Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

Experience of driving 997.2 PDK onto car ramps

m1kegibson

Well-known member
Joined
15 Dec 2013
Messages
124
I am wondering whether anyone has any experience of driving a car with PDK transmission onto a set of car ramps?

A little background. I want to be able to do some work under my car, including oil changes, but my driveway has an incline. I need to raise the rear by around 200mm/8" to level the car to perform oil change and give space to investigate a minor oil "sweat" reported by the OPC. I am not keen on the idea of using jack/stands as these would be off vertical and I don't trust chocks on the front wheels as the only "brake" when the rear is off the ground.

It seems to me that the best option would be some decent ramps (possibly Race Ramps or even home-made). I'd be 100% happy with this plan if I had a manual, however, even when warm, creeping a short distance, especially over an incline is not the smoothest operation with a PDK when a bit of gas is required.

Consequently, I am wondering whether anyone has any experience of using ramps and whether it's a hair-raising experience; or not. Equally, anyone have any other hints or tips.
 
Personally i don't feel it's safe .. i'm not a big fan of these ramps .. with a PDK then you are going to be moving at a bit of speed due to the nature of this box ... the ramps may well slip .

whether the ramp is at the top or the bottom of the incline i still dont think its safe.

If it was me .. i would have someone inside the car .. foot on the brake and jack it onto the ramps .. front brakes will stop it rolling with the brake pedal depressed ..

You still need to secure it when on the ramps though .. in gear perhaps with handbrake on and chocks... maybe even a rod to hold the brake pedal depressed .

In short though .. i don't like this idea on anything other than lvl ground so its at your own risk and i don't advise it just to save some money by diy .
 
I have the same issue of my drive being on an incline, but compound as where I work on the cars also slopes away sideways a little.

I jack the rear of the cars up with handbrake on and in gear and drop the wheels down onto 4" concrete building blocks, 2 per side, plenty of room to slide under for oil changes etc :thumb:
 
Never had an issue driving up my 911 turbo on rhino ramps... PDK is easier than a manual car, IMO. Steady gas, go slow and secure the car after.
 
I have the Race Ramps 67 XT-2. These are incredibly strong and light yet unlike plastic cheaper ramps are made of a resin foam blend which is used in runways so will not slip along a concrete floor, nor bend under weight. Perfect solution for your car. My 991 with PASM suspension goes up these perfectly. Being split ramps also enables you to remove the long ramp section to work on the side of the car should you so wish. As these are the 67 version the incline to the top of the ramp is gradual so suitable for our cars. The width on the 67 is wider enough for front and rear tyres on our cars. Mine is a PDK car also , I have no problems driving up these.

I just line them up to the front or rear of the car, start to drive up, jump out and double check alignment then carry on. When you reach the top of the ramp there is a signifiant bump stop which you will feel. The PDK transmission allows you to crawl up the ramp easily. Much much much safer than jack stands.

Not cheap but money well spent. I got mine from Demon Tweeks in the UK, give them a call and see if you can get a discount, especially if buying the 67 as the 56 is more popular. ( shorter incline and not as wide ).

Being the split version also makes for easy storage!

Highly recommended.

I have included some pics to give you and idea. You can see how light they are in that I can hold one half with one finger.

All the best Jungle
 

Attachments

  • 9b513e45_b315_4820_b7b8_18695ddeac0e_167.jpeg
    9b513e45_b315_4820_b7b8_18695ddeac0e_167.jpeg
    719.1 KB · Views: 1,385
  • 66ab4a2b_2729_44d6_8c02_1f55220942f8_601.jpeg
    66ab4a2b_2729_44d6_8c02_1f55220942f8_601.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 1,385
  • 1862032e_4cd2_4d99_a0e7_2e4628e5a2b2_209.jpeg
    1862032e_4cd2_4d99_a0e7_2e4628e5a2b2_209.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 1,385
  • 73338807_4c8f_4b8a_b6d0_b828dead203b_959.jpeg
    73338807_4c8f_4b8a_b6d0_b828dead203b_959.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 1,385
Race Ramps are very good, but if you're DIY'ing to save money, bear in mind that they cost nearly £400, and of course you still can't use them to work on wheel-off jobs such as brakes.
When my 997 was inspected recently, the mobile mechanic used a ramp that slid under the car and was then raised with an electric motor. A sort of mobile scissor lift I suppose. They cost £1000+ though.
My drive slopes gently front-to-back and side-to-side and he was quite happy to work under the car with it on this scissor lift.

Any chance you could find a friendly garage that would let you use their ramps in return for some beer tokens?
 
Indeed. I got my 67 RR for £300 inc of postage. The scissor lift type ramps used to be several thousand pounds plus...last time I looked, they have come down in cost probably due to competition from Chinese copies ... thats got be a good thing for the DIYer and hobbyist detailer!

Something like this is ofcourse another option.. as always if you keep increasing the budget there are always bigger and better options !

https://www.autoliftproduction.com/autolift3000

I guess you just need to decide what your budget is if not making a DIY item...£100, £300 - 400 or over £1000. no price on safety though so very good you are thinking about these things.

Jungle
 
m1kegibson said:
I am wondering whether anyone has any experience of driving a car with PDK transmission onto a set of car ramps?
...
I'd be 100% happy with this plan if I had a manual, however, even when warm, creeping a short distance, especially over an incline is not the smoothest operation with a PDK when a bit of gas is required.

Consequently, I am wondering whether anyone has any experience of using ramps and whether it's a hair-raising experience; or not. Equally, anyone have any other hints or tips.

I can't speak to your incline situation, but on my flat driveway I've backed my PDK car up onto Race Ramps many times.

You're starting position is with the wheels at the ramp edge (under no circumstances do you take some form of 'a run at it').

Have a spotter ready to call out as the wheels crest onto the flat part of the ramps. They shouldn't wait to call out until you're fully on, they call out as you're at the cresting point.

Cover the brake pedal with your left foot, so your reaction time is quicker.

Applying gentle throttle, with every so slowly increasing pressure, it will start to reverse up the ramps.

Yes the first time you do this will feel disconcerting. And it's a given it'll take you at least 3-4 attempts (or more) to go up the first time, but the car will go up. In fact, if it only took 1-2 attempts the first time, you're being too aggressive.

Just be gentle.

As the wheels crest onto the flat part, your spotter will shout out. Then hit the brake with the left foot - and you're done.

I've done it enough time now that I have a feel for it, and I don't need a spotter anymore.

Karl.
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,357
Messages
1,439,489
Members
48,717
Latest member
Atlas.997
Back
Top