Any tips for jacking the car on asphalt? I've read about putting plywood underneath, but in the worst situation you'll have wood under that jack and under each jack stand (5 pieces total). Is this the only alternative? If so, how thick should the wood be? Are there any jack stand designs that spread the weight out in a manner that they could be used alone on asphalt?

Couldn't you use 1/2" or 3/4" plywood? You're worried about them sinking in right? Never thought of that one; what are you going to do if you get a flat on the asphalt highway in 100 deg temps? MBE carry a square piece of plywood in the boot?

The picture of the underside of my car shows the jack point is outboard of the seam and is the (I think) prefered surface to jack the car on my Mini (06 non s 08/06 production).
I will use a 2x4 block just far enough away to allow a jack stand to be slid in when it is raised. I also think a 2x4 will distrubute some force over 4 feet, but will only prevent deflection over a foot or so (6" each side). You can bend a 4' section of 2x4 with your own weight.

On job sites, we use scraps of 3/4" plywood under 20 yd dumpsters on asphalt. You should be fine.

Welp, funny you should ask... my research shows that Northern Tool has a flat bottomed jack stand. As does Snap-On via their Blue Flame line. Of course, there is the holiest of holy's, AC Hydraulic's jack stand... a beautiful thing.

However, Pep Boys does carry the red Torin al jack stands. That's where I bought 'em a few months ago for $50 a pair. I was in the store recently and I only saw them bundled with the al jack (HF quality I hear). There's a picture on NAM showing Msfitstoy's Mini on jackstands. They look like torin jackstands to me.

If you can spring for the AC Hydraulics, get the 3000N-GS1, as they come with a flat top with a rubber pad.

So I was in the same boat, looking for jack stands that did not leave their mark behind on the asphalt. I was able to get the torins at a good price. But you know you want the AC's!!!!

Interesting how similar the Torins and Blue Flames look the same yet the price is way different. Anyway, thanks for the links. I was told to put wood under the jack too. That's too much wood so jack stands like these are just what I need. I'll be checking out Pep Boys and squelching my urge for the ACs .

The Blue-Point Alumstands are made by an outside vendor possibly makers of other company's versions of the same thing. And yes unfortunately there will be a premium price on the Snap-on pieces. I'd still by em though they are really short nice for the MINI.

any pics of the 2x4 method?

OK - I happened to be doing this today, so I took some pics and posted the step-by-step on my blog.

Nice write up.

At the risk of hijacking the thread, how long did your wheel washing/scrubbing/polishing/waxing/eatingOffThem take? You do this very 5k miles? Impressive.

I never thought of scrubbing out the wheel wells. Probably a great idea up in in WI to get rid of all the winter salt.

-Ed

It took a little while - I think I spent about 2 hours on just wheels yesterday... but by taking the time to do that, now they'll be easy to clean until the next rotation - I just give them a spritz of Slick and wipe down with a microfiber every few days between washes, and at wash time all the crud comes off easily front and back with a quick wipe of a wheel brush. WheelShield rocks.

Finally getting around to a follow up post. I did get the Torin jack stands. They are very nice and did not leave marks on my blacktop drive way. The one thing that is worth knowing is that they do not line up very well with the jacking points on the MCS. The tops of the stands are too narrow. The edges of the jack points don't fit on the flat part of the stands, but on the raised edges. Do to that, I wouldn't recommend them for us MINI owners unless you have an alternate idea of where to place them or alternate jacking pucks that are more narrow than stock.

I got it done . Thanks for the help NAM'ers

^^ the hell, did you rip off the guy's wheels?

Nah... woulda used cinder blocks for that... or taken back the jack stands when done...

Charlize on the stand...

If this doesn't look like a unidirectional tread, I don't know what does...

It's almost like a bunch of arrows...

Syco R53, what rims are those?
They look awesome with the DS body color

Thanks! They are the Dinan 3 Piece Forged 18 inch wheels, equal width all around. Equal tire sizes all around 225/35 18.

Yes i have been using the 2x4 method on several Miatas and a S2000 I have owned in the past .Great way to get the car up safe and fast .

I like the 2X4 method... In the past I just picked a point and jacked it up until the entire side of the MINI was off the ground then placed the jack stand under the open point.

According to the shop manual (TIS disk from ebay) there are jacking points near the centre at the front "Side of front axle subframe" (shows the same on R53 or R56). I've been looking for those, but can't find anything obvious. Anyone know exactly where they, or have pictures? This is what the manual says:



My theory is you could get jack up the usual front jack point, and get a stand under the rear jacking point. Then jack up one of the centre points and get a stand under the front jacking point. I'm a little wary of the 2x4 method.

On my 07, there are thick rubber/plastic blocks in those 4 locations. Pics in my gallery.

I've found those 4, I'm looking for the other 2.

The 2x4 method is very safe when used on a level surface... I've lifted my '02 this way many times without incident.

T