Subframe connectors

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mikeflys1

Founding Member

Aug 27, 2002

217

1

0

CT

Feb 26, 2004

#1

• Feb 26, 2004

• #1

Anyone have any recommendations? Is it worth it to get the ones with the crossbrace under the front seats?

 

8

87gtconv

ragtopman

Founding Member

Feb 11, 1999

2,595

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0

Southern Calif

Feb 26, 2004

#2

• Feb 26, 2004

• #2

I have used Kenny Brown's for about 10 years and I love mine. Yes you need to support the front seat area as it will stress easy. KB's are about as light as U can go and do well. And get them welded too!!

 

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ss93cobra

Founding Member

Apr 10, 2002

1,422

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Wilmington NC

Feb 27, 2004

#3

• Feb 27, 2004

• #3

I bought the ones from Year One that actually have an x brace that connect the two subframes together from left to right. They were installed on my wife's 87 GT t-top car and made one helluva difference. No more sloppy wobbly crap. It made the car feel like it was brand new and got rid of alot of the rattle common to t-tops. Personal opinion is that it is the only way to do subframes correctly.

By the way #300 post!!!

 

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PonyBoy90

Founding Member

Aug 30, 2002

555

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Toronto

Feb 27, 2004

#4

• Feb 27, 2004

• #4

What kind of subframes you get depends on what you plan on doing with the car. If you're going to drag it and install a supercharger, I'd suggest you get the full length tubular subframes with seat bolts as well as installing roll bars.

If this is just a ride for you around town, the single shorter length square bar with or without seat braces and welded in should be ample.

Do not use bolt on subframes without having them welded in after also! The bolts holes will start to grow and peel away at your floors.

 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

15 Year Member

Nov 11, 2003

6,945

1,597

223

Northern KY

Feb 27, 2004

#5

• Feb 27, 2004

• #5

I've got the plain jane FMS tubular bars on mine, no seat supports or anything, and the difference is like night and day. The car is so stiff it's almost like a suspension upgrade and it corners like crazy with stock suspension and 15s. My aproach to upgrades is pretty much get the best you can possibly afford, so you're not wanting something more later on down the road, so i'd get the full length subs with the seat supports. Maximum Motorsports makes a sweet subframe setup too.

 

Mavrick

Founding Member

Aug 29, 2002

2,264

0

46

Collingwood, ON

Feb 27, 2004

#6

• Feb 27, 2004

• #6

I got regular HPM subframes with the seat brace.. can't wait to install them in the spring.

Is the seat brace meant to be welded?

 

89MustangGX

I have nothing productive to add!

Jul 3, 2001

10,262

1

0

Mill Creek, WA

Feb 27, 2004

#7

• Feb 27, 2004

• #7

Mavrick said:

Is the seat brace meant to be welded?

Click to expand...

It should be welded to the subframe connector, but bolted to the seat bolts.

 

Mavrick

Founding Member

Aug 29, 2002

2,264

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46

Collingwood, ON

Feb 27, 2004

#8

• Feb 27, 2004

• #8

Thanks 89, thats what i meant... to weld the sub frame connector seat brace to the floor of the car..

 

89MustangGX

I have nothing productive to add!

Jul 3, 2001

10,262

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Mill Creek, WA

Feb 27, 2004

#9

• Feb 27, 2004

• #9

Mavrick said:

Thanks 89, thats what i meant... to weld the sub frame connector seat brace to the floor of the car..

Click to expand...

I suppose you could weld the actual seat brace to the floor, but I've never seen one done that way. I suppose the more surface area of the weld the stronger it will be though. The floors are really thin, so I don't know how much more you'll really get though.

I know my full length MM subs actually came with insert pieces that go between the floor and the subs so you have more area to weld in -- I liked that idea. But I never looked into the seat area...sounds like an idea.

 

Mavrick

Founding Member

Aug 29, 2002

2,264

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46

Collingwood, ON

Feb 27, 2004

#10

• Feb 27, 2004

• #10

Hmm, well if the sub frame connector seat brace (im referring to the cross brace, part of the sub frame connector) isn't meant to be welded to the floor pan, then what is the point of having it??

 

Munnstang

Founding Member

Jan 3, 2002

287

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Winnipeg Manitoba

Feb 27, 2004

#11

• Feb 27, 2004

• #11

Any idea how much it costs these to get welded in somewhere?

 

89MustangGX

I have nothing productive to add!

Jul 3, 2001

10,262

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0

Mill Creek, WA

Feb 27, 2004

#12

• Feb 27, 2004

• #12

Mavrick said:

Hmm, well if the sub frame connector seat brace (im referring to the cross brace, part of the sub frame connector) isn't meant to be welded to the floor pan, then what is the point of having it??

Click to expand...

Well, if I had to make an honets guess--I would guess it does help with support and it's not usually welded because most people will not want to pull up their carpet and so forth for welding a spot that's so easy to bolt in. I do think anything welded would be better than bolting, but I don't know how much.

Munnstang said:

Any idea how much it costs these to get welded in somewhere?

Click to expand...

It's going to depend. Your average muffler shop that's never done them before could be $200, or the guy who welds them all the time for Mustangs could charge $75. It's also going to depend on what type they are...standard, full length, etc. I would ask some buddies where they got their's done and see hwo they look and go from there...

 

BADPONYsc

Founding Member

Sep 4, 2001

884

0

17

Florence, SC

Feb 27, 2004

#13

• Feb 27, 2004

• #13

I got the HPM ones from a friend who sold his Mustang and had never used them. They have the seat cross-bracing. They are bent to hug up against the curves of the car's bottom and are very snug. The cross-braces bolt to the existing bolts that hold the rears of the seats down with nuts that are included.
If nothing else, the cross-bracing make installing them easier since you can just mount them to the bottem of the car with the nuts on the cross braces then they're held tightly against the car and you can easily weld them. That's how we did it.
I guess the cross braces protect from side-to-side pressure on the seats. That, and/or they distribute the weight on the seats from the sides and centralize them into the subframe connectors. So, instead of your body's weight pushing on the floor of the car, it then pushes on the subframe connectors instead. Does that make sense? oh well...
I didn't notice a "night and day" difference like some people do, but just knowing they are there is cool enough. They are a proven mod that every unibody car should have.

 

90mustangGT

I felt sorry for girls because

Founding Member

Jan 15, 2002

2,773

17

89

Dallas, GA

Feb 27, 2004

#14

• Feb 27, 2004

• #14

I recomend MM Full Lengths. There are subframe connectors,and then there are subframes, and MM FL's are the subframes themselves. They cost more but you get what you pay for, but they will cost more to install. They run from the firewall to the tq boxes and have blocks that weld from the subframes to the tq boxes, that hole that goes there. I am not saying the other brands don't work, but since subframes are the weakest part of the foxbody chassis, might as well go all out.

Some people feel the difference in subframes more than others. I think it depends on how beat on your car has been. My car was owned and driven all it's life be a middle aged woman, it was rather solid when I got it. I've driven so many different foxbodies and some of them feel so mushy, if feels like your riding on a big leaf spring, but some non-abused ones feel much firmer. However, you will still notice it a lot.