If you're not a professional mechanic, odds are you don't have a four-post lift in your garage. In fact, you probably don't have a garage at all and need to work on things in the driveway or supermarket parking lot. Fortunately, these jack stands convert any space into a makeshift workshop in about five minutes.
One of the biggest issues when you're in the middle of an ambitious project is access and space. If you have a lowered car or need to do something that requires lots of clearance from underneath, like installing a new exhaust, driveline, or transmission, every inch counts. That's why these collapsible, 4-post jack stands, by Lift Stand, Inc. seem like such a great idea: they give you way more working room than any stand you can buy at a local auto parts store, and eliminate the very real risk of stands failing and turning you into a stain on your own driveway. Here's a video of the stands in action:
Pricing and ordering information oddly isn't available on their website, but through the power of Google, I found a few internet forums where the price is revealed to be $260 shipped per pair, or $520 shipped for a set of four. They're not the cheapest tools to buy, but when thousands of pounds are literally suspended inches above your head, it's best not to cheap out.
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.
You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He won't mind.