Technically, these are still bolt ons. They don't alter the unibody, they stiffen it. If you want to, just cut the welds and spray rubberized undercoating and you're back to stock.

now how was your post useful?

 

Now for my $1.02 on open-road driving.
the stage I and II system is MUCH better than jsut the stage I.
As we all know, the max won't corner like a Neon in a parking lot, but it loooves long sweeping curves. This is where the SFCs shine. I can take highway curves much faster than before.
i.e. there's an on-ramp cloverleaf near my house. sign says 25.
Stock Max could take it at 35.
Max w/ sway bars, FSTB, 225/50/16 tires, Tokicos, eibachs... 45mph before the back end broke loose.
Stage I and II SFCs in addition: 72mph- top of 2nd gear. I hit the rev limiter before I exited the corner! [/B][/QUOTE]

Wow...so these subframe connectors gave you better handling than the eibachs did?

 

i thought they just bolted on. how do they lower the car?
so if you get both stages, your car will be lowered by more than an inch?

are there are negative aspects of the SFCs? seems like these are gonna become pretty popular...i know i want them now

 

The con is that your car will be an inch lower... you will scrape them if you are lowered.
-Cyrus

 

Sorry, The Stage 1 lower clearance by about .7 inches, according to Dave B. The Stage 2 will lower it by much less, but nonetheless, it still reduces ground clearance.

Stage 2 ARE bolt ons, but you need to drill 6 holes in the Stage 1s. They do not come with holes as many people think. By drilling the holes while the Stage 1s are on the car, you ensure perfect fitment of stage 2.

 

thanx for the clarification.. i was affraid tha tthat was gonna be the case.

 

You have to drill holes for Stage 1. That means now the unibody of the car has been altered. And forget it if you have to weld anything. No dealer will touch that car with a ten foot pole now.

Not a big deal, if you don't care. To each his own. Myself, I prefer to retain the resale value of my Maxima.

 

Actually, you don't have to drill holes for Stage 1. The welds are just small 2-inch welds on each of the three mounting plates. Easy as pie to cut them off.

 

The SFCs require no drilling into the frame anywhere. The SFCs are welded along four points on the chassis. If you want them off, get a cutting wheel and remove them. It's as simple as that. I don't plan on trading my car in at a dealership because I would get anything for it. BTW, most dealerships don't know jack about what thier looking at. Put the Maxima at stock height with stock everything else and I'd bet they wouldn't have a clue other than it would be the best riding Maxima on their lot. I painted my SFCs in black rubberized coating and everything looks close to factory.


Dave

 

Yup, what Dave said.
the holes are drilled into the mounting plates that the stage I kit welds to the frame. when you want to remove the whole thing, unbolt the stage II, then get a grinder and grind the welds off the stage I kit. once everything is off, cover the 2" spots where the kit was welded on with rubberized undercoater, and NOBODY will be able to see the difference. It will be just as it came out of the factory aside from a few tiny places where the paint was sanded off and undercoater was sprayed over it.

Yeah, that's realllly modifying it from stock. When you take it to trade in at a dealer, they won't even look at it. If they do, they'll think it's a repair mark from where a tire shop missed the lift points on the car.



As for "lowering" the car, it doesn't actually lower the ride height at all. The SFCs bolt onto the bottom of the frame, so now they hang below the frame rails just a tad- so the lowest part of the car is now the SFCs, not the car's original frame rails.
it's no big deal unless you go over large speed bumps or other nasty stuff often. if you do, just take it slow and go at an angle.

 

It's grounds for cancelling a sale where I work - and I've done so on many occasions. The fresh new undercoating would be a dead give away - doesn't matter how long it's been on there, it always looks different from the factory stuff. And welds which have been ground down are enough to make a dealer run screaming. But to each his own. If you don't care about that I think it's a great mod - anything to stiffen up the chassis...

 

That explains it. When these first came out Warpspeed said stage I & II had to be installed at the same time for proper fitment. They must have been pre-drilling the holes when they first made them.

 

Dang I really need to get my SFC's on...

They've been sitting in my room for a few months now. lol