3rd gen subframe connectors
 

bolt in or weld on?
weld on are ususally cheaper but then ill havbe to pay someone to weld them in. how hard are the bolt in ones to do yourself?

was lookin at sumthin like these? you think ill have to do alot of drilling and wat not?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/82-92...QQcmdZViewItem

weld on.... dont bolt them in

I would try and go with something that mounts at 3 points..... I got UMI's from 86formula and they are fantastic

Depending on the design, you can install bolt ons and then have them tack welded in a few places. I would go for only weld-ons, but it is a viable option.

Get a set from UMI and you will not be disapointed

Get the bolt ins, but have them welded. The design of them wraps around the subframes, giving you added strength over weld in ones. The extra money is worth it.

I think that alston's have the option to be bolted in

I got a set of Alstons for the 72, and they are bolt in. I will bolt them to see how they feel with the whole car, but I will most deffinatly have them welded....I just need to find someone who will do it.

IMO go with the welded ones. The problem with bolt on ones is the holes will eventualy widen up from the flex of the car and its gives another place for rust to form on the inside of the frame rails from drill holes in them. UMI makes a really nice set that bolts and weld in the back to the control arm mounts and comes up fromt with 4 weld points up front.

I had south side weld in on my 89 IROC but we did it on my fathers allignment rack as ideally you want the preload set on all 4 wheels on a flat surface. Most lifts have 4 jack screws on each arm which causes the body to flex unevely when its in the air. To weld frame rail connectors in a car when the body is tweeked cant be too good for it. I had to pull the conslole, seats & carpet out so I wouldnt burn the carpet. Put the car on a regular lift. I then removed the LCA bolts. Re installed the LCA bolts through the eyelet on the frame rails. My father tached the fronts of each rail up. Let the car down, drove it on the allignment rack. Ground the tach welds off. Ground paint off the underframe and stitch welded the frame rails along the floor. Painted the welds and took the car off the rack and put everything back together. I did this at around 40k and sold the car with about 160k and mt friends always complemented on the fact my T-tops never leaked or rattled even with the car being 12 years old and having that many miles. However, if your 3rd gen ia already 15-16 years old, why would you install them now?

Alamantia is right...you want the car loaded so there is no flex in it when you're welding them up. Weld ins are the way to go...even if you buy bolt ins weld them after install.

I don't know why anyone hasn't mentioned them yet.....Spohn makes a killer set of SFC's that triangulate into the front subframe. They make a tubular design that fits very very well.

so does the UMI design

I have the UMI weld in ones in the garage, hopfully they'll be goin in in another week or so

im running the bolt in ALSTON RACING onese, not Chris Alston's chassisworks, but the ones sold by TDS - top down solutions fbody parts

i like the a LOT, they strengthende up the car a lot. took a full day to install, just because i wanted to do everything right, but because i didnt remeove the damn exhaust - DO THIS!

the bolt in ones i run wrap around the sides of the "frame" and have holes for 2 bolts to go thru from one side to the other,; well i put an extra hole, and therefore an extra bolt in each one, so instead of 8 bolts total, i have 12.

i lik em, but im not running to mcuh hp. or tq. for it to 'really" mater much

i would go with UMI. they have great fit and finish and the prices are very fair. i can't see trusting some no name off ebay connectors to help protect and stiffen my chassis.

I agree

Get the UMI ones, they have the boxed style, they make for a great jacking point and ALWAYS weld them in...never just bolt onits just not worth it

I plan to get a set for my thirdgen once i get some disposable income.

i am also looking forward to getting some SFCs for the '87. i am considering Spohn, as you can buy the pieces to the whole suspension system, as money allows, and he makes the components so that they work together.

weld the bolt-ins, i've also heard this is the way to go as you get extra strength.

I like UMI and spohn (especially spohn because of tere extensive selection of 3rd gen parts).

The only thing that bothers me is that they both swear that there SFCs are better than the other...it gets confusing.

Really the only difference i saw was that spohn has tubular as UMI has boxed.

when you really boil it down, there is no ne better than the other. face it, they are all selling what amounts to a steel stick that ties the front and rear of the car together. it is not some complicated, cutting edge item that requires constant technological input.
jsut get one from a company that has a reputation for good fit and finish(umi and spohn) and at a reasonable price.
defnately go weld in, bolt ins eventually work themselves loose and do more harm t your chassis than good.

i think js performance is a UMI distributer, hit him up to see if he can get you a good price on the subs and maybe install.

welds break too tho

true but if done right they wont or not for a loooooong time....either way its better than bolts

welds don't fail unless they are horrible, the first thing to fail will be the metal around the weld. if you push your car hard enough or make a hard enough impact to do that, your subframe connectors are the last thing that will be on your mind. lol

the problem with bolts is that there is no way to completely stop a bolt from moving. you can tighten it twice a day and the result will be the same. the bolt will slowly and slightly move itself around and either come loose, stretch out of place, wear the surrounding metal and come loose, or oval out the holes it is in.
welds have none of these problems. once welded, things stay in place until the surrounding material fails.

ive got the spohn weld in's and im very happy with them..installed them myself without a lift.put the front up on ramps then jacked the back up and put the car back down with blocks of wood under tire so the suspension is loaded...went in within a couple hours, didnt have to pull the interior apart..just be careful welding..used a wire wheel on a grinder to clean up before i welded and everything fit with no cutting..just remember to drop the front part of the control arms after its tacked so you dont roast the bushings..i was worried my smaller mig welder wouldnt be powerful enough but it did great...

I've heard the S+W SFC have the best ground clearance. As far as the bolt-ins not being good> I've run the SLP bolt-in on my 93s for many years and I've never found a bolt loose or any problems at all. The SLP have 3 mounting points as well which I think help stiffen the frame and the floor pan.

John, how are the SLP SFC for ground clearance? I'm in the market for SFC and have not made a decision yet.

Not too bad. I've never scraped them, unlike my Spohn torque arm! Only issue I say is that they are a PITA when using a 2-post life, the rear mounts are tuff to work around. They are basically a bolt in version of the Kenny Bell Double Diamons, but his weld in ( I think ) and have an extra brace for the shock mounts or something. Using the SLP SFC and a G-load brace or DS loop that uses real steel to replace that stamped steel brace from the factory really makes a big difference in the stiffness of the car. I also have LG 3-point strut tower brace which ties the car together nicely.

Sorry for the :jake: