The hammer store has both Daytona and Pittsburgh 3 ton low profile jacks on sale this weekend. The lowered and raised heights are the same. Both are advertised with "Rapid Pump." The Daytona is $30. I'm not paying $30 extra to get my favorite color if the Pittsburgh one is basically the same rig, only in red. Is it worth the 30 buck premium?
I wonder if their weights are the same.
I've used both and haven't had any issues... I have 3 of them at my shop, they work great. I run my entire BMW shop almost exclusively with Harbor Freight tools, haha.
Almost got killed by a HF Pittsburgh aluminum 2.5T jack. Be very careful with the seals as they can let go quite violently.
I have a couple of the Pittsburgh versions and love them. The Daytona jacks look to be identical.
I just bought the Pittsburg this weekend. From what I can tell, it's color, and the Daytona has a rubber pad on the contact point vs just steel for the Pittsburg.
I thought the Daytona was aluminum and the E36 M3sburgh was steel? Or maybe I have that reversed.
Definitely gone now said:I thought the Daytona was aluminum and the E36 M3sburgh was steel? Or maybe I have that reversed.
No, the aluminum line is completely different. The standard Daytona and Pittsburg lines are both steel and priced pretty similar. I have one of the smaller 1.5 ton aluminum jacks I take to the track and while I really like it, I'm was too cheap to get the aluminum 3 ton for the garage.
Well HF have massively improved their quality over the last few years. Not everything is great. I have one of the 3 ton aluminum "racing jacks "that's a pile of garbage. It has twisted out of shape and will not retract fully because of the twist. Mine is about four or five years old. It's the Pittsburgh, and I won't buy another one.
The Daytona has outlived 2 Snap-on jacks. Snapon only gives a 1 year warranty on them. If the Daytona died today HF would replace it for free. If it went missing I'd buy another without hesitation
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I had one of the aluminum ones and it was complete junk. While probably fine for occasional use at the track they do not hold up in a shop environment.
My oldest 2.5 ton Pittsburg low profile is 10 years old and still works as well as it did on day one. I know I've abused it lifting the RV but it doesn't seem to mind.
I have one of the aluminum ones and it sucks. Rapid pump isn't very rapid, and then it doesn't switch to a different circuit... meaning you're pushing really hard to jack anything up after it contacts the bottom of your car.
The Daytona will start leaking profusely in 3 months. The Pittsburgh will start leaking tomorrow.
I may be an outlier, but I've had the basic low profile Pittsburgh 3 ton for so long that the paint is all worn off and it's got a fine layer of surface rust- doesn't roll so well, still works great, and has seen rain, mud, power washing, etc. with minimal complaint. Recently I got a Daytona version of the same jack to have a "nice" one, and it looks almost exactly the same other than paint, graphics, and small parts here and there.
Yeah, I keep telling myself I'll get a nice hf jack (low profile long reach steel) when my existing normal hf jack (not low profile, not long reach, from before rapid pump was a thing at hf) dies.
I think I've been thinking that for 5 or more years.
But, even if the only difference is the foam on the handle, I can tell you the $30 will be well worth it the first time you don't accidentally ding the door of your car with an all metal handle.
kevinatfms said:Almost got killed by a HF Pittsburgh aluminum 2.5T jack. Be very careful with the seals as they can let go quite violently.
I'm sure you and everyone reading this knows this, but never, ever get under a car that's only supported by a jack. Any jack. Jackstands or GTFO.
As for my experience, I have the Pittsburgh low-profile, long-reach 2.5T model. It's a heavy bastard, and I've probably had it for 7-8 years now, and so far so good. But I also have a couple of 3-Ton Craftsmans for heavier work like lifting the Expedition, or when I need an extra. Had those since the late 90s and they are still going strong.
I'll echo the other comments, the steel HF jacks are great, both normal and Daytona. The one key thing is to the get "low profile long reach" units. They look similar to the normal units that are just marked as "low profile" and cost a little extra, but it's well worth it, particularly if you ever want to lift any sort of SUV.
This one is the one you want:
I read somewhere on the Garage Journal that (some of) the Daytonas have greaseable Zerks, where as the Pittsburgh ones do not.
I bought a Daytona six or seven years ago when I moved into the Batcave. It is still going strong no problems.
The irony is that I wanted a big beefy steel jack with as high a reach as possible, that I would keep at home, and take my little aluminum jack to events. Then I got the trailer, and just lug the big ol' guy around because it is sturdier and lifts higher. And because the steel one lives in the trailer, I use the weeny little aluminum jack at home...
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