[pruettfan]

I have been searching for ages for a jack stand that is better suited to the E90 then the typical narrow steel cleat that is really designed for placement on solid axles. I stumbled upon this 5 ton jack stand from Harbor Freight that looks promising. It has what looks to be a solid construction and nice flat grippy surface to rest the car upon. I am going to pick one up this weekend to experiment with and will post a full review on Monday. If anyone has tried this stand please chime in. Minimum height is 9 1/2" and Max is 13 3/8".

Tom

[Kevin@AKMotorwerk]

how tall is it, 5ton seems like its going to be a very large and tall stand

[pruettfan]

Sorry, I forgot to show the stats. Minimum height is 9 1/2" and max is 13 3/8". This is pretty surprising because I also thought it would be much higher. 9 1/2 is about minimum height I would jack a car to if I were getting under it. Most likely I will be at 11 inches to get under.

[Tee-Dub]

You'd better have a lift kit if you're gonna use that thing. 9.5" minimum? There is only 6.5" of clearance to my jack pads and I'm on stock sport suspension. Plus, bottle jacks suck, Harbor Freight sucks, as does all the cheap Chinese made crap they sell.

[Kevin@AKMotorwerk]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

You'd better have a lift kit if you're gonna use that thing. 9.5" minimum? There is only 6.5" of clearance to my jack pads and I'm on stock sport suspension. Plus, bottle jacks suck, Harbor Freight sucks, as does all the cheap Chinese made crap they sell.

thats a jack stand, not a bottle jack, so he can jack it up to 9.5 and slide the jack stand under

[Tee-Dub]

Ah, gotcha. Still doesn't look very stable. I guess it depends on the diameter of the bottom of the "stand".

[pruettfan]

It is not a bottle jack, it is a jack stand, so you jack the car up and then put it under the car. You are correct that the clearance is 6.5" but most of us jack our car more than three inches if we are going to put a jack stand under it. You are correct that some of the stuff, particuarly the jacks suck at Harbor Freight but I have also picked up some decent stuff there. The fact that a product is made in China does not automatically make it crap, if that was the case then many of the products in your home should be thrown away. I judge things on their individual merits. For instance I actually read a post before I jump to a conclusion that a jack stand is a bottle jack. I actually read a post before I jump to the conclusion that a tool is usable or not and I actually inspect a product and judge it on its merits before I dismiss it as crap.
Perhaps if you took the time to read the post you would have discovered this information but why let the facts get in the way of a sarcastic remark meant to embarrass the OP.

[Kevin@AKMotorwerk]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

Ah, gotcha. Still doesn't look very stable. I guess it depends on the diameter of the bottom of the "stand".

i would definitely worry about stability because it looks very tiny at the bottom, but it could be the picture

[pruettfan]

I agree stability is a concern. I plan on checking it out and will do some measurements to compare against my traditional jack stands. It is only 36 bucks so I will likely pick it up and see how usable it is . I don't get under any jack stand that I am not totally convinced is stable. I do like the concept but the picture does not give much perspective on the size so I have to see it in person.

[Kevin@AKMotorwerk]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

I agree stability is a concern. I plan on checking it out and will do some measurements to compare against my traditional jack stands. It is only 36 bucks so I will likely pick it up and see how usable it is . I don't get under any jack stand that I am not totally convinced is stable. I do like the concept but the picture does not give much perspective on the size so I have to see it in person.

$36 thats not bad at all, there is a harbor freight store by my house, im gonna have to check it out in person

[ENINTY]

My only two observations are:

What is the diameter of the head? Will it fit inside the lifting point on the rocker panel? If it doesn't sit inside, then I'd think it might not be that safe.

Since it is threaded (which is a high weight capacity design - good) there is a chance to have the heights of each stand a bit off from each other if you are not careful.

Other than that it looks good.

[pruettfan]

Just found the diameter which is 4 1/2". Pretty small. My regular jack stands are about 6 1/4 but of course they have issues also. This looks like a concept ripe for improvement. A larger base and rubber pad on the contact area and this could be a real winner. I will take a look anyway and see what it looks like.

[Kevin@AKMotorwerk]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

Just found the diameter which is 4 1/2". Pretty small. My regular jack stands are about 6 1/4 but of course they have issues also. This looks like a concept ripe for improvement. A larger base and rubber pad on the contact area and this could be a real winner. I will take a look anyway and see what it looks like.

i would like to take the rubber top off and weld a jack pad adapter to the top

[pruettfan]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

My only two observations are:

What is the diameter of the head? Will it fit inside the lifting point on the rocker panel? If it doesn't sit inside, then I'd think it might not be that safe.

Since it is threaded (which is a high weight capacity design - good) there is a chance to have the heights of each stand a bit off from each other if you are not careful.

Other than that it looks good.

I don't plan on putting the head in the jacking point, I put the jack there. I plan on putting it on one of the other approved locations for jack placement for when I do oil changes and brake work. I am sure that the pad is too large for the jacking point hole.

[pruettfan]

Originally Posted by sexye92

i would like to take the rubber top off and weld a jack pad adapter to the top

I might do something like that and add a larger base.

[Tee-Dub]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

Perhaps if you took the time to read the post you would have discovered this information but why let the facts get in the way of a sarcastic remark meant to embarrass the OP.

My intent wasn't to embarrass you, sorry you are so sensitive.

Upon first examination it looked like some sort of bottle jack, I didn't equate it with a jack stand.

I still stand behind the remark that most of the stuff Harbor Freight sells is garbage. Not all Chinese made stuff is crap. However, my experience with Harbor Freight is the stuff they sell is. How do you think they can sell it for so cheap?

I'm not going to get into a free trade debate here with you. I just didn't think the product you were looking at looked like it would work for what I thought you were going to be using it for.

Now, if you want to support your $40k car with that cheap thing and it falls on your head, I guess you wont be so self righteous then will you?

[pruettfan]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

My intent wasn't to embarrass you, sorry you are so sensitive.

Upon first examination it looked like some sort of bottle jack, I didn't equate it with a jack stand.

I still stand behind the remark that most of the stuff Harbor Freight sells is garbage. Not all Chinese made stuff is crap. However, my experience with Harbor Freight is the stuff they sell is. How do you think they can sell it for so cheap?

I'm not going to get into a free trade debate here with you. I just didn't think the product you were looking at looked like it would work for what I thought you were going to be using it for.

Now, if you want to support your $40k car with that cheap thing and it falls on your head, I guess you wont be so self righteous then will you?

I interpreted your comment "you better have a lift kit" as condescending. If that was not the intention then I apologize. I do however think one should read a post before commenting, had you done so your comments would have been more relevant. Every jack stand I have bought over the past 10 years has been about 60 bucks a set or 30 dollars each and all were made in China. Had you read my post you would have seen I ask the question "Finally a perfect jack stand???" this is a question. I go on to say that it appears to have merit. That I will check it out and post a review for the benefit of the community. I did not say I would throw my 40k car on it without checking it out and I did not say I would put my body under the car without checking it out. I simply said, this looks promising, I will check it out and let you guys know what I think. Not sure where you get the basis for your other comments. There is no reason for us to argue because at the end of the day we are saying the same things.

Tom

[Castel]

That jack stand's base doesn't look wide enough/stable enough. You can lift the car and put the jack stand as a fail safe and it looks like it can tip over way more easily than the regular tripod/4 legs jack stands. Even if you have your car rested on those jack stands it doesn't seem like it'll require a lot to tip it over. The regular ones seems more stable... just my opinion though!

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

I don't plan on putting the head in the jacking point, I put the jack there. I plan on putting it on one of the other approved locations for jack placement for when I do oil changes and brake work. I am sure that the pad is too large for the jacking point hole.

I'm not sure there are other "approved" places to put jack stands. From all the research I've done, the lifting points are for either jack stands (with lifting the car from the center jack points - front cross member and rear diff housing), or with a commercial lift. I can't think of a another place on the chassis that would safely accept a jack stand, especially like the one your looking at that only has a flat top with diamond-serrations on it for grip.

[ENINTY]

This is the lifting procedure from the BMW TIS

[rc'Z]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

This is the lifting procedure from the BMW TIS

Anyone know why the drawing shows using the rear diff, but then goes on to say not to because it could cause damage or are they pointing to something other than the diff?

[DJKhan85]

don't use the differential cover. The diff housing itself is fine.