A little off topic, but does someone sell a hydraulic jack low enough that will fit under the S2000? I don't want to have to use the car jack all the time.

 

I can only answer the softballs, I let xviper, ultimate lurker, UtahS2k, and others handle the hard balls.

You can get a jack that fits at Walmart as long as the minimum height is less than 5.5 inches. Most are 5 3/4 inches, and that's too high to fit. Just look at the specs and get one with a minimum height of 5 1/2 inches or less. There are also some aluminum racer floor jacks (that cost like $300-400) out there that are long enough to get to the center of the car jack points. That would be the ultimate, but not for me right now since I just bought some race tires. Well maybe I could justify that to the wife. Hey honey, "I've got race tires now, don't ya think I should get a race jack." Yeah like I would even ask that question.

 

Very thorough review Gloffer, I have 2 points to add.

1) As you mention, there are what appear to be 2 side jack points (ridge-like extensions under the rocker panel) behind the front wheels. However, only one of them is reinforced; the rear-most. That is the only one that I use to raise the car. When I need to place jack stands under that reinforced area, I jack up the front of the car with the center of the front sub-frame.

2) I spent a lot of time searching for an inexpensive jack that would fit under the side jack points - to no avail. I looked at Sears, Walmart, K Mart, Pep Boys, Discount Auto Parts and searched the web. I finally broke down and bought a very nice aluminum jack from Harbor Freight for $200. It's more expensive than I wanted to pay, but it works great on the side jack points with only 3.5" pad height.

If you know of an inexpensive jack that is low enough, please post the source and model number to save others the headache of a long search.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by G127
[B]A little off topic, but does someone sell a hydraulic jack low enough that will fit under the S2000?

 

I pull my car up to the edge of the garage where the driveway drops away downhill, so that the tires are still on the level edge of the driveway. I can do my entire oil change without lifting the car one bit.

 

I bought an 18" extension for my socket wrench from Sears. If you turn the wheels to the left, you will be able to see/remove the oil drain bolt easily to/from the rear of the right front wheel. The only reason that I jack up the right side of the car is to make clearance, for my longer torque wrench handle, in order to tighten the bolt. But if you had a longer extension, this wouldn't be necessary. A normal oil drain pan will be adequate and I also loosen the oil filter just enough to allow a medium size stream of oil to flow into the pan below. I use a broom to position the oil pan beneath the filter. This is no more difficult a job than changing the oil in my pickup. I would also advise you not to place any tools or the oil fill cap on top of the engine. They could easily fall off and be trapped down in the engine compartment. Also if you forget a tool and shut the hood, you just might put a nice dent in the hood.