As we all know, the market is flooded with cheap Chinese aluminum racing jacks. After two racing seasons of abusive street-to-Rs-back-to-street wheel changes nearly every weekend, plus service and mod use at home, my Torin "Big Red" is leaking, creaking and groaning more than me after shoveling out my driveway this weekend. Also, various bits have started falling off. Of the jack. Not me (yet).
I guess I could have popped for less than $100 bucks to get another disposable jack. But I like nice tools and believe that, with racing equipment, you have a better chance of it working when you really need it if you do not go the absolute cheapest route possible. I have been blessed this year with work, so my budget permitted consideration of sources other than the usual "Red Menace" COSCO, Harbor Freight and Northern Tools inventory.
So this time around, I went looking for a more durable, better engineered and built racing jack, that can stand up to very frequent and heavy use on my FFR coupe, and my ultra-low GXP. My research led me to professional pit equipment vendors, Winston Cup, NASCAR, etc. I learned that, while they may superfically look similar, there are big differences in aluminum racing jacks. As always, you get what you pay for. While the price point of the cheap Chinese junk is nice, often the quality and engineering is, well, not so much.
On the other hand, a top of the line three-pump Brunnhoezel or Pace jack can run well over $1,000. I do not need that kind of speed, and that price point is too high for a service jack, even for me.
I settled on a mid-price professional quality racing jack. a Zinko ZSJ-13A 1.3 ton. Its made by a Japanese company but manufactured in Taiwan to their specs. Thus, while still not US made, it was designed and made somewhere that at least resembles a democracy (per CIA Factbook). Its retail list is $611, but was about $518, shipping included, on sale from Automotive Service Equipment, out of California. It has many great features.
One of them is an incredibly low 2.4" saddle height, and a slim, contoured saddle: low enough to fit under my slammed Sol without blocking the front wheels. Another is that it meets ANSI specs, and is made of very nice billet aluminum. It weighs in at 38 pounds, and with a trim 24x12x6" sillouhette, it will easily fit in the cargo box of my tire trailer, along with the two piece breakdown aluminum handle.
But I did not really appreciate how nice it is until it arrived yesterday. It is very low and sleek. It uses a single hydraulic cylinder that is freaking huge. Fit and finish is wonderful; nice semi-gloss black powder coating on the frame, with the arm finished in bead blasted satin silver. On the jacking arm, there are cross pieces between the two sides, drilled to save weight, that stabilize the arm against lateral movement (distressing amounts of which I have seen on the Torin). These are place at angles so that they are level when the jack is extended. The front one pivots. Just one of many very well thought out and executed details. Another: It comes with a pin that locks the handle yoke in the down position so that it lies flat for travel.
I took some pictures:
Zinko Aluminim Racing Jack ZSJ-13A
http://www.asedeals.com/zinko_aluminum_racing_jacks.htmlSpecifications:
Capacity (Tons): 1.3
G) Handle Length (in): 42
B) Hydr. Lift (in): 15 1/4
A) Min. Height (in): 2 1/4 (!)
C) Overall Lift Height (in): 17 3/8
D) Chassis Length (in): 24
E) Chassis Width (in): 11 3/4
F) Height of Frame (in): 6
Shipping Weight (lbs): 40
Country of origin: Taiwan
