Time is money, boys & girls and you probably could do something similar, better, whatever for less out-of-pocket, but what is your time worth? FF is in business and needs to make a profit, so buy it if you like it and don't if you don't. Or better yet, if you can do better, do it and sell it to everyone else at the cheap price.

And Casey, you better not look down your nose too hard at Harbor Freight. The Chinese are coming on strong and many, many Harbor Freight products are quite good. I use their Aluminum jacks and electric impact wrenches pretty vigorously with no ill effect at all. Some of the Chinese calipers are great. And Harbor Freight has these aluminum jack stands that are to die for in the race trailer - you can carry 4 of them around in one hand.

oh-oh - hijacking thread. I will stop now. While the harbor freight aluminum jacks might work well for the hobbyist mechanic/weekend racer, they don't fair so well in a professional shop where they reieve constant usage. I've gone through 4 of them in a span of mthree months. I gave up and just bought a snap-on aluminum jack and it has worked without a problem for a year now. Even J.C.Whitney sells them including the low voltage bypass to keep the alarm/radio/ECU powered. I bought this very part two weeks ago and still have not received it. JC Whitney is SLLLOOOWWW and their order tracking sucks. The green knob is available from lots of different places, however - just do a google search for "green knob"... Not nearly as nice looking as the FF bit, but equally as functional - and the relay is nice for keeping the alarm going while in the "off" position, thought I'm sure someone with any sort of electrical know-how could wire up a relay to the FF model as well - all you need is a fuse and a wire.

-continued hijack-

I bought some new alum jackstands today from Pep Boys... for the UberClam project. I think they are awesome. $50 a pair. A bit pricey, but they look sweet.

Did you really think you can post this picture without explaining what's going on in the background? -continued hijack-

I bought some new alum jackstands today from Pep Boys... Are they as steady as regular jackstands?

I first saw a pair of similar ones at Harbor Freight - but they only came as a package with one of their jacks (which I didn't need).

I've also seen similar ones from Snap-On (although they were branded their cheaper brand name - blue something).

I like the fact that they have the flat top, and may just be perfect for holding up an Elise... While the harbor freight aluminum jacks might work well for the hobbyist mechanic/weekend racer, they don't fair so well in a professional shop where they reieve constant usage. I've gone through 4 of them in a span of mthree months. I gave up and just bought a snap-on aluminum jack and it has worked without a problem for a year now.

Well your right. I use it at home. For prof shop, and i think most people here are referring to this, a "real" jack is needed. Such as a Snap-On etc. I used to use them back in the day when I worked as a mechanic in a reostoration shop.

-C Did you really think you can post this picture without explaining what's going on in the background?
I concur ! Sorry, it was part of the joke here. That SLR is a ChaseCam customer that is getting his car outfittted with cameras for the Gumball next month in Europe.

The jackstands are something called Big Red from Torin.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...3386_200313386

Nice features include the detent ball on the pin. The sliding sections lock in and don't fall out. They are light. The fit right on the jacking points once you remove the diffusers.