Lightweight "Racing" floor jacks.....

Hey,

Time to upgrade the pit equipment/event tools.

Harbor freight has several "racing" floor jacks ranging from 28 pounds to 50 pounds that have similar low heights and vary from 14 to 20 inches raised.

I'm thinking that the $90 model that tops out at 14" is just fine to sit in the back of the truck and get used once or twice a season (It is also the lightest)

(Are there any other suppliers with similar price and performance?)

What say the GRM wizards??

TIA,

Rog

I bought the $59 HF one that is the smallest one they make (that i know of). Ive used it probably a dozen times and it rattles around in the hatch area of my Insight every single day and gets used whenever i need it. Having it with me everywhere comes in pretty handy. I have a messed up back (27 years down, 60 to go...) so getting normal floor jacks in and out of cars is kind of a no-no anymore, but this little one doesnt bother me at all.

How low is your car/how much droop in the suspension travel is there? Really, if I was going to spend money on a "race" jack, it'd be one that has a quick pump on it to get it up to the jacking point in a pump or two of the foot, and then has a s00per long jack handle to get the car up as quick as possible. Maybe if you are auto-x'ing, lightweight should be a consideration, but at an actual track, I want that bitch up in the air NOW!

I've blown the hydraulics on two of the aluminum ones, and I think we grenaded the gearset in a 3rd. Lifetime warranties are a wonderful thing.

I have no experience with the Harbor Freight jacks but I do have an aluminum racing jack from Autozone (Duralast). IIRC it cost me $120. It's worked fine for me in the 4 or so years I've had it. It has LEDs embedded in the pad, which is nice for finding a jacking point when the light is low. I used it often at autocross events and the handle makes for a good cheater pipe in a pinch. The only problem is that my Mazdaspeed3's bumper is so low to the ground that I can't pump the handle- I have to drive it up some 2x4s to get any clearance.

I'm on year 7 of my craftsman aluminum race jack. It leaked a bit (replaced the o-ring for the release pin), and I broke the u-joint that allowed to lower the jack using the hande (using an allen wrench as a knob now). But still works great - looke like it's been through WW3.

I don't know jack about the cheap ones, but these are nice:

I have a [1.5 ton I beleive] HF jack with the quick pump, and it works great. I have seen the bigger ones too, and I would bet that they are identical to the Craftsman aluminum jacks (come from the same place in China). For your purposes IMO there is nothing better...it's not like you are going to use it many times daily. Worst case, if it fails prematurely, you should be able to get a replacement from HF.

I splurged for the "rapid pump" aluminum jack when it was on sale. It works fine (probably had it for a year now and it gets used a few times a month on average)

I will say that the 2-ton version I have works great, but the difference between the "rapid" part of the pumping and the "lift" part of the pumping is not much different. That means the rapid pump isn't much faster than a normal jack, and its seems to make the lift part a little more labor-intensive.

Its a pretty nice middle ground. I hate that part where you're pumping 3,000,000 times just to get the pad up to the frame on a normal jack, but the rapid pump HF jack also requires a good bit more effort to raise the car once it gets to the lifting part. BUT... I think if I were actually lifting 2 tons with it, I would break the aluminum handle trying to pump it. I used it to lift the front of my diesel cargo van (probably 3000 lbs) and I was a bit concerned about the handle with as much torque I was putting on it.

I think they're right... racing jack. Most race cars are pretty light. As with most HF stuff, get the product that is 1.5 times heftier than what they claim and you'll be happy.

I have a 2.5 ton. It has been used and abused for two years now with no issues. 5 pumps I think from down to up. The car goes up like a rocket. And its really nice to fling around the pits because its so light. It gets borrowed a lot by other racers who have the all steel versions.

bearmtnmartin wrote: I have a 2.5 ton. It has been used and abused for two years now with no issues. 5 pumps I think from down to up. The car goes up like a rocket. And its really nice to fling around the pits because its so light. It gets borrowed a lot by other racers who have the all steel versions.

Yep... Mine too, but try to actually lift 2.5 tons with it. I'm just sayin...

Watch the sales flier and the coupons, HF sells their jacks for 30-50% off quite regularly.

I have the non-rapid pump version of that jack. I've had it for years now. It has worked flawlessly and has spoiled me rotten with its light weight.

I think the $59 HF aluminum jack is the semi-official jack of autocross. You see hundreds of them at a tour.

The first one I bought lasted 4 seasons or so before it got so that I had to bleed it about every time I wanted to use it. So I just replaced it with another.

+1 for the cheap HF jack. I have used mine for about 6 years both in the shop and at the track. No sign of leakage ever.

RexSeven wrote: It has LEDs embedded in the pad, which is nice for finding a jacking point when the light is low.

That's freakin' genius. I need to figure out how to add that to my floor jacks.

I have a "Goodyear" aluminum jack I bought at Sam's club a number of years ago. It works pretty well and lifts a few inches higher than the cheaper H-F jack, but it's bigger and heavier. I'm sure the H-F is fine if mainly used for tire swapping. The lift height may not be enough to get some cars on jack stands.

I've had my HF jack for 7 or 8 years. It regularly blows out the O-rings and leaks. I'm getting pretty quick at dismantling it and putting new rings in. If I wasn't such a cheap individual I'd go buy a new one.Once I find the right O-rings it should be fine for quite a while longer.

+1 on the $59 special. I bought a 2nd one, the clerk asked me if I wanted the warranty, I told him this one WAS the warranty. The first one was fine, I just wanted a back up

RexSeven wrote: I have no experience with the Harbor Freight jacks but I do have an aluminum racing jack from Autozone (Duralast). IIRC it cost me $120. It's worked fine for me in the 4 or so years I've had it. It has LEDs embedded in the pad, which is nice for finding a jacking point when the light is low. I used it often at autocross events and the handle makes for a good cheater pipe in a pinch. The only problem is that my Mazdaspeed3's bumper is so low to the ground that I can't pump the handle- I have to drive it up some 2x4s to get any clearance.

I have one of those.. my friends with lowered Hondas love borrowing my jack because it's small and can fit under their cars no problem.

I like it because I can fit it in the trunk of the car without taking the handle off.

curtis73 wrote:

bearmtnmartin wrote: I have a 2.5 ton. It has been used and abused for two years now with no issues. 5 pumps I think from down to up. The car goes up like a rocket. And its really nice to fling around the pits because its so light. It gets borrowed a lot by other racers who have the all steel versions.

Yep... Mine too, but try to actually lift 2.5 tons with it. I'm just sayin...

Well, it won't lift the front of my Dodge diesel off the ground. Actually it won't even lift one corner of it. But good for a racecar though. And if my 12 year old kid stands on the saddle, the 6 year old can lift him pretty easy, so theres that......

Four autocross seasons on my cheap HF floor jack. I honestly can't believe it still works. But it shows no sign of trouble.

I have one of each of the HF non-rapid pumps, the big one and the little one. The big one has crapped the bed (leaks down pretty quick) but if you saw what brought that about, you'd forgive it like I did. One of these days I'm going to tear it down and see if I can fix it.

The little one has been banging around in my race trailer for a good while now and still works fine, even though it doesn't have enough lift height for the Trooper.

I got a really nice one from Costco a couple of years ago for cheap, I bought the display unit and got a really good deal. But IIRC they were cheap to begin with....

My uncle has a 50-year-old Hein-Werner floor jack.

It weighs at least 150 lbs. It was made in America, mainly from carbon steel and red paint. They now make them in America from alloy steel and blue paint.

It works perfectly every single time. One pump to the jack point, then it goes into "low gear" and can lift a 2000-lb car with one finger. The release control is so precise you can use it to help you reassemble a car - guide that transaxle right into place.

Rebuild parts for it are available from the manufacturer, who probably makes them on the same tooling they used in the first place.

$400 is a lot of money for a jack, but you'll never buy another. How long do you think it'll be until cars are light enough to lift by hand? Till then, you'll need a jack.

I would definitely want a Hein-Werner jack for the garage for all of the reasons stated, but I wouldn't want to toss one in the trunk to take to auto-x, hence the OP said, "Time to upgrade the pit equipment/event tools"

My garage jack at the g/f's house is a long-reach, low-profile jack (great for getting under the front of a lowered Spitfire). I swear the sucker weighs 200 lbs and at over 4' long (not including the handle), just moving it around the garage is a chore. It was her Christmas present to me a few years ago... for her cars...

chaparral wrote: My uncle has a 50-year-old Hein-Werner floor jack.

Mine finally crapped out - I put it at 60 years old. It is going to get fixed for whatever it costs. Probably a couple o-rings and a seal kit if I can still find one.

In the meantime - I bought this one: 2 ton, low profile, rapid pump

It is actually really great. The foot pump is nice - the hight and length can slide can slide under a lowered 911 and lift it 24" off the ground. 20% off coupon, 2 yr no questions replacement warranty, $120.