Recently I purchased my first rx8... being a do it yourself kind of guy ( wherever possible and learning all the time ) I developed a habbit of changing my oil a lot and last week after buttoning up the drain plug after a change I pulled the jack stand out and KUH- BANG!! My jack snapped in half under the load and the car came crashing down. Let this be a real life lession for all regarding the importance of JACK STANDS! That scissor jack had seen alot of use over the years on one of my trucks... now the rx8. I did 4 oil and filter changes after buying the car in just the first 600 miles and finally the old oil drains out the same color as new oil.
So I jumped in the car and went to a local hardware chain we have here in Winnipeg and other parts of Canada ( Tool Town ) and low and behold they had a giant scissor jack in stock I hadn't seen before.
Oddly enough this jack is also made by a company here in Manitoba.
With the 3/4" nut I can use my socket to drill adapter to crank it up and down in no time. And there are several other adapter set ups to use as well depening on what you want. Fits under the front of my stock 8 with about 1" to spare.
Another nice thing is that it's not so heavy and bulky like a floor jack so I can keep it in my car. If I need it I'll feel better using it as I don't carry jack stands with me all the time.
THE PRICE: Just $28usd on sale.
Of course this will not replace a 3ton low pro floor jack for heavy duty home use but the one I rolled outside from the store to test out... still wouldn't fit the body of the jack under the front my car.
The threaded steel shaft on this jack is double the diameter of the others I've seen and used over the years and the body is thicker steel and roughly three times the size. And it extends to 24" which is great for full oil drains.
Anyway thought it was a neat item so thought I would post it

 

I got lazy in my old age ...

Bully Q-HY-1500S: 12-Volt Electric Car Jack Weight Capacity: 2,500 pounds | JEGS

 

Honestly, I'd just use a set of ramps before I bothered with a scissor jack.

My solution to reduce the number of trips under my S1 was to get a PELA 6000 oil extractor. I easily get as much oil through that as I do draining through the plug. Since the filter is accessed from the top, it eliminates the need to lift the car.

 

Lol yeah I saw these online a few more years and I'll be ready for another look!

 

Man that looks pretty cool I have to say. I really like the idea of bypassing the jack altogether. Looks it takes quite a while to pump all the oil out? Just watched a video it really is a neat product I hadn't thought of an extractor...

 

AH HA! I see they make an electric version I may just give one of these a try THANKS!

 

A scissors jack is for emergency use only i.e. a flat tire on the side of the road.

 

Yes sir I know that. I first tried to find a low pro floor jack but that wouldnt roll under the center of the front of the car. Tried one at a store didnt fit all the way under so I looked for other options including something I could take it the car that would hold more weight than the one that snapped. The ramps ive used in the past were a pain but that was long ago maybe there are better ramps today. Mine would not stay put no matter what I tried they would always push forward. I guess I got used to the scissor jack in my off road truck years when I wanted to pack something light and block it to get the truck up quick to change tires.

 

If you only need to lift one side of the car at a time you can just put a 6" length of 2x4 on the saddle of a floor jack and place it under the hardpoint for the scissor jack (just inboard of the pinch weld). Every jack I've used (including the scissor jack) will lift the car enough to get both wheels on that side of the car off the ground.

 

Thanks for the tip. So far the only time I've needed to get the front way up is when I did the rear differential gear oil... and with the plug at the rear of the cover I wanted to get as much out as I could. I see there are many ways of achieving a good jack set up... this grasshopper has much to learn

 

That looks awesome. I wonder why oil change places don't use something like this, it looks fast, clean, and even a monkey could be trained to do it.

 

It doesn't work well on some cars and doesn't save much labor on others.

For instance, there's some sharp piece of metal in the dipstick path of the 2.7L V6 Hyundai motors. I know this because it long slashes up the length of the tube.

Also, on cars where the oil filter is only accessible from beneath, you still have to get under the car.

It is, however, hella convenient for our cars.

 

Ramps, low profile jack, and stands. There is no reason to dick with a scissor jack unless you are on the side of the road changing a flat.

 

Please tell me you are not crawling under a car supported by a scissor jack.

Most ramps will work, if you put cheap rubber door mats from the dollar store underneath them.

Here's another idea. Use a low profile floor jack to lift the car at the front pinch welds. Put a piece of 2x10 under the tire on that side. Do the same on the other side. Now the floor jack will reach the front subframe jacking point. Place jack stands under the pinch welds for safety. It takes less than 5 minutes.

Or, just stack 2 pieces of 2x10 under each tire on each side, for 3" of lift. That's all you need to change the oil.

Scissor jack. My word. OP has a death wish.

 

Actually Steve no I'm not... I crawl under my car only after BOTH jack stands are installed. I thought that it was clear I use jack stands in the first post. The jack snapped after I removed the last jack stand.
Thanks for the tips especially the rubber mat idea under the ramps I hadn't thought of that.