Quote:
Originally Posted by DeuceCam
What lift point between jack stands are you referring to? Afaik, this car is a pita to get on 4 stands because it doesn't have a safe front, center lift point
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Personally, the only "safe" way to support the car in a full lift situation is to have it on a car lift, post or roll on. 4 Jack stands, there is no such thing as "safe" there is always potential risk for the car to shift. I've had a buddy get stuck under a car after a jack stand failed. It's still in my top 5 "Holy Shit" moments. He is lucky to be alive. I'm not saying you're not aware, I'm just reiterating we can only make it as safe as we can on 4 stands. A lift would be the most safe, but also the most expensive/inconvenient.
The front center pinch weld is the safe lift point. The jack point is the one people have a hard time with. I personally don't like using the front-most pinch weld as a jack stand support point. It's too damn close to the front center jack point. I also don't like the jack stand head (on most stands) is U shaped and you're supposed to set that jack pad on it. Car has too much movement during lifting/lowering for me to trust the pinch weld pad to stay on the jack stand head. One slip front or back and the stand will be in the floor or through the door. I place my stands on the center-most frame rail, pretty much where my long tubes connect. It's not my favorite place on a car, but the rail is beefy enough to take the weight and give the stand enough contact area the car shouldn't shift or slip unless you're really rocking the car something fierce. As for the rear, the rear comes up when you jack from the front-center pinch weld jack points. I place stands under those pinch welds, also using pinch weld pads. And there it is, the car is on 4 points and airborne.
I also use poly style jack stand sleeves. I don't like metal-on-metal particularly when it comes to setting the pinch weld pads into the jack stand head grooves. It doesn't give me good vibes. The friction isn't there to keep the car or stand in place should lateral force be applied and the risk will be higher for it to slip off the pad.
Overall, the 6 Gen Camaro is a shit design when it comes to jack stand placement and jacking points. Compared to other platforms I've owned through the years. The Camaro takes the crown and I hate it for it. Right out of the gate, you need special equipment just to lift your vehicle (pinch weld pads). Another gripe, they specifically tell you under no circumstance to jack from the diff. As a prior Mustang owner, this is exceptional weaksauce. Jacking from the diff was a go-to, even in the Terminators with an IRS. Having crawled all over under my car now, I haven't seen anything that warrants this warning to not jack from the diff, other than implying that the diff housing itself isn't durable enough to act as a lift point for the rear half. Again, from the look of it up close, I don't see why not. But I digress. The rear lifts just fine from the front-center pinch welds, fortunately.
I did myself a favor (depending how you look at it) and bought a 2nd low profile jack during a harbor freight sale. It has made it way easier to jack the car up since I can keep a jack under each lift point in the front. Doing it one side at a time just never felt very controlled. Much better with 2 jacks. And if you have a buddy with you, all the better.
I have to put the car up on all 4 again this weekend, so I'll take a few shots of my stand placement for ridicule, lol. Somebody won't like it, but I pulled the engine and transmission and put it back all by my lonesome with the car posted up on all 4 for months and never had the car or stands make a peep.