Anyone have a recommendation for a good set of ramps?
Recommendation for car ramps?
- Thread starter theplayer11
- Start date
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- 2019 CX-5 GTR
Do-It-Yourself wooden car ramps | AZoffroading.com
Do-It-Yourself wooden car ramps. How to make your own DIY wooden vehicle ramps. Instructions on building your own wooden ramps for a car, truck or Jeep.
azoffroading.com
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- Plano, Texas, USA
This looks like mine that I made with 2X10’s almost 20 years ago for oil change on my 2000 BMW 528i. They’re perfect for my CX-5 too.
Do-It-Yourself wooden car ramps | AZoffroading.com
Do-It-Yourself wooden car ramps. How to make your own DIY wooden vehicle ramps. Instructions on building your own wooden ramps for a car, truck or Jeep.azoffroading.com
just 3" high?
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Yes. I only need a bit higher for oil change on both vehicles mentioned above. I want to keep the vehicle as level as possible while draining the oil, so 3” height is good enough for me. I don’t need any raised height on my other vehicles to change the oil.
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- 2018 CX-5 Sport
I have the metal ramps from Harbor Freight, but I had to make extensions so the mud flaps wouldn't rub on them when driving up and down on them. So ramps that you pick should have a more gradual lift.
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- 2018 CX-5 Sport
For oil changes, ramps are so much easier and faster than jacking up the car on the front lift point and centering the jack stands.
What other service does the manual call for at every oil change...a tire rotation!
So every oil change you do should be accompanied by a tire rotation.
But regardless, I do not agree that ramps are "much easier and faster".
It takes me just a few minutes to jack the car up in the air and put jack stands underneath.
So you might save 60-90 SECONDS using ramps.
But you end up with only a few inches of clearance and no way to rotate the tires.
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- 2016.5 CX-5 GT AWD titanium/black 2016 Miata Club ST MT white
^This! For changing the oil this is all you need. An oil change can be done without any 'ramps' at all but the extra 3 inches or so really makes it a ton easier. Plus you won't have to be concerned about leveling the car front to back.
For everyone doing oil changes using ramps...
Are you ignoring the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and not rotating tires?
The manual calls for a tire rotation with every oil change.
Do you just never rotate the tires? Do it separate from the oil change?
I don't understand why you wouldn't just spend 60 seconds to put the vehicle on jack stands, so that you can complete 100% of the scheduled maintenance instead of just part of it.
Are you ignoring the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and not rotating tires?
The manual calls for a tire rotation with every oil change.
Do you just never rotate the tires? Do it separate from the oil change?
I don't understand why you wouldn't just spend 60 seconds to put the vehicle on jack stands, so that you can complete 100% of the scheduled maintenance instead of just part of it.
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- 2016.5 CX-5 GT AWD titanium/black 2016 Miata Club ST MT white
The fixed maintenance schedule calls for 7.5k miles oil changes and 7.5k miles wheel rotations.
The flexible schedule calls for max of 10k oil changes (or until the oil change indicator says that it's time) and 5k wheel rotations.
I use the flex for oil changes but rotate the wheels using the 7.5k recommendation.
By the way, if you're only taking 60 seconds to put your CX up on jack stands, there's no way that you are doing this correctly and safely. All four corners up on jack stands in 60 seconds? No way.
Race ramps are expensive and the lightest and best. could not live without them
So you change the oil and rotate the tires at separate times?
I use the flex oil change interval, which ends up being ~7500 miles, so I change the oil and rotate the tires at the same time.
It seems like a lot of wasted time & hassle to rotate the tires at 7500, then separately change the oil at 7000 or 8000 (or whatever it ends up being).
I said in my earlier post that using jack/jack stands takes and ADDITIONAL 60-90 seconds over using ramps. With ramps, you have to back your car partially out of the garage, align the ramps properly, then pull onto the ramps. I don't have to do any of that with a jack, so the incremental time is minimal.
Besides, this is a moot point, because it is impossible to complete the recommended maintenance using ramps, since you can't rotate the tires.
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- Occupied Calif.
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- 2019 CX 5 GT-R
I have a set of Rhino Ramps that I have been very pleased with. The only issue is that they can slip on a smooth cement garage floor. I solved that by buying a cheap rubber backed bath mat, cut it lengthwise in half and then put it rubber side down under the ramps before driving up them.
My ramps are now 16 years old. There have been reports of them failing but it is unknown under what their storage conditions had been, So I inspect them carefully each time before use and place jackstands under the car as safety backups.
Regarding tire rotations: My floor jack isn't low profile enough to use. I'll just pay Discount Tires or another shop to do it. Not a big expense.
My ramps are now 16 years old. There have been reports of them failing but it is unknown under what their storage conditions had been, So I inspect them carefully each time before use and place jackstands under the car as safety backups.
Regarding tire rotations: My floor jack isn't low profile enough to use. I'll just pay Discount Tires or another shop to do it. Not a big expense.
Your floor jack isn't low profile enough to get under a Mazda CX-5???
Virtually any floor not designed for a monster truck should work.
A big advantage of doing your own routine maintenance is avoiding the time/hassle/cost/incompetence of using a shop.
Changing your own oil, then having to take your car into a shop to complete the maintenance, seems far from ideal.
Don't forget that some of us have said we've had our ramps for 15 years or more, back when oil changes were 3,000-4,000 miles and tire rotations were double that. I would rotate tires when needed using a jack corner to corner (with the spare used in the rotation to hold the first corner until I came back to it). Also gave me a chance to check the air pressure in the spare. And if it was 20 degrees out, the tire rotation could wait. I'd let the tires go 10,000 miles before I would skip an oil change. Doesn't make much difference, assuming your alignment is good. And it's not a reason to deny a warranty claim.
If you use a Fumoto drain valve, the ramps also get you high enough to slip a 5-qt jug under there and drain the sump right into that.
Not everyone has a driveway that is safe for jack stands. Some are too soft, some are sloped. Maybe you don't even have a driveway - no way I'm putting a car on jack stands by the curb where anyone could drive into it when I'm underneath. The ramps are just another inexpensive tool that is nice to have when needed.
If you use a Fumoto drain valve, the ramps also get you high enough to slip a 5-qt jug under there and drain the sump right into that.
Not everyone has a driveway that is safe for jack stands. Some are too soft, some are sloped. Maybe you don't even have a driveway - no way I'm putting a car on jack stands by the curb where anyone could drive into it when I'm underneath. The ramps are just another inexpensive tool that is nice to have when needed.
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- Denver, CO
Too low to the ground for me. I get a bit claustrophobic as it is with my Rhino ramps.
To OP: Been very happy with my Rhino ramps so far.
