I just had my global west subframe connecters installed today.The DIFFERENCE IS DRAMATIC! The car feels so solid and the rattles are gone and my doors close much easier. The best upgrade I ever did to my camaro yet.

 

congrats!

 

I need some SFC's but i keep putting them off, Im starting to think that I should put everything else off and get SFC's ??

That big of a difference ?

BC

 

yes it is a HUGE difference,

it is like geting a whole new car. and should IMHO be the FIRST mod all f-bodys do.

 

I agree, It's something you keep putting off, untill you do it, then you say to yourself why ? why? did I WAIT SO LONG! Subframe connecters should be the #1 first mod for your F body.

 

"Subframe connecters should be the #1 first mod for your F body."
Absolutely the first mod that should be done.

 

Its time to buy i guess......Spohn.

BC

 

man i just had my spohn SFC put on and i could not tell any difference. the rattles are still there and it feels the exact same. i was able to tell more of a difference when i added the STB then the SFC's. im kinda disappointed, i hear all this talk about SFC's making the car feal totaly different. well it feels the same.

 

Hmmmm...... That's kinda weird. Did you have a shop put them in? , or did you self install them with jackstands and stuff??

I have a major fear that when I install mine at home, that the body will be tweaked a bit or something when I install them. And when they're on they're on, you know? I have so many rattles and squeaks and t-top dillemmas, door mis alignment! You name it, I don't know if the SFC's will cure it!

 

i had my friend do them at his shop. we did the install just like the instructions said.

 

Did you bolt in or weld? I had mine done at a shop on a drive on lift, and it was a night and day difference. My friend just bought a GTA and I am going to get him to order some SFC's this weekend. The STB I put in help with cornering, but the Alston SFC's made everything really tight. I went from a whole lot of rattles and noiese, to THREE! Here is a pic of one installed.

 

they were welded in

 

I'm surprised you didn't notice any difference. I got the Spohn tubular SFCs installed at Spohns' shop in PA, and the difference is dramatic. Mind you, I do still have rattles, etc, but far less than I used to. The rest of the rattling is misc stuff like ttops need adjusting, doors need new bushings, rear hatch needs new everything... lol. The doors open and close far easier than they used to; I'm sure that with new bushings in the hinges, they will work like new.

Maybe you should give Steve at Spohn a call, and see what he thinks.

 

That looks good/clean.

I'm gonna get bolt-ons and then when I have the cash, I'll weld them on for good. I decided to go with the Jegster ones from Jegs...I have heard nothing but good things about them. I bough some Competition Engineering ones but sent them back cause they need major exhaust re-routing to work, I do not recommend them at all!

 

yeah i did notice the doors shut a little easier now.

whats to ask him? its very hard to produce a defective tubular bar and screw up the install.

 

I've got a question on that. I have the bolt on Competition Engineering units sitting in a box upstairs in my garage. I bought them a while ago and haven't gotten to putting them on, should I look for different ones? Was it specifically the bolt on units that you got which were going to need major exhaust relocation? I know the weld on ones say that you'll have to relocate the exhaust but the bolt ons are supposed to be just that "bolt on". I had planned to bolt them on and then get them welded in place to prevent elongation of the bolt holes, but now I'm wondering if I need to get different sfc's and try and find someone who wants the ones I have, since I've had them too long to be able to send them back to Summit Please let me know what's up with these CE SFC's so I can plan ahead! Thanks so much!

-Paul

 

I had bought the weld-ons.

SEND THEM BACK! They suck! It'll cost you more money to re-route your exhaust than it'll cost to weld the sfc's on. When me + the muffler guy mocked them up on the chassis, we couldn't even really tell which side was which and they really looked like they were the wrong model fro the car. NOPE, summit said I was a retard and I told them they need to revise thier ad for them and make sure people know that these Comp. Eng> ones will only work with major modification.

For 180 bucks.... I am gonna get Jegsters, they're supposed to be really good.

 

Ok, well it's too late to send them back I think they've been in my garage for probably a year now o well...but anyway, CE does make two different bolt on sfc's for the thirdgen, check them out here http://www.competitionengineering.co...?CatCode=11001 and tell me which ones you got. I got the ones that are supposed to fit without exhaust relocation, P/N C3120 I believe, they were much less expensive than the others which don't fit w/ stock exhaust location. I think they were about $180. Look at the pictures and let me know which ones you got. I'm stuck with these anyway, but if they're gonna be a PITA I'll try and get rid of them and go some other route, maybe Jegsters, or Hotchkis, or something like that... Thanks for the help!

-Paul

 

I got the second set, the ones made with larger boxed steel, 1 set is 2 x 1 1/2 and the ones I got were 2 x 2 1/2 .
I got mine from summit for like 90 bucks or something. Maybe yours will work! It says designed to clear stock exhaust!

 

All right, good to know, thanks a bunch! I'll take a look at mine when I'm home for spring break and see how things line up, if everything looks like it's going to fit I think I might go ahead and install them (prob. won't be welded in right away, just bolted, but I'm not planning on hitting the track any time soon ) If it's not gonna work I'll look into something else. Thanks so much for your help!

-Paul

 

87 B4Z, I'm with you. I installed the Spohn Tubular SFC's, welded them in correctly, and had my car on a drive-up lift. I noticed very little. I assumed it was because all the 92 cars were the first to use that joint sealer everywhere on the car so it was stiffer than most others anyway. Also my car has not been abused and twisted so I figure it was alright before.

I wish I could say there was a big differrence but there was not. However now that they are installed I realize I need to replace the hnges on my drivers side door but now both my dorr windows freakin leak at their corner where the sailpanel meets the roof and the T-Tops. My car NEVER leaked before AT ALL. I was pissed...

 

See that's what I don't want. I've been recommended by many here that I should get SFC's and install them as my next mod. My doors close fine but the car does rattle like a typical third gen F body, but if it ain't gonna cure at least most of the rattling and noises, then I'll be out 200+ bucks. Maybe it depends on how much abuse the car has seen. But I would really like to solve this problem which is more important to me now than doing any more under-the-hood mods.

 

i just got back from a auto-x event and my car handled very nice. it has been raining the past few days here and i wasnt really able to do any spirted driving. my car felt very thight going the corners and stuck to the road like a ****.

 

SFC's will not cure every squeak and rattle while driving the car. Mine didn't have that many to begin with and there are still one or two after the installation.

The difference is in the way the car feels now when driving. The car is more rigid during turns and going over bumps. It may not be noticeable to anyone who does not know what to feel for, especially if you don't have T-tops.

The best way to compare is to drive an F-body without SFC's over a speed bump, one side on the bump, the other side off the bump. Then do the same thing with a car that does have SFC's. You will definitely feel the difference.

 

I know they're not gonna cure every single rattle. Mine doesn't have too many either, but it's going over bumps or over rough roads that the rattles are more noticeable. So you think they would be a good idea to get even though I don't have T-Tops and I don't drive the car hard? Or would my $$ be better spent elsewhere.

 

Getting SFC's is definitely money well invested!

You will still notice a difference when going over bumps and such, the car will feel stiffer. Bear in mind these cars are gonna pick up every little mark in the road to begin with, thanks to the suspension.

Drop me an email if you want a reference to get the work installed.

 

I made my own subframe connecters and at the same time made a 3 point strut brace. All the steel cost me about $35 and took me most of a weekend to complete the job.

Before the dash and t tops rattled/squeaked now there is not a sound. The car feels so much more solid I'd highly recommend people fit these asap.

Simon

 

Well I'm sold. I'll go ahead and order a set next time I have enough money, since it appears that the majority are pretty satisfied with the results. Now the next question is,,,what brand???

 

I just got my Jegsters today, they look really good, but the only other I can compare them to were the weld in Competition Eng. ones that I sent back because they were crap.

I am installing them tommarrow, I'll post the results.

 

When I see some SFC's priced at near $200 they dont seem much different to a couple of lengths of steel you can pick up for a few dollars with some bits welded on that take a few minutes to do.
The money saved will go towards buying a welder if you dont have one and then you can fabricate various other parts such as LCA's ,panhard rod, strut brace etc
Just an idea


Simon

 

If I was good at fabricating things on my own, I would try it. But in this case I'd rather spend the money and have something that I know will surely work. I already tried to modify my A/C heater box. It didn't work. Now I got one coming in the mail.

By the way after reading a few threads I think I'm gonna go with the Alston bolt-on SFC's, and then get 'em welded. If anyone else has some more comments about this or any other brands, please post.