Essential gear for new Corvette owners

Open the trunk of a C5 or anything newer and look for the jack. There isn’t one. Every GM manual checked for this guide, from the 2004 C5 to the 2025 C8, says the car has “no spare tire, no tire changing equipment” and nowhere to put either. So the first time your Corvette goes up is in a tire shop, a quick-lube bay or your own garage, on someone else’s jack. That’s where the trouble starts.

Look under a C5, C6 (2005–2013), C7 (2014–2019) or C8 and the jacking points pucks are made for aren’t flat pads. They’re slots in the frame rails, and the rocker panels sit close beside them with very little clearance. A floor jack’s big round saddle pushed up there can catch the rocker before it ever finds the frame. Owners have been warning about it for two decades: a jack under the rockers will “end up cracking them”, a CorvetteForum administrator wrote in 2009. GM’s 2019 and 2025 manuals say the same thing in GM’s language: the front jack pads must not touch the rocker panels, the front fenders or the floor pan. Every one of those manuals says to put “a block or pad between the jack and the vehicle”, and the C7 and C8 manuals cap the jack’s lifting pad at 2.5 in (64 mm) across, set under the frame rail’s slot.

A jack puck is that block. It’s a hard rubber or aluminum disc with a T-shaped stem on top. Push the stem up into the frame slot, turn it a quarter turn so it locks, and the jack lifts on the puck instead of the bodywork. A set of four fills the front and rear slots on both sides, so a shop can lift the whole car.

Which pucks fit which Corvette

Plenty of puck sellers list every Corvette from 1997 on, wide-body C6 included. BendPak, a car-lift maker, is the rare one that names an exception. If you own a C6 Z06, ZR1 or Grand Sport, or a C8 Z06 or ZR1, ask the seller before you order, whichever brand it is. Some pucks do fit: one 2012 ZR1 owner jacks his car on them, without naming the brand.

The pick: BendPak AutoPucks

The set to buy is BendPak’s AutoPucks for the Corvette. Four hard rubber pucks with a locking T-slot stem and a silicone O-ring, 2.3 in across (inside GM’s 2.5 in limit for the C7 and C8), rated at 1,750 lb each, in a zip case that lives in the trunk. BendPak publishes the specs and the exclusions instead of a blanket “fits all”, and that’s the reason it gets the nod here. It isn’t sold on Amazon; buy it from BendPak.

Image: BendPak (opens in new tab)

BendPak AutoPucks Corvette Jack Pad Pucks (5216374), set of 4

Locking rubber pucks for the C5 to C8 frame-rail slots, rated 1,750 lb each, with a case for the car. Not for the 2006–2012 C6 Z06, ZR1 or Grand Sport; ask about a C8 Z06 or ZR1.

About $40 at BendPak, October 2026

See it at BendPak (opens in new tab)

Keep them in the car. A shop may not have pucks, owners point out, so hand over the case with the keys.

The budget way, and the leave-in question

Owners have made their own for decades: a hockey puck, a bolt or bent eye screw through the middle as the locking stem, about $10 to $15 for four. A single hockey puck flexes, owners warn, so the careful ones glue two together, which also keeps the bolt from sticking through.

Some sellers, PFYC and Paragon among them, sell pucks meant to stay in the slots for good, so the car is always ready for a lift. BendPak says the opposite about its own: take them out after every use, because they’re not designed to stay in. This site’s call: follow the maker of whatever pucks you buy. A removable set comes out when the car comes down.

Can you lift a Corvette without pucks? Yes, carefully. Some owners lift at the crossmembers with a low-profile jack and a block of wood, which is close to what the C5 and C6 manuals show: a block or pad, spanning at least two crossmember ribs. Pucks just take the guesswork out of it for you and for every shop that ever touches the car.

Every Corvette sits sometimes, for a winter, a deployment or a long stretch of good intentions. A car parked for weeks belongs on a maintainer: a smart charger that tops the battery up, then switches itself on and off to hold it full, so it can stay connected all season. The battery maintainer guide covers which one, where it connects on each generation and the C7 and C8 outlet plug. The short answer is the CTEK MXS 5.0, which has an AGM mode for the AGM batteries many owners now run. On an E-Ray, read that guide first: its 12-volt battery is lithium, and GM calls for a GM-approved charger made for lithium.

Image: CTEK (opens in new tab)

CTEK MXS 5.0

The maintainer for any lead-acid Corvette: an AGM mode, 4.3 A for batteries of 1.2–110 Ah, and owners say GM's own Corvette charger is a CTEK.

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If the battery is hard to find, the battery guide shows where each generation hides it.

A cover protects paint only when it fits and goes on a clean car. Dirt trapped underneath and a loose cover flapping against the finish are what scratch, Covercraft says. For a car in the garage, the budget answer is a soft stretch satin cover cut for your generation. The Ultraguard Stretch Satin comes in one pattern per generation from the C4 (1984–1996) to the C8, spanning the trims. It’s for indoor use only, and owners of a high-wing C8, an E-Ray or a 1995–1996 C4 should ask the seller about fit first.

Image: SR1 Performance (opens in new tab)

Ultraguard Stretch Satin indoor car cover (SR1 Performance), black

A soft stretch satin cover, one pattern per generation across the trims. Indoor only; high-wing, E-Ray and 1995–1996 C4 owners should ask the seller first.

Check price on Amazon: C4: check price on Amazon (opens in new tab) C5: check price on Amazon (opens in new tab) C6: check price on Amazon (opens in new tab) C7: check price on Amazon (opens in new tab) C8: check price on Amazon (opens in new tab) Paid link

The car cover guide has the rest: the fitted Covercraft cover for a garage queen, the outdoor covers for a car that sleeps outside, and what changes the fit on each generation.

• A can of tire sealant from the parts store. It’s the classic glovebox fix, and it’s wrong for a Corvette. GM’s manuals say liquid sealants can damage the valves and tire pressure sensors in the run-flat tires, damage the warranty won’t cover, and the 2013 to 2025 manuals allow only GM-approved sealant. The C5 Z06, which came without run-flats, carried GM’s own inflator kit and sealant.
• A plain trickle charger. It feeds the battery whether it needs it or not and has to be watched and unplugged by hand, Consumer Reports says. Left on unattended, it will overcharge the battery, a GM-trained technician writes for Family Handyman. Spend the extra on a maintainer.
• A tarp or a one-size cover. A tarp traps moisture and is too abrasive, Hagerty’s Norman Garrett writes, and a loose cover flaps against the paint. The Corvette Action Center’s Hib Halverson called universal-fit covers “not worth the savings”. A body with this many curves needs a cover cut for it.
• Any jack straight under the rockers. See the section on jack pucks. A $40 set of pucks is the cheapest insurance a Corvette owner can buy, in this site’s view.

That’s the whole list: three things for a C5 or newer, two for anything older, and America’s sports car is as easy to live with as anything in the driveway. Then you can start on the fun upgrades.