Ive often wondered if there is any actual benefit to jacking up the car and leaving it on axle stands over the winter. I always used to on my previous car, but am yet to do on with my g35

With these being unibody cars, I often wonder if it does more harm than good having it up on stands for 5+ months at a time... Ive seen some cars where you can literally see the door gap open up on unibody cars when on stands, so obviously there is some flexing going on.

Just looking for opinions, as im kinda 50/50 if its even worthwhile.

If I dont jack it up, I park it over a tarp, with 3x3' sections of old carpet under each tire.

Thoughts? What do you guys do that store your cars?

 

It depends on how long you plan on storing the vehicle, you will not cause damage to the unibody, the primary reason for jacking up the vehicle is to prevent the tires from getting a flat spot but for a 5 month sit I wouldn't bother, a short drive down the road will loosen that spot right back up. If it was going to be a year-long sit then MAYBE put it on jackstands if it's just sitting in the dirt. Just make sure the tires don't go flat.

For a typical seasonal vehicle (like an RV) you only do that though to prevent the rubber from getting UV damage, either place covers on the tire, or a sunblock piece of wood. Or jackstands, take off the tires, store them inside your garage so they aren't just baking in the sunlight. For highway vehicles however this is an OLD practice that came about before the understanding that tires should be replaced at the 5 year-old point because the rubber will chemically degrade over time and they become less safe for road use due to lower friction coefficient from old hard rubber.