- :
- Canada
That's exactly why I use a pinch weld adapter for this vehicle. A must have. Toyota/Lexus used an idiotic design for the pinch welds on the 02-06 Lexus ES, so they definitely showed some damage on my car after 10 years. Mazda uses three layers of steel bonded together, which is stronger, but I like using this adapter which lets the metal sit on a UHMW pad backed by aluminum. Pinch welds still look great.
I don't think Chris is talking about pinch weld fatigue. I think the metal fatigue he's talking about is the OEM black metal brace in the pic. Likely due to how hard he drives his car. Taking turns aggressively, launches, hard stops, etc. The OEM brace can only take so much, so he's reinforcing it with the new goodies.
Pinch weld adapter isn't necessary. If you're using a floor/garage jack, jack it up at the two designated jacking areas found in the manual. It's faster, more stable, and a lot harder to **** up. After seeing the video below (which I think I may have posted before), I'm sticking to the designated jack points (and 2x4s to drive up on if my car is too low for the jack to fit underneath). Skip to 3:30. Pinch welds should only be used for jacking in emergency situations.
To be fair, the guy did a ton of things wrong, though. Used two hockey pucks, going by what his hand felt instead of using his eyes, continuing to jack the car up even after hearing unusual noises.. yikes. And he was using a pinch weld adapter too.