Low profile car ramps?

[Chrismawa]

Does anyone have any recommendations? I currently have a set of KATSU plastic ramps and they are great, however they are too steep for my SEAT LCR to go up them. I've tried using wood to make the ramp "less steep", but the wood moves, slips off or jumps up when you move on and off it, so not ideal. I use the ramps a lot as jacking up is a pain due to my drive being gravel and the road is soft tarmac.

So far I have found these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265508928545 - Does anyone have any experience with these?

Any help would be great thanks.

[Krikkit]

A mate of mine had some exactly like that for his rally car, took years of abuse, last time I saw him he still had them after 5+ years of club rallying and home tinkering etc.

Only negative is they don't stack to reduce storage volume.

[aeropilot]

Loads of different types on the Demon Tweeks website....

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/motorsport/pit-pad...

[Chrismawa]

aeropilot said:

Loads of different types on the Demon Tweeks website....

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/motorsport/pit-pad...

Not for under £200 there isn't unfortunately. Don't want to spend a huge amount. Only possible ones is there https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/b-g-racing-mid-ris... But no mention of what the angle is. The rest of the ramps don't lift high enough to work under.

I'm going to measure up the clearance on my car tonight and that should tell me if the ones I first posted are suitable.

[aeropilot]

Chrismawa said:

aeropilot said:

Loads of different types on the Demon Tweeks website....

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/motorsport/pit-pad...

Not for under £200 there isn't unfortunately. Don't want to spend a huge amount.

You missed that bit in the OP..........

[Mr MXT]

Could you DIY a set, thus:

[brillomaster]

how high are you trying to go? these ones are a lot cheaper than the aluminium ones, still look plenty low profile to me...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184288756544

[Chrismawa]

brillomaster said:

how high are you trying to go? these ones are a lot cheaper than the aluminium ones, still look plenty low profile to me...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184288756544

High enough to get under and drain oil etc, these aren't high enough.

[Chrismawa]

aeropilot said:

You missed that bit in the OP..........

Ah yes sorry about that!

[Panamax]

Mr MXT said:

Could you DIY a set, thus:

Yup, those look pretty much identical to mine.

[Chrismawa]

Panamax said:

Yup, those look pretty much identical to mine.

What size would have you both used to make these?

[Richard-390a0]

I've got some cheapo ramps & a set of these too.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/12217-sealey-car20...

[Olivergt]

Chrismawa said:

Panamax said:

Yup, those look pretty much identical to mine.

What size would have you both used to make these?

If you want to make your own, I would measure the width of your tyre, maybe add another inch or so to get X, and then get some planks that are X x 1 inch.

Many ways to connect together, nails, screws of simply wood glue, I would probably use a bit of glue and some nails, simple and durable.

They won't be light and easy to move around though once completed, so make sure you have somewhere to store them.

[mmm-five]

How about a couple of sheet metal plates to put on the gravel/tarmac so you can securely/safely lift/support the car?

Might be easier than trying to find ramps that are:

• Low profile
• Low angle of attack
• High rise
• Safe for use on loose gravel drive
• Under £200

BTW, have you worked out the angles you want/need, to see if they'd need to be 20ft long to accommodate your needs?

Or how about one of those inflatable jacks that work on rough/uneven surfaces?

Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 8th February 13:44

[hellorent]

Try wrapping a length of carpet round your ramps so you drive onto carpet 1st then
on to ramp, this should stop it slipping/moving

[Tommo87]

The alternative approach is to jack up the front on the car and slide the ramps underneath.

It totally misses the purpose of ramps, but you get the same result.

[E-bmw]

These are excellent & not expensive.

Just enough to then get a jack under a lowered car.

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/laser-tools-low-ri...

[anonymous-user]

Panamax said:

Mr MXT said:

Could you DIY a set, thus:

Yup, those look pretty much identical to mine.

Same here as my car wouldnt go up standard steel ramps, so i made a set of 4 from some wood.

[Ice_blue_tvr]

The problem of a low car is compounded when using low entry ramps on that they usually don't give you much height to get under an already low car.

You are better off with some metal ramps and some 2" x 4" resting on one of the rungs each side

Or something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005BP3QW8/ref=cm_sw_r...

Alternatively those low profile ramps with bottle Jack's built into the end.

[Panamax]

Chrismawa said:

What size would have you both used to make these?

Width is about 12" (30 cm) to allow for fat tyres and a bit of leeway.

Length is all about how low your car sits to the ground. As a rough rule of thumb I'd suggest half the wheelbase (distance between front an back axle) for the first layer.

Height can be tricky - see below.

Where things get sensitive is where you want the car "lifted and level" for an oil change, so you want to get both ends up onto ramps at the same time. If you reverse onto your ramps you can often get away with a steeper slope for the rear wheels than for the front wheels, although you need to allow for ramp length accordingly.