RhinoRamps 8000
 

Does anyone know if the RhinoRamps will clear the front end of a stock 370Z?

Canadian Tire

Amazon.com: Blitz Rhino Ramp 8000: Automotive

I'm also highly interested in this product. Anyone have any experience with this on a similar low profile vehicle like the Z?

I think you should be able to clear if you lay down a piece of 2X4 before the ramp

Can't speak for the 370 per se, but my 350, trans am, and vettes all cleared them.

I just tried it on my 370 and it cleared it just fine. Saves so much time changing my oil

Thats good, I was planning on buying the race ramps b/c they are only a 10.75 degree incline, but I have a pair of older Rhinos, and the definitely did not work, the chin spoiler would have to be removed.

Problem with the Race Ramps is they are 3 times the price :mad: but I will have to get them once the car is lowered on coil overs.
http://www.raceramps.com/56raceramps.html

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but shouldn't the car be level for oil changes?

Ideally yes, but it really depends where the sump drain plug is. If it is in the back of the sump then there is no problem. If it is in the front or on the side then you are potentially leaving a lot of oil behind.

Obviously it should be on level ground when you check the dipstick.

If you don't want to lift the front end you could always use the pump that sucks the oil out through the dipstick tube, it's very popular with BMW's and Porsche.

Looking at the service manual, the drain plug appears to be on the side. I was planning to lift the car up both front and rear and set it on jack stands. These ramps look more convenient, but I don't want to leave old oil undrained, hence my question. Too bad the drain isn't facing rearwards. Thanks for answering!

Edit: I forgot to add -- I thought about using an evacuator to suck the oil out from the top, but I'm replacing my drain plug with a magnetic one, and the whole point of those is for the magnet to catch any metallic debris not caught by the filter. Point being, it'd kinda defeat the purpose if I never removed the plug and cleaned it off, so I may was well drain the oil the old-fashioned way.

Well it still somewhat sits on the back side :confused:

FYI I picked up some Rhino Ramps recently for my 370Z. I went with the 12K ones since I'll be using them for other cars too, but they're the same slope angle. Another reason you might want to use the 12K is they're wider. Even with the 12K model, there's not a lot of clearance tire-width-wise.

If you don't have the Sport package's front spoilers (the long one as well as the two little ones in front of the front wheel wells) you might be able to use the Rhino Ramps as-is. However, to clear the little spoilers in front of the wheel wells, I found that I needed to place some boards in front of the ramps. You could probably do it with a peice of 2x4 at each, but since I was at the hardware store anyways, I had them cut up some 1x8 and 2x8 for me into 2ft pieces. Lay those sideways and you get nice little 1" steps to the ramp and avoid spoiler clearance issues.

The clearance provided by the ramps was adequate for me to work in the front-middle of the car (I used the ramps to torque the two bottom-rear header bolts and the rest of the front part of the exhaust), but obviously without jacking up the rear you'll have issues working underneath the rear half of the car.

Speaking of oil changes, that's my plan for those as well: drive onto the rhino ramps, then use a jack to raise the rear of the car to level it out again.

I bought a 4 post lift from a company called direct for 2k. Great investment if you want to keep 2 cars in 1 spot and you like to do your own maintenance.

Actually it looks like the location might work where it is for slight angles. I'll have to see if I can find a picture of the oil pan, but it looks like there is a groove in the back that would direct oil to the drain on left.

this may be a dumb question.. but regarding keeping the car level during oil changes.. would it be smart or safe haha if you reversed the car into a garage.. then put the ramps on the driveway (assuming its slanted) that way you can drive the car forward onto the ramps and the car will still be somewhat level?

Guys do a search for takata ramps

I did a quick search on those takata ramps and we seems somewhat obsolete for most of us since I'm sure most of have enough clearance to utilize a jack. Also the ramp doesn't give enough lift for anybody to climb under.

I like ramps as opposed to jacks. I've never seen a jar that's been jacked up where you couldn't tell it was jacked up. And I don't have any issues getting my body under there. :shrug:

Reviving this one...

I bought some Rhino Ramps (12000lb ones... they were wider than the 8000) today and they worked pretty well.

Really? I have the 8000s and my front fascia won't clear them. I know the 12's are wider, but I think the angle is the same as the 8's (?).

Yeah, it's the same. I think I hit them just a tad on the way up but wasn't too worried...

So they worked "pretty well." :hello:

I have the 8k's and they work well, unless sports pkg Z's have a bottom lip I'm not aware about.

The front corners of my fascia rub into the ramps. So it's not the front spoiler or anything. It's the actual bottoms of the fascia at the corners. Interesting. I wonder why we get different results. molamann, I take it you don't have the sport pkg? I wonder if you have a tad more height, which is possible if the overall diameter of the 18" front tires is greater than those of the 19's.

Yeah, I just have the plain Touring pkg. How do I go about measuring the height of the car? Can I just measure the diameter of the tires?

Yeah, that's what happened. The very bottom of the front fascia will rub when you first start to go up the ramps.

I will check later to see if it actually scuffed or something. It didn't look like a big deal so I got on with it.

The overall diameter of the front 18s is 26.8 inches.
Yokohama

The overall diameter of the front 19s is also 26.8 inches.
Sizes and Specifications

So I don't know. Our front height should be exactly the same. You sure it's not touching your front fascia and you're just not aware of it? The only reason I know is because I did a 'test fit' by jacking up the front end then sliding the ramps under the tires. If I just winged it and tried driving up the ramps, I might not have noticed. *shrug*

Since the drain is on the side, is this method possible?

Lift 1 side up the side thats does not have the drain and put a jack stand under it.
Lift other side up that does have drain, put jack stand under it.

Let oil drain.

Lift up side with drain on it, remove jack stand and lower it a little bit and let the rest of the oil drain till you feel you have it all?
Lift it back up and put the jack stand back and continue like normal?

This a good idea or a bad idea?

I think it'd be a good idea for someone to do this at least once, as an experiment to see whether or not any more oil drains after dipping the drain-side (right hand side) down lower. If more oil comes out, then we know that it's necessary to do this in order to get every last drop out, so to speak. If no more oil comes out, then we'll know that it's unnecessary.

Having said all that, though, I don't think it's really necessary to go to such lengths. I mean, keep in mind that the majority of people are going to have someone else do their oil changes. If they take it to the dealership, it'll be up on a lift. If they take it to an express lube place, it'll stay on the ground. But in both cases the car will remain flat. Point being, I doubt that Nissan would have designed the oil pan to retain a bunch of oil when drained while flat.

well i plan on changing my oil my self, but mine wont be flat sadly, i will either have ramps or i will have jack stands.

Im kind of thinking jack stands may be easyer

I have ordered a set of Rhino ramps 12000, will see how they work. There is a video of AK in his oil DIY going up a set I believe.

I'm thinking elevating the whole car with four jack stands. Completely level, enough clearance, and safe.

^That's how I do it. A bit of a pita though.

i was thinking about digging a trench in my yard and then driving over it. lol home made quick lube place.

If your arms are long enough to reach the 4 rear bolts of the plastic cover to remove it, and you buy a shallow oil drain pan, you can change the oil on this car without lifting it at all. I've already done it once this way in my garage: http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...html#post68857

Note though that my car is still at stock suspension height. A lowered car might make this impossible.

I have long slender monkey arms actualy. will read your thread