Bad Emergency Jack?

[cywinr]

It doesn't say anywhere whether he used the jack properly or not. The manual clearly says ONLY use it for the FRS/BRZ, and ONLY to be used to lift a single wheel off the ground at a time. This means you don't have to lift it very high, and there is minimal weight on the jack.

From the looks of the picture, I get a feeling he didn't follow those guidelines. It's for you to change a single spare tire in emergencies.

Good idea to spread the word though.

[Poodles]

The lower arms are geared together, but it's quite easy damage that part. I'm better he was halfway in the ditch while he used it which means the car wasn't level. At that point no jack is really safe...

[mike the snake]

That's exactly what I thought as well.

These types of jacks can be very dangerous if extended too high.

The jack in the pic was extended too high. The damage to the screw happened when the car moved or fell over. No way that screw shaft bent from any kind of normal use.

Originally Posted by Foobar

Looks like it was raised too high and then the car pushed against it sideways. Not sure how it did that with three other tires on the car.

[ZionsWrath]

I had one of those jacks fail on me when I was changing a tire on a minivan. Fender hit my elbow but luckily I have threaded on 3 lugs so I was spared. I was gonna complain to honda about it but the car was 10 years old and I felt it would just waste my time...

And yea, the screw on mine actually just broke at the part where it threads through the hole, didn't bend or cross thread or anything like that.

[Golevka]

I just bought my BRZ a few months ago, so I'm headed into my first winter with it. I'm soon to be buying a set of winter tires and wheels. My question is, would you guys use the OEM jack for swapping the wheels off your car? Or is there a better jack I should buy?

[MrDinkleman]

Originally Posted by Golevka

I just bought my BRZ a few months ago, so I'm headed into my first winter with it. I'm soon to be buying a set of winter tires and wheels. My question is, would you guys use the OEM jack for swapping the wheels off your car? Or is there a better jack I should buy?

First of all, manually jacking up four corners of your car twice a year with the scissor jack is too much work. Get a 2 to 2-1/2 ton floor jack and jack the car up using the center jack points at each end and do two wheels at a time. Store it in your garage.

Frankly, I wouldn't wear out any emergency equipment because it might self destruct when I need it: in an emergency. It would be like using those little cigarette lighter socket powered air pumps you can buy in emergency roadside kits to maintain your tire's air pressure and then finding yourself in the middle of nowhere with a flat, but fillable, tire but a burned out pump.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Golevka

I just bought my BRZ a few months ago, so I'm headed into my first winter with it. I'm soon to be buying a set of winter tires and wheels. My question is, would you guys use the OEM jack for swapping the wheels off your car? Or is there a better jack I should buy?

Originally Posted by MrDinkleman

First of all, manually jacking up four corners of your car twice a year with the scissor jack is too much work. Get a 2 to 2-1/2 ton floor jack and jack the car up using the center jack points at each end and do two wheels at a time. Store it in your garage.

Frankly, I wouldn't wear out any emergency equipment because it might self destruct when I need it: in an emergency. It would be like using those little cigarette lighter socket powered air pumps you can buy in emergency roadside kits to maintain your tire's air pressure and then finding yourself in the middle of nowhere with a flat, but fillable, tire but a burned out pump.

What @MrDinkleman said is extremely important and logical. Assuming you'll own this car for say 5 years which involves taking tires off twice or more a season, and with possible mods underneath the car and what not you might as well invest in a quality low profile jack and 4 jack stands. Anything less is stupid and almost suicidal because you increase the risk of the car falling on you in any of those 5 years. Also just so you know so many online stores have awesome deals right now with black friday and christmas coming up you might as well take advantage and get a set for the cheapest they will probably be.

[Golevka]

Originally Posted by MrDinkleman

First of all, manually jacking up four corners of your car twice a year with the scissor jack is too much work. Get a 2 to 2-1/2 ton floor jack and jack the car up using the center jack points at each end and do two wheels at a time. Store it in your garage.

Frankly, I wouldn't wear out any emergency equipment because it might self destruct when I need it: in an emergency. It would be like using those little cigarette lighter socket powered air pumps you can buy in emergency roadside kits to maintain your tire's air pressure and then finding yourself in the middle of nowhere with a flat, but fillable, tire but a burned out pump.

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

What @MrDinkleman said is extremely important and logical. Assuming you'll own this car for say 5 years which involves taking tires off twice or more a season, and with possible mods underneath the car and what not you might as well invest in a quality low profile jack and 4 jack stands. Anything less is stupid and almost suicidal because you increase the risk of the car falling on you in any of those 5 years. Also just so you know so many online stores have awesome deals right now with black friday and christmas coming up you might as well take advantage and get a set for the cheapest they will probably be.

Thanks for the advice guys. I will definitely get a proper jack and jack stands now. Already got my torque wrench and breaker bar.