johnd64

I am reading in the manual about where the lift points are but my dilemma is if one uses a hydraulic jack to lift the car from the lift point is there a recommended location (or enough room) where I can place a stand?
Is it better to lift the car using the car jack and then support it at the lift points using stands?I don't want to damage the underside by supporting it in the wrong place.(2007 S8)Some pictures would be great.Usually I drive my vehicles on ramps just because of this issue.

Thanks

MP4.2+6.0

See the picture. Up front I center a (floor) jack right under that bump you see hanging down on the metal plate that bridges from the body bolt point to a rear subframe mount. I have done it the whole life of my W12, and did it the whole life of my C5 A6 4.2 (same basic weight as a D3 4.2).

On the C5, I used to take the jack cup off, just put a rag on the jack surface and raised it up. That also did a nice job of locking that bump you see into the jack to eliminate any possibility of sliding on the jack surface, or of the teeth of a deep steel jack cup hitting surrounding areas.

On the W12, I use your typical Harbor Freight type aluminum floor jack now. It has a flat rubber pad built in. On top of that, I have added a flat quasi hard plastic type pad that fits exactly over that top area.

Net, I find that works great and have for many years. It is completely behind the front wheel, so well out of the way. You can get the belly pan off no problem. If I pull a wheel, I just slide it under the jacked up car for very practical support in lieu of a jack stand. If wheels stay on, I have a handful of wood blocks of various sizes that just live outside that I slide under a jacked up wheel/tire; use the 4x ones as wheel chocks in other situations too. If I use jack stands separately, I have available a variety of places around the subframe. Years ago, I opted against relying on the sill jack points. Back on C3's they were flimsy for starters, and another time I lowered the floor jack onto a protective jack stand in the lower sill area and made a nice big dent. On the Q5, there is literally no other choice up front (RS5 apparently has same issue), but there I have found another hard plastic add on with a groove down the center that rests on the jack pad area. Minis and at least some BMWs-especially if you have more aggressive sill moldings--use something similar, with kind of a rectangular peg like protrusion that fits into their car jack points.

On the rear, total sacrilege I may get flamed for, but frankly with the same floor jack with the rubber and plastic covering to protect parts, I go right for the center, under that aluminum cross support under the rear diff. Not the diff, but the cross piece. Jack cup area needs to be flat, correctly centered and protected to not chew that part/area up. Again, done it many, many times now, on multiple Audis. No deformation or anything like that. Likewise, I just slip wheels under if they come off, or I jack stand it at a subframe bolt up point or something similar; I put blocks under tires if I have it up with wheels on and want to get under for something like a rear brake fluid flush. If it's my Q5 or any minivan I have owned, I instead jack it from under the center box area of the (Class II (heavier duty)) hitch.

Like you BTW, I also ramp it if I need to do a lot of work underneath (beyond like an oil change). For example tranny work, belt work, extensive multiple fluids changes, etc. In either case, I always use the lift mode setting on the suspension, and if I jack it, of course jack mode. On your S8, you will be somewhat lower than me, so jack clearance in front will be tight even in lift mode. Either find a low jack height option, or just drive the car wheel on a 2x12 or similar block before jacking.

mishar

SS_RTR

Mishar, Are those 2 or 3 ton jacks in the picture? Shopping on Harbor Freight, I was looking at the 2-ton vs 3-ton but noticed the 3 ton jacks need another 1/2" minimum clearance @ 3.75".

Petahs

I use the 3 ton version from harbor freight.

johnd64

Thank you guys for the info and for the pictures.After reading the manual it sounds like the lift point is somewhere near the jacking location but the cover goes over it so it's hard to identify.(maybe by pressing).I will use your setup but I'd be a little nervous having the car sit on that bump but you guys are still alive so it must work.Do you lift the car with its jack and then you use the stands at those locations?

MP4.2+6.0

If that is what you mean. It is more another nod to an aluminum component. Did not inspire confidence the one time I used it for a flat, this past summer. I regard it, and many Audi standard jacks historically, as kind of dangerous. They are known to collapse and pretty easily shift side to side and start to lean if the parking brake wheels are not firmly on the ground. Should be a hydraulic floor jack for any serious or repeated work, which instead maybe is what you are asking to confirm?

The part with the bump we are showing is very robust. It is spanning from the body to the main engine subframe area. Used it probably hundreds of times now, and as a W12 mine is the porker of all North America D3s. I'm using it as a direct jack point (and did on my prior Audi too), while in Misha's picture he is using the standard sill jack point apparently. Then the one I use is just his jack stand point. Because I put entire wheels under mine for safety, I typically leave mine up on on the floor jack, and the wheel is my back up for any jack failure. I typically jack just one side in front, while Misha is demonstrating two. To do both sides on mine takes a while and I put the jack stands in other places involving the subframe, and then the belly pan has to come off first. I don't own two floor jacks. In that case I put full weight onto the jack stands (have a pair of those), and mine have the same U sort of top as Misha's and are heavy steel like his. I prefer locking them more into the subframe area (like at the roll bar clamp points) because they can't slide side to side in any easy way if car gets rocked. That bump area can be somewhat vulnerable to that. If I put full weight on a jack stand there, I would prefer the aluminum column type that I have seen--those have more of a round top with a rubber pad of sorts, more like my floor jack business end. Misha can tell you if he keeps the weight on his floor jacks, or puts it onto the jack stands in his approach.

chokboywonda

My standard Audi jack slipped when i was lowering. Had to call a guy to bring another jack as it was wedge into the under trim.

johnd64

Sounds like I won't be using the jack that comes with the car.Good to know.
I will make some pieces of wood that fit in the slot for the jack and lift it with a hydraulic jack that I have.Are 2 ton stands good enough to support the front?

NightOwl

Normally you will use a stand in each corner of the car, or two in the front or rear. The whole car is about two tons, so two ton stands should be fine.