***MODS: Can you make this a sticky, please??***


This is going to be my SFC install picture/write-up/review thread.
When I first un-wrapped the SFC's I was very impressed with the way they were designed.
They looked superior to previous companies designs.
VERY rigid.

During the install process we ran into zero problems. Just know that unless you want the x-brace to sit close to the exhaust bar, you will have to remove it. I ended up leaving it on, and it is giving me no rubbing/touching issues at all.

Total it took us about an hour because we were taking our time and making sure that everything lined up just right... I wanted to be very particular about everything since they're going to be on here for as long as I own the car!

FIRST DRIVE

HOLY SHTEIN!!! You always here people tell you how big of a deal SFC's are... But you REALLY have to have them on your car to believe it.
The road leading to the shop was REALLY bumpy, and I was getting jarred everywhere on my way there.
On the way back it felt like an entirely different car. It was less noisy, less clunky, and actually SMOOTH going over all those bumps!
It really is amazing what a difference it was...

On my way home the road I take is really curvy, and I always tend to crank into it a little bit.
Normally in the sharp turns I keep it right around 50 or so (speed limit 55), and i'm torquing it pretty hard.... This time I went around this one turn around 65, and the car was completely planted. No tire noise. No wiggle/squirm, nothing. It was so amazing.... I just couldn't believe it.

The car feels SO neutral now... It really doesn't react like a Maxima anymore...
Like I've said so many times before... With the SFC's on, every component on the car works BETTER. (except that crappy bose head unit that ate all of my CD's)
Handles MUCH better, less road noise, less clunks/creaks/noises, better braking, better steering response, better overall feel of control over the car.

It feels like a tuned BMW. It doesn't drive like a FWD four door sedan anymore AT ALL.

I really have to say that SFC's is the best modification I have done to my car yet.... Yes, even more than coilovers.
Not to mention the best bang for your buck you're every going to get!


THE INSTALL

I'm going to do the best I can to make the install process of SFC's easier for you.
I took as much pictures as I could today, but we were kind of in a time crunch, and my hands weren't free a whole lot.
SO, here goes:

Once your car is on the lift grab one of the side rails and just mock it up there so that you can get an idea as to where you're going to have to weld it.
You'll notice the big tab in the rear that goes up almost towards the wheel well.

You'll want to press the rail on the frame with some sort of "contraption" like pictured. Take your time with this process, because once you do that first tack weld, it's gotta go where you have it.
If you'll notice on the frame on the car, if you line up the SFC rails correctly, they will match up with the lines on frame. You'll understand what I'm talking about once you set it up there.


Once you are positive you have it where you want it, make sure you have it as tight against the frame as can be. At this point, I would suggest tacking it on the rear tab first as pictured below


Once you have that spot welded, just go from the rear to the front of the car and weld in each tab. AGAIN, be sure you have the tabs lined up, and pressed on the car as tight as possible.


Also, if you didn't already notice... You will need to scrape off the undercoating that is on the rails so that you get a solid weld.
I suggest scraping/sanding everything in surrounding areas, then once you're done with the install I would primer everything then buy a can of rubberized undercoating, and paint everything down. (I'll show later in this write-up)

 

As you can see here again.
We're just scraping off the undercoating to ensure a good weld.


Now that one side is down, do the rails on the other side.
Don't even mess with the center/cross bracing until the side rails are completely done!

Same thing as on the other side, be sure the rails are lined up as best as possible, and cinch them up tight.
As you can see here, I lucked out... From my car being so low, it scraped the very rear of the rail down... luckily, that's not where any welding needed to be done!


I'll show you again from further back... Once we were sure everything was line up pretty good, we tacked the back tab and then started our way towards the front of the car again.


You can see in this picture exactly where we put that back tab I was telling you about.


Just another picture showing you the process



OK.

Now that you've done both side rails, take a breather, drink a beer, take a ****, and look at the sexiness of the SFC's.

 

NOW!
Bring out the cross bar/x-brace assembly.
You will notice that two of them are longer than the other two.
The longer two are the ones that face towards the REAR of the car.


Take note of the way the brace is. You have to make sure that the correct side is facing up/down. It won't really fit the other way, so if you can't figure it out from the picture, you'll figure it out on your own.

This is the ONLY thing that you will have to remove (If you want to)


As you can see in this picture, the SFC comes VERY close to this exhaust brace bar.
On the original test car there was a 1/4" of space... It was slightly closer on mine, but I still opted to leave it on for now.... There is really no need for it, specially once you have the SFC's installed.... But I say the more bracing the merrier....Although, I may end up taking it off this weekend...

You will have to drill your own holes for the braces.... There really is no set way of doing this... Just line them up as even as possible from left to right side and drill away.
BE CAREFUL TO NOT PRESS THROUGH AND CUT THROUGH YOUR FUEL LINES ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE CAR!!!!




Take note of how we had it placed up there. You want to make sure that everything lines up well before you start drilling!




Once you've got it all lined up, start drilling your holes!




Take a look at the BEAUTY!!!!

 

You can see here how close it is to the brace as I was saying before... But this stuff really isn't going to move around at all... And I have had no issues with rubbing/touching whatsoever.



Once you have the welder go back and check all of the welds, tighten down the bolts, etc... I would suggest spraying everything down with primer and then coating everything in rubberized undercoating


You can see after spraying on the primer I've started to coat the SFC's.

Once you have the welder go back and check all of the welds, tighten down the bolts, etc... I would suggest spraying everything down with primer and then coating everything in rubberized undercoating

 

Just one last shot of everything installed/coated!

 

BEAUTIFUL!!!!






THE FINISHED PRODUCT!!!



After coating everything it hides very well underneath the car, and it should be protected for the lifetime of the car!!!


ENJOY!!!

 

LAO2MAX.
Please delete your post and re-post once I have finished posting everything up.

Thanks,

Mike


Grant, you too. Please!

 

Sweet!!!!!

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation and photos. This will be very helpful for everyone, especially your welding tips.

Great to hear that they make a huge difference on the 5th gen too! I'm happy for you and the Maxima community...and soon for me when I get mine on. I'm so glad Truax decided to take the risk and start making these—thanks Dan & co!

 

Mike, could you post up a shot farther away from the car from the side. I want to get an idea how low that drop-down section hangs. For example, hold the camera at the same level as the outer side sills of the side skirts, rather than putting it way down on the ground. the pics you posted make the SFCs look like they hang WAY down, which i don't think they actually do.

Two measurements that will be of use to people interested in these:
1. How much lower is the lowest part of the side rail comparred to the OEM frame rails?
2. How much lower is the center of the crossbrace compared to the OEM crossbrace?

 

hey awesome! This is what my exhaust brace looks like:



so I guess I won't have to replace that anymore!
Looking forward to the first impressions! They look great BTW!

 

now heres my biggggg question.... would it rub on the surfaces of the road... reason i ask is i have the new cattman headers and brian explained the reason he put a skid plate on the lowest part of the y pipe or the exhaust system... but i've noticed that it has scrape marks over it... don't exactly know from wat maybe speed bumps... any insite?

 

Thanks for the tips Josh!
I will do that if I get a chance tomorrow.... But I'm going to be fairly busy with two interviews and some side work...
Sadly, I lost my job today (actually I found out half way through the install process.... how Fing F'ed up is that!?)...


Off the top of my head, I would say the lowest point is DEFINITELY no more than an inch lower than the exhaust bracket that was there....

 

Woah man!
What happened?????

 

it depends on how low you're dropped. I've only scraped my LTB once, and it sits lower than the SFCs. Just go extra slow over speed bumps.

 

there's always a chance, it just depends on the severity of the bump and the angle you hit it at. It does lower the clearance a bit ( from the pics it looks to be about an inch or so on the sides and maybe an inch and a half in the cross braces). That bent cross member pictured above was from hitting a piece of metal at 80mph. If the SFCs were there, it would have hit them first...

 

sounds good, thanks. Sorry to hear about your job....

LA02's crossbrace IIRC had a run-in with a large piece of heavy road debris on the highway....

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=509885

 

That is definitely messed up...did you take out your anger by hauling *** around the corners after the install?

 

Nah... I came home and punched the hell out of a wood shipping crate I had lying around...
bloody knuckles FTW

 

considering that u are promoting this unique equipment which iam very much leaning towards in purchasing... is there anything out in the market that u would recommend as an ADD-ON/ADDITION to that of wat ur selling

 

D2 coilovers, ES suspension bushings, sway bar, chassis foaming

 

i love this double thread posting regarding one topic lol ok good info... i personally like my h&r with the illuminas... just have the biggest problem with wheel hopping on uneven roads/pot holes tho... and the sway bar really did a number on me wen i tested it out for the first time it was one of the greatest feelings arite good info thanx very much appreciated

 

That looks awesome, Mike. Did you get the same guys that welded your CB to weld the SFCs?

 

Yep!!!
California Customs.
$80.00 is his price for SFC's!
I know you want to get in on this group deal!

 

Meh exactly how I was gonna do it anyways

 

Just wondering, have you tried it without the cross bracing?

 

Not yet......

 

after looking at the pics....I wonder if it would be possible to mount the cross brace diagonal "x" bars to the TOPS of the tabs rather than the bottom, to increase ground clearance. Looks like there is clearance, at least in the pics.

Mike, thoughts? I may have to try it that way....

 

Coincidently I have been thinking about the SFCs lately, so thank you MIke for the detailed writeup with all the good pictures.


I would attempt the same thing. I don't use that center brace so I have the clearance to do that.

 

Yeah the only reason mine are on the lower is because I left that brace on.
With the brace off you could surely do that!

Mike

 

Wouldn't that make it kinda hard to drill the holes?

 

You mount it correctly to drill the holes.

 

Can you drill the holes before you weld the SFC or would it be better to drill the holes after the SFC has been welded?

 

DURRRRRRRRRRR silly me

 

Definitely want to drill the holes after welding.

 

Alright. Thanks.

 

Mike,
Are the bolts on the center hub of the crossbrace - are they welded on there? If so...crap....that would mean that the diagonal braces can't mount to the top.

 

It looks like the bolts are welded on.

 

In the 4th gen photos it looked like the center bolts were painted over (red) but that doesn't necessarily mean they are welded.