When shopping jack stands, what is the best size for the modern Corvette, i.e C5-C7?

I have a set of 2-ton Craftsman that I purchased years ago as general use jack stands, however as I'm beginning to work more and more underneath my current C5 and my planned C7, I'm curious what size jack stand offer the most safety based on their weight class.

I picked up a set of 6-ton stands earlier this week at Advanced Auto that were on sale. They are nice, hefty stands, however I noticed they were a good 6" taller than my 2-ton stands and I'm wondering if 6-ton are overkill?

An advice or recommendations?

 

I have a set of 12 ton they give a huge foot print and as long as you don't jack to their full height great for satbility. The higher up you go I think they get a little shaky. 26" max height I always keep them around 16" gives plenty of room.

 

I don't think you can overkill something you cannot have fail under any circumstances. I use 6 ton as well and still keep the jack under the car as a back up.

 

That's my plan as well. Due to the height of the 6-ton stands I can't imagine ever really needing to extend the ratchet cradle too much higher.

 

I have 4 each of the 3 and 6 ton stands, it just depends what type of work I'm going to be doing that determines what I use... if it's something that I just need to get the wheels off the ground then the 3 ton work fine since you won't have to jack the car up as high to get them under the car... for heavier work like longtubes or removing the drivetrain I will use the 6 ton stands since you can get the car up higher more safely... my car is actually on the 6 ton stands right now, just got done removing my drivetrain earlier today and I am able to do that with the 6 ton stands at their lowest setting... I have also left my car on both sets of stands for months at a time without any problems so either one should do fine, it just depends what you need to use them for

 

This shows part of my jacking set-up (when not using the Kwik Lift). The Jack Stands you see on the lower shelf in the 2nd photo come from U.S. Jack - they cost quite a bit more, but are made 100% in the USA. In fact I think they are the only jackstands still built here? Mine are the 3-ton stands, but they also sell 6 and 10 ton.

The ones on the top shelf came from Griots Garage, but are Made in China and I just use them for back-up sometimes.

 

I think my jack stands are 2 or 2.5 ton Craftsman. I may need to look at upgrading to a higher weight limit set though.

 

Nice set up. Where died you get the Corvette Racing lift bar and how do you position the jack stands under the rear crossbar when using the crossbar? When I use a 2x4 wood block with my jack, I place the stands underneath the wood block. Do you need special flat top jack stands? The ones I have now have claw-like tops.

 

Do you have to jack up the rear real high and then lower the wheels onto those stands/platforms?

 

how's this for dangerous? had these stands up to the third to last notch. Had to get it up pretty high for my clutch job. I'm still alive .

It was actually quite stable. the next size up in jack stands would have cost me another $200 over the ones I got. I always toss a couple wheels under the car while I'm working just for safety.

 

I created these using 2 x 12 each layer is locked together with different length bolts at 2 corners depending on how high you want the stand, the plastic ramp support is also locked to the top 2 x 12 with blocks of wood under the support to keep from sliding, I use these at all 4 corners, the pictured height is 12.5" high which gets my frame rails 17-18" off the ground, I also made my own cradles to lift the car both front & rear.





I recently purchased a set of the 10499 Jack Stands with the pivoting rubber top.

http://www.reverselogic.us/jack-stands.html

 

I like those Esco Stands. I like the round support puck vs. the clamp/claw support that most jack stands have. I think those are better when you combine them with the Corvette crossbar beams or even the wood blocks. They would certainly work better if you place them under the outside frame rail jacking pucks/locations.

 

I have a pair of OTC stands that have served me well.

 

My brother has a machine shop and I was thinking about having some round cups made to fit my stands and you would install your pucks on your car, and then they would sit inside those cups on the stands.

 

Lift bars came from Smith Fabrication. I place the jack stands a few inches from each end. I don't think you could use the claw-type?










This shows how to support them with Jack Stands...






If you are referring to the MyLiftStands - you could do what you suggest or jack up one side rail at a time. Depends on what I need to do. If I don't need to remove the wheels, I just use the MyLiftStands (they also jack up to a much higher position than in my photo)...

 

Yes, I guess I am referring to those. So it looks like you need to lift the rear wheels high enough to clear the lift stands (whether you do one side at a time, or both). Do you then use the jack under the lift stand platform to raise each side higher?

 

Yes and Yes. They have a video on their website showing the procedure.

 

I like those lift stands. Went to their website and requested pricing info. Hopefully will hear back soon.

 

They are not cheap, but much less than my Kwik-Lift (which is great) - I even bought a 2nd set of MyLiftStands so I can raise the whole car in the air. I am even considering selling my basically new Kwik-Lift (which I have only used once) after finding the MyLiftStands. Each has their advantage/disadvantage. If you can leave the Kwik-Lift set-up it is faster and a great solution, but in my case, my garage has a very steep driveway leading into the garage which make it a bit scary driving up on it. I also do not wish to leave the Kwik-Lift on my garage floor when not in use as I would always be tripping over it. If you have a big garage, no problem.

The MyLiftStands take a bit longer to get the car in the air, but when not in use only takes up about one-square-foot of valuable floor space stacked! And, in my case, makes my steep driveway a non-issue.

If you have room and a fairly level garage entry (or work outside) or you lift your car often, the Kwik-Lift is awesome; however it weighs about 600-lbs vs. the MyLiftStands which you can pick up with one hand!

My Kwik-Lift... as you can see it takes up some floor space even when torn down...

 

My garage entrance isn't steep but the garage itself is like yours, not a lot of room. I have about 2ft in front of the car and probably 6 inches behind to the door depending on how I park. I currently use a set of Race Ramps to get it up initially, then put jack stands under it to get it higher.

If the garage was bigger, I would find a reasonably priced 4 post lift and get that. I'm retiring in a couple years and moving back to Texas. One of the requirements of the house buying will be an over size garage with high ceilings or an out building type shop/garage.