Ed,
Hmmmm. That seems a bit drastic. It also seems to me that it compromises the SFC and it's strength.

I still have my Alston's in the garage. I may try a test fit this weekend and see how they fit on my car. I'm thinking I'll probably bolt them on, then run over to a shop and have them welded once I know they fit correctly.

 

I understand your concern, but it's really not that drastic of a change as it's bent there anyway. I didn't bend it anymore, just flattened the top section out . I can compare it to making an oval exhaust pipe out of a round section in one spot only, just a little tweak. Trust me...that's one hell of a strong tube...I barely made a change in it but I got just enough to get it off the floorpan. I only needed an 1/16" or so.

Ed

 

Hmm, I've been having a little trouble getting mine to fit too. Here's a picture of the driver side. You can see the rear hole is on the edge of the subframe.

 

I would hammer them forward a little. Mine were just a little bit snug. Either try that or take them down and use the jack to push it up while you are holding them in further forward. My driver side fit fine.

 

I thought them Alston's where a good fit after all the praising written on the board about them That's a shame since I was considering to buy them soon. Hope they fix the design on these, because thats way too much tweaking necessary if that what it takes to get it to fit.

 

I wouldn't shy away from them just because we got a hold of a few "bad" ones, they're really a great SFC. I'd just address the fitment issue with the guys Lon recommended before you buy and make sure it's fixed.

I drove the car into work today and I can say they did the trick..car is much more rigid and a lot quieter both on smooth road and when going over bumps and stuff. I don't have any noise or cat banging and the notch I cut did the trick down there also. I'm really happy with them and would recommend them once they get this front cup thing fixed.

All in all, very good upgrade. My driver's side fit perfect also. I did drill a hole in it to allow the fuel line retainer bolt to go back in the stock hole.

Ed

 

I thought my clunking had improved but its still pretty bad. I've been driving the car everyday for about two weeks now and its really annoying. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about it now, aside from replying to every SFC thread to let people know exactly how disgusted I am.

 

I saw your post in the other thread, and I hear ya. However, after notching the cat flange and doing a little work with the front cup they fit Ok for me. If I had to do it again, I'd go with Spohns. They're just better IMO.


I do notice a difference in my car, stiffer and very noticable when going in the driveway and over RR tracks. I do recommend them, but after the Spohns.

Ed

 

After 2 years with them on my car the floor pan on the pass side keeps hitting them, so I 'm taking off the pass side one but leaving the driver side. I guess 1 is better then none.

 

That's how my GTA was. I couldn't ever get the passanger side to fit right because of the mounting cup so I just left it off.

I bought another set from Lon for my Formula [another dual cat car...] that I haven't tried to fit yet, but rather then bolting them in, I'm going to have them welded in or possibly try myself if I ever figure out how to weld well.

 

I still have to do a bit of grinding on my cat flange. Turns out that if I go over some bumps or a good hard jolt that it still bumps the cat flange a bit and sounds like someone is hitting the floor with a hammer. Other than that, I'm happy.

Ed

 

I just installed my alstons last week. Bolted and welded. I had Alston adjust the front pass. side mounting cup to my specs. It was originally too narrow, so I sent the bar back w/ a drawing of the problem. The second time it fit perfectly.

They made a huge difference in the car. It rides better/ smoother and feels much tighter.