BLACKBIRD8200

now i know everyone says yes they are worth it but most of you guys own t-tops or hard top but on a convert are they any good? my buddy put them on his 93 Z and it was great you could feel the differance big time! and he said i should get some so we crawled under my car to see what my under body consists of , and it has sfc from the factory and it looks like a basic full frame so will i feel the diff or what? i will also be lowering the car 1.5" at the same time, what do you guys think?

RedHottG2

When you have a vert SFCs are the first mod you should make. I strongly suggest you get some BMR or Spohn's for it.

rskrause

Agree. My own choice is the Kenne Brown "Double Diamond". No matter what, do weld on's. Boltons don't cut it. Makes a HUGE difference.

Rich Krause

BPS

I think they are required!

My vert handled so much better after installing a set of KB DD. No others suspension mod made as much differences and I've done quite a few.

weavz28

Now i'm not saying any of you are wrong, i'm sure putting new SFC's on would help, but do any of you own a convertible? I've always heard that they came with SFC's already on b/c they are a convertible. I've seen SFC's for convertibles but they are more expensive. I'm not sure, so someone correct me if i'm wrong, but my car seems pretty tight around turns and its a vert. so my guess is verts already have them, but maybe not as good as aftermarket. Anywho that's my two cents.

LPEdave

So you own a convertible - look underneath. Find your front subframe and your rear subframe. Do you see any "frame" between them? Nope.

Dave

Red96Lt1

The factory tried to stiffen up the chasis of the convertable, but didn't do a great job. You will notice a difference with SFC's.

Injuneer

You've just challenged one of the premier owners of a 4th Gen F-Body convertible, when you took on Rich Krause.... and his is a HUGE blower + nitrous car putting down massive rear wheel HP.... yes, he owns a convertible.

I don't OWN a convertible, but I'm a crew member on a 30th SS convertible that is currently running 8.6-second 1/4-miles at over 160+ MPH, and I've been personally involved with the car from the beginning. It did not come equipped with SFC's. It had an enhancement of the "g-load" DS tunnel brace used on the coupes. It was a large "X" that connected in 4 places behind the engine, rather than just 2. There was additional sheet metal in numerous places to reinforce the chassis. There is some extra metal in the floor where the G-load brace connects, and in the rocker between the sub-frames. But it is not anywhere near as effective as a well designed set of SFC's.

The 30th SS in question got a low $$$ set of tublar MAC SFC's before any engine mod's were made. It helped a lot with regard to chassis rigidity. When the car reached 750HP, there was evidence of chassis disortion, even with the SFC's and a fairly beefy rool bar. I have not seen the same issues with my T-top car, even though I am at about 800HP, with SFC's and a roll bar.

Convertibles, based on my personal experience with both a convert and a T-top car need SFC's just as much, if not even more than the T-top cars. JMHO.

weavz28

Sorry if i pissed anyone off with that post. I didn't even look at the names who were giving info, i was just writing what i've been told. A local body shop told me about the sfc's on verts and they told me i didn't need them b/c i was going to put some on. I guess I won't go back to those guys.

The only thing i was trying to do was open it up about what i've heard about sfc's on verts, not **** anyone off or go against what anyone said, which is why i put "correct me if i'm wrong" in my earlier post and I thank you all for doing so b/c I will probably do SFC's to my vert now. So sorry, but you don't need to jump on someone who just suggests thier thoughts.

SpeedyV10

One more "yes" vote for adding Sub-frame connectors on a 'Vert. After I installed them, my 'vert lost about 90% of it's pre existing rattles and squeaks.

The car handles better, and does not flex at all upon angled approaches (turning uphill into a driveway).

Even though my car is basically a stocker with bolt on's, I'd highly recommend them!! KBDD's are the way to go!!!!

Speedy

rlax31

Now what about the KBDD's make them better then other DD's such as say SLP's that are cheaper?

Steve in Seattle

I own a '97 Trans Am drop-top.

We welded in Kenny Brown DD SFC's in the Spring of 2001. Far and away the BEST suspension/chasis improvement to date. These REALLY stiffened up the chasis and tightened the chasis for both acceleration and cornering.

I'd put this at about 5 to 10 times the improvement a STB or rod-ended PHR will give you. Convertibles have small braces throughout the k-frame and a larger x-brace (which you can retain with standard or KBDD SFC's)... but nothing on the level of a SFC.

BLACKBIRD8200

Ok Guys Thanks For All The Help. They (sfc) Should Be Here In A Couple Days But I Went For The Bmr Sfc Are Those Just As Good As Kb? I've Always Heard Sub- Frame Connectors Are All Good No Matter What Brand You Go With. Is That Ture Or Should I Send These Back And Kb? I Will Bee Also Lowering My 1.5" At The Same Time, Now Shouldn't That Make For Great Handling?

Steve in Seattle

They'll be fine. The KBDD tend to ride tighter to the chasis... you'll probably see the BMR SFC's if you don't have side skirts or make an effort to point them out once they're mounted. KBDD are a bit more pricey, but they were the first DD design available for the 4th gens and Lingenfelter did/does use them exclusively so you'll probably see more people out there with them than any other brand (with the possbile exception of the BMR ones as they're pretty popular since they're one of the cheapest out there).

BMR might have a questionable rep when it comes to engineering/welding suspension pieces... but there's no movement to worry about here and the entire design doesn't rely on the quality of a single weld so I doubt it'd make any difference. The only concern I'd have would be the visibility (especially if you have a "look at me" complex and get every aftermarket item coated bright red ).

Just make sure you have the SFC's welded on with the suspension at neutral ride height (not full-droop like a 2-post lift would), and that you get some zinc galvanizing primer to paint over the welds once they're done or you'll get rust forming.

Steve in Seattle

looking at your sig you have a TA... no sweat, the side skirts should hide everything... I'd just go with the BMR stuff you have on the way assuming it's a DD design (converables need all the cross-bracing they can get).