Curious if anyone on here has a lift in their garage. I totally plan to have one installed in the next house I buy. Wondering if anyone has recommendations on brand/type of lift for your RX-7.

Thanks!

 

I just have a quickjack in my garage and it works great for my needs. A buddy of mine that's on a different level has one of these built into his garage for his custom Porsche and it's pretty amazing - 6503V2 | 3.5T Full Rise Scissor Lift

 

That looks pretty sweet and very compact.

 

There are some discussion of lift in this thread I think.

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-gene...-space-810692/

 

I have a lift in my barn. I went with the BendPak 9000 lb four post.

 

With those types of lifts, how are you doing suspension work? Sounds like a silly question I know...

 

I have a Mohawk A...7? That is a two post that's rated for 15000lb trucks and such and with my FD being lowered roughly half an inch, the arms have literally just enough room to fit. If you go with the step down from there, you can offset your posts and use skinnier arms so they can get under your car easier. I think small arms and offset angled posts is the key to a good lift so you can get under the car easier and also open your door without hitting the posts to get out of the car.

 

I have a Bendpak XPR-10AS in my external garage: https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/tw...ifts/xpr-10as/ I've had it for a few years and it's been great. The asymmetric posts allow me to open the car doors while it's on the lift, which is a huge help. It also gives me a lot of shop space in front of the car. And having the posts joined at the top instead of the bottom makes it easier to roll stuff like a transmission jack.

Some things to consider with a lift: Make sure you've got the ceiling for it and the floor. We built our garage with the lift in mind, so we went 14' high with the walls and poured 1' deep steel reinforced footers where the posts would be. The rest of the floor is 6" reinforced. You need at least 4" reinforced minimum for this kind of lift. For height, I think I calculated 13' would be a minimum to walk under a small car like an RX-7. Although it may still be useful below that. Sometimes I'll just raise the car 5 feet and roll under it in a chair when I'm feeling lazy. You also need 220/240v power.

 

For most of the 4-post lifts out there, you can buy optional jacking trays for them that provide a solid surface between the ramps that you can use with a bottle jack to lift the car off its wheels from the car's cross member or diff. Then use regular jack stands to support the car.

I ended up getting an Atlas 8000, which is a pretty basic "hobbyist" 4-post lift. Purchased it from these guys, who happen to have a shop that's local to me: https://www.gregsmithequipment.com/A...rage-Pro-8-000

Only had it for about 6 months now, but have been very happy with it so far. I use mine for the extra car garage storage and for pretty active wrenching - I'm building my FD on it now as we speak. My garage is a pretty standard suburbia 2-car garage, with a standard concrete slab. Ceiling height is a bit of an issue, as I have 11'-9", but with a cross beam about 1/3 of the way in from the door that is at 9'-6". Which means that to raise my FC or FD to the highest lock, I have to back the car in - if I do that, the beam is just above the lower 1/3 of the windshield on both cars. For just parking the FD & FC in the same space, I can go nose in as I only need to raise the top car about midway up. I also had to modify the garage door tracks so the garage door hugs the ceiling on roll up, and switch to a jack screw type garage door opener to get the needed ceiling height clearance at the forward 1/3 of the garage.

 

Garage Journal should have everything you are looking for. Wont have RX specific, but there are tons of setups on there.

 

For a home garage, a 4 post lift can't be beat. We've gotten ours from gregsmithequipment.com. The Atlas 408-SL model is a favorite.

 

Pete, just pulled the trigger on a Worth 10K 2-post after considering the decision for the year since I expanded the garage. The garage design has the lift as a central requirement.

Worth Lifts are made 'next door' in Fort Worth and about 15 minutes from my house. Just waiting for the delivery in the next couple in another week or so.

Lots to consider:

• 2 post / 4 post / scissor?
• Weight Rating?
• American / Chinese?
• ALI Certification?
• Reputation?
• Budget?

Agree that GarageJournal is the single best source for info.

PM me if I can help. Would gladly call to let you know what I learned.

 

Carlos,

Can't wait to see yours installed then! I'm hoping to put a lift in the next house. Convincing the wife to allow me to build a workshop for the next house.

 

I have a BendPak 2 post lift in my garage for about 15 years and I love it. I use it for everything from trans swaps to detailing the car. The lift I have requires at least a 12’ ceiling height.

 

I got a 4 post for my previous shed as it didn't have enough height or slab for a 2 post. That did the job for most of LS build. In my new house a 2 post was a must, there was no point getting rid of the old one though!

 

A couple of pics of a BendPak in a typical 20 foot garage. I opted for the aluminum ramps, which have a more gradual approach (the red car is very low). It's tight enough fore-aft that I can't leave the ramps attached to the rails when I close the garage door -- but I do like the lift. I have a pair of rolling bridge jacks so I can lift the whole vehicle and do suspension and brake work. They're designed so that they anchor in place as soon as weight is applied -- a nice feature. The ceiling in that bay is 10 feet, which is enough to get a Grand Cherokee up to working level. The safety catches are released by air, which works fine, but requires me to turn on my compressor every time I need to lower the lift. My friend's is mechanical, which I would have preferred -- YMMV.

 

A 2-post lift might give you better access for repairs, while a 4-post lift is great for storage and general maintenance. Just make sure you check your garage's height and floor strength before installation.

 

a newbie here... got a lift in my garage and it’s been a solid investment....I went with a lift, which works perfectly for my space. It keeps the car up enough for me to do maintenance and repairs, but doesn't take up a lot of room....