Finally After All These Years...

[cfiiman]

I got my lift! I've wanted one for as long as I can remember and decided to pull the trigger after a custom Turbo build on a daily driver I did over the winter using my Dad's 2 poster. I also installed a high lift track and new Lift Master jack shaft opener to maximize my height in the garage. Here is a time lapse video I did of the guys installing it if anyone wants to see it. It is about 6+ hours condensed into 35 seconds, I just let the GoPro shoot when they pulled up until they left.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMSaW7-IrDU


Here is a pic I snapped after getting the car on it and the custom turbo build Accord under it I must say I'm in love with it I think I've polished it more than the Viper this week lol.

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[Steve-Indy]

Congrats...great lift, lots of room!!

 

[MurPowa]

Congrats. What is your ceiling height?

 

[denniskgb]

Congrats on the lift great addition to the garage. i ended up with Quality Lifts 9000 lbs extended width 110" between columns and 80" under runways. my wife drives a 2008 bmw x5 , so it fits perfectly under. Just one question i can not tell if your lift is anchored? If it is free standing do yourself a favor and call the installer and pay extra to anchor it. By the way i stopped polishing mine after a month. just use a blower to get the dust of it once in a while.

 

[cfiiman]

Congrats...great lift, lots of room!!

Thanks Steve.

Congrats. What is your ceiling height?

Just a hair over 10'

Congrats on the lift great addition to the garage. i ended up with Quality Lifts 9000 lbs extended width 110" between columns and 80" under runways. my wife drives a 2008 bmw x5 , so it fits perfectly under. Just one question i can not tell if your lift is anchored? If it is free standing do yourself a favor and call the installer and pay extra to anchor it. By the way i stopped polishing mine after a month. just use a blower to get the dust of it once in a while.

No mine is free standing, I got the caster kit (bottom left of picture above) so it can be moved around, Anchoring it would defeat the purpose of the casters. Why do you feel it is better to be anchored? I'll have to admit it freaked me out a little bc they are a bit wobbly if you push on them, but they say that is completely normal for a free standing 4 post like how a building sways a bit, can anyone verify this cause it still makes me nervous

 

[gb66gth]

I am sooo jealous! Enjoy!

 

[Nsane1]

Looking good, makes everything SOOO much easier! Wait til your first 15 min oil change, or 30 minute brake bleed, you'll love it!

 

[denniskgb]

Thanks Steve.



Just a hair over 10'



No mine is free standing, I got the caster kit (bottom left of picture above) so it can be moved around, Anchoring it would defeat the purpose of the casters. Why do you feel it is better to be anchored? I'll have to admit it freaked me out a little bc they are a bit wobbly if you push on them, but they say that is completely normal for a free standing 4 post like how a building sways a bit, can anyone verify this cause it still makes me nervous

Believe me you will not be moving this lift anywhere soon. My buddy has one that he thought he was going to move it around ....guess what it has been in the same spot for 10 years....However, from safety point of view if you are working on the car and applying latteral pressure underneath losening a bolt or so, what do you expect to happen?
i will post pics of my set up tomorrow. I had my lift anchored in the floor, believe me its not going anywhere even if you try. I also have kids that like to hang on it once in a while like a monkey bar, and i will assure it is very safe. i am definetely, not playing russian rulette

 

[Free2go]

Very very nice. I've definitely got one of those on my wish list.

 

[denniskgb]

Very very nice. I've definitely got one of those on my wish list.

A must thing to have. be very nice to your wife for the next month or so.

 

[cfiiman]

I am sooo jealous! Enjoy!

Anyone who has a Viper and needs to use a lift your welcome to it!

Looking good, makes everything SOOO much easier! Wait til your first 15 min oil change, or 30 minute brake bleed, you'll love it!

Yeah I agree, although it is a little lost on me b/c I've been using my Dad's 2 poster for everything since I was 15 But it will be much nicer to do it at my house for a change!

Very very nice. I've definitely got one of those on my wish list.

Thanks, I should have done it 10 years ago lol.

 

[cfiiman]

Believe me you will not be moving this lift anywhere soon. My buddy has one that he thought he was going to move it around ....guess what it has been in the same spot for 10 years....However, from safety point of view if you are working on the car and applying latteral pressure underneath losening a bolt or so, what do you expect to happen?
i will post pics of my set up tomorrow. I had my lift anchored in the floor, believe me its not going anywhere even if you try. I also have kids that like to hang on it once in a while like a monkey bar, and i will assure it is very safe. i am definetely, not playing russian rulette

I see what you are saying, and you are most likely right. Although I did use the casters tonight to move it about a foot forward b/c it was on a high spot on my garage floor which bothered me. The casters made it very nice. However if I push on it, it will wobble, makes me very uncomfortable, so much so that I called Challenger and got their tech support who said it was normal and that "lateral stability" is not the strong point of a 4 post lift, especially if it is free-standing. He said if I wanted it more rigid then to bolt it down as you suggest, but he said that in no way makes it stronger at all. He said the movement was engineered that way and as long as you don't hit it with something heavy (car, forklift, etc.) it will be fine. He also said bolting it down has its own problems with a 4 post lift, namely if it is not 100% dead on accurate it will "bind" the lift causing premature failure of parts at best, and who the hell knows at worse. Not sure what I will do, I like that it is free standing, and as long as the movement is considered normal I'll just refrain from pushing it around as best I can (wrenching on something like you mentioned, etc.). I think I'm going to stop by Challenger tomorrow and discuss the movement a little more with someone in person, still makes me feel uneasy knowing how easy you can wobble them. And this is not some knock-off, un-certified lift, it is gold label so I know it is decent quality. I think this is just the nature of the beast on free standing 4 posters, thoughts or opinions?

 

[Dirk Pitt]

Enjoy the new lift. I expect you'll be very happy you have it.

 

[denniskgb]

Well have you ever seen a commercial lift not anchored? If you notice EVERY shop has their lifts anchored. ….Something to think about. Once the lift is shimmed perfectly straight, and that what my installer did ( for about an hour) there is absolutely no reason for binding the lift. Better be safe than sorry. We just did oil change day at Steves in Delaware. He has two lifts and they are both dead grounded. the space between your posts is just enough for a car width, and there is ALWAYS a chance someone parking it and miscalculating. It only takes one time…. Will post my pics later today

 

[cfiiman]

I have three 4-post lifts and none are anchored and I would not anchor them for the exact reason the Challenger rep told you. Unless you get everything very close to level (between/across all four posts) you will absolutely run the risk of binding the lift. Whether that is more/less safe than not anchoring will depend on your floor situation. My lift documentation specifically calls out anchoring if the floor exceeds a specified slope (i.e. slope for drains, building code, etc.) and then you are supposed to use supplied shims to level the posts. The anchoring in this case protects against movement on the shims. I do have four 4x4 posts that I have cut to a defined length (~ 6') and when I plan to spend serious time under the lift working on the car I put these posts under the four lifting points of the lift. They happen to fit just perfectly into the channels of the vertical stantions and provide an extra measure of safety against failure. I am almost 100% certain it is not necessary but I feel better about it and it does not compromise the design of the lift in any way.

With all that said, if you are in an earthquake-prone state like California...level and anchor the lift.

Yes the slope requirement on my lift says it has to be anchored if the slope exceeds 1/8" per foot of slope. I measured from the back of the ramp to the front (12') and it was exactly 1.5" of slope which is exactly 1/8" per foot, so I'm right on the edge but within spec to not have to anchor. I think the wobbliness came from the high spot it was sitting on, when I moved it forward off the high spot in the garage, it is much more rigid feeling now and doesn't wobble when I push on the post which is good, I think it just comes down to my concrete floor is not dead on perfect. There is still some sway if I push on one of the posts but again that is probably attributed to a high or low spot and it is not bad like when it was sitting on a real high spot which makes me feel a lot better. I need to try and re synch he cable locks bc with the move they are a little out of sequence but the installer told me not to do it for a month to give the cable time to stretch in, is that what you all did?

 

[denniskgb]

my gaurage is sloped too and when my lift goes up the front goes up first and when leveled the rear picks up. thats being anchored. But here are some pics. I also have a bar above the beam that would cut the power to the lift if the car touches it. also i have safety steel pins when my car is stored and the lift is not dropped on safety and in hydrolic mode. ALL JUST IN CASE.

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[denniskgb]

more pics

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[cfiiman]

more pics

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What do you use the red tape for, markers for parking? I like the pin idea, although I already have a saftey backup system installed but still can never be too safe. Did you have to drill the hole through the posts for the pin or was it already there?

 

[denniskgb]

What do you use the red tape for, markers for parking? I like the pin idea, although I already have a saftey backup system installed but still can never be too safe. Did you have to drill the hole through the posts for the pin or was it already there?

red tape is for marking parking position. that is right. the pin idea is from the comany that installed the lift. yes they came in a week later and drilled the holes just at the level when my wife is parked underneath. this way i know how high i can go and some. if i would to drop the lift on the safety locks its not enough height for her to go under, so i have to leave it in hydrolic mode, which is ok but still there is a small chance. Its your house remember that. better to be over prepaired than deal with the aftermath.

 

[Sybil TF]

How much did it cost? And how much to install?

 

[Free2go]

A must thing to have. be very nice to your wife for the next month or so.

My wife starts law school in two months. In a little over 3 years, I'll have to be nice ALL the time.