How Discount Tire Lifts a Camaro
 

Got some new tires yesterday and was curious about how this style of lift can get the car up without hurting the rockers. It's not a four-post lift, but rather two long runners, one per side. It looks like the rockers are sitting right on the lift (the lift runners are covered in rubber). Per the store manager, they actually ARE sitting on it, but because the pinch welds are so close under the painted rockers, there's no harm done. He said it's harder with Dodge Chargers and Challengers, because there's more of a gap between the plastic rocker and the pinch welds. Still, does this seem safe? I did check the car afterward, and no damage as far as I can tell.

I can't speak authoritatively, but a friend of mine has a similar kind of thing in his home garage for his Audi and Porsche, and he being a mechanical engineer claims it is the way to go. Of course, it is out of my budget.

I went to discount tire to get the nail out of the driver rear stock run flat, They used a floor jack to lift just that corner Blew me away that they unmounted the tire/wheel, repaired it, rebuilt the tpms & balanced it for free. I cant even find scratches from where they lifted it. Which tires did you get?

Doubt that would work on ZL1 without some blocks - skirts hang below the pinch welds.

That kind of lift would bother me. If the rockers are touching, that means the paint is being scratched. For me, I'll just bring the wheels in separately and have the tires changed.

Sure, it's more work doing it that way, but at least it ensures me that the car is not being damaged from their lift.

And, I can verify that the barrels of the wheels are not being gouged or scratched up when they replace the balancing weights. I usually just remove them myself to avoid that issue as well.

Looks risky to me! I'm coming over from BMW's, which seem to be one of the few cars out there with actual jack points. Is that too much to ask that manufacturers add some plastic/rubber at specific points so that "eveyone" is clear where/how to lift the car?

I AGREE! It is killing me that GM would engineer an M car killer, but can't get us actual jack points!

We had a older W203 C-class and it had super nice plastic jack points - pinch welds for jack points is so 1980's domestic cars.

When I go to discount tire, I simply ask them to use blocks with all my cars when lifting. I suggest you do the same next time you're there.

They really are a great outfit. I got the OEM tires. Managed the squeeze 25k out of the originals, so this is the second set.

I think I will, just for peace of mind. The manager told me he has blocks, but he doesn't use them on Camaros. He said he does use them on Corvettes.

That was my concern. That, and cracking the rockers. As I mentioned, the top of the lift panels are covered in rubber. Not microfiber, but not bare metal, either. And I got down on the garage floor this morning and looked around, and everything seems fine. I also refreshed my memory about the location of the pinch welds, and I'm more confused than ever--they're a bit inboard and up from the rockers, making me think my car really was resting on the rockers. But again, no damage. I don't get it.

That makes me feel better.

I am super picky about tire places after some clowns wrecked my S2000 wheels after I dismounted them and brought them in to avoid issues. I have never had a bad experience with Direct Tire on about five different cars from Miatas to BMWs. Highly recommended.