We've all heard, and in some cases seen the photos, of Eliges that tipped backwards off a lift because the rearmost jackpoints weren't used. I want to avoid such an event when lifting the Evora GT.
I've jacked one side of the Evora GT in the past using the jackpoint just in front of the rear wheel and, like the Elige platform, doing so raises both wheels on that side (praise be to the Lotus chassis stiffness!). On the Elige there are two far-rearward jackpoints that keep the center of mass between them and the frontmost jackpoints, so the car won't tip off the jacks. There are no such far-rear jackpoints on the Evora. The docs only speak of, and illustrate, a total of four Evora jackpoints and the rearmost of those are still in front of the rear wheels.
How do we keep the center of mass between the front and rear jackpoints? The bulk of the engine mass is behind the Evora's rear jackpoints. If a single jack under the rearmost jackpoint can raise that entire side of the car, what happens when you lift BOTH rear jackpoints? Even if you put jacks under the front jackpoints it seems like the car would be heavily rear biased, with a whole lot of mass behind the rear jacks.
I've read that some recommend lifting from chassis points under the rear diffuser, similar to what we do on an Elige. Others say those points aren't meant for lifting on the Evora and caution against it. I can imagine putting a fifth jack back there as insurance against the car tipping backwards, so that no real weight is borne there but it protects anyone working under the car. That still doesn't answer the question of whether the center of mass is biased dangerously rearward if lifted at the four factory jackpoints.
I guess I'm asking how stable the car really is when lifted at the four factory jackpoints. Does it have a rearward bias like the Elige does if lifted from those same four points? Or is the weight distribution of the Evora different enough that it's not an issue. For example, it may be that there's enough forward mass combined with the distance from the rear jackpoints to the front of the car that the leverage is enough to keep the car balanced and prevent it from tipping backwards.
Any advice appreciated. Thanks!
I've jacked one side of the Evora GT in the past using the jackpoint just in front of the rear wheel and, like the Elige platform, doing so raises both wheels on that side (praise be to the Lotus chassis stiffness!). On the Elige there are two far-rearward jackpoints that keep the center of mass between them and the frontmost jackpoints, so the car won't tip off the jacks. There are no such far-rear jackpoints on the Evora. The docs only speak of, and illustrate, a total of four Evora jackpoints and the rearmost of those are still in front of the rear wheels.
How do we keep the center of mass between the front and rear jackpoints? The bulk of the engine mass is behind the Evora's rear jackpoints. If a single jack under the rearmost jackpoint can raise that entire side of the car, what happens when you lift BOTH rear jackpoints? Even if you put jacks under the front jackpoints it seems like the car would be heavily rear biased, with a whole lot of mass behind the rear jacks.
I've read that some recommend lifting from chassis points under the rear diffuser, similar to what we do on an Elige. Others say those points aren't meant for lifting on the Evora and caution against it. I can imagine putting a fifth jack back there as insurance against the car tipping backwards, so that no real weight is borne there but it protects anyone working under the car. That still doesn't answer the question of whether the center of mass is biased dangerously rearward if lifted at the four factory jackpoints.
I guess I'm asking how stable the car really is when lifted at the four factory jackpoints. Does it have a rearward bias like the Elige does if lifted from those same four points? Or is the weight distribution of the Evora different enough that it's not an issue. For example, it may be that there's enough forward mass combined with the distance from the rear jackpoints to the front of the car that the leverage is enough to keep the car balanced and prevent it from tipping backwards.
Any advice appreciated. Thanks!
