Help with choosing lift

Soon, I will be purchasing a lift; my primary use case is to allow easier tire/brake service, oil changes, mods, etc. Car is 2012 Cayman R used for HDPE, time trials, hillclimbs, autox. I doubt I'll be doing anything as extensive as dropping the motor/gear box, but I will likely add headers , I will be pulling the oil pan (adding an LN Engineering 2.5 deep sump), external PS cooler, and swaybar upgrades are on the horizon as well. A two post would be great, but is not a viable option as I doubt the 1950's cement in my garage is sufficient depth/quality and my garage has rafter cross beams at around 9' (I measured 52" from the roof of the Cayman to the beam directly above. At this point, I am not too excited about the cost and time involved to upgrading the garage. This led me to look at two options for a lift: 'drive on' models like this: or perhaps a slighter higher rising version [url=http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/specialty-lifts/sp-7x.aspx[/url] or the 'drive over' type like this: [url=http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-TD6MR-Portable-Scissor-Lift]Atlas® TD6MR 6,000 Lbs. Capacity Portable 110 Volt Scissor Lift | GSES (I am not necessarily tied to the specific brands/models listed above, just using them as examples) My main concern is accessibility and being able to access the under carriage/engine to perform various DIY tasks. Curious what others experience has been in this regard. Input and advice is most appreciated. Thanks, DJM

Liftbars Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

They work very well, take little space, and with the right jack and stands, pretty good height. Sent from my SAMSUNG -SM-G891A using Tapatalk

I am very happy with the QuickJack I purchased from Pelican (no affiliation): https://www.pelicanparts.com/Porsche/catalog/shopcart/TOOL/POR_TOOL_BNDpak_pg3.htm The jack units store under the car, so the setup takes very little room. You just need a place for the pump unit. When lifting the car, the jack units are between the wheels, so you have excellent clearance under the car, with nothing blocking access to the exhaust, transmission, or engine.

I have a 4 post lift similar to the the Greg Smith equipment lift. To facilitate brake and suspension work I also bought a jacking beam so I can easily and safely pick the front or rear of the car just enough to get the wheels off the platform. A 4 post lift provides very good under car access that you won’t get with scissors lifts like the one you referenced. Other advantage with a 4 post lift is it will raise the car much higher than a scissor lift. Downside is a 4 post will cost more. I don’t know the safety system for a scissor lift. 4 post lifts have a positive mechanical lock on each post to ensure the lift doesn’t fall.

+1 on the QuickJack , I'm planning on getting one this spring.

Good input, thanks for your perspective. I am a bit on the fence about a 4 post -- I like accessibility you mention though for me, considering beams in my garage are just 9' up, a scant 52" above the roof of my Cayman , many of the mid-rise scissor lifts come close to this lifting height. BTW: all of the scissor lifts also have mechanical locks. Cheers, DJM

Can’t say I would get too excited about the Bendpak 7. I have had the Bendpak 6 scissor lift for about 10 years now. Bought it when I got my 997 and use it regularly with my 981 . I added 2 by 12’s to get the correct height to drive over it. In addition I use hockey pucks between the jack and the car at the jack points . If you would like to see pics I can take some this weekend.

Pics would be great, if it is not too much trouble. Curious why you do not care for the Bendpak 7? Cheers, DJM

Bend Pak scissor lift works well for me with my limited overhead. Will lift ~50". Can't imagine all the work that I do without it.

I would highly recommend a 2-post lift. If your garage floor is not cracked and looks good, the concrete strength should be better than a new garage. Concrete continues to gain strength with age. 100 year or 200 year old concrete that isn't cracked or broken typically tests very high. Also, if for some reason, you find that the floor is not adequate (doubtful if it looks good), you would only have to saw cut out and replace small sections (not the whole floor) just where the posts would go. Probably 3' x 6' sections. That would be fairly inexpensive, but again, if your floor looks good, you would not need to do that. Most manufacturers make 2-post lifts for "standard height" garages. I have a Forward lift: an earlier version of this: DP10A Two Post Lift | Forward Lift I've had it about 10 years and love it. A friend bought this version BP9 Two Post Lift | Forward Lift and loves it. Many other manufactures make very similar versions. Do your homework and buy something that you will be happy with for ever. If you buy the wrong one, it's not like you can put it in a box and sell it on ebay.

I have this one and am very happy with it. It has larger legs than some of the others. Atlas® 408-SL Premium 8,000 Lbs. Capacity Portable Hobbyist 4 Post Lift | GSES Todd Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great reply, thanks for all info and specifics. My garage floor is intact and not cracked. Before making a decision, I am going to have the concrete tested rather than assume the concrete is not sufficient. If it is not, I will look into the cost of pouring sections for a lift. Good to point out that a lift is not exactly sometime you can just box up and sell easily. Cheers, DJM

Sure, any time. When I was looking for a lift, I asked my dealer where he got his lifts, and he hooked me up with a local guy. I called him, and he told me that he recommends either Rotary or Forward. He said that a local Mazda dealer has both installed side-by-side and offered to meet me there. Sure! I met him there when the Mazda mechanics were on lunch break. I got to look at the lifts side by side and talk to the guys who use both every day. You can't beat that. I also had him install it since the thing is crazy heavy. I recall that I paid him $400 for the installation which included drilling the holes. I hooked up the 220 line myself. I think they will run on 110 too, but 220 is better if you have that option. Check the electrical requirements before you buy. Here is a more recent photo that I found (after I "redecorated" the barn). One thing to note is that even with the very low arms, I still need to drive the BS onto small ramps to get it high enough to put the arms under. I bought these: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...wersport-products&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3e6lrLCp2QIVhIizCh12LglaEAQYASABEgJ0GvD_BwE The ramps are inexpensive and light. They are just what I needed (I think I paid less on Amazon). After I found the exact position of each car, I put tape on the floor. Now I know exactly where to put the ramps, just pull the car in, and it's perfectly set for the arms. Without these ramps the car was just too low. I use the ramps for the 435 too. It just makes it easier and I don't have to lay on the floor to position the lift arms.

I have a Bendpak MD-6XP, very similar to the Atlas lift in the original post. I recall researching and deciding that I thought the Bendpak was slightly better quality, but overall they are more alike than different. One thing to know: for a Cayman R you will probably need to either recess the lift in the floor, or use ramps for the car. I need a couple of inches of ramp, which I built out of wood, but my car is low (full race with splitter). If I was in a more permanent place, I would recess the lift in the floor. Also if I had more headroom I would have considered a higher rise lift (say, Bendpak SP-7X).

My 'R' would certainly need some ramps, no question; looking at these: ( https://raceramps.com/car-ramps/garage-and-service-ramps/4-car-lift-ramps-full-length/ ) Curious of you have a pic of your car up on the life from below, in-particular the rear portion of showing engine/exhaust/etc? Thanks! DJM

I went with the Dannmar 6XL, a 6000LB mid-rise (~48", that is a 4' step ladder beside the car) scissor lift like the one you describe. I don't know why I didn't do this 10 years ago! For most work including what you describe it should do what you need, I can't say that it would be good for engine or transmission removal as the hydraulic rams will be in the way. Other than that when raise you have complete access to the rear powertrain and engine for service like the exhaust , brakes and oil systems. For the 981 you will need a small amount of lift to drive the car over the hoist, a bare minimum (I use) is 2x10's (1-1/2" thick), see picture below. I found this style of lift to be reasonably fast to go up or down ~60 seconds and very stable.

Great info and thank you for the underside pic -- very helpful! At this point I a leaning towards a 4 post (+rolling jack) actually, but still undecided. Cheers, DJM

One consideration is the Dannmar MaxJax lift. Home This is a two post portable lift up to 48". This will give you almost 48" of underbody clearance and will fit a Cayman at max lift with 9' ceilings. It's portable so can be moved out of the way. Requires 4" min of concrete for the anchors however. Here are a few links: MaxJax Install - Placement - Installation - Custom Install - ******** - Porsche Discussion Forums ******** - Porsche Discussion Forums http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-924-944-968-technical-forum/568464-maxjax-installed.html http://www.maxjaxusa.com/requirements https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5418012#post5418012

Quotes source post: 5418012

Maxjax is no different that a variety of other shorter two post lifts that are widely available and require a min of 4" of concrete that is in good shape. As I originally posted, I doubt my concrete will meet the requirements. Soon, I will have the concrete in my garage inspected and tested -- who knows, I might be pleasantly surprised. If it passes muster, I will likely go with a 2 post, otherwise I want to have other options available. Cheers, DJM

Take a look at the QuickJack , portable lift if ceiling height is an issue.

FWIW if I had it to do over again I would consider the two post jack versus the scissor lift especially to do a clutch job if you also feel the need to drop the engine at the same time.