Hey all
I am looking to do subframes on my 98Z and need some advice as to which ones and what to keep in mind as for installation?
I am doing a electric cutout at the same time, as well as possible y-pipe and other exhaust work in the future, will this affect this and if so what do I need to keep in mind?
Can you give any advise concerning which brand and install procedures pertaining to all things effected such as: ground clearance, exhaust clearance, rigidity increase, frame rust, boxed vs tubed design, weld in vs bolt in, ease of install, appearance etc.

Thanks everyone

Roy Horsley
Utah F-body association member

 

I went with the SLP bolt on SFC for my 02 Z28. The only tricky thing about installing them is that the weight of the car has to be on the tires/suspension. If you know someone who has access to a drive on lift that is the easiest way. Installation is fairly straight forward. Some people have had issues with the holes not lining up properly and having to elongate the SFC holes.

This is NOT a problem with the SFC. It is due to their chassis being twisted/out of alignment from running without SFC's.

The DD style either Kenny Brown or SLP is very sturdy and may be overkill depending on what your use is. I noticed right away on mine that it feels like one solid piece instead of a front and rear.

I did lose a little ground cleareance. maybe 1/2 "

Hope this helped.

 

So many different manufacturers out there with SFC's, you'll get pros & cons for each of them. Also same pro's/con's regarding weld-in's/bolt-on's, so you decide.

Me? LGMotorsports G2 weld-in SFC's with optional v-braces, great quality, very sturdy.

Other manufacturers include BMR, Hotchkis, DGM, RKSports SFC's look very much like the Kenny Brown double-diamond SFC's, very similar, some folks say that the DD SFC's are overkill, others say that the LGM SFC's are overkill, while others say that any weld-in SFC's are overkill, so there you have it...

I went for the LGMotorsports G2 SFC's because I know of Lou Gigliotti, he used to race 4th gens, I think he know's what he's doing.

 

love my BMR boxed. there was no lose of clearance. the ypipe and the rear lca bracket are lower than the plane of the sfc. there are tons of install pics on page 3 of my webpage.

i also have a bassani orp and a standard catback...none are affected.

 

Thanks for the info guys!
As far as my car goes I lowered it so I dont want to lose any more clearance then I have too, but I will sacrifice some for performance if the best setup requires it. It is not a daily driver so I dont need to be able to go anywhere just be able to get around most areas.
as far as the use, I autocross more than I hit the strip but I do have a goal of four to five hundred horse at the wheels in the future and I hate the little rattles ans squeeks that are starting to show up from a hard suspension and 45k miles.
I had the Kenny Browns in mind because of what I have heard about them and they seem to be a very good design but I was wondering if they are overkill for my use like some of you said.
So none of the types available will interfere with exhaust? Its a concern because there is a local guy here that has a turbo kit that installs in the rear and requires exhaust to go to and from the rear of the car.
Yeah I heard if you weld them in make sure the car is in a (static tires on the ground position)is best but what do you think about pulling up the interior carpet etc. before welding to prevent interior damage?

Thanks

 

Yes...when welding in the sfc's, you want the suspension to be "loaded." I just had a set of BMR boxed sfc's welded in and I love them. Fortunately, a friend had a pit (like at the instant oil change shops) in his garage. So, we were able to keep the suspension under load and walk around underneath the car. As far as the carpet goes, we didn't have any weld points that were directly on the floor board (for my application). The only problem we came across was the stamped metal being so thin where we were welding, which only meant we had to take our time so we didn't blow through. Like I said earlier, I'm very pleased with the BMR's and would recommend them to anyone.