Axle stands - Lotus Elise S2

[frank7]

I'm a bit perplexed. I bought a trolley jack to lift my 2015 Elise 220 and placed a 'puck' on top, then jacked up the car (simply wanted to remove each wheel to clean them thoroughly). That worked but since a trolley jack can fail or sink I was advised to use axle stands as a backup safety measure but I can't see that anyone actually uses these under the axles (all forums speak of using flat top ones placed under the prescribed jacking points which unfortunately means removing the rear diffuser). That seems annoyingly involved and even unnecessary perhaps? I know that the Elise is very unstable on jacks and can even tip due to the critical weight distribution so I thought that a stand under the front and rear axles while the trolley jack under the central jacking point on each side in turn would simply resolve the issue, but is that the way to go? If so, some advice on how to correctly place them would be appreciated.

[Peter]

The way I do it on my S1 is jack up the car put axle stand under the structure placing a piece of wood on the axle stand to protect the aluminium, lower the jack and remove it

 

I usually remove the wheels before trying to get the axle stands in place, just because it is easier to do it that way but you do chance the jack failing, but that's very unlikely.

[DeanB]

I just use a trolley jack. I don't bother with axle stands and it never moves.

My drive is on a slight slope and I have it pointing downhill, and chock the opposite front wheel.  Works fine.

[PJT]

I stick an axel stand under the end of the wishbone.  Is this a bad move?

[frank7]

Many thanks for the replies! 

I think I'll get a couple of Axle Stands and after removing the wheels one at a time I'll place the stands under the wishbones with a rubber flat puck on top to protect the flat underside of the wishbone and increase grip. It's a 'belt & braces' thing anyway so I'll leave the hydraulic trolley jack in place as well; in the unlikely event that the jack sinks the stands will do their job and prevent the car from hitting the deck. 

Incidentally I have heard that some tyre dealers not aware of the unstable nature of the car when being lifted have had Lotus cars topple from their jacking platform, for instance, when using two post lifts. When a wheel is removed the delicate balance may be compromised and an unimaginable accident might then follow. This is what I've heard could happen... has anyone experienced such an incident I wonder?

[Phil S1]

I would be very wary of using axle stands under the wishbones. As already mentioned I always used to place them under the rear end of each side rail with a pad to spread the load across the full width of the box section and protect the alloy. Again, as mentioned it's easiest to place these once the wheels are off. At the front I used concrete blocks with wooden blocks on top to support the front end of each side rail. A popular safe option that many people use is boxes of A4 paper placed under the side rail at either end. And another trick for extra safety is to chock the jack with blocks of wood such that it can't drop should the hydraulics let go.

[frank7]

Many thanks... all good advice which is much appreciated.

[PJT]

A garage lifted mine on the rear jacking points and (as always) I was keeping an eye on it.  I had to tell the mechanic he was lifting all four wheels and should stop.  To be fair, I feel he'd have noticed shortly after anyway. 

So yes, It happens.

 

[Peter]

On 06/11/2021 at 13:43, Peter said:

The way I do it on my S1 is jack up the car put axle stand under the structure placing a piece of wood on the axle stand to protect the aluminium, lower the jack and remove it

 

I usually remove the wheels before trying to get the axle stands in place, just because it is easier to do it that way but you do chance the jack failing, but that's very unlikely.

Thought this may help (before cleaning) :-

 

[frank7]

Thanks again. These stands are to insure against a jack failure so I think the tips I've had will serve me well!

[Mutley00]

I used a good old fashioned scissor jack from my ageing day-to-day car.

[LRS7]

Never used axel stands just chucked  a couple of my caravan levelling ramps under Just in case 👍🏻