[QUOTE]Originally posted by dlq04
I found this site very interesting.

 

Yes, any of them will work if you drive up on to boards.

 

An alternative...
I used to routinely lift the car front and then rear to place it on jack stands. Ever since I installled the Da'lan hitch, there isn't enough clearance to jack the reaf by the diff., so now I do what most of the track guys do, lift one entire side at a time (centering jack roughly between F and R wheels) to place the jack stands. Turns out it is so much easier and faster as you don't need to drive up on blocks first or get on your knees to locate the jack points! Now, even if I am working on one corner at a time to, say, change brake pads, I still put all four corners on stands as it is faster and I believe less torsional stress on the car than lifting one wheel at a time using the factory recommended jack points. So, I've stopped searching for a low & long jack, and save a lot of time and effort in jacking the car.
BTW, I use the original Harbor Freight racing jack.

 

The only thing is you will damage the body if you jack from the center like that. The center under the door isn't reinforced properly and if you look I'll be you've bent the metal of the body at that point. You can jack up the car by the front jacking point and still get it high enough off the ground to get both jackstands under it (albeit slightly lower in the rear). Your choice...I've done it from the middle but stopped once I saw what it was doing to the car.

 

Also, the X-bone frame makes it important to correctly position the lift pads to avoid twisting the body. With weight distribution 50/50 be sure to support the car properly when removing a heavy component from either end.

 

I've been using the front jack point to lift the whole side. Not exactly the balance center (I have to continue to jack approximately 2x what it takes to lift the front tire off to get the rear off the ground). This accounts for the extra bracing. I can understand the chance of twisting the body but I haven't seen any such problem which would no doubt show up with the door/body gap, ala the Porsche Targa Droop syndrome.

What you do afterwards (jack stands, etc.) to prevent twisting or damage depends on what you're doing. I'm just changing tires.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ludedude
The only thing is you will damage the body if you jack from the center like that.

 

Heh, no you just have to position your jack under the 2nd reinforced area up front (slightly further backthan the 1st) and then the jackstand fits under the reinforcement closer to the wheel.

I damaged mine with the jacks being discussed here, now I don't do it any more.

 

I have always jacked my car up from the middle and never had any problems. You can bend it, but a HF jack with the rubber mat has always worked just fine.

DLQ: If that were actually able to twist our frame by jacking it up, the car wouldn't make one lap around the racetrack without deforming.

 

I've also been using the front-side jack point to lift the entire side of the car and swap 2 wheels at once. It hasn't been a problem for me or the other 10 S2000 autocrossers that use this same procedure down here in Florida.

Bill - I've been using the rapid pump Harbor frieght jack for 2 seasons and love it! It's worth every penny of the $129 price, and it will reach the rear jack point as well as the sides without putting the car up on boards. The AC Hydraulics jacks are excellent, but weigh a lot and would not be a good choice to throw in a tire trailer box.