I finally made it out to get my SFC's installed. I'm pretty pissed that I didn't get them on before the ice as I can't get a full workout in.

Impressions

The car is definitely more solid. For lack of a better term, it is more germanic. The car shutters less, feels more stable, and tracks smoother. The chassis flex is certainly less, the roof didn't creak once driving home. On lane changes the car stayed flatter, more akin to an FM chassis.

I would say this mod is a must for anyone with a lowered vehicle. Not only does it improve handling but it makes the car feel better built and more luxurious.

Hopefully I'll get a day at 40 degrees soon so the ice goes away

 

I've been waiting for you to give some feed-back!

A mod that I definitely want, but don't know/trust of many places to do the install for me

 

got mine on yesterday went for a fiesty ride no roll stayed flat around corners must say a nice addition to the car nice job tms oh yeah $300 for install and paint for the rust all arouind a good product i think in my humble opinion(sp)? will get pics when i install the y-pipe

 

Wait, so you paid $300 for the product and install together?

 

no 300 for install think 335 for product

 

not to sound like a total loser but what is a SFC?

 

Oh wow, so a $650ish handling mod...hmmmmm

 

subframe connector i think
aka chassis brace

 

How much does the SFC weigh?

 

my pockets just said ouch....

 

still interested thou, just not this week/month/year

 

I didn't weigh them but comparing to free weights I would say in the 35-40 lbs range. It sits as low as possible on the car though so I wouldn't worry about it. The handling benefits easily make up the extra weight, especially for someone like you Deus.

 

NOT thrilled with the weight factor.

 

That is REALLY expensive for an install. You would normally be in the 100-200 range depending on the shop and how it's installed.

I would factor around 500 for product with install, it's not alot when you think about what you get.

 

Wow glad to hear im not the only one whos car creeks and makes noise on bumps, driveways etc..i think i might have my welder at work try to make something like these for my car. Homemade at work plus my welder doing the install = free

 

It's not alot when you think about it, you are adding steel to strengthen a chassis. It's low, distributed across the center of the vehicle and identical on boths sides. It won't make your car slower in a straight line, and the benefits on the course would be appreciable.

 

07 Graymax and Nietzsche, we are happy you are enjoying your new braces. I love the way they tuck right under the car, up and out of the way. The $300 install price is atrocious!! It's crazy how one shop will do it for $100 and the next shop $300 for the same work. This is why we are offering "The group buy with a twist" I bet we can rent a small shop with a hoist for about a $1000 (or less) for the day including a welder on a Saturday or Sunday. Get all 12-15 done for under $100 per car.
Please post up photos when you have them.



Dan TMS

 

Problem is where would this shop be? Since most of us are spread out in the U.S.

 

but the weight is not to be considered the same as weight elsewhere in the car. being so close to the ground, it has a minimal effect.

 

Maxus. or regional meets. makes it an added bonus to create great meets.

 

what about us West Coast Guys LOL..

we have a few ... 10? members here in cali

 

+1 on pics... i would love to see what this looks like..

guess i need to start saving LOL :P

 

Weight down low is fine for handling, but weight is weight with respect to acceleration.

 

What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Numbers and pictures would actually work better for me....

 

I'll be west coast starting in Jan! However It'll be vancouver, and I still have yet to pick up my own 6th gen.

I guess now that I can't steal Kam's anymore, I'll have to finally get my own.

 

The group buy idea is really a bigger city or group plan. This is the only way it would work of course. Last summer at Maxus it would have been pretty easy to get it set up. From what I am told, many west coast or east coast regular monthly meets are bigger than last summers Maxus in Chicago.
With all that said it just takes one guy who has initiative and is willing to call around, get guys interested. Remember we don't just do the 6th Gen Maxima, anything from 3rd to 6th, our braces also include the Altima, both B15 and B13 Sentra, Pontiac Grand Prix, Dodge SRT-4 Neon, some of the Eclipses, and even the Chev. Cavalier. Just yesterday Sean finished prototyping chassis bracing for the B13 Sentra, an awesome 15 year old car with cult following. First new product for this car in a while.
We plan to add a couple a month along with our newest venture fender bracing. So it should just get easier to get it set up. Looking ahead to spring, I am going to San Antonio late May 2008 for a conference. How about an install meet in Houston on May 24th? Not just to install a bunch of chassis braces but a meet where you bring your newest mod and all your buddies new or old help you with the install? The Cummins boys I hang with do this at least 2x a year here in MN. All I would need is a ride from Houston on May 25th so I wouldn't miss too much of the workshop. There should be a huge following in Houston and with all the cars we make bracing for not too difficult to get the 12-15 we are looking for. Just another idea??



Dan TMS

 

Taz: Make a trip down to So Cal and you'll have plenty of 6th Gens to choose from!!

 

Truax, I hate to be a stickler, but is there any way these can be made out of aluminum or other lighter weight material? If so, what cost increase are we looking at?

 

Took the words right out of my fingers...

 

If it were made out of aluminum, could it then be bolted to the chassis? Lightweight plus easy install?

 

take your spoiler and body kit off........ take the spare tire out...jack, and drive around with 1/4 tank of gas...


there... weight solved...

 

I will try to answer your questions as best as I can, I am not the welding expert, Mike is and I called him about this thread. He says that you can't weld 2 different types of metal together, one is ferrous and one is not ferrous. We have comtemplated making a bolt on systmem, but the amount of holes that would need to be drilled, interior removal, and the required 4 post hoist makes it unattractive. We are pretty sastified with them just the way they are: only 35 lbs., made out of 11 guage tubular steel, damn strong, and do not reduce ground clearence.
I hope either Nietzsche or 07 graymax will get their photos posted. NismoMax80 is correct, we hope to be able to fly out to your meet, hang with you guys, get a batch of these installed. We are seriously thinking about organizing a MN meet for either June or July and rent a shop here and install a bunch + organize a class for advanced driving here: http://www.mnsafetycenter.org/ The local autocrossers rent the track for the day. They have the ability to measure g-force, braking and acceleration, plus body roll. More about this later as our relationship with them develops.

Dan

 

How about making steel tabs that are welded to the car and then bolt an aluminum brace to the tabs?

 

Dude if you can bring a set of B13 braces to houston I'll personally get them installed on my se-r. If you have the fender braces done as well I'll get them then as well.

 

The space isn't really availible for this design IMO, plus you would have more flex because there is no way a bolt is going to match the strength of a all around weld.

Then you have to account for the differences. Aluminium may be lighter but you have to build it thicker to create the same strength there by negating many of the benefits and also increasing costs. You would save around 30 maybe 35 percent, so lets say about 10 lbs.

Then you have to consider your elasticity and deflection. Aluminium may be stronger for a given weight but it's failure point is significantly lower when you look at flex. Aluminium does not bend and return to it's shape like steel does. On a chassis which constantly has pressures and flexing applied to it the Aluminium would almost certainly crack. Steel would have the necessary amount of deflection and elasticity to perform the task over years and many harsh bumps. Fatigue is also related to the above where the Aluminium over time would loss it's strength due to repeat abuse and stress.

Cost, I believe that Aluminium is roughly four times the cost of steel. Also it's hard to work with so labor hours go up.

So all things considered steel is the appropriate choice for this application. SFC's will add weight no matter what, haggling over a 10 lbs difference when you would have an inferior product seems a bit trite.

 

35lbs Deus...just take out your spare tire+jack, OR drive with a 1/4 tank of gas. One gallon weighs roughly 7lbs and we have about a 17 gallon tank. 1/4 of a tank would be about 4.25x7=29.75lbs...

 

Spare tires, jack and tools are already out

 

Nismo87SE I hope we can get enough guys lined up. BTW, we once met in Dallas years ago at a meet when other brother Dallas and I worked together. Once we get 12-15 we would need to look for a shop. Sean or Mike would need to come along as well as they designed the B13 braces and are the expert installers.
They look a lot like the B15 braces but I are easier to reproduce. Watch here for photos.

http://www.sr20forum.com/general-sr2...ce-update.html



We should have them up yet tonight, off the car photos.


Dan TMS

 

id be down for houston or dallas!

 

eK9aT10pSi, who is the president or leader of the Houston group? It's not too early to get this started. A garage with 4 post hoist, plus an area nearby where cars can be prepped. An assembly line type process. We will need to have a list. We could ship via pallet, to reduce shipping costs. I know this can work, perhaps the Houston group will be the first of many group installs.


Dan TMS