jacking rails

[ORRadtech]

Is something needed to jack up the car, absolutely not.
Do the pinch welds get bent without protection, ABSOLUTELY!
I currently have a '12 Edge and a '14 Fusion with bent pinch welds as proof.
I don't intend for that to happen to my Mustang! Whether I put on jack rails, bolt on jack points or simply use a puck I haven't decided. But, I WILL use some form of protection for the pinch welds.

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[Grimmer]

The OP made his jacking rail decision a month ago, but I thought I'd drop my $0.02 for posterity...

When I decided to purchase a separate set of winter tires and wheels as well as doing my own tire rotations and swaps, installing jacking rails was an easy decision.

The problem with rotating the tires, is that you pretty much need to have 2 or more tires off the ground at once. The logistics would have been annoying but possible. Trying to position the jack stand near the jacking points always bugged me since the floor jack was already occupying that space. Both the jack and jack stand have flared out footprints which limits how closely together they can be positioned. Not so bad in the front, but fewer options in the rear. The jacking rails offer an excellent solution to these issues. I can jack up the whole side of the car with the jack near the center, then position both jack stands front and rear. Repeat on the other side and all 4 tires are off the ground in a matter of minutes, making rotations, tire swaps, and other under vehicle service very simple. I'm using the BMR longer / low profile rails. An excellent product that can even be installed without jacking up the car.

Having the jacking rails serve to protect the underbelly from aggressive speed bumps is the "cherry on top" bonus.

Protecting the pinch welds wasn't really a concern for me when considering whether or not to install jacking rails.

However, one thing that did give me some pause was the potential for grit and tiny rock particles and especially water and salt getting caught and held between the rails and the car's undercarriage. The installation instructions stated that excess body sealant may need to be trimmed from where the rails will be mounted. On the driver's side, there were fairly large beads of this sealant. My particular nature was compelled to get the rails as flush fit as possible with full contact along its length to the car's body, so I got out the razor blade and trimmed as indicated in the instructions. However, after installing the driver's side rail I noticed that it wasn't a very flush / even fit against the body anyway (since the body is not flat). Also, I noted that there wasn't paint underneath the removed sealant, at least not the finish paint that was everywhere else. So I immediately regretted having removed the sealant that was suppose to protect the seams between the metal panels. I dropped the rail and pumped a ton of silicone sealant over the exposed areas where I had trimmed off the factory sealant, then reinstalled the rail. Moving on to the passenger side, I did not remove anything and just bolted the rail in place. Time will tell if the silicone sandwiched between the rail and the car can stand up to the rigors of life on the underbelly of an automobile; and whether or not the collection (and possibly holding) of grit and whatnot between the rail and car will have any effect at all. I did note that jacking on the front passenger side cross member (before installing the rail) as well as jacking on the passenger rail usually starts out with a slight crunching sound, which is presumably tiny rock particles and road grit getting crushed. I haven't noticed that sound, or at least the same intensity when jacking at either points on the driver's side.

 

[TheDonEffect]

IIRC theres two cut outs towards the front of the rocker area for a jack and a stand. I use a pinch weld puck to clear the trim, and I intended to jack up front and back but found that the whole wide just went up. I didnt lift it too high, put my stands in their appropriate spots, and lifted it in two stages because I was paranoid about damaging my tires.
Can the pinch welds fail? Sure, anything can happen, I imagine in the rust states it could be ak issue. But considering how many cars get stored on lifts or are left on stands for long term projects, considering how many mustangs are on the road, I dont even consider this a roll of the dice. I would think BMR would've been able to post a picture of a failed pinch weld by now.
If I had to do nascar rush style tire changes and such I can see the benefits.
Anyway, I had the rails in my shopping cart, but after actually doing the work I deleted it. I find it sorta sad that there isnt a straight forward DYI for lifting the car.

 

[Vlad Soare]

As I understand, the upside of the jacking rails, besides protecting the pinch welds, is that they allow you to lift the car from whatever point to wish, which is useful if you want to raise two wheels off the ground at the same time, and/or if you use to do a lot of work under the car.
I don't plan on doing that. I do, however, go to a local tire shop twice a year, to change my tires from winter to summer and back. And I can't rule out the possibility that they bend the pinch welds somehow by not placing the jack correctly (I've had this happen on one of my cars some time ago). In that case, do I really need full jacking rails? Or will some lift pads like these do just as well?

 

[kz]

As I understand, the upside of the jacking rails, besides protecting the pinch welds, is that they allow you to lift the car from whatever point to wish, which is useful if you want to raise two wheels off the ground at the same time, and/or if you use to do a lot of work under the car.
I don't plan on doing that. I do, however, go to a local tire shop twice a year, to change my tires from winter to summer and back. And I can't rule out the possibility that they bend the pinch welds somehow by not placing the jack correctly (I've had this happen on one of my cars some time ago). In that case, do I really need full jacking rails? Or will some lift pads like these do just as well?

Pinch weld is a pinch weld - you can lift anywhere along it - manufacturer's lift points are there to make sure car is balanced correctly when you lift it.

I use ZL1 addon lift pads (which - yes - would do exact same job as jacking rails without adding weight) but only to prevent splitting rubber blocks on my Quickjack.

 

[BmacIL]

IIRC theres two cut outs towards the front of the rocker area for a jack and a stand. I use a pinch weld puck to clear the trim, and I intended to jack up front and back but found that the whole wide just went up. I didnt lift it too high, put my stands in their appropriate spots, and lifted it in two stages because I was paranoid about damaging my tires.
Can the pinch welds fail? Sure, anything can happen, I imagine in the rust states it could be ak issue. But considering how many cars get stored on lifts or are left on stands for long term projects, considering how many mustangs are on the road, I dont even consider this a roll of the dice. I would think BMR would've been able to post a picture of a failed pinch weld by now.
If I had to do nascar rush style tire changes and such I can see the benefits.
Anyway, I had the rails in my shopping cart, but after actually doing the work I deleted it. I find it sorta sad that there isnt a straight forward DYI for lifting the car.

You're missing the point, I believe. It's not just about speed, but about ease. I put off installing them for 2.5 years and I wish I hadn't waited so long. @Grimmer highlighted some good examples. The low profile ones are well worth it.

 

[TheDonEffect]

You're missing the point, I believe. It's not just about speed, but about ease. I put off installing them for 2.5 years and I wish I hadn't waited so long. @Grimmer highlighted some good examples. The low profile ones are well worth it.

I get that being able to put the jack anywhere is coo, but I'd still have to bend down and position it, so dont think it saves that much effort. And I was addressing the horror stories of bent pinch welds and such.

 

[BmacIL]

I get that being able to put the jack anywhere is coo, but I'd still have to bend down and position it, so dont think it saves that much effort. And I was addressing the horror stories of bent pinch welds and such.

Once you get a reference point for where they are (I have a spot on the jack arm that lines up with the rocker), you don't have to bend down either.

 

[strike-eagle]

I've jacked my car up dozens of times using the pinch welds. The only reason you need jack rails is if your jack won't lift by the pinch welds without caving the side skirt in. The pinch welds are more than adequate for jacking.

 

[Vlad Soare]

It's OK when you jack it up yourself. You know what to do, and how, and what to pay attention to. But when you go to a garage where the guy who jacks up your car is a nineteen year old day labourer, a bit of extra insurance won't hurt.

 

[kz]

It's OK when you jack it up yourself. You know what to do, and how, and what to pay attention to. But when you go to a garage where the guy who jacks up your car is a nineteen year old day labourer, a bit of extra insurance won't hurt.

There is a lot of not very straight thinking people working in auto service industry but they also have about 1000 times more experience in lifting / jacking cars than absolute most of members of this forum since that's what they basically do every day...

Just saying....

 

[Grimmer]

There is a lot of not very straight thinking people working in auto service industry but they also have about 1000 times more experience in lifting / jacking cars than absolute most of members of this forum since that's what they basically do every day...

Just saying....

Agreed... However, the same kid that changes oil all day everyday also failed to tighten my oil filter enough to prevent it from leaking.

Despite their experience, most of them simply don't care, are complacent, and/or are rushed.

Nobody, will care about my car as much as I do. Therefore, I try to keep their hands off of it as much as possible and harden it against neglegent damage as much as I can for those situations where someone else has to work on it. My car has suffered more damage at the hands of dealer service techs than from any other source.

Although regarding jacking rails, it was more for my own convenience. The protection from speed bumps and misplaced lifts is an extra bonus.

 

[barron64]

I have a couple of floor jacks with a short piece of a 2x4 on the lifting pads...had my tires/wheels off many times and so far, punch welds look perfect.

 

[tj@steeda]

We have some great reviews here - https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-ultra-lite-chassis-jacking-rails-15-16-all-555-5205.html

Small investment with nice returns!

TJ

 

[Zooks527]

Put the Steeda rails on today in the driveway without using a jack, stand, or ramp. Bit of a PITA getting the first bolt in place on each rail by feel, but once that was located, the rest went in fine. Under an hour all in, excluding time on the couch between sides to work out a kink in my shoulder from lying on it.

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