Where to put jack stands on Model S?

[stopcrazypp]

This following diagram seems to show the entire side rail between the front and rear jack points are stable resting points. However, I can't seem to find this picture with the yellow marked side rails in my Tesla's online docs.

The picture is from the Model S emergency response guide (page 19):
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/de.../20130214_ModelS_Emergency_Response_Guide.pdf
That seems to be saying you lift on the jack points and then you can put the jack stands under the yellow "resting" parts (with pad obviously). I forgot the Model S doesn't have a spare tire (which would make rotations much easier, obviously).

 

[EarlyAdopter]

The picture is from the Model S emergency response guide (page 19):
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/de.../20130214_ModelS_Emergency_Response_Guide.pdf
That seems to be saying you lift on the jack points and then you can put the jack stands under the yellow "resting" parts (with pad obviously). I forgot the Model S doesn't have a spare tire (which would make rotations much easier, obviously).

Ah, no. The yellow areas indicate safe places to brace a car that's rolled on its side, not for holding the full weight of a corner. You can see an example of this at minute 24:40 of the Tesla First Responder video.

Don't put jack stands anywhere other than the jackpoints (green X's).

 

[howardc64]

Ah, no. The yellow areas indicate safe places to brace a car that's rolled on its side, not for holding the full weight of a corner. You can see an example of this at minute 24:40 of the Tesla First Responder video.

Don't put jack stands anywhere other than the jackpoints (green X's).

Thanks! The video helps to disambiguate the language in the Tesla's Emergency Response Guide. Resting on its sides means just that... a car resting on its sides

So to rotate tires without a lift, I will need either jackpoint stands or 2 hydraulic jacks to do each side at once.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Ah, no. The yellow areas indicate safe places to brace a car that's rolled on its side, not for holding the full weight of a corner. You can see an example of this at minute 24:40 of the Tesla First Responder video.

Don't put jack stands anywhere other than the jackpoints (green X's).

Thanks for pointing that out. I guess Emergency Responder terminology is different. I'm used to seeing jackpoints and separate places available for putting jack stands, but it seems for the Model S they are the same 4 points (and there's no center point anywhere so it seems you can't jack up one point and slip a jackstand under the others).

I guess there is really is no option but jackpoint stands or two jacks (or if you have separate winter wheels you can use that to do the same rotation procedure as with a spare tire).

 

[SteveW25561]

And don't forget jacks still have the potential to roll or move so 2 jacks isn't as safe. Don't forget wheel chocks - a cheap extra measure of safety.

It still seems to me the jack point jack stands remain the only real safe alternative without a lift. I'm still waiting for the newer smaller pas which will work with our cars (although I still think the standard one will work you need to be potentially more careful of placement)

 

[kevincwelch]

I emailed John a couple of weeks ago, and he said his supplier was working on the Tesla pads. I haven't bothered him since then, but I plan to around March check in again and make a purchase if they're ready for sale.

 

[MoeMistry]

Looking forward to the tesla pad. We'll be ordering a few for the studio

 

[wycolo]

How to use floor jacks more safely:

1. Cut lengths of 2x3 to match MS lift pads.
2. Jack up with floor jacks (low-profile style preferred). Whole end or whole side, 2 jacks needed. What chore would require four??
3. Jack a bit higher than you need, then place block of wood between jack axle and jack pad with grain horizontal. Cut wood thick enough to just fit.
4. Slowly drop jack to put full weight on wood block. Ensure that wood is sustaining load.
5. Pump up jack slightly so now both jack and wood block are sharing load.

Cost: low-pro floor jacks @~$75- each, and some blocks of wood.
--

 

[kevincwelch]

How to use floor jacks more safely:

1. Cut lengths of 2x3 to match MS lift pads.
2. Jack up with floor jacks (low-profile style preferred). Whole end or whole side, 2 jacks needed. What chore would require four??

... Practical cleaning of the wheel well, rust removal and restoration of the rotor hats.

... Rotations a lot easier.

 

[howardc64]

Just to answer the original question. I spoke with a tech at the SC. There is no place to put a regular jack stand (not jack point stand) while the jack is on the pad. So to rotate tires without a lift or jackpoint stands requires using 2 floor jack on one side of the car to jack up both front and rear at the lift pads.

Did this today, was pretty quick with my friends air impact wrench and took about 10-15min. Since we pretty much had the tires off for like 20-30s while rotating it. We didn't bother putting down a long safety wood block along the side rails below the doors but would have certainly be good safety precaution. You don't need to jack it up very high as the tire profiles are fairly low to clear the ground.

Jack juat barely clear under the lift pads. I used a hockey puck as padding which increases the height a little. This makes it pretty safe as the puck sits on the lift pad and the round metal cup on the jack will not engage any surface (or maybe very slightly). 2x4 wood pieces might be too high unless you have very low profile jacks.

 

[kevincwelch]

I got my Jackpoint Jackstands (JPJS) today.

After trading a handful of emails with John from JPJS, I ordered the stands Thursday. What happened after that is a bit of an interesting story. I got a call today (Saturday) from John who stated that he lived about 30 minutes from where I live and he was on the way to my neck of the woods to visit a friend. He was interested in coming by to take a look at the Tesla and see how the stands would work out. Naturally I thought that was a great idea. So, John was kind enough to swing by my house and we tested the JPJS with the standard pad.

Bottom line: no issues using the stands.

Detailed summary is here.

I purchased a Powerzone 3 ton floor jack from Amazon and John and I traded emails about whether the JPJS would clear the Powerzone floor jack, and we concluded that it probably would. The first thing I noticed about the JPJS is that these are much bigger than I thought they would be. I knew the dimensions of these items and watched the video, but the size of the object itself was lost on me. Here's a picture of the two JPJS in the back of my car. The picture shows the standard JPJS with the standard pad. The stand on the left has the standard pad with the pinch weld slot. The stand on the right is without the pad. There is a rubber pad that fits on top of the standard pad, which is used for most vehicles, including the Tesla.

Here is the picture of the Powerzone floor jack sitting under the JPJS. Bottom line: the floor jack is big, and it easily fits. According to the website, John recommends that the jack plate be between 3-5 inches to accommodate the JPJS pad. The Powerzone jack plate is 4.5 inches.

Now that we knew the floor jack would fit within the JPJS, the next test would be to see if my floor jack with the JPJS standard pad would clear the Tesla. It did without any issues when the car was set to jack mode...no clearance issues.

This next photo is only partially helpful, but you can sort of see how the standard pad fits under the Model S jack point. I placed my finger (not exactly smart) between the edge of the battery and the JPJS pad, and there was no significant contact between the JPJS pad and the edge of the battery frame. (Sorry, my car was really dirty...)

The JPJS is then placed into position such that when the floor jack lowers the car, it lowers the JPJS standard pad right on to the JPJS itself. After this, the floor jack is withdrawn. At this point, it is recommended that you lift the opposite side of the car and put the JPJS there as well to balance the lift.

Here are some pictures from various angles.

And finally, here is a video of removing the JPJS with some commentary from John.

The nice thing about this whole event was that it was fairly spontaneous. It was a win-win because I got to test out the JPJS (even though I had already purchased a set and was awaiting delivery) and John got to gather more information about the Tesla Model S and how the stands worked with the car. When we were finished and he was about to leave, I stacked up the stands and indicated to him that I would help him pack them up in his car. In reality, he was merely dropping off the JPJS that I had purchased! How cool was that?

Any way, the stands appear to work very nicely. They feel sturdy and should resist corrosion over the years. He welcomed any questions from the forum about the stands. Visit the website and read up on them if you haven't. After that, I asked if he wanted to take the Model S for a spin, but he had to go downtown. He did pause and consider it though...

 

[SteveW25561]

Kevin:

Thanks for the detailed post and the PM: that's terrific how these work with the Tesla! It looks like the diagrams I made based on correspondence were pretty close, but nothing like the real thing to know it works definitively. I see from the video you were able to use the safety lock pin as well, and as predicted, the pad sticks out just a few mm from the edge of the car, but not enough to impact stability.

I'll be placing my order now, and not bother with waiting for the planned rectangular pad.

To be clear, you bought the STANDARD plate and NOT the low profile plate? My discussions with John indicated the low profile plate would NOT clear the battery pack.

Thanks....
- Steve

I got my Jackpoint Jackstands (JPJS) today.

After trading a handful of emails with John from JPJS, I ordered the stands Thursday. What happened after that is a bit of an interesting story. I got a call today (Saturday) from John who stated that he lived about 30 minutes from where I live and he was on the way to my neck of the woods to visit a friend. He was interested in coming by to take a look at the Tesla and see how the stands would work out. Naturally I thought that was a great idea. So, John was kind enough to swing by my house and we tested the JPJS with the standard pad.

Bottom line: no issues using the stands.

Detailed summary is here.

I purchased a Powerzone 3 ton floor jack from Amazon and John and I traded emails about whether the JPJS would clear the Powerzone floor jack, and we concluded that it probably would. The first thing I noticed about the JPJS is that these are much bigger than I thought they would be. I knew the dimensions of these items and watched the video, but the size of the object itself was lost on me. Here's a picture of the two JPJS in the back of my car. The picture shows the standard JPJS with the standard pad. The stand on the left has the standard pad with the pinch weld slot. The stand on the right is without the pad. There is a rubber pad that fits on top of the standard pad, which is used for most vehicles, including the Tesla.

View attachment 45163

Here is the picture of the Powerzone floor jack sitting under the JPJS. Bottom line: the floor jack is big, and it easily fits. According to the website, John recommends that the jack plate be between 3-5 inches to accommodate the JPJS pad. The Powerzone jack plate is 4.5 inches.

View attachment 45164

Now that we knew the floor jack would fit within the JPJS, the next test would be to see if my floor jack with the JPJS standard pad would clear the Tesla. It did without any issues when the car was set to jack mode...no clearance issues.

View attachment 45165

This next photo is only partially helpful, but you can sort of see how the standard pad fits under the Model S jack point. I placed my finger (not exactly smart) between the edge of the battery and the JPJS pad, and there was no significant contact between the JPJS pad and the edge of the battery frame. (Sorry, my car was really dirty...)

View attachment 45166

The JPJS is then placed into position such that when the floor jack lowers the car, it lowers the JPJS standard pad right on to the JPJS itself. After this, the floor jack is withdrawn. At this point, it is recommended that you lift the opposite side of the car and put the JPJS there as well to balance the lift.

View attachment 45167View attachment 45168

Here are some pictures from various angles.

View attachment 45169View attachment 45170View attachment 45171View attachment 45172

And finally, here is a video of removing the JPJS with some commentary from John.

The nice thing about this whole event was that it was fairly spontaneous. It was a win-win because I got to test out the JPJS (even though I had already purchased a set and was awaiting delivery) and John got to gather more information about the Tesla Model S and how the stands worked with the car. When we were finished and he was about to leave, I stacked up the stands and indicated to him that I would help him pack them up in his car. In reality, he was merely dropping off the JPJS that I had purchased! How cool was that?

Any way, the stands appear to work very nicely. They feel sturdy and should resist corrosion over the years. He welcomed any questions from the forum about the stands. Visit the website and read up on them if you haven't. After that, I asked if he wanted to take the Model S for a spin, but he had to go downtown. He did pause and consider it though...

 

[kevincwelch]

That's right, Steve. I got the STANDARD pads. They indeed are offset away from the battery pack, hence his suggestion that you place the lift against the inside of the pad (in the video). The safety pin does fit in the center hole of the Tesla jack point with a little room to breathe, and that as John says probably helps the standard pad move away from the battery pack as the car is lifted.

What I didn't mention was that I couldn't detect any sort of marking (rubbing, scraping - let alone deformation) of the battery pack caused by the standard pad.

Hope that helps. I'm really pleased with this product. Can't wait to actually put it to use for rotations and cleaning the wells and rotors. Now that I have them, maybe I'll just paint my calipers!

 

[kevincwelch]

Don't forget that John offered the Tesla group a $20.00 discount on purchases, so don't forget to mention in one way or another that you own a Model S and heard about it on the forums.

 

[ShortArc]

Just talked to John on the phone and am ordering a pair as well. Thanks for all the great info!

 

[SteveW25561]

Got my set and changed my winters back to the stock 21's. Having 2 wheels up made it faster and I love these jack stands! I quickly swapped out the 4 tires last night after work before the sun went down and the rains hit! Fastest swap I've ever done.

With the standard pads you do need to be very sure you don't encroach on the battery pack edge but it's really easy to do (I just ensured I could feel a clear space between them before committing the jack to lift the car).

Here are some pictures:

I'm seriously thinking of painting my brake calipers come sunny season! Being able to do 2 at a time makes it much ore attractive to me if I decide to DIY.

 

[gnelson]

I'm seriously thinking of painting my brake calipers come sunny season! Being able to do 2 at a time makes it much ore attractive to me if I decide to DIY.

MGP will have caliper covers for the Model S in the near future.


Problem Encountred!

 

[kevincwelch]

Nice, Steve!

I just dropped off my stock 19s for refinishing, and when they come back I'll be swapping them out with my winter wheels as well. I need to do some wheel well cleaning and coating, as well as try to grind down some of the rust on the rear rotor hats. Looking forward to some projects as well with the jackpoint stands.

 

[IceAge]

Has anyone tried these jack plates for $25?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121329140314

 

[JohnQ]

Swing by my garage and I'll hand these out for 50 cents. Just a piece of aluminum bar cut down. Order a length from Aircraft Spruce and use a hacksaw to make 4.

EDIT: noticed that it's stainless steel, not aluminum. Same concept applies, though.