Best and strongest subframe connectors ?
02-03-2015, 01:57 PM
#82
One of these days I'm getting some MWC ones. You can jack up the car from anywhere along the entire connector I heard, is that correct?
I'll admit that is currently my biggest reason for wanting SFCs at all. My full frame SUV has me spoiled and it makes tire rotations and such so much easier when I can jack up the entire side of the vehicle from one point and just slide the jackstands underneath anywhere they fit/balance out the best.
I'll admit that is currently my biggest reason for wanting SFCs at all. My full frame SUV has me spoiled and it makes tire rotations and such so much easier when I can jack up the entire side of the vehicle from one point and just slide the jackstands underneath anywhere they fit/balance out the best.
02-03-2015, 02:04 PM
#83
We sell them $300 installed but add an additional $50 if the car is undercoated. That's purchasing ours of course which sell currently $159 plus shipping.
02-04-2015, 10:06 AM
#86
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02-04-2015, 03:14 PM
#88
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I ordered my SFC from MWC on Monday and I got them around lunch. I live in East Tennessee.
I looked at them an honestly could not figure out how they install. I am hoping that my Auto Shop and my Welding Shop guys can figure it out. Honestly I only looked for about a minute.
We have a four point lift to raise the car. I hope that works.
I looked at them an honestly could not figure out how they install. I am hoping that my Auto Shop and my Welding Shop guys can figure it out. Honestly I only looked for about a minute.
We have a four point lift to raise the car. I hope that works.
02-04-2015, 03:27 PM
#89
I ordered my SFC from MWC on Monday and I got them around lunch. I live in East Tennessee.
I looked at them an honestly could not figure out how they install. I am hoping that my Auto Shop and my Welding Shop guys can figure it out. Honestly I only looked for about a minute.
We have a four point lift to raise the car. I hope that works.
I looked at them an honestly could not figure out how they install. I am hoping that my Auto Shop and my Welding Shop guys can figure it out. Honestly I only looked for about a minute.
We have a four point lift to raise the car. I hope that works.
Look at this picture it shows you the end that goes towards the back.
02-04-2015, 05:59 PM
#93
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Your lucky I'm working on my pos. ..
I hope these pics help. .. The angled part goes up front, the straight end that has a bit of a chamfer to it goes to the rear
My first time welding?, I know I suck lol
I hope these pics help. .. The angled part goes up front, the straight end that has a bit of a chamfer to it goes to the rear
My first time welding?, I know I suck lol
Last edited by BIGsmokey10; 02-04-2015 at 06:06 PM.
02-04-2015, 07:48 PM
#95
I have an odd take on the whole "Subframe Connector" terminology. I think it's a bit of a misnomer. For starters, unlike a Corvette, our cars don't have rear subframes. There is a front subframe, otherwise known as an engine cradle or K-member. But not possessing independent rear suspension, there is merely a bit of extra reinforcement of the unibody around the rear suspension pickup points on an F-body.
Secondly, and on this point I am slightly less certain, so please weigh in, I don't believe subframe connectors actually connect to subframes in any application. More specifically, where our cars have front subframes, the connectors are affixed just aft of the rearmost subframe mounting points. If the connector truly welded to the subframe, that would make engine removal (dropping out the bottom being the preferred method) nearly impossible without grinding off the welds. I suspect it would also compromise any isolation offered by the subframe from the unibody if it bridged across both.
Now mind you, I'm not questioning the usefulness of subframe connectors--I'll probably wind up with a set of the MWC units sooner or later--I just find the name oddly misleading. I too look forward to the improved rigidity, but also the broad selection of jacking points offered up. Finding locations for both the jack and adjacent jack stand can often be a very precise exercise in proper placement.
Secondly, and on this point I am slightly less certain, so please weigh in, I don't believe subframe connectors actually connect to subframes in any application. More specifically, where our cars have front subframes, the connectors are affixed just aft of the rearmost subframe mounting points. If the connector truly welded to the subframe, that would make engine removal (dropping out the bottom being the preferred method) nearly impossible without grinding off the welds. I suspect it would also compromise any isolation offered by the subframe from the unibody if it bridged across both.
Now mind you, I'm not questioning the usefulness of subframe connectors--I'll probably wind up with a set of the MWC units sooner or later--I just find the name oddly misleading. I too look forward to the improved rigidity, but also the broad selection of jacking points offered up. Finding locations for both the jack and adjacent jack stand can often be a very precise exercise in proper placement.
02-09-2015, 03:30 PM
#97
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One is in and the other will be finished tomorrow. I ordered the bilstiens this am and have a confirmation e-mail that they are shipped. We had to cut out some rot in the floor pan while we were in there and that has now all been replaced with new metal. Once the shocks go on I am telling myself I am done. Well maybe a STB and a lid.
02-09-2015, 04:39 PM
#98
I have an odd take on the whole "Subframe Connector" terminology. I think it's a bit of a misnomer. For starters, unlike a Corvette, our cars don't have rear subframes. There is a front subframe, otherwise known as an engine cradle or K-member. But not possessing independent rear suspension, there is merely a bit of extra reinforcement of the unibody around the rear suspension pickup points on an F-body.
Secondly, and on this point I am slightly less certain, so please weigh in, I don't believe subframe connectors actually connect to subframes in any application. More specifically, where our cars have front subframes, the connectors are affixed just aft of the rearmost subframe mounting points. If the connector truly welded to the subframe, that would make engine removal (dropping out the bottom being the preferred method) nearly impossible without grinding off the welds. I suspect it would also compromise any isolation offered by the subframe from the unibody if it bridged across both.
Now mind you, I'm not questioning the usefulness of subframe connectors--I'll probably wind up with a set of the MWC units sooner or later--I just find the name oddly misleading. I too look forward to the improved rigidity, but also the broad selection of jacking points offered up. Finding locations for both the jack and adjacent jack stand can often be a very precise exercise in proper placement.
Secondly, and on this point I am slightly less certain, so please weigh in, I don't believe subframe connectors actually connect to subframes in any application. More specifically, where our cars have front subframes, the connectors are affixed just aft of the rearmost subframe mounting points. If the connector truly welded to the subframe, that would make engine removal (dropping out the bottom being the preferred method) nearly impossible without grinding off the welds. I suspect it would also compromise any isolation offered by the subframe from the unibody if it bridged across both.
Now mind you, I'm not questioning the usefulness of subframe connectors--I'll probably wind up with a set of the MWC units sooner or later--I just find the name oddly misleading. I too look forward to the improved rigidity, but also the broad selection of jacking points offered up. Finding locations for both the jack and adjacent jack stand can often be a very precise exercise in proper placement.
The frame rails are built into a unibody car. On an f-body, this includes the front frame rails and rear frame rails. The k-member is simply a cradle that contains the power train. The rear frame rails are built into the body of the car. Yes, they are frame rails. Cut one apart and you will see that it is not merely an extra bit of reinforcement - they are double and triple layer steel. Try cutting one apart.
Also, the corvette is a full frame car, it has no subframes. What you are thinking of is the rear cradle, it is designed to hold the rear mounted trans and diff. It bolts to the cars full frame.
02-09-2015, 11:03 PM
#100
You need to do a bit more research on unit body construction. You are mis-using a lot of terms.
The frame rails are built into a unibody car. On an f-body, this includes the front frame rails and rear frame rails. The k-member is simply a cradle that contains the power train. The rear frame rails are built into the body of the car. Yes, they are frame rails. Cut one apart and you will see that it is not merely an extra bit of reinforcement - they are double and triple layer steel. Try cutting one apart.
Also, the corvette is a full frame car, it has no subframes. What you are thinking of is the rear cradle, it is designed to hold the rear mounted trans and diff. It bolts to the cars full frame.
The frame rails are built into a unibody car. On an f-body, this includes the front frame rails and rear frame rails. The k-member is simply a cradle that contains the power train. The rear frame rails are built into the body of the car. Yes, they are frame rails. Cut one apart and you will see that it is not merely an extra bit of reinforcement - they are double and triple layer steel. Try cutting one apart.
Also, the corvette is a full frame car, it has no subframes. What you are thinking of is the rear cradle, it is designed to hold the rear mounted trans and diff. It bolts to the cars full frame.
There are so many things wrong with what you just said, I don't even know where to begin. Your assertion that our cars have frame rails and therefor frame rails are subframes is nonsense.
Our cars are unibody construction. Unit Body. One piece for the body and main chassis. Just because you want to use terminology from body-on-frame vehicles doesn't mean that it applies here. It's like saying our springs don't have coils because you are more familiar with leaf springs. You can call the spring perch a "shackle," but that doesn't make it so.
Subframe: Sub-Frame, literally a subordinate frame. A smaller frame that exists independent of the main frame, chassis, or unibody in this case. If you think that's just my "mis-using" the term, try Googling it for yourself. Click on images. Looks a lot like the front subframe/engine cradle/K-member on our cars, doesn't it?
"The k-member is simply a cradle that contains the power train." Who hasn't been underneath their car? Seriously?! First off, it is a frame that holds the engine, the lower half of the front suspension, and the steering rack. This is literally the definition of a subframe: an independent framework from the unibody. (By the way, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powertrain also includes the transmission, driveshaft, diff., and rear axle. The transmission is technically bolted to the engine, which is mounted to the subframe, but it has its own mount to the crossmember. None of the rest of that rests on the front subframe.)
"Frame rail" is a meaningless term when it comes to unibodies. There is no frame. You can reinforce the unit body anywhere and with anything, it's all still a unibody. Frame rails are also not subframes. Frame rails are part of the frame of a body-on-frame vehicle. Look up frame rails. There is no part of our cars that looks remotely like that. I don't care if it's double or triple layer steel, or titanium, diamond, or plastic. The structure of the car is not supported by metal beams underneath, it is supported by the body. The reinforcements that are there don't even connect from one end of the car to the other, they are targeted reinforcements that are welded to the body where the sheet metal needs additional stiffness and strength. The fact that there is one on each side, like frame rails from a body-on-frame car, does not make them so.
The Corvette does not have stressed body panels and has a much more complex frame, as you indicated, but that does not preclude it from featuring subframes. Here is the rear subframe, which mounts the transaxle, composite leaf spring, and just like the front subframes on our cars, the lower suspension points are all anchored to it.
*Note the URL. Even GM Hightech Performance labeled it "2014-chevy-corvette-stingray-c7-rear-subframe-09.jpg"
