4 Post Lift for wide car

[shaladdin]

Hi all,

I've searched myself into paralysis trying to find answers regarding 4 post lift solutions for wide cars and figured it might be time to just ask the question myself.

I have an amg gtr that's has an outside tire to outside tire width of ~80 inches (and a garage with only 9' clearance). It seems most standard 4 post lifts come with a runway width of 75" and a drive-thru width of 80.5" (limited by the corner guards of the lift). The wider variants of lifts have runway and drive-thru widths that fit the bill, but have a height that collides with my garage door (99" from floor).

I guess my question is, has anyone installed a standard width 4-post lift for a similarly wide vehicle and found that the drive-thru width was, in practice, wider than what is stated on spec sheets?
Right now it seems like my only two solutions are either Bendpak HD-9P or The Lift Superstore Quatro Stacker Wide Track. Bendpak was my first choice because their dimensions are perfect, but recent outsourcing of hydraulics to China seems to have dropped their reliability. The lift superstore sources all hydraulics from a US-made vendor but has a runway width exactly the same as my 80" tire width. Feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place and would really appreciate some advice/perspective.

Thank you for your time and hope to hear back!

 

[P0234]

The measurements are usually spot on. What are you planning to use the lift for, 9 feet is really going to limit your options.

 

[shaladdin]

That's what I was afraid of...

The lift is primarily for storage. I only use the AMG for tracking and currently rent space in a parking garage to store it (with 2 years of storage costs being the same as the price of a lift). Because I store the AMG in public space, I need to keep the car registered and well insured. Storing it on the lift will allow me to reduce parking fees, insurance costs, registration, etc. The car under the amg will be a c7 corvette, which I mainly drive on the weekends. I will probably do some light work on the corvette if it's on the lift; oil changes, suspension work, brake changes. etc.

 

[wssix99]

Where do you live? Urban areas have garage condos and special car storage facilities for situations like this.

It seems that your car (I recall this is around a $200,000 car.) does not fit your housing/garage situation. Personally, I would not dream of keeping an AMG GTR on a lift. I would keep it on the ground floor and have my butler make sure it is always well-polished. If you can't do this, there should be a facility in your City that fits the car's pedigree.

A 9 foot wide garage is not going to work with any storage lift. By the time you pull in any car the posts will take up all of your walk-around space and you won't be able to get in or out of the garage without scratching up the car(s).

Another thing people forget is that the power unit often sits outside of the lift's baseplate footprint. (The BendPak is like this.) You will still need extra space beyond the floor plates for the power unit and accessories.

 

[shaladdin]

I'm in Los Angeles and the garage I'm stored at sees cars that far outpace the GTR in worth (honestly, likely too premier of a storage situation for that car). But the (personally) bigger issue is that it ***** owning the car and only seeing it if I make the trip to check up on it.

I originally bought the house for the location and now lament over not giving the garage enough scrutiny for future plans. Also, the garage is 9' tall, it's about 20' wide and just as deep. I'm in the process of remodeling it and will probably knock out the ceiling to give it a bit more height, but not by much- maybe 6" max.

 

[P0234]

That's what I was afraid of...

The lift is primarily for storage. I only use the AMG for tracking and currently rent space in a parking garage to store it (with 2 years of storage costs being the same as the price of a lift). Because I store the AMG in public space, I need to keep the car registered and well insured. Storing it on the lift will allow me to reduce parking fees, insurance costs, registration, etc. The car under the amg will be a c7 corvette, which I mainly drive on the weekends. I will probably do some light work on the corvette if it's on the lift; oil changes, suspension work, brake changes. etc.

You probably can get the AMG and Vette in there. Add about 8” for the runway height to the height of the cars. I had about 10'6 to work with and got a CRV and C6 stacked. It took me hours, and I mean hours of measuring and marking things with painters tape before I pulled the trigger. And then it was very nerve racking before I finally got the cars in there.

Have you checked out Direct Lift? At this point I wouldn't write off any ALI certified brand to make it work. One key you are going to need though is adjustable stops. This will give you a little wiggle room to raise or lower the platform to the ideal height.

Good luck, with careful measuring I think you can do it.

 

[shaladdin]

You probably can get the AMG and Vette in there. Add about 8” for the runway height to the height of the cars. I had about 10'6 to work with and got a CRV and C6 stacked. It took me hours, and I mean hours of measuring and marking things with painters tape before I pulled the trigger. And then it was very nerve racking before I finally got the cars in there.

Have you checked out Direct Lift? At this point I wouldn't write off any ALI certified brand to make it work. One key you are going to need though is adjustable stops. This will give you a little wiggle room to raise or lower the platform to the ideal height.

Good luck, with careful measuring I think you can do it.

I took a quick pass at Direct Lift; maybe I need to do another. Motivational to know you got the CRV in there. I think its height difference from the AMG offsets the additional height from your garage to mine. Did you end up bolting your lift to the garage floor? The developers for my property said I can't do that because of the tensioning cables in the floor.

Thanks or the motivational words! Just the nudge I needed haha.

 

[P0234]

No, one of the reasons I liked Direct, other than them being owned by Dover, was that in the manual it says that you do not need to bolt it to the floor. It also comes with casters making it easy to move to the center of the garage for big projects. Also made moving to a new house easy, just called a rollback.

 

[racecougar]

Put together a spreadsheet and compare the specs that matter to your situation. The DirectLift Pro Park 9 Plus / Forward EFP9 likely fits the bill.

 

[Old Moparz]

If it helps with choosing a lift, whatever your garage door height is from the floor can be increased by changing the tracks set up to what is called a "high lift track" that will bring the door closer to the ceiling in the opened position. Standard door tracks usually are not as high as the ceiling & the space above it is wasted.

 

[Viper98912]

I have a standard width lift, and it's exactly 80" between the cable pulley guards and 90" between the cables. While most regular sports cars and small cars / compact SUV's fit, my previous-gen Grand Cherokee just barely fits through the guards and cables. If you have a wider car or slightly larger SUV, it won't fit. In retrospect, I do regret not buying the wider lift when I had the chance. But at the time I didn't know any better and only had the measurements of the cars I was currently driving. Definitely get the wider one if you have doubts, because 80" will definitely limit you with today's modern cars.