Is there any reason I shouldn't jack up my car from the side in the middle of the car
 

I'd like to jack up the car in the middle (about where the door handle is) but understand that is not the correct jack point. If I were to use something like this would it be alright to do this?
Specifically, I'm looking for first-hand experiences. I know the owner's manual does not recommend it.

But why... use the front center jack point or the rear...?

Doing that will mess up your car. The jack up points are reinforced.

- AdrianG

It's easier.

You have first hand experience with this? How did it "mess up" the car?

No, I don't have first hand experience because I am not stupid.

If you search the forums though I saw a post a while ago of someone who did a bad job placing their jack stands and the car bent a bit.

- AdrianG

The jack points are reinforced. If you jack someplace else, you're going to bend something.

Though I do use that tool from flyinmiata all the time for pinch weld cars, so it's good to have (but you STILL use the factory points!)

Not on a BRZ, but I've done it on other similar cars and seen it done where it bent the pinchweld and/or dented in the rocker. On most cars, jacking in the middle of a car on the pinchweld where it is not reinforced is just asking for damage to happen.


I have the Flyin Miata jack adapter linked to in the first post. Works great, when used at or near the factory pinchweld jack points. Just jack it at the front jack point, behind the front tire, and it will lift the whole side of the car and the rear tire off the ground too.

Try not to jack from the pinch welds - if you don't do both sides at same time, they tend to bend - some not-so-cool shop decided to do this to my car way back before I knew any better and it's ever so slightly bent now. I always use the diff and the spot right in front of header, as prescribed by manual.

+1
Doesn't get much easier than that.

I did read: "I know the owner's manual does not recommend it."

It does more than that. It tells you exactly what to use.

At a track we lifted up the side a friends FR-S and started to bend the tabs. The spare tire jack in the boot does not pivot as it lifts, the same as a shops swing arm lift. Any jack that does will put shear on the tabs and probably bend them if there is any friction on the wheels of the jack.

Those pinch welds are okay-ish to jack the car up by...IF you use a jack adapter of some sort that acts in the same way the oem jack in the trunk does. The oem jack actually has a slot where the pinch weld goes into and then actually pushes up on the subframe of the car. Using anything other than that will put pressure on the pinch weld which actually doesnt hold weight. It WILL bend.

IMO: Use the jack points if you can. If you are going to be modding your car, invest in the low profile one from harbor freight. It pays itself back in no time with ease of use.