I Go To Costco

iTrader: (1)

The point of this thread is simple. There are a ton of SFC debate threads and whether they help handle or quarter panel wrinkles... this is NOT one of those threads.

All I want to know is, if you had dash rattles and creaks, did they go away with SFCs? AND, if you had a t-top leak before, did your t-tops stop leaking post-SFCs? One more thing would help.... how many miles on your car when you had them installed?

Thanks!

SMOKNSS

iTrader: (3)

Didn't really notice any rattles or my t-tops leaking before my SFCs, but I put them and full exhaust on my car the first month I had it.

I did notice post install that the doors shut better and the ride was a little stiffer. Makes the car feel a lot better with them on.

1972_Z-28

iTrader: (16)

Put SFC and STB on at the same time at about 85k miles and the dashboard rattles did go away. It didn't rattle bad but enought that I could hear it.

+badss+

iTrader: (12)

same i put umi 3 pt sfc's and stb on after i bought car it feels much stiffer ride well worth it 92k miles on clock

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

Hello
Thanks for choosing UMI Performance! We do offer a wide variety of SFC's. And they will also help with possibility of T tops leaks dimples in quarter panels and flexing in general. Below is a link to show you what all we have to offer!

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalo...975a6i1ktmbq05
If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I will be more than glad to help!
Thanks
Brad

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

I installed sfc's at 100k miles. no ttop leaks to begin with, but they stopped a few squeaks. firmed things up quite well though.

BlackBADaSS02

iTrader: (17)

I installed SFC a couple months after getting the car. Car felt much stiffer. I didn't notice any rattles before or after the install. I did/still have a slight TTop leak when it is pouring.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Most of my rattles and creaks are in the rear hatch area for me. I think trying to fix rattles and creaks is a lost cause in our car though. In my opinion the only cars that seem to nail that down well are Acura, BMW, Honda, etc... and even those will develop a creak in colder weather.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

SFC's will stop a good number of little squeaks and rattles (not all), but will not stop leaks as those are just issues with the rubber seals.

Stiffening the chassis is never a terrible idea. But SFC's don't make a chassis completely rigid, they make it less flexible and that obviously won't hurt sounds that come from chassis flex.

JamRWS6

I've had SFCs on my car 2 different times. First time at about 15K miles w/ stock everything else I could not tell a difference. Seemed worthless so I took them off.

I just installed Konis and after a few weeks with them I put the SFCs back on at about 98K. I noticed a good bit of stiffness increase. Noticeable decrease in rattles? Not really as my car didn't really rattle that much anyways.

Just from my experience these are worthless without a good set of shocks...with good shocks the car motions are controlled and you will notice the SFCs.

I don't have a T-top leak either....before or after.

xXxSilveradoxXx

iTrader: (5)

I've got UMI 3-Point SFCs on my WS.6. The T-Tops creaked and rattled a little bit but it stopped after I put my SFCs on. My T-Tops leaked a little bit before and still do after. I put them on when my car had 16,250 on the clock, my car now has 17,800 miles on her.

Breathing Fire

My 99 Ta has sfc's on it and though it didn't have any rattles on it yet. It had 80k about on it when they finally went on. The car did feel stiffer in a good way. If I had to do it again I would. My previous f-body didn't have them and it rattled and almost drove me nuts. It was a hard top if that makes any difference. Just as a side note my Ta does rattle now, but it has all rod end control arms now. Should have done rod/poly I think. Mine are UMI 2pt if that matters.

mediocrels1

umi 3pt weld in @ 105k. stopped ttop squeaks and firmed the car up substantially.

k5383

iTrader: (10)

I bought my car in SC, drove it home to Florida. Somewhere in Georgia on the way to the summit store, I'm HAULING *** around some random winding roads.

As I came up one hill in a corner, I stood on it. I "felt" like I lifted the left front tire once I stabbed it.

The next day when I was home I put my weld on SFC on. (BMR 2 point)

Ever since then, the car is 110% more solid. On launches, corners, stops etc. I don't have any rattles, or squeaks.

my T-tops don't leak.

Just MAKE sure the car is in the air supported by the suspension, to mimick the car being on the actual ground. That way the car has no "Tension", and everything will still open and close right.

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

I did not notice anything after I installed my SFC's. You have to take into consideration the Placebo effect that mods have on people. Some say they notice a difference after changing to smooth bellows.

Foxxtron

iTrader: (1)

Didn't notice a thing on any 7 of the T-top F-body's I had. All were purchased anywhere from 37K to 88K miles. I tried all of the designs around here, and even one car that I had I used a seriously beefed up version of the SLP ones, and the SLP's are some serious boat anchors.

Regardless of the spring rates, damper valvings, swaybar diameters, bushings/spherical bearings, weight adjustments they had NO real world performance on either the appearance of the body, nor the performance, even from my customised version that weighed nearly 3 times what is offered here. Even though it may seem crazy, I actually engineered them quite significantly better than all of the available designs.

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

I'm not sure if I noticed anything when I did my SLP 3-point SFCs a few years back, but they sure make great jacking/jack stand points

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I noticed quite an increase in stiffness and impact harshness from two point weld-ins. No effect on t-tops or rattles, except from hitting bumps harder.

I've had 'em in for a few years; don't remember the mileage. I don't like what they did for the ride but they are great for jacking the car.

+badss+

iTrader: (12)

http://s593.photobucket.com/albums/t...fcamaro001.flv
short vid of my umi weld in 3pt sfc

I Go To Costco

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the input guys. Truth be told if I could get rid of the creaks and rattles it would be worth the cost alone for me. Performance is one thing, but I drive the same roads every day and I definitely know when a clunk is coming up.

I've considered taking apart the t-tops and replacing the seals but I don't wanna fudge anything up since I have to park outside and its been raining HARD recently. I also read that (supposedly) if you don't replace both the body seal and the t-top seal at the same time, they will not form a proper seal to each other and leak.

I appreciate your input also... I didn't really want to go in this direction but from searches I've found that welding the SFCs was usually more noticeable than bolting them in. I actually already have Strano springs and Koni Yellows.

Foxxtron - same with the above. I highly respect your experience in this area and I've done enough reading and reasoning including the multi-page thread which I think is closed now and even threads on a certain F-Body road racing and autox forum to the point where my eyes bleed. I'm not really in it for the performance gains (if there even are any) but since I plan on messing around, it doesn't hurt that ESP now allows 2-point SFCs (correct me if I'm wrong?). Preferably I would get a cage but that is $$$$ and intrusive.