[PRINCE THUNDERNIGHT]

So the four side jack points—behind the front wheels/in front of the rear wheels—do these have rubber/nylon pads for the jack head to make contact with? Or is it best to get something to cover the head of my shop jack so there's not possibility of scratching?

[danallxt]

those are a rubber type composition, but using car jacks will deform these after a few uses, there are special "pucks" made that fit inside those stock receptacles that you place on your jack. I've used em and they work fine.

[PRINCE THUNDERNIGHT]

You couldn’t post an Amazon link could you? 😃

[ryo-]

Originally Posted by PRINCE THUNDERNIGHT

You couldn’t post an Amazon link could you? 😃

https://burgertuning.com/collections...18340357636211

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Rub...6196916&sr=8-6

I'm not sure which one is better... but at least the 2nd one you can use with jack stands.

[MPR]

Buy this one. The part that goes in the groove is what lifts the car. Some of these have a nub that is too short and lift the car by the groove surround, if that makes sense, which is not what you want.

POTAUTO Universal Aluminum Jack... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K6VF5C0...p_mob_ap_share

[hooked]

I use these each season for my wheel changes:

https://modernspare.com/product/4000...nch-weld-head/

I use 2 to lift one side of the car, change both wheels, then move to the other side and repeat. I find it easier to do it this way when I'm changing the wheels out myself.

The picture of the head on the website is out of date. Below is what it actually looks like which is better. The entire head fits inside the BMW lift point socket. The hard rubber doesn't mar anything and the metal flange gives it extra strength. The head rotates freely.

[ggggbmw]

Using a jack pad adapter does save the jacking points from getting all torn up if you use a jack with a metal cup.

I have the Burger aluminum pad, but I never use it. Instead I have a pair of grey nylon ones I use instead that were less than half the price of the aluminum for the pair. Can't find them on Amazon anymore, but if you search 'bmw jack pad' you will find lots of cheap examples. A lighter color makes it easier to line things up because you can see it better.

Or, if you have a rubber pad on your jack that covers the entire width of the plastic jack pockets, you don't need a special jack pad. The problem only occurs if the metal cup edges on your jack dig into the plastic of the jack points. BMW shops/dealers don't use the jack pads, but they have wide rubber pads on their lifts that cover the entire lift socket on the car.

Same with jack stands. I use Esco jack stands that have a wide flat rubber cover that the lift point socket sits flat on. No chance of damage. The jack stand adapters linked above are interesting, but keep in mind that lining them up can get tricky. A large flat pad is easier than something that needs to fit into the lift point socket.

That said, I sometimes use an older pair of Y-top jack stands, and I just put one ear of the Y into the lift point socket. Trickier to line up, but it fits perfectly and I don't have any sketchy rubber bits in the middle to squirm off the top of the jack stand.