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Got my Alston SFCs installed today . Had them welded in, took them over to Tyson at Performance Auto Fabrication, Really reasonable in the install.
I wish someone told me that the difference. Way, way, better than the wonder bar/WS6 sway bar swap. It feels like I imagine that a brand new one would feel like. I'm sure its even better when it was new.
And just in case anyone is wondering, I put the car on the lift at work so I could take the pics, they were not installed on that lift
Last edited by krisb410; Aug 12, 2006 at 09:54 PM.
Reason: Added pics
Whoops....
SFC's are so vital to the structural rigidity of the F-body's I subconsciously posted twice LOL!
Anyways...the shop that did mine took a few hours to do them....they wanted to check the frame first to make sure it was true and straight, then they test fit them, welded them in and painted the welds over to protect it. Also make sure the shop that installs them knows what they are doing....they must be installed on a drive on lift with the suspension under load! That's very important.
when u got them welded where they already bolted in place and is there anyway to see if the body is stright. the orginal said he hit hit a curb pretty hard and i never even thought to check if the fram is cracked
Nooooo....I would never use bolt on SFC's....that's just a bad idea....drilling through your frame to attach some bolts that are going to be under major stresses and other forces...those holes will elongate soon and the SFC's will be less and less useful over time. Bolt ons are just a bad idea. I look at it like if you're going to do it...do it right the first time so you don't ever have to worry about it again.
Good shops can get for straightness on the body using key measurements. Also any shop with a frame straightener can check it and most likely get the car back to within spec if need be.
i've got alstons and truth be told for cornering, the tds wonderbar helped me more........ (yes mine are welded in and very good at that). I do like the rigidity that they add and the rattles that have subsided since but, i realy didn't notice much of a differenence in handeling, btw if i were to do it again i'd get umi or spohn connectors (alstons hurt ground clearence and exhaust routing to much imo).
I did not have them installed at all, I had them installed and welded in. I drop the car off at 11:30 and it was ready by 3, but he also did some other work on the car. I think he told me it took about 2 1/2 hours to install them. As for the ground clearence, the exhaust hangs about even with them. I have gone over some bretty big speed bumps and some crazy railroad tracks without them hitting. And I did not have an issue with the exhaust clearence either. But I still have the factory Y pipe with a highflow cat and catback. I just took a few pics and I will post them up when I have a chance to download them onto the computer.
Last edited by krisb410; Aug 11, 2006 at 05:13 PM.
i've got alstons and truth be told for cornering, the tds wonderbar helped me more........ (yes mine are welded in and very good at that). I do like the rigidity that they add and the rattles that have subsided since but, i realy didn't notice much of a differenence in handeling, btw if i were to do it again i'd get umi or spohn connectors (alstons hurt ground clearence and exhaust routing to much imo).
anyways just my 2 cents
I installed the wonderbar first, along with 36mm and 24mm sways. Which made a big difference. And now I just installed the SFCs, which I feel that they made a bigger difference. What order did you do? If I was to do it again, I'd do SFCs first, then the wonderbar and sways.
Installed Alstons on my 91 several years ago and it definitely ranks up there for top modifications. Before, if I jacked the car up the doors would catch real bad.....and that was even if the car was jacked up straight(front or rear) and not just a corner. Now I can lift just a corner and the doors open smooth as can be.
I put them on my '88 Iroc. I love how much they tightened up my suspension and helped with rattles! I ordered mine from TDS - a great guy to deal with!!! Can't recommend them highly enough! I do have 2" drop springs, and rubbed bottom a bit before the install. Now, I have to be really careful just pulling in my driveway. But, running a 3.5" single exhaust, they hang a lot lower than the exhaust does. It's still better than the frame dragging, bagged S-15, S-10, or Isuzu Spacecab were, though... You just have to get used to lowered vehicles. I still scrape the airdam more than the subframe connectors. Although, oddly, since the install I've had 2 exhaust hangers break. All the exhaust system was new about 2 months before I installed the alstons. Probably just a coincidence, but still pretty weird!
after reading up a bunch, i am guna get the Alston SFC's
jsut a few quick questions...
Did you have to move your fuel lines at all? on Top Downs website, one response tot he sfc's was that they had to move their fuel lines? im assuming u dont have to, but i jsut wanted to check
and dude, waht kind of exhaust cut-out is that? just standard 3" .. how do you like where it is mounted, like almost near the rear of the car,? would you move it if you had to do it again? forwards or back? i was thinking of getting one on, and putting it right after the cat, but it looks easier to access the 3 wing nuts the furthur back on the car... opinions? i think that manual cut-outs are legal, but elsectic ones are illiegal in NJ, andyone know?
tomorrow i plan on ordering the Alston SFC's and the wonderbar, if im going to bolt them in, AND weld them. i will have to scrape off some of the powdercoating, correct??
Did you have to move your fuel lines at all? on Top Downs website, one response tot he sfc's was that they had to move their fuel lines? im assuming u dont have to, but i jsut wanted to check
The guy who installed them told me he moved them as much as he could, then use a steal plate to protect them while he welded
Originally Posted by IROCZman15
and dude, waht kind of exhaust cut-out is that? just standard 3" .. how do you like where it is mounted, like almost near the rear of the car,? would you move it if you had to do it again? forwards or back? i was thinking of getting one on, and putting it right after the cat, but it looks easier to access the 3 wing nuts the furthur back on the car... opinions? i think that manual cut-outs are legal, but elsectic ones are illiegal in NJ, andyone know?
That is a homemade cutout, and I like where it is mounted, but I do have to lay on my back and reach under there to put it on and take it off. I will eventually get an electric one. I see alot of people replace the cat with a cutout, easier to use, but I think all that noise coming out just under the passenger would make them unbearible, but I wouldn't know. At least with mine the noise comes out behind me. The only thing I would really change on the cutout is that the triangle shape of it should have one side towards the ground. If you look at mine now, one of the "points" of the triangle is facing down, It does lightly scrape on things, but that's why I left the clamps on, they kinda protect it.
I have no idea on the NJ laws, sorry.
Originally Posted by IROCZman15
tomorrow i plan on ordering the Alston SFC's and the wonderbar, if im going to bolt them in, AND weld them. i will have to scrape off some of the powdercoating, correct??
I would only bolt them up if you plan on installing them yourself and then taking them to get welded. Otherwise, you can weld in the mounting holes too instead of drilling the frame and using the bolts.
Yes you will have scrape off some of the powder coating and the paint on the car where they mount. When your done, just hit it with some spraypaint or something.
Last edited by krisb410; Sep 11, 2006 at 10:55 PM.
Well SFC are a ket part to any unibody car not just an F body. They help reduce body flex, body roll, improve handling, improve traction and just make the car stiffer.
Bolt in ones don't work and usually end up cracking the frame where they bolt into. Since they bolt into high stress points in the car it is not a good idea to drill that area. I have welded up the holes from bolt in SFC on a few occasions and usually they have cracking around them.
One of the best mods that you can do to your car for the money.
They also must be installed with the weight on the car. A drive on 4 post lift is a must for this install.
sry to bring up a old thread but do any of you have a measurement on how low they hang off of the body. im looking to add these with my sphon subframe connectors to stiffen it up even more. my car is t top and is putting down almost 500rwhp and I don't want it to twist. thanks
sry to bring up a old thread but do any of you have a measurement on how low they hang off of the body. im looking to add these with my sphon subframe connectors to stiffen it up even more. my car is t top and is putting down almost 500rwhp and I don't want it to twist. thanks
I got mine to touch the floors with some massaging. They are about 1 5/8 diameter tubing. It's probably a safe bet to figure they will hang 1 3/4 to maybe close to 2 inches from the floor though.
Do any of u guys have a pic of where they mount on the front. Im running a hawks sway trans crossmember and i think it might interfere
I don't have a picture handy, but I'm running the "UMI TORQUE ARM RELOCATION KIT/TRANSMISSION CROSSMEMBER" with a T5. I had to cut some material from the crossmember to get it to fit once the SFC's were welded in. Another option would be cutting some material off of the SFC mounting cups with the crossmember installed as a reference. Either way, you may have to make some adjustments for both to fit.
I like them but im worried my car might sit low. Im running sportline lowering springs. And of u guys running these on lowered cars? And also to the fuys running both inside and outside subframe connectors. Can u tell a difference with running both. Im just trying to find a way to stiffen yhe frame without using a cage. My car is a t top car and im almost at 500rwhp and ive heard im pushing the car alittle hard
I have Alston SFCs and was running the Hawks T56 crossmember before I installed them. I ended up cutting the mounting tabs that went to the factory crossmember bolt holes off the Hawks crossmember and making plates that use the SFC's mounting holes to attach the crossmember. My SFCs are welded in.
sry to bring up a old thread but do any of you have a measurement on how low they hang off of the body. im looking to add these with my sphon subframe connectors to stiffen it up even more. my car is t top and is putting down almost 500rwhp and I don't want it to twist. thanks
This is my ground clearance with Hotchkis springs. They'll drag on a lot of speed bumps but my Spohn T56 crossmember is still a pinch lower than the Alstons.
over time these cars have sagged in the middle, the best way to do them it install jackstands as close tot the middle of the car as you can, letting the ends sag bowing the car back up, I installed mine like that and the doors shut perfect on my 92 .
. Had them welded in, took them over to Tyson at Performance Auto Fabrication, Really reasonable in the install.
