For you guys with body kits on your cars do you have problems getting a jack under the car and where do u lift it from. Without a kit i would lift it from the lower control arm. But i got a vertex ridge kit on the way. Also do you guys have trouble towing the car. I really wanta get the rmagic tow hooks but how much should i pay for these and who should i go threw?

 

Hey wut up Mike

Yea lifting up the car w/ a body kit is a pain in the a$$. Even though I got rid of my spare tire, I gotta lug around my stock jack, specifically because no mechanic jack will fit under the car and reach the frame w/o taking out the sideskirts. So lets say I'm trying to get access to the front end of the car. Here's what I gotta do:

1) I'll put the STOCK jack on the REAR mounting point (check under the car, close to where the skirts are...there are stock mounting points to put the jack on), and I'll lift the car up a bit from there (the REAR)

2) With the REAR high enough, I now have enough clearance to roll the MECHANIC jack under at the FRONT mounting point, and lift it up that way.

When you're bringing the car back down, you gotta be careful not to let it down all the way w/ the MECHANIC jack, or it'll take out the skirts. So:

1) Bring it down about half way from the FRONT using the MECHANIC jack (so the skirts lie close to the jack)

2) Expand the STOCK jack in the REAR until it's at the height the car's currently at.

3) Now that the REAR is held by the STOCK jack, let down the FRONT via the MECHANIC jack, and pull it out.

4) NOW, w/ the MECHANIC jack out of the way, go to the REAR and let down the STOCK jack lol.

It's a P - A - I - N. OR you can pay like $600 and buy a super low profile jack.

Oh and as for the tow hooks...I'm gonna be getting one of of those too cuz there's no way my front bumper will ever clear any flatbed. But a couple of things:

1) The tow hook is NOT used to lift the front end of the car!! It's used so that the guy can attach the tow CABLE to it, and PULL the car from there. Cuz if he attaches the cable to the frame from under the car, when he pulls on the cable, it'll rip your bumper off, or split it in half. So again, you DON'T lift the car from the tow hook, and the tow hook MUST be fastened to the FRAME of the car itself, so it can be real sturdy.

2) For the front bumper to clear the tow truck's flatbed, you basically gotta be hawk, telling him what to do, when to do it, and how. Any capable tow guy has wood planks and those long metal "L" shaped things that they can use to slowly lift one end of the car up a bit. Have him place the metal "L" things right in front of the front tires, then the planks in front of those, w/ the other end of the plank touching the edge of the flatbed. The edge of the flatbed should NOT be touching the ground...that'll make the angle too steep. Have him back it up an inch or so off the ground, and angle it as low as possible, so the front edge of the wooden plank meets exactly the edge of the flatbed.

3) Now the front bumper is clear, so take the planks and metal "L" things and put them in front of the REAR tires, in the same order as you did in the front, and pull the car up onto them until it's completely on the flatbed. Again, the flatbed must be an inch or so off the ground, AND you use the metal "L" things and the planks in the REAR AS WELL or your exhaust (definitely) and rear bumper (maybe) will scrach bad too.

Bottom line, you gotta be on top of the situation the WHOLE time. I've had to have my car towed a couple of times, and it took practically 30 min to do the whole thing w/o damaging any part of the car.

Enjoy
~Ramy

PS...you can get tow hooks from JT (jt-imports.com) or Chuck (rotaryextreme.com)

 

YO ramy whats good kid thanks for the help bro. another question how much did you lower your car? also if i wanta lower my car more at a show lets say and only got a stock jack and just 1 you think i can get it under there to raise the car when its time to leave?

 

also i didnt plan on lifting the car up from the tow hook lol Just hoping i can get a tow to the nearest shop or gas station where i can fix it. If i break down on staten island ill just tow it home

 

NP Mike The stock jack is REAL low in it's closed position, so you shouldn't have a prob. getting it underneath the car.

Believe it or not, my car is on STOCK suspension. It's just that the body kit sits so low, and my tires are real low profile. 245/35/18s in the front, and 285/30/18s in the rear, so the car sits real close to the ground. Go figure

EDIT: re-read the post above, cuz I went and edited it a bit

 

Ya im still on stock suspension for now also. Now im worried to lower it. I better get some bigger rims lol. Also how much do they charge for those tow hooks?

 

JT lists the R-magic tow hook for $60, and the RE tow hook for $120

 

Yo good looking again i think im gonna get the rmagic tow hook

 

Hey Mike

Thought I'd let ya know...tonight I had electrical probs w/ my car, and I had to get it towed and the guy showed up in a tow truck w/ tow dollies. They're pretty cool. The rear wheels go onto the tow truck attachment, which only raises the rear wheels a few inches off the ground, and the tow dollies go on the front wheels, raising them as well. No steep angles, no scratching on the front or the back, nada. It's much easier and simpler than trying to get the car up onto a flatbed. So next time around, I'd just ask for a tow truck w/ tow dollies, and save yourself the hassle. Oh, and ask them ahead of time if they charge extra for using the tow dollies, cuz some companies do (which is total crap), and some don't, like the one I used tonight.

~Ramy