Are subframe connectors good or bad for traction? Can anyone explain to me exactly what they do (I know they stiffen the frame but "how they go about doing that" is what im getting at) and where they go (pictures would be nice =)

 

i dont have any pictures but the answer is yes. before i had them, when i launched my rear end would swerve a little. then when i put the sfc on my launches were straight and swerveless. i like they way they look to. mine are red and my car is black and you can see them from the side of the car. it looks real good with the red calipers and seats i have.
THEN when i lowered my car i got the swerve back. lowering is not good for launching.

 

I believe convertibles come with sfc's from the factory

 

Don't mean to sound dumb.. but exactly where are they and what do they look like? I know I have a funky X bar near the transmission... is this it?

 

most sfc's are square or round tubing that either weld or bolt to the front and rear sub frames behind the front tires and in front of the rear tires. They are located underneath the rocker panels on the driver and passenger sides. I have a t-top car with BMR weld in square sfc's. From what I have read, the convts have some sort of sfc's from the factory. Im not sure what exactly they look like, but they could be triangular or diamond shaped. Any way they should at some point fasten in the locations I mentioned above. Hope this helps

 

I always thought that traction was worse because there was less flex in the body for the shock and give of a good launch?

 

Glad I'm not the only one.

 

Convertibles have a sort of X brace, if you want to call it that--it is seriously lacking as a final solution, however. Get some decent sub-frame connectors for all fbodys, especially convertibles. I would try something other than KBDD (the ones I bought).

I know because I own a convertible w/KBDD's.

-Rob

 

IMO a real elaborate SFC can be a bit overboard like the KBDD or the SLP's. Unless you are heavily into autocrossing or running 10's-9's it should be a problem.

I could be wrong but I think George Baxter ran plain BMR's for a while before adding a cross brace in his convertable.

 

subframes are excellent for traction, along with anything else that stiffens your chassis...

this happens because any flex of the chassis during a launch is energy wasted that could be used to push the car forward....also, when chassis flex is reduced or eliminated the suspension geometry remains correct, and doesnt have any preload conditions that it shouldnt due to flexing of the body and frame(or lack there of)

besides, if you make any serious power, and you dont have subframes , or a cage (or both hehe) then you can expect your cars chassis to become permanently twisted in a rather short period of time.

the south side machine kit i have which includes the subframes, cross member, liftbars and driveshaft loop works incredibly well. the car launches very hard. the subframes are available seperately as well. they are kinda tough, there is alot of welding required, but these things are heavy duty.....i have a few pics of this stuff too