Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical Lifts
Symmetrical lifts were created as an alternate option to pricey hydraulic in-ground lifts. These types of lifts are bolted to the floor rather than being installed in the ground. Symmetrical lifts offer drive thru capability and feature center columns located at the center of the vehicle with 4 arms of equal lengths. They are the least common style as they caused some issues while cars were being worked on. Today's vehicles are built differently than they were years ago and with having a symmetrical lift the center columns caused many door dings and offered a very narrow space to get in and out of the car.
Asymmetrical lifts feature longer rear arms and shorter front arms, this would allow the vehicle to sit back so that doors could be opened with no issues... Less door dings! The center columns on an asymmetric lift are rotated 30 degrees to face the load center of a vehicle being lifted. Be careful, there are Semi-Asymmetric lifts which still feature the columns that face each other but have shorter front arms than the rear arms. These types of lifts will squal and whine as the vehicle is being lifted and leave metal shavings near the columns.
