Wheel chocks absolutely necessary?
 

Just wondering, if I'm going to lift the car one corner at a time using a hydraulic floor jack and jack stands, do I absolutely need wheel chocks, or is this just an extra precaution? Is putting the car in first gear and using the emergency brake sufficient to prevent the car from moving much while one corner is lifted?

I just spent $200 in tools to change out my wheels and tires, and I'm hoping I have everything I need. If I do need the wheel chocks, approximately how much will they cost me? Thanks!

Use a brick, or a 4X4.......just use something. ( Sounds like a condom ad :D)

I just did the same thing....3 ton jack, 4 jack stands, torque wrench, and wheel chocks. The wheel chocks are the least expensive item @ ~$10.00-$15.00 and well worth the small price for the safety.

As people have said, they're cheap, and it's pretty easy to toss them under the wheel and take them out.

In my experience, just having the tranny in gear still allows the car to rock slightly, and there will be times when you are doing basic maintenance (like on the rear brakes) when you will not have the parking brake on. So you will need the chocks at that time.

When you have a front corner of the car up, both rear wheels are on the ground to keep the car from rolling, but when you have a rear corner up, only one is on the ground, and not always at the best angle.

And there will be times when you will have the complete rear-end jacked up to get to something, and you will definitely need chocks then.

---jps

I have two pieces of 2 by 12 that I use to drive on to elevate one side of the car to get the cheap floor jack under the car and give me room to operate the handle. I have two more pieces of 2 by 12 that I use to chock the non-lifted side's rear wheel. I think the 2 by 12 was about 10-14 bucks and the store cut it in four pieces for free. Makes swapping wheels much easier.

3 tonne jack = $80
4 jack stands = $60
torque wrench = $30
wheel chocks = $20

Not having the RX8 moving forward off the jack stands and fall on top of you = priceless.

Not absolutely vital, but extra (cheap) insurance is always good to have.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll get some wheel chocks when I exchange my short sockets for extended sockets--it scares me using the breaker bar and torque wrench so close to the fenders.

One other question: I see that a couple of you opted to buy 4 jack stands instead of two. Why is that? Are you planning to jack more than one corner up at a time? Even if you lift an entire side of the car or the entire front/rear, can't you get away with 2 stands?

The number of jack stands required is dependent on what section of the underbody you want to perform work on.

If you wanted to intall your own catback for example, you will need all 4 wheels off the ground.

4 jackstands is the safest way to perform this work since the car is stable.