There really isn't any alternative that I can think of. The front crossmember....maybe. But it will require the stands to be pretty close together. Intuitively I wouldn't want to use the rear crossmember and since the suspension arms are cast aluminum, those are out. In any event the car won't be nearly as stable as using the pinch-welds.

 

Yeah, there are absolutely other places to safely place axle stands, see this thread for some pointers.

I've had to literally cut the sills off FD's before from the damage caused by jacks and axle stands. All those .9mm fragile steel skins coming together with spot welds is just a recipe for causing rust after being jacked a few times and bent off true (Granted, rust is much more of an issue in the UK!). Personally, I'd never use the pinch welds for anything other than an emergency tyre change when out. And I'm trying to come up with a better solution for that!

 

 

bottom of the rear differential is a great spot to lift up the back of the car. As for jack stand locations, as noted some use the subframe and I've done it in a pinch without issue, but seems much more stable/comfortable when the stands are out by the pinch welds.

 

 

I've got a couple sets of each. IIRC the larger are something like 6 ton rated. The smaller are 3 ton. Either is plenty strong for the FD. The larger have a wider base, but the biggest difference will be in the height with the larger have a lot higher reach. Handy if you want to get under something like the FD on a creeper. And absolutely required for a higher vehicle like my 4x4 truck.

 

 

 

I've jacked from the front subframe by using a large piece of wood to spread the load, also put stands under there without an issue. I have some hockey pucks that I cut slots into to jack from the pinch welds. I have jacked from the subframe where the lower arms connect (note, not the lower arms themselves but the frame taking the load), again using wood. Once the car is up in the air and I plan on keeping it there for a while I'll use big wooden sleepers under the chassis legs, depending on access.

 

Check out the Super Now rear jack wall, pinch weld jack points, and front member jack collars:

https://www.rhdjapan.com/super-now-r...wall-fd3s.html

https://www.rhdjapan.com/super-now-f...llar-fd3s.html

https://www.rhdjapan.com/super-now-j...et-orange.html

 

I've seen these and love the idea... only thing that makes me nervous about the pinch weld ones is that it's just set-screws... if that were to come off on the road or worse, on track, it would become a dangerous projectile.