackstands frequently since getting it, I noticed that the metal at the jacking points of the body is folding over just a little bit. For a car that sees floor jacks as often as these do, I would think it makes sense. Is there any reason not to? It sure would be nice to stick a jack under the frame below the door and jack the side up front and rear without hurting anything. I would think any good race shop would be able to make something very simple and stitch weld the whole thing in less than an hour. Or even better, come up with a bolt on solution...


So my question is, have any of you added, or seen added, jacking rails to a Twin?


(The pics are of Steeda rails for a Mustang and a Focus ST, in case you are unfamiliar)

That's an interesting idea. I also wanted to avoid bending my pinch welds. I just got ESCO jack stands. Seemed like the simplest solution. They have a huge, flat rubber pad that is big enough that they don't damage the pinch welds at all.

https://www.northerntool.com/images/..._2000x2000.jpg

Huh, never heard of these but is a cool idea. Idk where we would be able to connect them without drilling through the frame, which might be worse?

I put a length of 2x4 between the jack and the bottom of the rail before jacking. Wood deforms before bending steel rail.

Just use the proper tools and you will be fine. No need to add anything like a Ford.

Great question, I'd love to have some jacking rails added on the sides. My jack-stands have a cup that works well with our pinch welds, but I would like to be able to use something like a quickjack very easily and specific jacking rails would make that easier.

My pinch welds are bent.:paddle::paddle:

I use these:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...sheepy/fgd.jpg
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...heepy/p2-3.jpg


This thread is pretty helpful too:

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10111


I don't jack my car up from the sides though, only the front or rear.

Jacking the car up from the side should really only be done in emergency situations like a flat tire or such.

The twins (and most cars) are really only designed to be lifted from the front or rear..

Lifting from the side can cause damage to your pinch welds, and will twist and tweak the chassis.

Just cut a groove in a hockey puck

Do you have a link for those stands?

yup!

Jackstand

Jackpad

They are pretty reasonably priced, but shipping is a killer.. :/

I just tell myself its a small price to pay to keep my pinch welds in good shape :bonk:

Jacking rails for a Twin?
 

Thanks!

Hmmm. Did you have to make a new account for Amazon Japan ?

Edit: turns out yes, Amazon US accounts cannot login to Amazon Japan.

Yeah I had to make a new one too. Seems kind of silly. You'd think one amazon account would work for everything :/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sapphireho (Post 3087808) Just use the proper tools and you will be fine. No need to add anything like a Ford.

There's always one...
I could jack my Mustangs up from the side jacking points without ever causing any damage to the pinch welds, so Ford is a step ahead of Subaru there. The jacking rails are so you can lift both tires from the side instead of just one at a time, and so the exact spot matters less if you happen to be on a track and doing this quickly and frequently..


According to Subaru, the car is designed to be jacked from the jacking points, which include the four specific spots on the pinch welds. Subaru didn't do a very good job of reinforcing those areas though.

Lifting your car from the side will definitely not "tweak the chassis". Where did you get that from? It can damage the pinch welds, though, hence the jacking rails, hockey pucks, 2x4s, etc.

Nevertheless, I have been jacking the car up only from the front and rear, also per the manual, but it's the jackstands that are causing damage to the pinch welds. I don't know about you, but I'm not getting under the car without jackstands, so the front/rear jacking does not solve the problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by daskaman (Post 3087832) Just cut a groove in a hockey puck

I use one of those plastic pucks things with a groove in it, or a piece of wood, when I jack from the sides but I usually jack front or rear and place jackstands on the sides. Hockey pucks and 2x4's do not work with jackstands.