Jacking method for tire rotations at the track

[bigfatflip]

I'm curious to hear what folks on here do for their on-track tire rotations. I typically like to rotate my tires (front to back) around mid-day when doing trackdays so I get somewhat even tire wear. On my previous car (Focus RS), I installed some aftermarket jacking rails which allowed me to jack it up completely on one side. This made it super easy to swap the tires front to back.

On the other hand, I've found that jacking up our cars can be a bit of a pain, particularly that front jacking point. In my garage, I usually drive up some wood ramps I've made to get me a couple of inches clearance for the front jacking point. I can then stuff jack stands up front, jack up the rear, then stuff jack stands for the rear. It's already somewhat of a pain on my comfy garage floor, so I'd really rather not have to do all this when on a hot tarmac parking lot in the middle of a track day.

So, does anybody have any other jacking methods they like to do out on the track?

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[Victorofhavoc]

I don't understand, what's wrong with the front jack point? I just jack it there until the front and rear are both off the ground. The jackstand is just there in case the jack fails and I sit it next to the jack.

 

[bisquick]

I don't understand, what's wrong with the front jack point? I just jack it there until the front and rear are both off the ground. The jackstand is just there in case the jack fails and I sit it next to the jack.

The from jack point is not accessible without a long reach jack which is hassle to lug around for track days. Most bring lightweight aluminum jacks due to the space savings and weight.

That being said, the solution is to bring something like race ramps or pieces of wood to get the elevation you need.

 

[FloArm]

just use the pinch welds. It’s not going to damage anything. Use a puck or a pinch weld pad.

 

[elh0102]

I never did any tire rotations at the track, and I don't think it's worth the trouble. Just rotate between events, since you'll probably be doing brake service anyway. Go have a hot dog instead of messing with the tires. Of course, I'm lazy and I like hot dogs.

 

[bigfatflip]

Out of curiosity, I went ahead and tried to jack the car up using the front pinch weld and it looks like the chassis is stiff enough that I'm able to lift up the entire side. Shouldn't be too surprised considering I almost always end up lifting one of the rear tires when going up/down my steep driveway lol

I'm just trying to be economical/efficient with the stuff I bring with me to the track. Having to lug around a set of ramps on top of my ice chest, tools, lawn chair, ez up, etc. just seems excessive. If I can get away with just bringing my race jack and a couple of jack stands, I'm happy since I bring those anyway for any emergency on-track repairs.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

The from jack point is not accessible without a long reach jack which is hassle to lug around for track days. Most bring lightweight aluminum jacks due to the space savings and weight.

That being said, the solution is to bring something like race ramps or pieces of wood to get the elevation you need.

Sorry, by front jack point, I meant the pinch weld. That's the intended lift point for a floor jack anyway.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Out of curiosity, I went ahead and tried to jack the car up using the front pinch weld and it looks like the chassis is stiff enough that I'm able to lift up the entire side. Shouldn't be too surprised considering I almost always end up lifting one of the rear tires when going up/down my steep driveway lol

I'm just trying to be economical/efficient with the stuff I bring with me to the track. Having to lug around a set of ramps on top of my ice chest, tools, lawn chair, ez up, etc. just seems excessive. If I can get away with just bringing my race jack and a couple of jack stands, I'm happy since I bring those anyway for any emergency on-track repairs.

I have a very expensive 24" reach and 24" lift low pro 3.5ton jack that weighs 135lbs. I deadlifted that thing onto my trailer about 4 or 5 events before I said enough was enough and just bought one of the cheap low pro Daytona jacks from HF...

That jack was 40$ and I couldn't care less if someone stole it or I forgot it at the track. It's low enough to get under my racecar that's 3.5" off the ground, so it also easily fits the its. I keep an extra wheel/tire around so I can cross sides when rotating asym street tires or slicks that don't have directional belts. It weights like 25lbs and it's so much easier to lug around than the 135lbs bohemoth.

 

[akoza]

I use the front pinch weld to lift up the whole side when I swap my tires every season. I jack it up just enough that the rear will clear the ground.

 

[optronix]

Here I am thinking I needed to use that ridiculous front jack point. I had a HELL of a time November trying to figure out the best way to get to that stupid thing... I even bought a new floor jack, apparently a not-so-cheap lo-pro one from Harbor Freight (I paid $250 for it) AND $60 race ramps. Neither really helped much, honestly.

My car being lowered an inch on springs didn't help, but I sort of figured it out eventually by jacking the everliving shit of the rear and throwing jack stands on, then I could finally get the "low-profile" jack all the way to the middle of the car to reach the front jack point to get all 4 tires off the ground. I still almost met with disaster when I didn't have enough room to get leverage to lift the car and had to finagle the handle between the tire and wheel well. It was a whole ordeal and I was NOT looking forward to going through it again in a few weeks when I swap the wheels back for summer.

But the Internet is now telling me I could have just ignored the owner's manual and used the pinch welds anyway? What kind of world am I living in?

There is no single source of truth anymore...

 

[StingertimeNC]

Agree. super easy to just change wheels and tires by jacking from side.
Also, I built the 2X8 wooden ramps. So nice and cheap.

Drive up on those. Then jack the rear up, put on stands, then jack the front up from center jack point, put on stands.

Not bad with the addition of the wood ramps.

 

[NoelPR]

Use the new jack points in the lower control arm

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