Homepage Garage Wiki Register Social Groups Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
#Camaro6
Go Back   CAMARO6 > CAMARO6.com General Forums > 2016+ Camaro: 6th Gen Camaro general forum


BeckyD @ James Martin Chevy


Post Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 03-31-2017, 09:24 AM   #1
00 Trans Ram
 
00 Trans Ram's Avatar
 
Drives: 2017 2SS
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 636
Question Jacking points - Mythbuster Edition

Been reading a lot about jacking points. Seems that many swear that we need special jacking pads, that they can only go in one place, and that the car will implode if we don't use them (OK, I might have made that last one up). I've seen pictures of underbellies of cars where someone used MS Paint to circle supposed "jack points". I've even seen videos where people pointed at certain parts and said, "See this? This is aluminum - don't jack here."

But, I knew there was a problem with this theory. After all, when the professionals deliver the car, they don't tie them down with tire straps. They attach straps to hard points UNDER the car. And, these hard points have to be near the edges of the car. And, it stands to reason that if they are reinforced enough to hold a car on a trailer with a tiny T- or J-hook, they should be strong enough to support the car on a jack or jack stand.

So, I decided to investigate.

Sure enough, there's steel under there. Here's a picture of the front jack point of the car (assuming you have a real jack that has ~12 square inches of area on the jacking pad - not a scissor jack). It's just rearward of the front wheels - the black part with 2 big holes and 2 small ones.


(note - I took this pic after jacking the car up, and there is no noticeable mark, denting, or deformity)

And, to prove that it's steel . . .



. . . I stuck my magnetic bowl to it.

So, if you want to buy fancy jacking thingies for your car, have at it. But, if you want to just jack the car up and get to work, use these points.
00 Trans Ram is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 09:30 AM   #2
JKLNHYD
Defending the Nation...
 
JKLNHYD's Avatar
 
Drives: '16 Summit White 2SS, A8, Sunroof
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Long Beach, MS
Posts: 443
I love common sense! Thanks!
__________________

'16 2SS, A8, Sunroof, non-NPP
"SURSUM AB ORDINE"
JKLNHYD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 09:32 AM   #3
CAM-FIFTY
 
CAM-FIFTY's Avatar
 
Drives: 2016 Red Hot 2SS
Join Date: May 2016
Location: MA
Posts: 486
IMHO, the fancy bolt-ons thingies are for two reasons:
1) reduce the chance of twisting the pinch welds when you lower on the jack stands
2) reduce the chance of some dealer guy not padding the jack arms and ruining your rocker panels.

The spots you are recommending are not the GM recommended jacking spots.
__________________
2017 Black Z06 2LZ M7
2016 Red Hot 2SS A8 - Sold
My Camaro journey here and here.
CAM-FIFTY is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 09:34 AM   #4
vet757

 
vet757's Avatar
 
Drives: ^^^This
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Posts: 747
What part of the car is that "steel" part? What is it?
vet757 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 09:44 AM   #5
00 Trans Ram
 
00 Trans Ram's Avatar
 
Drives: 2017 2SS
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 636
Quote:
Originally Posted by CAM-FIFTY View Post
IMHO, the fancy bolt-ons thingies are for two reasons:
1) reduce the chance of twisting the pinch welds when you lower on the jack stands
2) reduce the chance of some dealer guy not padding the jack arms and ruining your rocker panels.

The spots you are recommending are not the GM recommended jacking spots.
Go into the service department of your dealership. Find a Camaro up on a rack. Look where they put the pads of their lift. It's right there where that magnet is sticking. When they installed my brakes, they had mine and another Camaro on a lift.

Yes - the "Owner's Manual" says to use the pinch welds. But, remember, those manuals aren't written for gearheads. They're written for average Joes. And, the average Joe doesn't have a nice floor jack with a wide pad. They are writing the manuals for people that have a scissor jack left over from their 1985 Malibu, or a bottle jack from their dad's 1974 F100.
00 Trans Ram is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 09:45 AM   #6
00 Trans Ram
 
00 Trans Ram's Avatar
 
Drives: 2017 2SS
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 636
Quote:
Originally Posted by vet757 View Post
What part of the car is that "steel" part? What is it?
The black part, with 2 large holes and 3 small ones.
00 Trans Ram is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 09:47 AM   #7
mbar

 
Drives: 2016 1SS
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: DC
Posts: 927
__________________
1SS, Black, Black Wheels, A8, MRC, NPP
mbar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 09:51 AM   #8
Tara Martin
Loves Camaros
 
Tara Martin's Avatar
 
Drives: Red '79 Z28, '21 Red Hot M6 ZL-1!
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Corpus Christi, TX
Posts: 1,621
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram View Post
Go into the service department of your dealership. Find a Camaro up on a rack. Look where they put the pads of their lift. It's right there where that magnet is sticking. When they installed my brakes, they had mine and another Camaro on a lift.

Yes - the "Owner's Manual" says to use the pinch welds. But, remember, those manuals aren't written for gearheads. They're written for average Joes. And, the average Joe doesn't have a nice floor jack with a wide pad. They are writing the manuals for people that have a scissor jack left over from their 1985 Malibu, or a bottle jack from their dad's 1974 F100.
__________________
Old and new, sharing space!

Tara Martin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 10:05 AM   #9
CAM-FIFTY
 
CAM-FIFTY's Avatar
 
Drives: 2016 Red Hot 2SS
Join Date: May 2016
Location: MA
Posts: 486
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram View Post
Yes - the "Owner's Manual" says to use the pinch welds. But, remember, those manuals aren't written for gearheads. They're written for average Joes. And, the average Joe doesn't have a nice floor jack with a wide pad. They are writing the manuals for people that have a scissor jack left over from their 1985 Malibu, or a bottle jack from their dad's 1974 F100.
FWIW I'm well aware of owner's vs service manuals and I own service manuals of my other two vehicles. You don't need to make any of above avg joe assumptions to support your preference... and dealer service techs are known to screw things up all the time.
I'll definitely examine the spot you have mentioned next time I go under the camaro.
__________________
2017 Black Z06 2LZ M7
2016 Red Hot 2SS A8 - Sold
My Camaro journey here and here.
CAM-FIFTY is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 10:09 AM   #10
mbar

 
Drives: 2016 1SS
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: DC
Posts: 927
Ok....so let's say we can use these 'new' jack points. Where would you locate the jack stands?

PS- I lift my car from the center front point and the center rear black bar and put my stands on the pinch welds.
The rear black bar works great. The center front point also works well, however is did bend a little.
__________________
1SS, Black, Black Wheels, A8, MRC, NPP
mbar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 10:21 AM   #11
SuperSound


 
SuperSound's Avatar
 
Drives: '17 Camaro 2SS A8
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Eastern NC
Posts: 5,063
Quote:
Originally Posted by CAM-FIFTY View Post
and dealer service techs are known to screw things up all the time.
I'll definitely examine the spot you have mentioned next time I go under the camaro.
Agreed. There's been multiple threads with pics of screwed up rocker panels because the service deck didn't set the lift pads right. I swear some of them don't know you can raise and lower the pads separately.


Should be no problem using the OP's spots with a wide quality floor jack. Personally don't think putting jack stands on the pinch welds is going to hurt them if done right. I know I didn't bend/damage mine on my last oil change. Just lowered the car slowly onto the jack stands. The issue comes from jacking on the pinch welds.
__________________
Current: '17 2SS Hyper Blue, A8, MRC, NPP
Past: '99 SS Camaro A4, '73 Camaro 383 A3

"Voices in your head are not considered insider information."

3800 Status - 6/16/16 (Built!)
6000 status - 6/29/16 (Delivered!)

Last edited by SuperSound; 03-31-2017 at 10:33 AM.
SuperSound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 10:30 AM   #12
00 Trans Ram
 
00 Trans Ram's Avatar
 
Drives: 2017 2SS
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 636
Quote:
Originally Posted by mbar View Post
Ok....so let's say we can use these 'new' jack points. Where would you locate the jack stands?

PS- I lift my car from the center front point and the center rear black bar and put my stands on the pinch welds.
The rear black bar works great. The center front point also works well, however is did bend a little.
In the same spot. It's wide enough to put both a 4" diameter floor jack pad and a stand at the same time. Just put the jack a little more outboard, and the stand inboard.

For reference, that magnetic bowl is about 6" diameter. There is plenty of room to fit both.
00 Trans Ram is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 10:37 AM   #13
HyperBlue16
 
HyperBlue16's Avatar
 
Drives: 2016 Camaro RS
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Ohio
Posts: 273
But that spot is slightly further up then the outer trim. If the car-lift pads are worn or to thin or the cars placement is off, the lifts main arm support will press into the plastic trim.
Some techs will look and maybe catch it, others might not or think its plastic and will just flex, but it won't because the way it is made. So it leads to the plastic being compressed up and damaging it, even more so with a GFX kit.
Adding the items to the pinch welds, just adds a little more protection and less chance of loosing time with your car as the dealer fixes their mistake.

Here was what happened to me, but i have seen worse.
HyperBlue16 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2017, 11:14 AM   #14
hotlap


 
hotlap's Avatar
 
Drives: 20 1LE 2SS M6 Rally Green
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Franklin WI
Posts: 6,632
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram View Post
Go into the service department of your dealership. Find a Camaro up on a rack. Look where they put the pads of their lift. It's right there where that magnet is sticking. When they installed my brakes, they had mine and another Camaro on a lift.

Yes - the "Owner's Manual" says to use the pinch welds. But, remember, those manuals aren't written for gearheads. They're written for average Joes. And, the average Joe doesn't have a nice floor jack with a wide pad. They are writing the manuals for people that have a scissor jack left over from their 1985 Malibu, or a bottle jack from their dad's 1974 F100.
My dealer's 4-point lift had plates the allowed them to lift it from the pinch weld on all four corners. I complimented them on doing it correctly and they replied that its expensive to replace rockers. I wish I had taken a photo.

If your jack has enough area you can probably lift it where you show. I have the pinch weld adapters so no need to chance it.

Also... I had the passenger/front area like that crush slightly on my old 2004 GTO after years of being ok
__________________

"the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.”
Ronald Reagan -
hotlap is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Post Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:09 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.