Want to buy a floor jack and couldn’t decide between low-profile and high-profile? Well, this article will answer all the questions about low-profile vs high-profile floor jacks.
Let’s get started.
What is the Best low-profile Floor Jack?
Arcan A20016 / XL2T floor jack is one of the best low-profile floor jacks that are available online. This jack has 2.75 inches or 7 cm minimum height. You need 7+ cm clearance under the car for its installation. The Arcan model has a 2 ton load capacity with 24 inches maximum lift height. Click the button below to find out more about this floor jack.
What is the Best high-profile Floor Jack?
The CAT 240330 floor jack is one of the best high-profile floor jacks. It has a 6 inches or 15.2 cm minimum height. For the jack’s installation, your vehicle should have more ground clearance than the clearance mentioned. Besides that, it has a 3-ton load capacity with 29.25″ (74.3 cm) maximum height. You can find more about this jack by clicking the button below.
Low-profile vs High-profile Floor Jack - Expert's Guide
Low-profile vs high-profile floor jack – What Vehicle do they’re fit for
In general, low-profile floor jacks are for low clearance vehicles like sports cars, Corvette, GTR, etc. Such vehicles have a low ride height that most floor jacks can’t fit underneath due to their min-height. For this reason, car jack manufacturers come up with a low-profile solution for low-profile vehicles.
They make floor jacks that have low min-height and easily fit under low-profile vehicles. This doesn’t mean that low-profile floor jacks are not for high-profile vehicles. They are. They can raise lifted trucks as far as the trucks are not so high that the jack’s max-height couldn’t reach it.
On the other hand, high-profile floor jacks have high min-height, and they can’t get under low-profile vehicles. Think of it, if a car has 4 inches ground clearance, how can a floor jack with 6 inches or more min-height get under it? That’s another topic if you place ramps under the tires to gain some height.
High-profile floor jacks generally work for all vehicles, trucks, SUVs, and cars as far as you can fit them under.
Most high-profile floor jacks are higher due to the extra saddle added. If you remove that and replace it with a small saddle, that will work for low-profile cars as well if they can get under them. There are only a few floor jacks that come with such features.
If you don’t know whether a floor jack is low-profile or high-profile, check its minimum height at its lifting point. low-profile floor jacks have 3 inches or less min-height.
Is a low-profile floor jack more expensive than a high-profile?
Yes, a low-profile floor jack is more expensive than a high-profile floor jack. But there are some high-profile floor jacks that have around 8 inches min-height and are more expensive than low-profile jacks. As low-profile jacks are for low clearance vehicles, high-profile floor jacks are for lifted trucks. So the budget factor varies.
What is a low-profile floor jack for?
low-profile floor jacks are for low-ride-height cars. It includes Corvettes, GTR, some Tesla models are also low-profile, sports cars are generally low to the ground, etc. So the low-profile floor jacks are so low ride-height vehicles.
Related: The 4 Best Floor Jacks for Lowered Cars That Fit Under Them
What is a high-profile floor jack for?
High-profile floor jacks are for lifted trucks, tractors, military vehicles, etc. Some trucks also have higher ride heights, so you can use such floor jacks for them as well. As discussed earlier low-profile floor jacks are also for high-profile cars. But the case is not the same with the high-profile floor jacks. They’re not fit for low clearance cars.
Which one should you buy, a high-profile floor jack or a low-profile one?
That depends on the vehicle you want a floor jack for. A quick rule of thumb is to check your car’s clearance and look for a floor jack that you can easily get under the car. No need to worry about high-profile or low-profile.
Should You Buy a Low-profile floor jack for a High-profile Truck?
Yes, you can buy a low-profile floor jack for a high-profile truck. And the plus point is that you will also be able to use this jack with a low-profile car. But here is a factor that you should double-check before you purchase a low-profile floor jack for a high ride height truck, and that’s the extended height of the jack.
The maximum height of the floor jack must be more than the clearance of the lifted truck. Think of it, how you will be able to raise a truck that has 15 inches clearance with a floor jack of 12 inches max height? It won’t even reach the jack point. That’s another topic if you place some woods or blocks under the jack to gain some height.
Can You Buy a High-profile Floor Jack for a Low-profile Vehicle?
No, you cannot buy a high-profile floor jack for a low-profile vehicle. Because you won’t be able to slide the jack under the car. Say your vehicle has a 3 inches ride height, and the floor jacks have 5 inches min-height, how will you slide it under the car? So, always look for a low-profile floor jack for low-profile cars.
Low-profile Bottle jack vs low-profile Floor jack
Just like floor jacks, bottle jacks do have low-profile features. And both the jacks are used for different purposes. In general, low-profile floor jacks are for low clearance vehicles while low-profile bottle jacks are used for construction, industrial, and field site work where the load that needs to be lifted has low clearance.
What’s the Difference Between a High-profile Floor Jack and the Maximum Height of a Floor Jack?
This is a great question. A high-profile floor jack has a higher minimum height like over 6 inches. While maximum height is the extended height of both low-profile or high-profile floor jacks. Low-profile floor jacks also have maximum height.