Jacking up your Blackwing

[raptor5244]

Here are some pictures of the issue with the ZL1addons jacking pads on the 5BW.

I am going to use the spot in the front where you can see they lifted it at the factory (you can see the scratches) but I still haven't figured out where they lifted at the rear.

I wish they had a set of lift pads for the 4BW chassis. I reached out to ZL1 add-ons but they need a test car to work with. I can get the jack pad on the pinch welds but the permanent lift pads won't fit with all the plastics in the way.

 

[Cammie]

I use hockey pucks as lift pads - they're hard enough to lift the car, but soft enough to protect it. They're also cheap.

 

[shbox]

Here are some pictures of the issue with the ZL1addons jacking pads on the 5BW.
View attachment 14652

View attachment 14653

I am going to use the spot in the front where you can see they lifted it at the factory (you can see the scratches) but I still haven't figured out where they lifted at the rear.
View attachment 14654

I think the factory, round lift point is still a little soft. My thought is that it was used before marriage to the suspension/engine cradle and therefore the car was lighter. I used a similar location on my previous ATS and it did not handle it well.

 

[Deneed4spd]

Jacks and stands. Anyone here use quickjack? Lift and lock. They worked on my M2 so I’m assuming it will be low enough on a blackwing with the pinch weld rubber blocks.

 

[dstewart51]

I think the factory, round lift point is still a little soft. My thought is that it was used before marriage to the suspension/engine cradle and therefore the car was lighter. I used a similar location on my previous ATS and it did not handle it well.

I found this as well and aborted trying to jack the car up as I started to see this point flex. I suspect this was for frame manipulation during production.

The bolt that goes through the aluminum front subframe is a solid lift point.

 

[BrakeFade]

I used the pinch weld and a jacking puck that fits over the weld.

 

[pkincy]

I concur with the front subframe bolt. The problem with pinch weld items is that they don't clear the carbon fibre in the front of the 4BW but do in the rear.

 

[Beamz27]

Here are some pictures of the issue with the ZL1addons jacking pads on the 5BW.
View attachment 14652

View attachment 14653

I am going to use the spot in the front where you can see they lifted it at the factory (you can see the scratches) but I still haven't figured out where they lifted at the rear.
View attachment 14654

Don’t use that spot. It will warp the rockers. That’s aluminum. They did that on mine and on my Camaro and fucked it up

 

[MatthewAMEL]

T

Don’t use that spot. It will warp the rockers. That’s aluminum. They did that on mine and on my Camaro and fucked it up

Anywhere on the pinch welds cutout is fine. Where poor-sha has the lift points is good.

I have used the lift pads on my Camaro to lift my car 500+ times in the last 6 years. With floor jacks and a QuickJack.

If they messed up your other Alpha cars, they didn’t use the cutouts.

 

[poor-sha]

If I put those jack pads on the ping welds and push up against the plastic I can see the rockers bending. It’s all attached.

 

[Mcard23]

If I put those jack pads on the ping welds and push up against the plastic I can see the rockers bending. It’s all attached.

I’ve had mine on for months like you pictured pressed up against the plastic and never noticed any bending of the actual CF rocker, I’ll double check tomorrow. I hand wash at least once a week, I feel like I would’ve had to have noticed that by now. Maybe I have them further forward or backward than you on the pinch weld….can’t think of any other variable lol

 

[Beamz27]

T

Anywhere on the pinch welds cutout is fine. Where poor-sha has the lift points is good.

I have used the lift pads on my Camaro to lift my car 500+ times in the last 6 years. With floor jacks and a QuickJack.

If they messed up your other Alpha cars, they didn’t use the cutouts.

Yea well the picture I’m replying to did not show the pinch weld

 

[JoeLuck]

Can anyone help me confirm if widening the rocker panel lift openings by about 1-2 inches on each opening is a bad idea?

I have the quick jack 5000SLX with the extensions (needed the extensions for my prior ATS-V), but the 5BW's lift openings are too wide at about 63 inches min. The quick jack extensions only go to 66 inches, and with the lift blocks being roughly 3 inches wide I need about 60 inches of clearance from the rocker panel openings. So I have to open each side of the rocker panel by1-2 inches to bring down the minimum opening to around 60 inches. I attached a few images to help explain my dilemma.

My main questions is, are the pinch welds much weaker a few inches away from the recommended lift points? I would use about 2 inches actual lift point pinch weld and 2 inches of not recommended. I don't know how much of an issue lifting from the non-recommended pinch weld is. As far as damaging the rocker panel.... meh. I will have to make sure I don't cut off any mounting points, but I figure it should be fine.

Let me know what yall think. I am willing to be the test dummy for this if no one has seen any major issues lifting from the non recommended lift points. I don't want to spring the $1600 for the 6000 ELX cause then I would have two quick jacks one for the 5BW and one for my Infiniti and my girls Civic.

 

[Deneed4spd]

Can anyone help me confirm if widening the rocker panel lift openings by about 1-2 inches on each opening is a bad idea?

I have the quick jack 5000SLX with the extensions (needed the extensions for my prior ATS-V), but the 5BW's lift openings are too wide at about 63 inches min. The quick jack extensions only go to 66 inches, and with the lift blocks being roughly 3 inches wide I need about 60 inches of clearance from the rocker panel openings. So I have to open each side of the rocker panel by1-2 inches to bring down the minimum opening to around 60 inches. I attached a few images to help explain my dilemma.

My main questions is, are the pinch welds much weaker a few inches away from the recommended lift points? I would use about 2 inches actual lift point pinch weld and 2 inches of not recommended. I don't know how much of an issue lifting from the non-recommended pinch weld is. As far as damaging the rocker panel.... meh. I will have to make sure I don't cut off any mounting points, but I figure it should be fine.

Let me know what yall think. I am willing to be the test dummy for this if no one has seen any major issues lifting from the non recommended lift points. I don't want to spring the $1600 for the 6000 ELX cause then I would have two quick jacks one for the 5BW and one for my Infiniti and my girls Civic.

On my X5 I actually put my quick Jack to lift perpendicular so you lift the front with one Jack and back with the other. I think if I can Jack an x5 which is wider, it should work on the blackwing.

 

[rdollie]

Have several cars in addition to the 5BW. My most recent cars have lift points too far apart (G05 X5 in particular) so I just turn the unit perpendicular and use aluminum pinch weld adapters. No need to modify anything under the car.

 

[JoeLuck]

On my X5 I actually put my quick Jack to lift perpendicular so you lift the front with one Jack and back with the other. I think if I can Jack an x5 which is wider, it should work on the blackwing.

Well damn! Thank you both for hitting the easy button. I was scared to use the quick jack in this configuration due to weight distribution, and called Bendpak and they confirmed it is fine perpendicular. quick jack even has a video explaining that this is fine. I wish the lady I spoke to at Bendpak yesterday explained this. For anyone else's reference check the youtube video below if you are worried.

 

[OldGoat]

I purchased the ZL1 Addons jack pads for my 5BW.
To get pinchweld to fully engage to pad I test fit, marked and used a 1/8 bit air grinder(air Dremel) and took marked area of rocker trim off. anti-seized stainless set screws and put small dab of silicone where screws contact pinchweld. I did trim all four corners, probably could get away leaving them but I just felt better with full engagement.
They are barely noticeable but are marked on outside face as Lift Point.
This saves considerable time and effort to get car up on the lift. No more making sure pinchweld adapters are lined up as arms rise, PIA. Doesn't matter lift of floor jack it's worth the investment.

 

[JoeLuck]

I purchased the ZL1 Addons jack pads for my 5BW.
To get pinchweld to fully engage to pad I test fit, marked and used a 1/8 bit air grinder(air Dremel) and took marked area of rocker trim off. anti-seized stainless set screws and put small dab of silicone where screws contact pinchweld. I did trim all four corners, probably could get away leaving them but I just felt better with full engagement.
They are barely noticeable but are marked on outside face as Lift Point.
This saves considerable time and effort to get car up on the lift. No more making sure pinchweld adapters are lined up as arms rise, PIA. Doesn't matter lift of floor jack it's worth the investment.

Thanks for the thorough explanation! I may add these on along with using the quick jack. These will also keep other places the car is lifted from destroying the underbody.

The rear is clearly not the lowest hanging part of the car, but the front looks like it is correct? Any issues with that bottoming out on anything yet? Looks like it is about the same height as the front brace bolts, but a little further back.

 

[OldGoat]

Thanks for the thorough explanation! I may add these on along with using the quick jack. These will also keep other places the car is lifted from destroying the underbody.

The rear is clearly not the lowest hanging part of the car, but the front looks like it is correct? Any issues with that bottoming out on anything yet? Looks like it is about the same height as the front brace bolts, but a little further back.

Front pads are close but not the lowest point. I think it's just the angle of the photograph so that you can get a clear shot of the pad makes it look like it's hanging lower.
If I am bottoming out on anything. I have bigger issues Actually looks like corner plastic ground effects under splitter are the low hanging fruit. Side note I do not have CF side skirts

 

[Neveready]

So to confirm, these zl1s will work on a 5BW without CF rockers?

Camaro 16-23 Stealth Lift Pads

There are two kinds, the convertible seems more narrow and slim vs the coupe version.

@jumpmanjay I assume you bought the coupe version and you had no rubbing on the inner rockers in front or the back?

Im curious if the slim convertible version would work for those who have CF rockers.

FWIW, I've jacked up a dozen different cars with pinch welds, prob 100 times over the years and never had an issue bending the weld. I may have chipped paint but whenever I tried those fancy rubber pads I had stability issues. One thing i always make sure is to always jack it dead center of the pinch weld. I drop the vehicle right on the stand, metal on metal always seemed the safest. Plus a little lateral wiggle before I get underneath is safe, or throw a wheel underneath near you just in case.

As far as HF stuff, its typically the same product as they are just ripping off other brands designs. Sometimes the parts are made in the same factory. The difference is that HF cuts cost by implementing less QC. So essentially their defect rate is higher but you can always swap it out. That being said I don't completely trust my HF stands or jack so I put multiple Jack's under in case one of them fails.