Proper jack pad size??

[Dshow47203]

I have been a car DIY'r for a long time... I have always wondered what the proper hydraulic jack pad groove size (the pad that straddles the pinch weld when jacking up a car) is.
As shown in the picture below... The hydraulic jack pad goes between the jack and the car, to jack it up. The pads typically have a groove that staddles the pinch weld. Should that groove be deep enough so the pinch weld is not touching the pad and the weight of the car is on the other parts of the pad? Or... the pads I have seen, the groove is not deep enough and you still end up lifting the weight of the car on the pinch weld?
What say you? Should the weight of the car be on the pinch weld or... should the pad groove be deep enough so the pinch weld does not touch the pad?

Update: I tried to post my picture on this thread... for some reason, it didn't show...? Anyway, here is the link to the picture: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/feeyj...=6rs4e7yt&dl=0

[maxwedge]

The pinch weld should be just the guide not the weight bearing portion.

[Dshow47203]

Thanks!

That's what I figured... but all the rubber spacers (like in the picture) I've seen on Amazon, Temu, etc... are only ~1/2" deep. Multiple cars I've had require more than that, so I use a block of wood that I've notched deep enough. Just wondering if I wasn't doing something right. Maybe when the weigh of the car is put on the spacer, the pinch weld sinks into the rubber so that the other parts are touching?

[maxwedge]

You want the weight on a solid surface, I would check the depth of the pad vs the pinch weld.

[shorod]

I almost never use the pinch weld to jack up cars when using a hydraulic floor jack. My preference is to go with a subframe mount or location where the suspension connects to structure.

Is there a reason you're not able to do the same and really want to go with the pinch weld? I'm not saying it's wrong (since that's where the factory jacks typically go) but just curious.

-Rod

[maxwedge]

Agreed.