Which lift is preferred (2 post or 4 post)?

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dartguy2360

dartguy2360

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So I am selling my house and I am leaving my 2 post lift and will be purchasing a lift at the new house. I wanted to get opinions on which lift is preferred by most members (2 post or 4 post). The lift I am leaving is a Directlift DL-9 with asymmetric arms which has been fantastic but it is kind of a pain positioning the arms when putting a car on there (I have a bad knee). I use my lift for repairing cars not for storage and was wondering which style lift you guys prefer.
 
Really depends on what you are doing to me. I have a two post and sometimes the lift post in the middle is a pia to get the door open, but great on suspension work, 4 post is great also for most work but you have to lift the vehicle off of it to do suspension work. tuff like body work they are great. Really to me it depends on what you are doing with it.
 
I prefer the two post since you don't have to jack the car up on the lift to remove any tires, plus it feels easier to work on the front and rear of the vehicle since it is more accessible.
 
Had both.Kept the 2 post. The 4 post I was always hitting my head and the rack was always in the way of what type of work I was doing. I put a pad down for my knees when setting the 2 post. 4 post is great for storing 2 cars in 1 space tho.
 
Since you stated that you are still repairing cars and not storing them then a 2 post is by far the better option.
 
For all around working on the vehicle, 2 post is the way to go IMO and experience. Asymmetric is supposed give better access to opening doors in most cases. Not always the case in my experience. Looking at adding a 4-post to gain some storage area. 4-posts feel a little safer as they are a bit more forgiving when positioning the car.
 
I'm focussing on your bad knees comment. Be aware, if the height of your garage does not allow a 4 post to go right to the top (with car on it) then you will be doing a lot of knee bending to get in under it to work the jack that lifts the wheels off of it. There are some pretty slick rods out there that you can use as an extension of your hand to set the arms of a two post in place rather than bending to a knee.
 
I've been working on cars on my 4 post for over 10 years. I use an aluminum floor jack or the sliding bridge jack to get the wheels of the ramp. Sure the ramps are in the way some time but it has done the job and its easy to get the car on and off the lift. Its also good for structural work. The biggest drawback is that it has a big footprint. Check our garagejournal.com for tons of posts on 2 vs 4 post lifts.
 
My son, it's why they make potatoes, tomatoes, and cabbage. To each his own. I have absolutely no use for a ramp hoist, except maybe front end alignment, which has been rare. Other guys swear by 4 post. If you have any need to create "2nd story" storage/ parking room, some guys make use of a 4 post for that. Mine all leak enough oil, LOL that I would not want one parked above the other
 
I have one of each. Oil changes, exhaust, transmission, detail work, storage the 4 post is easier. I have a bridge jack for it and have done brake work as well. Generally if it involves pulling the tires or engine work I prefer the 2 post all day long. I suppose if I had to choose it would be the 2 post.

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I have had them all, single post, front/back post, 4 post, overhead cable 2 post, across floor 2 post.
My final choice is a 2 post across floor cable as the most versatile for me, and haven't regretted the choice in 20 yrs now .
Walking over/across/around a 4 post gets old real fast .
 
I prefer the 2 post, access is much better for what I generally do. I have an old cushion that I use to kneel on when setting up the arms. My brother has a couple of 4 posts and he is always busy doing a major restoration work. He doesn't mind the bridge or the ramps. It's all in what you get used to IMO. Space is mainly the reason why I went with the 2 post originally, but I don't think I would want to go to a 4 post now.
 
After all this, I am going two post for sure. Since I am going pretty big slab, I would have room for a four poster storage lift as well at some point, and probably will for the dart and valiant.
 
Ditto on the pro's of the 2, outweighing the pro's of the 4. Sometimes I get annoyed at my 2 post as I circle for the 3rd time and reposition the arms just right, especially for something simple like an oil change, but....fluid changes is honestly 95% of what I could see doing on a 4 post, or storage I guess. Any time you wanted to pull tires, or do anything brake/suspension related, you'd be cussing it as you had to jack the car, OFF the lift...and then fight the lift itself for space. In a perfect world I'd have both...but if you have to choose. 2 post it is.

EDIT: I see you made your mind up, but I already had this typed...so good choice!
 
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