yeah like the title says, which is better/stronger? would they get in the way of exhaust?

 

it all depends.

Any set of SFC you purchase needs to be welded in, whether they are called bolt in or not. If you just bolt them on, the holes tend to elongate and render the SFC useless.

Some get in the way of exhaust, other dont. They usually tell you in the add if they will or will not work with stock exhaust.

 

Some sfc's have issues with dual cat exhausts. Nothing a little bending won't fix. Best ot go for weld in frames as it will be stronger bolt ins can become loose) IMO. Good luck

 

I like to mount the bolt on sfc's and then WELD THEM on! I think the bolt on pieces are made to fit easier. I have found some weld on units require more work to fit them before welding.

As stated above, you need to weld them on no matter what.

 

There is no question that weld in is the only way to go. I made my own weld in SFC but my car is more then custom. As stated before, the bolt in ones have the bolts come in loose and tend to start to crack from where the bolts went into the frame (I'm surprised no one here mentioned that). Just get a set of good weld in and have someone who knows what he is doing weld them in. Be sure to have them installed on a drive on rack. Not a two post lift with the weight off the suspension.

 

This is related, ive bought a set of the Jegs weld in connectors, but there's an astrisk in my catalog that says must be used with formed rear frame rail? what's this and do I need it? if so where do I find one?

 

i'm running the jegs bolt-in connectors and welded them in. the bolt in connectors have larger brackets on them so more area to weld to the floor is a good thing IMO.

 

I was wondering the same thing. I have an 88 iroc convertible with thie stock LB9 / 5 speed combo. I dont plan on doing any engine mods. do i really need to weld these in, given that i dont really have a ton of torque and just want to stiffen the car up a little bit?

 

bolt them in yourself then pay to have them welded in.

 

Anyone making SFC for T-Top cars? Not having much luck on finding them.
JP

 

SFC is the same for hardtop or T-top.

 

Thank you. Summit and some others didn't show part#.
JP

 

Weld-weld-weld. No matter what. And EVERY 3rd gen needs them IMO. My car handles and drives better and the doors even shut better after installing SFC's. Build them yourself and you can deal with any clearance issues and have a better overall setup than the one's you can purchase. Save a bunch of money too. I spent around $30 for mine.

 

Why do you need to lift the car by the tires?

 

in order to do the weld-in SFC's correctly, the vehicle needs to be at "Ride height"...on it's wheels will the full weight of the vehicle on the suspension.

 

If you were to use a 2 or 4 post lift and raise the car by the body, you are going move the body a lil(we have unibody cars not full frame cars). if you install a SFC when the car is raised by the body you run the risk of doing permanent damage to your body i.e, quarters could wrinkle, doors will not open or close well. car could even track in an odd way.

just my 0.02

 

Sorry I did not see your question.

If you life the vehicle on a 2 post lift the body will flex and when you weld the SFC in the body will be stiffened in the flexed position. BAD NEWS!!

If you weld them in on a drive on 4 post lift and the suspension is how it is normally sitting the body is relaxed in it's normal state. That is how they should be installed.

As long as the suspension is "Loaded" hence the weight of the car on it's wheels the car will not flex.

Now if you have access to a frame rack and you square up the frome you can install then SFC that way. But that is allot of work and really not necessary.

 

I'm a little dumb so bear with me....

I have a hardtop so no t-tops....how badly can the car flex on a hoist?

It's lifted straight up.

What am I missing?

Thanks

 

It's not whether it's on a hoist, on the ground or hanging from a hot air baloon, it's where you grab the chassis that's important. As long as the car is supported AT THE SAME POINTS AS THE SUSPENSION supports it. IOW if you put jack stands under the rear axel and under the front crossmember, the weight of the car will still be "loaded" at the same points as if it were sitting on the tires.

I like to exagerate to make a point. Let's say you were to somehow balance the car on two jackstands located in the middle of the car. The body would flex and the front and rear ends would sag. Then if you welded the SFC's on the car, it would be tied together in that "flexed" state. The sfc's will be trying to hold the car in that state, rather than reinforcing the chassis in it's natural state.

Now let's continue that line of thought to using a lift which grabs the car just in front of the rear wheels and behind the front wheels. The car will flex a bit leaving the front and rear of the car drooping down a bit. Will it hurt to weld in the sfc's? I don't know. I can tell you this. When I installed mine it DEFINATLY stiffened the car. It rode better, the doors shut better and it felt more solid all around. Have you ever put your car on jack stands right behind the front wheels? When I do, my doors don't quite shut the same. I wouldn't want to weld in sfc's when my car is flexed like that.

It's your car so do what you feel is best. I would recommend lifting the car in a manor which is as close to emulating the car sitting on it's tires as possible.