If its simply for doinking around in the garage for routine maintenance, I suggest a floor jack with a rubber adapter pad with the slot in it, you can get it fairly cheap from harbor freight or amazon

 

A scissors jack is probably the most dangerous piece of "emergency equipment" ever pawned off on the car-buying public. And those pinch weld cutouts are known to collapse, crushing the rocker panel or lower fender roll area. Several threads in various model forums here discuss this problem.

As posted, better to find a small 2-ton hydraulic pad jack and use the hard pads on the car for lifting.

Google Search

 

I'm fortunate that I have a 2 post lift, but I use a 3/4" piece of plywood (just the size of the rocker cutout) between the the lift pads and the pinch welds.

I'm toying with buying a set of one of these:
Amazon.com : pinch weld jack pad

By the way, I have Michelin AS3+ NON runflats on my baby. Better ride, handling, and longevity. The last flat tire I had was somewhere in the 70's. And my Caddy (maybe all) came with a Tow Hook. Imagine getting a flat on a rainy night on some narrow country road. Are you going to attempt to do a tire swap ? I would use my cell phone and look for a tow. Tow Hooks make it easy to pull car up onto a flatbed. Just my 2cents.

And as far as a pinch weld collapsing - yikes! That's too scary. My Caddy may sit on my lift six feet high for a few days. I'm guessing that would be due to corrosion or an accident repair. Years ago I did have 'winter mule' car and the frame was rotting badly. I would never use the lift on it.

Let us know how this works out. Stay safe,
M...

 

what are you using to protect pinch weld when car is taken to shop for service or repair?? anything on front and back? Some use wood spacers, some lift pads, some nothing at all. My air defector under car are both broken because of their placing the lift on the panels. ZL1 addons makes a steath lift pad but no one seems to use them. Advice appreciated.

 

Try this. I bought a spare tire kit ($600 +/-) from these folks. The kit includes the spare, jack, etc. everything you need to get rid of the run flats. Homepage. I switched the run flats for Continental DWS 6+ tires but unfortunately the car, '19 Luxury, was totaled two weeks later. I bought another one just like the first except the new one is a Premium Luxury model. Haven't got around to replacing the run flats yet but I will. I've not had a flat for years and years either but since Cadillac decided to put run flats on everything the only option you have is to fix the problem yourself if you are not comfortable without having a spare.

 

I bought the Modernspare with jack kit as well so I could dump the runflats that felt like solid tires. Really, the ride is so much better without those. In your case, I'd suggest a few cans of fix-a-flat and the best AAA roadside coverage. You aren't going to be messing with a spare tire. Make sure you have a charger in the car for your phone and let AAA deal with it.

 

Just bought the 2018 CTS with runflats on it. The front pair are less that a year old; the rear pair about 6 months old. The car on has 22, 000 miles on it. So these are not the original tires but they are Pirellis. The car was bought on estate sale so not really too much info. At my age, I will never change a tire and I travel less that 50 miles from my home. I have both AAA and OnStar, so I am well covered. After doing all of my homework and searching for the correct jack which I still can not find, may best to leave well enough alone. Even if I were to purchase an OEM wheel and spare for my trunk, the price of that wheel is equal to 3 tires. Looks like at my age, I should sit back and enjoy the car. It can pass for new. Dont know really how lucky I am.

 

I have a 2018 CTS luxury model with almost new Pirelli RF. Toying with the idea of keeping an original size tire and wheel, rolling jack in trunk. Comments please to include new tire size, and type of rolling jack.. What car weight jack wouldo Izneed.
Also what would I need to go between pinch weld and jack? Too much stuff in trunk?? Would go to NRF

 

I'd use a small 1.5/2 ton jack and use the hard pads just inward of the pinch welds or jacking. Why risk deforming the rocker panels and lower fenders?

 

DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!

Submariner, if you don't OWN the model, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM GIVING ADVICE!!! You will end up causing someone to damage their vehicle irreparably.

There is NO SPOT near the pinch weld that will hold the 3rd gen CTS (or ATS for that matter)!

You MUST use the pinch weld to raise the car. There is a spot UNDER the engine cradle that has a pad to lift the entire car in front on BOTH sides at once, but I would NOT change a tire using that spot.

There are plenty of pinch-weld adapters on the market that are cheap to keep one in the car along with a jack. A rolling jack would be a HUGE PITA to deal with. I am sure you can buy a scissor or other kind of jack that would be better suited. You can alos buy different configuration holders for the stock molded one under the panel in the trunk to hold jacks/inflators/etc...

Personally, I went with the factory tire inflator that includes sealant when I went with non-runflat tires. Both the CTS and the ATS have the in the trunk holder (I even bought the one for the ATS that is made to hold the inflator).

 

These cars are best jacked and supported with pinch weld adapters for both the jack and stands.

 

Does anyone use a pinch weld adapter that they have good luck with? I'm thinking the aluminum ones look nice, I'm not sure that I would trust the rubber ones, I made one for the front and one for the rear out of a piece of 4x4 but I'm not really happy with that solution and worry about the wood cracking so I no longer use them.

 

stumbled upon a website call ZL1Addons.com. If you do a search for the CTS, you will find what is called Stealth Lift Pads. Might this work instead of the plywood? Please advise if it might work. I still am studying other areas.
mk

 

Get a scissor jack with a notch to clear the weld. Sold on Amazon. I fit a small spare in the well in the trunk floor so I still have a trunk. It works fine as a spare, full size is not needed for that limited use.

 

Again, help is needed by me in order to install a spare tire kit with jack in my trunk. Most of the answers that I get from members do not state their model or year, leading me to guess. Also they do not state the type of scissors jack that I should use. Do know whether or not the members have even tried out what is needed for a tire change. No mention of jacking points very much. Also type of pinch weld adapters. So I will be a specific as possible....I have a 2018 CTS 3.6 non turbo luxury AWD. I have no spare in the trunk. I have no inflator, nor do I want one. The tires on the car are 18 in Pirelli run flats which are less than one year old. Whether or not, I dump my RF remains to be seen. If correct jack etc. can not be found it does not make sense to transfer to non RF. There is a foam piece in the trunk that contains only a tow bolt, nothing else. A small spare will not fit. So I have decided to go with an original full size wheel and tire. I need help with the kind of jack, many advertized but dont look like they will fit. Also could use picture or part number that might fit. Need picture or part number of pinch weld adapter. Could use jacking point decription. Thanks to many people who have tried to help but we are just on the wrong page. Please help. I am getting very frustrated. Surely there must be someone who have a similar car.

 

Your three threads on essentially the same subject have been merged for continuity and exposure. The other two tire questions are still in their own threads, back in December.Thanks for the interest in CF.

 

The selection of jack really isn't that critical. Get one with a slot or use a block of wood. If the welded flange bends a little it won't hurt anything. To be specific, I have a 2015 and bought the modern spare kit which includes tire, jack, tools. It's a little pricey but what can you do. I paid $310 plus shipping in 2018, it's $410 now. Find it for your car at

Fits All 2015-2019 Cadillac CTS Models- Spare Tire And Complete Accessory Kit Options

2015-2019 Cadillac CTS and CTS-V Complete spare tire kits. Engineered for your CTS and CTS-V. Light alloy, long range, space-saver tire. Search Model/Year

modernspare.com

I removed that foam piece from under the trunk floor and the tire mostly fits after letting half the air out. I carry a 12V air compressor which brings it back to 50 psi in 5 minutes. The floor sticks up 1-2 inches which is hardly noticeable so I get use of the trunk and have a full kit. I have used the spare and it worked fine. See photo, the jack is wrapped in foam and sits next to the tire.

 

How does the jack work?? Are you able to fully access the jack points in front and rear pinch weld point without damaging the car?
mk

 

See my post with pictures in one of your other threads (Spare tire vs AWD), a "temporary" spare fits and will work just fine. If you have a specific question I will be happy to answer it if I can. For most people, you can tell their car year, type by their avatar............

 

Looks like I found someone with the same type car as mine. Have a few questions for you about jack points on the car. Any chance of getting a few pix or a detailed description.
MDK

 

I have been looking for a pinch weld adapter for a 18 CTS. The ones that I found all had a round base that would fit ideally on a floor model jack. Does an adapter exist that might work with a scissors jack or might that be deemed unsafe. If an adapter does not exist for a scissors jack, what would the top of the jack look like?

 

I have been looking for a pinch weld adapter for a 18 CTS. The ones that I found all had a round base that would fit ideally on a floor model jack. Does an adapter exist that might work with a scissors jack or might that be deemed unsafe. If an adapter does not exist for a scissors jack, what would the top of the jack look like?

If you read the contents of ALL of the threads that you have started, I asked the same question a few days ago..................

 

I think it would be unsafe to use a pinch weld adapter with scissors jack. The scissors jack lift/attachment point itself should be shaped to fit around the pinch weld.

 

Cut a slot in a 4x4.

 

Have you had good luck with this, I made one for the front and one for the back and after a couple of uses the wood started to split??

 

I would not recommend using a pinch weld adapter with a scissors jack, the correct scissors jack won't need any type adapter as it is made to lift the vehicle from the pinch weld, after all, all you are doing is jacking the car up, taking the tire off and putting the spare on, all of which should take all of 5-10 minutes max.

 

mdkinney, Please keep all this similar jack and spare tire discussion in one thread - for continuity and ease of reply. No sense starting threads on every facet of a question. Thanks. Several similar threads have already been merged here.

 

In regards to jack pads, I own 4 of these:

https://www.amazon.com/DEDC-Universal-Aluminum-Grooved-Magnetic/dp/B0774G18QS

They have a thicker nylon pad inside that keeps it from damaging the paint on the underside of the pinchweld. The magnets are also stronger and recessed into the nylon more.

The cheaper ones tend to have a thinner nylon (or no nylon) and the magnets are not as strong and installed flush with the nylon and end up making contact with the underside of the pinchweld (which I was afraid would chip the paint off over time as the nylon gets crushed and the magnets beomce the prominent feature touching the pinchweld).

There are tons of designs and quite honestly it all comes down to material. Some of the polyurethane ones are quite nice (I own a number of those as well as I own a set of 7000TLX quickjacks and have all the adapters they sell including the pinchweld and truck adapters) and I have no issue putting vehicles on those. I have had "jack pads" that convert jackstand tops to sit with pinchwelds and those always seem to end up breaking/splitting/crushing. I do think it is because you just need a wider span to have the pads sit and the narrow top of jackstands are a poor solution.

In the modern age of cars, they have most certainly moved more and more to a set of standards that make being a "home mechanic" more and more difficult. it is OBVIOUS they DO NOT want anyone but dealerships to work on their cars, which is sold as "cost savings", but in reality is just sad. There is no reason there isn't a few spots under the car to be able to jack on.

Even the rear crossmembers are constructed in a way that jacking the car up by them can do damage. Now that I have torn down one of these platforms for a ground up rebuild I can agree that you DO NOT want to jack up the rear of the car with the differential. It is held to the crossmember by 3 bushings (which can all be damaged) and the diff is constructed with a set of "ears" in front and the back connection point is an aluminum rear cover that is NOT meant to hold much more than the diff itself. To say the least the rear cradle is most certainly "load optimized" to have all the stresses coming from the rear suspension, not the span between those points.

 

In regards to jack pads, I own 4 of these:

https://www.amazon.com/DEDC-Universal-Aluminum-Grooved-Magnetic/dp/B0774G18QS

They have a thicker nylon pad inside that keeps it from damaging the paint on the underside of the pinchweld. The magnets are also stronger and recessed into the nylon more.

The cheaper ones tend to have a thinner nylon (or no nylon) and the magnets are not as strong and installed flush with the nylon and end up making contact with the underside of the pinchweld (which I was afraid would chip the paint off over time as the nylon gets crushed and the magnets beomce the prominent feature touching the pinchweld).

There are tons of designs and quite honestly it all comes down to material. Some of the polyurethane ones are quite nice (I own a number of those as well as I own a set of 7000TLX quickjacks and have all the adapters they sell including the pinchweld and truck adapters) and I have no issue putting vehicles on those. I have had "jack pads" that convert jackstand tops to sit with pinchwelds and those always seem to end up breaking/splitting/crushing. I do think it is because you just need a wider span to have the pads sit and the narrow top of jackstands are a poor solution.

In your same link they have "rubber puck" style jack pads, 4 ea. for $22

 

I have looked at the idea of a full size spare for my 14 cts and here are some of the pros and cons.....A full size spare RF tire and oem wheel are expensive. It would also need a tire pressure sensor installed. Then there is the space in the trunk. I would have to find a way of securing the spare. My local tire shops do not have a spare tire for me in stock. Probably up to a few days at best. However with a full size spare, could be changed immediately. Don't know whether, at my age, I would even attempt a change. I would probably call AAA. If they attempted a change, most likely would have a rolling jack that would not be able to get under the plastic molding with damaging it. Why would they have one. I could carry a scissors jack and have them change the tire.. That might be possible. I could carry a pinch weld adapter, puck, scissors jack etc.
Would like some advise on which way to go. Very strong on full size spare though. Jacking is the problem here.

 

I would probably call AAA. If they attempted a change, most likely would have a rolling jack that would not be able to get under the plastic molding with damaging it. Why would they have one.

Jacking is the problem here.

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen 1 day… What do you guys think would really happen if AAA messed up your car in that situation? Or how about a random tire shop?

 

Why a new thread on the SAME subject!!!

IMHO if I were you, I would stick with AAA or insurance road service and just FORGET about the spare and jack. Much less opportunity to injure yourself or damage your car. After such a long life you now deserve to take it a little easier. After all, how many flat tires have you had in you entire life...............

 

Just keep a tire repair kit in your car. No spare tire, unless you don't care about space in your trunk.