mclaren and a 4 post lift

I am looking to get a 4 post lift, and thinking a McLaren is in my near future... I am wondering if the doors would hit the upper ramp of the lift If the McLaren is parked on the floor below the lifted car... anyone have a lift that can tell me if this is a problem? The car I plan on keeping on the lift, really needs to be on the lift and not on the floor...so cant switch

 

yes they will hit, but they open enough where you can get in. I place a rag where it touches to protect the door

 

Yes I have a 570GT and the window will hit the upper ramp when the mclaren is parked below.
You just need to be aware of it and open carefully or place towel over the glass where it touches.
another option might be self stick foam block at the contact point on the lifts ramps. I might do that as well.

 

thanks guys may I ask your lift height? about what height is your upper ramp off the floor....and which 4 post lift you have

 

Exactly right, just be careful. I would let my passenger out first then pull in.

 

I've been looking at a 4-post for my 720 to take top bunk. I'd be interested in seeing photos of anyone that's got it set up.

 

If I remember tonight ill get that info to you.

 

I have test-parked my 675LT Spider under my BendPak HD-9ST car lifter (a compact model) and the LT's door cannot clear the tracks even though I had the tracks up at 65" off the floor. Good thing my Cali30 fits fine under the lift and has normal doors. My LT has to be on top.

My older garage is on the small side (ceiling is around 122" where the car doors are) so I had to use this compact 4-poster but if you have a 132" garage ceiling or higher you may be able to clear the doors because maximum rise of all the HD-9 lifts, including the HD-9ST, is supposed to be "70". If I had my lift set to 70", my LT's doors will likely clear. If your garage doors are wider than 7' you can also use a wider lift - the bolts on the platform feet will ruin your rims if you brush them accidentally. This (see below) is what I had to do to prevent that from happening - NOBODY tells you this when you buy a lift but the bolts on the floor are necessary but hazardous.

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I placed movable foam "curtains" to guide my entry and exit because I cannot see the bolts from behind the steering wheel. The curtains are high enough in my line of sight so I can see them move if I touch them (notice they provide about 1.5 inch clearance from the bolts). I only have 2-3 inches to spare if I am to avoid touching the bolts at base of the lift posts. The posts of the 4-post car lifter have to be leveled to the garage floor with shims and the shims can raise the base platform of a post by 1-2 inches. Some bolts are in addition, 2 inches above the platforms, meaning the obstacle can be 3-4 inches high, definitely high enough to scratch a large rim with low-profile tires.

I use a pair of curtains at each post because the posts are big enough that I have to use one curtain to guide backing up and the other to guide driving out.

RECOMMENDATION - when I spoke to BandPak they said they normally send someone to your home to measure the site and determine clearance for your car before you order a lift. We don't have this service in Canada (they just send the installer to check the garage, not the cars). You should have the lifter's seller perform actual measurements because you don't want to be responsible for an error in fitting the lift to your garage or your cars - you will OWN your bad purchase. I took many months to personally identify flaws with other lifts and determine how to fit my lift by means of several scale diagrams I created - no one will do this for you. My LT also has slightly different doors from the 570S and 720S models so my experiences may not exactly apply.

CAUTION - you will likely (99.99999%) need custom ramps if you have a MAC or an Fcar. The BendPak ramps weight a ton and are only only good for ordinary cars, SUVs and pickups, designed for a service shop, not a homeowner with exotic cars. Race Ramps offer special lightweight ramps and can make custom ones too. The cross bars across the front of narrow lifts also create yet another serious hazard to your wheels so use a wide lift if your garage is wide enough. It will save you a ton of hassles.

 

thanks for the info