S3 jacking/axle stand points
Discussion
Some people will disagree but the usual places to jack are:
At the front - under the "cruciform" where several chassis rails meet - spread the load with a block of wood if you like. Axle stands at the outer edge of the chassis rail that goes left to right through the cruciform.
At the rear - under the de-dion tube at the A-frame mount. Axle stands either under the de-dion tube near to the wheels or under the front A-Frame mounts depending on whether you need to work on the suspension or not.
At the front - under the "cruciform" where several chassis rails meet - spread the load with a block of wood if you like. Axle stands at the outer edge of the chassis rail that goes left to right through the cruciform.
At the rear - under the de-dion tube at the A-frame mount. Axle stands either under the de-dion tube near to the wheels or under the front A-Frame mounts depending on whether you need to work on the suspension or not.
So just to give a different view...
Under the cruciform is very often bent from being jacked which is not good. If you use a wooden block there it can slip as well.
Under the DD tube places stresses on the DD tube that are not usually there. Ie the weight of the rear of the car at either end of the tube supported in the middle.
So an alternative to both which I have seen used a lot by race teams is to jack on the towing eye at the right front and left rear.
Bert
Under the cruciform is very often bent from being jacked which is not good. If you use a wooden block there it can slip as well.
Under the DD tube places stresses on the DD tube that are not usually there. Ie the weight of the rear of the car at either end of the tube supported in the middle.
So an alternative to both which I have seen used a lot by race teams is to jack on the towing eye at the right front and left rear.
Bert
BertBert said:
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So an alternative to both which I have seen used a lot by race teams is to jack on the towing eye at the right front and left rear.
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Which is surely putting a twisting force on the chassis and using a point which wasn't designed for "vertical" force...?So an alternative to both which I have seen used a lot by race teams is to jack on the towing eye at the right front and left rear.
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Just take it to a pro and get them to service it
The very early and very prone to failure DD tubes should not be jacked. You can jack the diff casing safely but it's a bit tricky.
The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
Front wise the earlier 7's did not have the cruciform so the towing eye or under an engine mount was the place.
All seem to work with little damage or danger to the car apart from the very lightweight early DD tube.
There's a whole thread n BC with photo's about the different DD ages and failure thereof. I contributed to that thread as I have seen some problems (not my own car). The problems were mostly down to strengthening buttress failure on the early tubes or the tacked on lower damper mounting on the mkIII tube pulling away. Using the mkIII tube with the dampers through the original centred hole seems to be largely failure free.
The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
Front wise the earlier 7's did not have the cruciform so the towing eye or under an engine mount was the place.
All seem to work with little damage or danger to the car apart from the very lightweight early DD tube.
There's a whole thread n BC with photo's about the different DD ages and failure thereof. I contributed to that thread as I have seen some problems (not my own car). The problems were mostly down to strengthening buttress failure on the early tubes or the tacked on lower damper mounting on the mkIII tube pulling away. Using the mkIII tube with the dampers through the original centred hole seems to be largely failure free.
Yellow 7 said:
The very early and very prone to failure DD tubes should not be jacked. You can jack the diff casing safely but it's a bit tricky.
The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
I realise this is probably opening up a whole can of worms, but would a 2000/2001 Roadsport A chassis be in the 'later' category? The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
Might finally get round to starting the job this weekend. Can someone remind me what's involved in removing the ARBs (or removing the front, disconnecting the rear) too?
Chris71 said:
Yellow 7 said:
The very early and very prone to failure DD tubes should not be jacked. You can jack the diff casing safely but it's a bit tricky.
The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
I realise this is probably opening up a whole can of worms, but would a 2000/2001 Roadsport A chassis be in the 'later' category? The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
Might finally get round to starting the job this weekend. Can someone remind me what's involved in removing the ARBs (or removing the front, disconnecting the rear) too?
fergus said:
Chris71 said:
Yellow 7 said:
The very early and very prone to failure DD tubes should not be jacked. You can jack the diff casing safely but it's a bit tricky.
The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
I realise this is probably opening up a whole can of worms, but would a 2000/2001 Roadsport A chassis be in the 'later' category? The later DD tubes seem to be fine.
Might finally get round to starting the job this weekend. Can someone remind me what's involved in removing the ARBs (or removing the front, disconnecting the rear) too?
PS You about to bolt a paddleshift system onto yours then?
Chris71 said:
You about to bolt a paddleshift system onto yours then?
No, can't as I've not currently got a seq. box fitted. Neil's system is very clever though. I can't see why Pectel charge around £20k for something that's only got a few extra features!Stacking fully automated downshifts is a very nice feature. Hopefully when I get a Rad, it will be one of the first things fitted!
Edited by fergus on Friday 22 January 13:48
fergus said:
Chris71 said:
You about to bolt a paddleshift system onto yours then?
No, can't as I've not currently got a seq. box fitted. Neil's system is very clever though. I can't see why Pectel charge around £20k for something that's only got a few extra features!The Geartronics system definitely worked well in the Quaife car. It did feel a tad abrupt at times, but I think that's just the nature of clutchless changes on a sequential box.
Chris,
What other "budget" paddleshift system do you know of that's offering closed-loop control? I'm not aware of any other system this side of £5K that monitors the gear position sensor, TPS or RPM. What I do know for sure is that something in a 3 quid box from Maplin's isn't running closed-loop
A couple of years ago, there was a company claiming to offer closed-loop shift, but it was nothing of the sort, except for control of the air compressor! Oddly enough, they vanished from the market soon after I pointed out to their solicitors that they were in violation of trades description laws
Anyway, what's with the word "budget"? It implies that my system is somehow inferior to the (perceived) top end stuff. It comes at a budget price (I don't have the overheads of the likes of Pectel) but it's track record surely speaks for itself?
At the risk of getting into an off-topic rant (which is not aimed at you, Chris) - I get a bit miffed when some folk start talking with apparent authority about the the pro's & con's of this, that, or the other paddleshift system. I've seen several comments on various forums along the lines of "Speak to Mr X, he knows his stuff", but what they don't realise is they've been bull*****ed and have fallen hook line & sinker for the marketing hype. I could provide a list as long as your arm of cars that have had a certain system fitted and subsequently removed because it never worked properly
, and the guy has the cheek to proudly show the cars on his website! [rant over].
What other "budget" paddleshift system do you know of that's offering closed-loop control? I'm not aware of any other system this side of £5K that monitors the gear position sensor, TPS or RPM. What I do know for sure is that something in a 3 quid box from Maplin's isn't running closed-loop
A couple of years ago, there was a company claiming to offer closed-loop shift, but it was nothing of the sort, except for control of the air compressor! Oddly enough, they vanished from the market soon after I pointed out to their solicitors that they were in violation of trades description laws
Anyway, what's with the word "budget"? It implies that my system is somehow inferior to the (perceived) top end stuff. It comes at a budget price (I don't have the overheads of the likes of Pectel) but it's track record surely speaks for itself?
At the risk of getting into an off-topic rant (which is not aimed at you, Chris) - I get a bit miffed when some folk start talking with apparent authority about the the pro's & con's of this, that, or the other paddleshift system. I've seen several comments on various forums along the lines of "Speak to Mr X, he knows his stuff", but what they don't realise is they've been bull*****ed and have fallen hook line & sinker for the marketing hype. I could provide a list as long as your arm of cars that have had a certain system fitted and subsequently removed because it never worked properly
, and the guy has the cheek to proudly show the cars on his website! [rant over].Gassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff