Titan's air jack lifts your car with hot air, can't be used for a game of volleyball

The only thing worse than getting a punctured tire is trying to use a flimsy scissor jack to change it. Break down on a dirt or snow-covered road and you probably have as good a shot at losing your hand as you do fixing a flat. Not so with the Titan, which may look like an exhaust-powered whoopee cushion, but can actually haul cars (even lifted rigs) up into the air on nearly any surface. Just run a hose to the exhaust of a running car, and the $120 (and up) balloon will gently raise the vehicle aloft -- and by "gently" we mean "really, really slowly." It's probably a little faster than calling AAA, but not as easy as Superjack's remote-controlled kit for lazies. If you have the patience, check out the vid after the break for six minutes of tire-changing action.

[Via Autoblog]

[Joe Pollicino @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:19AM]

More like ,CAN be used as a voleyball :)

[Tinu @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:55AM]

I would hate to see this "bubble" burst. Hehe.

[Wwhat @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:20AM]

I would not stand near the thing while it was raised, which limits the usability to fun and games.

[brian @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:24AM]

Be a pretty heavy volleyball :) and stinky. Is this necessarily good for your engine?

[Zeus.:God @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:27AM]

It's perfectly fine for your car- it's mainly been used in Northern countries with lots of snow, and these types of devices have been around for a while.

[djpurpose @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:09AM]

Also very good for lowered cars that can't clear a normal sized jack.

[pdaddy @ Sep 3rd 2008 12:51PM]

Three important questions in my mind are:

1. will this thing split it it airs up against the undercarriage where there is a sharp or jagged piece of metal?
2. will the likely huge backpressure from the balloon put undue stress on the engine (esprecially with the rotary in my rx8).
3. with multi port exhaust won't this system be useless?

donka, donka

[Jason @ Sep 3rd 2008 7:54PM]

There would be an increase in backpressure, I do wonder how they deal with that, seems like it's just an air balloon with a check valve.

On my car, this would be all but useless unless it can hook up to a dual exhaust. I could put it on one pipe but the exhaust will just all go out the other, thanks to my crossover. I can seal one exhaust with my hand at idle and the flow doesn't even flinch, just redirects out the other side with very little pressure.

[csmitty @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:29AM]

Definitely not anything new. Been used in endurance off road racing for a while. Except with dedicated compressors.

and honestly, why buy a Jeep Rubicon and put street tires on it??? I'll trade you my 98 jeep tj thats 2wd at the moment, that way we both benefit. Since obviously they don't plan on taking it offroad. geez.

[Joe @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:41AM]

thats no Rubi, Its an X with Rubi badges.. it also has x stickers, no sliders, the wrong wheels.. etc etc..

As far as the jack goes, It works, Ive done a trail repair in the mud because of a broken trackbar and it worked flawlessly.

[csmitty @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:58AM]

Ah yes, good catch. I havn't really kept track of the JKs too many options and models to keep straight. I feel better now. I hate seeing Rubis with street tires. But an X with Rubicon stickers means it can go more places.

[csmitty @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:59AM]

Oh, and how come you had to jack it up to fix a trackbar? Just curious. I broke my front one off at the axle. Bad mounting on my part (HP D44) and all the zip ties and bunjee cords in the world wouldn't keep it tight. Any small crack in the road going over 15mph would set the wobble off. Got to autozone and made a new mount using the broken one and two 3" exhaust clamps. Tube Dia was 3" too. drove two hrs home w/o a problem.

Damn springs keep falling out too trying to get off the trail.

[deep @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:39AM]

Props to the old guy for the calf-high white socks.

[Rainier @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:40AM]

With my luck, the Titan would probably blow out too.

[oldnews @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:42AM]

What the.... This is old...

http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?pid=72X10

[Martin Trautmann @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:59AM]

Same to me - I thought this has been around for years, although I always wondered which damage this would do to the engine.

[eric f. @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:48AM]

It is not recommended, however, to inhale the contents of this balloon after you are done.

[Pumping_Iron @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:50AM]

What if you overdo it and it pops ????!!!!

[Zeus.:God @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:55AM]

Then you shouldn't have overdone it?

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:52AM]

Action...action...action?

[Jeff @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:55AM]

Anybody else notice that when the air jack was fitted to the exhaust that... it never lifted the FJ. On the other hand, it seems like they are using some kind of air compressor, but we never get to see it. Boo on them for telling us that it can run on car/truck/SUV exhaust. Boo!

[Jeff @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:56AM]

Anybody else notice that when the air jack was fitted to the exhaust that... it never lifted the FJ. On the other hand, it seems like they are using some kind of air compressor, but we never get to see it. Boo on them for telling us that it can run on car/truck/SUV exhaust. Boo!

[Josh @ Sep 3rd 2008 12:27PM]

The whole point of the airjack is not to lift the vehicle 2 feet in the air like the photo of hte jeep.. It's designed to get the tires up a couple inches to either change a tire out, or in most cases lift a tire to be abel to stuff rocks or sand ladders under the tires to gain traction. It is not something you would use to jack a vehicle up to work under.

I have the ARB version of this product and it works great with my FJ.

[josh @ Sep 3rd 2008 12:30PM]

Forgot to put in first reply.

Also it can be used with exhaust or a compressor. I use mine with exhaust to get it filled, then use a CO2 tank to fine tune the amount of lift I need.

[Eddie @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:22AM]

Similar items have been used in moving very large and heavy objects like houses since the early 1990's and maybe even before that.

[SimonRichards @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:35AM]

This is very very old, saw it 5 years ago at least

[samurai1200 @ Sep 3rd 2008 12:03PM]

*POP*... CRUNCH!

[Josh @ Sep 3rd 2008 12:35PM]

my questions is that a regular jack needs to be placed on certain spots under the car in order to not break anything, can this ball go anywhere? or does the ball need to go on the same spots?

[Benson @ Sep 3rd 2008 5:20PM]

A regular jack puts all its force in a small area; you'll crush those parts of a unibody not properly shaped (to maximize contact area) and reinforced (to increase the pressure it can take).

This spreads it out over a large area regardless of shape, and the large area lowers pressure. The only thing to watch is that you don't put it under a hot exhaust, and jack it up into contact with the exhaust. I expect it would melt nicely after a few minutes of good solid contact with hot metal. :)

[adam @ Sep 3rd 2008 1:22PM]

It really didn't take all that long. If you started it and then went to work loosening your lug nuts, a normal height truck would be off the ground by the time you were finished. They also didn't mention sand. If anyone spends time driving on the beach, something like this is perfect since most jacks would just dig in.

[Face @ Sep 3rd 2008 1:24PM]

What more concerning me is the size of that mans socks! There up to his knees!

[Lyle @ Sep 3rd 2008 1:37PM]

Yes, but, will it blend?

[lost..civantares @ Sep 3rd 2008 2:04PM]

That's a lot of wasted gas...

[RGT @ Sep 3rd 2008 2:33PM]

Uhm correct me if I'm wrong... but the proper use of this product is to have another car to inflate that thing for you? Soooo what if nobody stops to help you on a highway or you can't get a buddy to come out? You still gotta call AAA or use the product unsafely by using the vehicle with the busted tire to inflate the jack?

[Jon Graft @ Sep 3rd 2008 2:46PM]

I have been offroading for 3 years now, and been getting bi-monthly catalogs from Quadratec (an offroad distributor) and they have had this exact thing (maybe not the same brand name, but same color, and everything!) for ever. This is extremely EXTREMELY old news.

[d889 @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:25PM]

i think i'll stick with my hi-lift, doesnt take an hour to jack up and it can be used as a winch too :)

[Doug @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:36PM]

You can be used as a wench too...

[Doug @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:36PM]

(-:

[petrov @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:45PM]

WOW engadget, if you can jack BOTH wheels off the ground in under 3 minutes flat then congrats, but for the rest of us who DONT carry around 2 jacks and lot of experience with them, this will save a lot of time and energy. dont put down a good product because the final outcome of its purpose isnt *instant* like computer software.

[petrov @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:54PM]

good one zues god? what little duche. in response to the OP, you can visually see when the car is off the ground right? thats all the lift you really need, and by the looks of it, the bubble isnt even at full capacity yet.

[Java Junky @ Sep 3rd 2008 4:10PM]

There were commercials for a similar product in the early 80's. It showed grandma changing her own car tire on the free way. Not that being first to market is all that important, because apparently it didn't take off. Seems that the off road community has found a practical market for balloon jack and I'm happy to see it's still around. As for the socks...

:j

[Cassini @ Sep 3rd 2008 5:11PM]

At first it seems like a good idea, until you realize:

- It takes up more storage space (much bigger than a small jack).
- You have to mess with folding it up and winding up the hose.
- Once you're done with it, you have to take the time to deflate it which will be a pain, especially out in the rain and in slightly muddy areas (which will also make folding it up a real mess - good luck keepin' your shirt clean with that).
- You'll be deflating a giant ball full of gas fumes which is *real* unhealthy and stinks - the remnants of which will seep out as you store it in your trunk or wherever else.
- Isn't a good idea if you have to raise up your own car because you'd have to keep your own car's engine running to inflate it (if you don't have another car around to help). NOT a good idea and would increase risk.
- Risky if punctured.


So, uh, no thanks... I'll pass. Give me a normal jack: smaller, faster, safer, easier, cleaner, no running engines needed, and no stinky fumes.

[Benson @ Sep 3rd 2008 5:30PM]

Good luck with that in sand, mud, or the like...

It has got it uses. But of course it's not gonna be your only jack.

(And I'm not sure what you're talking about other jacks being smaller; a hi-lift sure isn't. The cheap, tiny scissor jacks that come with cars are next to useless, so I hope you're not comparing this to them, but to other general purpose jacks.)

[Cassini @ Sep 3rd 2008 8:32PM]

Yeah, well, I've managed to live my entire life without an "inflatable ball jack", so I think I'm gonna be just fine, LOL.

But I suppose if you're driving in a lot of soft sand and soft mud, it would have it's uses. But even with that said, it's certainly a niche product - most people will have no use for it, and those who would ever make use of it would most likely do so on a rare occasion. Besides, how often do people get flats on soft sand and soft mud? They can get stuck in those instances, but flats?

[Jack @ Sep 3rd 2008 7:23PM]

Can't you just rev your engine to make more exhaust, thus filling it faster?

[cjstuff @ Sep 3rd 2008 8:28PM]

This technology has been around since the late 1970s or early 1980s. The only potentially new wrinkle is how you treat the cushion to withstand the temperature of a fully-activated catalytic converter.

[Hitender @ Sep 4th 2008 12:37AM]

Saw it 3 years back

[Blewyn @ Sep 4th 2008 5:12AM]

These things are VERY useful in a sandy desert !! Saved me from a very laborious dig-out in Dubai...

[Craig @ Sep 4th 2008 11:16PM]

These things have been around for close to twenty years, talk about slow news day.