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Using floor jack with side skirts

6K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  shay2nak 
#1 ·
My aluminum side skirts partially obscure my jack point. Will the areas I have marked in red in the attached diagram, just beside the original jack point, be safe to use or do I need to remove the side skirts to use my jack point? Thanks
 

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#2 ·
I would say to lift in the normal location. If the side skirts are aluminum then they would not be harmed. Is there any gap between the side skirt and the bottom of the car? If not then you should be good. You may also want to cut a small shim to insert just beyond the side skirt so your jack contacts the entire lifting circle. I might also suggest my decals from the post https://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f95/fs-lift-here-center-gravity-decals-464970/ I make the triangular for the side and the circles for the bottom of the car.
 

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#3 ·
What I did was cut a hole in my side skirts to allow normal jacking "through" the side skirt as it were. Mine are carbon fiber (Reverie), and have a honeycomb middle section that would be crushed it were directly jacked. I also cut some hockey pucks down to the size of the hole and attached adhesive backed Velcro to one side of the hockey puck and to the jacking location on the underside of the car. That way, once you have puck in place, it stays there until you're done and pull it away. The ability to jack the car without removing the side skirts saves a lot of time and effort.

San
 

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#5 ·
My cf APR ones also block the jack points, I use a hockey puck and lift from the stock points still. Always makes me nervous but not going to remove or cut a hole in mine, I’ve used it numerous times and haven’t had any issues at all which is surprising lol
 
#9 ·
That's because the APR side skirts are a normal CF layup. It's fairly flat where the side skirts mount, but I'd much rather drill a small hole to prevent the unnecessary stress on the carbon, which isn't designed to be used as a jacking point. YMMV.

The Reverie have a thin veneer of carbon fiber on top, a honeycomb (vertical) center section and another veneer of carbon fiber on the bottom. This allows them to be stupid light, and still serve the purpose they were designed for, which is not to be a jacking point. I know of no other company that tests their parts in the wind tunnel.

San
 
#6 ·
San,

2 good ideas there.
 
#7 ·
I have CF side skirts (from sector 111 I believe). My jack points are about half covered. I just use a block of wood place right up against the edge of the skirt. It's about an inch off of the specific point to jack from. It works just fine. No damage. If your skirts completely cover that spot, I would not use my method as you would not be lifting from the frame and might damage/bend a panel.
 
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