After years of raising my S197 from the front and/or the rear with a jack and stands, I was looking for a different method for the '16 GT350 I picked up. The front is rather low for a jack and I wasn't keen on jacking from the IRS pumpkin either. That leaves the pinch weld, which is fine when you lift from the factory specified areas. Many have used "puck" style devices with success but I was looking for something that would allow jack placement anywhere along the pinch weld as well as the capability to place jack stands there as well. Enter BMR's jacking rails. As the listing on their site puts it...
BMR said:
Powdercoated in a near matching red hue (black hammertone available as well), the 3/16" laser-cut 1.5"x2" steel boxed tubing fit my needs perfectly. A 100% bolt-on that allows quick tire/brake servicing and that can be removed by pulling four bolts out per side, dropping the rails, and reinserting the bolts. Some may balk at the mere thought of adding weight to a GT350 and I hear your cries. The tradeoff for me is the increased utility as well as a slight increase in rigidity and in this case the added weight is as low as possible and evenly distributed between the front and the back.
Installation is quick and simple. Raise and secure the vehicle, then locate the four bolts per side that need to be removed as per BMR's instructions. I started on the passenger side, by holding the shorter of the two rails up and in place to note where any seam sealer might intrude.
A sharp wood chisel worked well for me as the sealer was still relatively soft. No hammer blows needed, just some carefully applied pressure and the necessary chunks came right off.
I then coated the entire area that would be in contact with the rail with some clear as the paint ranges from thin to non-existent.
I'm a big fan of factory hardware instead of generic nuts and bolts so I had no problem reusing the original fasteners. I removed the factory installed medium thread-locker and then added a couple of drops of Blue Loctite on each bolt just prior to their re-installation.
Bolts were torqued to the recommended 63 ft/lbs. Driver side install mirrors that of the passenger side. Boom, done.
You have to crouch down fairly low to notice the boxed tubing. In the case of the near matching colors used here I think few will ever notice.
Note that the "ends" of each welded assembly are rotated slightly relative to the long run of tubing in between. This allows the ends to follow the factory stamping which is at an angle relative to the floor. This meant BMR could fuse the center sections at an angle closer to level, a really good idea.:thumbsup:
I wanted to see how much the tubing visibly deflected, if at all, so I raised my newly installed low-rise lift and placed some rubber blocks at various locations under the rails. I'm here to report these are indeed, rock solid.
In summary, this was a very satisfying mod. I don't have to worry about trashing the factory pinch weld and can now get the car up in the air with relative ease, no matter where I am. Kelly and the crew at BMR did a great job designing and manufacturing the rails. As someone who fabricated in the field for nearly thirty years I can honestly say these are very well done. Production welding sometimes can be sloppy and haphazard - not here.
Good stuff.
Last edited:
