BMR Sub Frame Connectors

[Ben69]

I searched for this, but didnt come up with conclusive result.
Anybody have on their Zl1s Bmr sub frame connectors?
whats yall opinion on them? worth it? I was about to pull the trigger, but decided to see what yall thought about them..Thank you

[oldfriend]

I see no reason to use it on the ZLONE

[jessrayo]

Do you race your car? Road race or 1/4 mile? What other mods do you have in the suspension and what tires are you running?

I think you have to really push the car before these will be anything other than extra weight. If you have a lot of mods already these may help but you have to exceed the stock chassis flex tolerances before these do anything.

[Ben69]

running on Nitto Invos, stock zl1 rims. So your saying, I wouldnt even notice the add on?
Help the longevity of the vehicle? If god permits, Im keeping this car for a really long time.

[jessrayo]

Originally Posted by Ben69

running on Nitto Invos, stock zl1 rims. So your saying, I wouldnt even notice the add on?
Help the longevity of the vehicle? If god permits, Im keeping this car for a really long time.

Won't help longevity at all. Unless you are doing wheelies on drag launches or road racing very hard, I doubt you could torque the chassis enough to even notice that is there.

[hognutz]

my research lead me to believe these were a band-aid for poor cradle bushing design.


To me the right way is cradle bushings but if that install is too much for you to take on this could be better than nothing.

Bach when PFADT was still in normal operation they told me they designed there bushings and one of these braces and the bushing just worked better. Basically they did not bring this to market.

hotchkis and BMR still make one though you might talk to them and listen to there pitch but pedders and PHADT said bushing where the way to go.

[jessrayo]

Originally Posted by hognutz

my research lead me to believe these were a band-aid for poor cradle bushing design.


To me the right way is cradle bushings but if that install is too much for you to take on this could be better than nothing.

Bach when PFADT was still in normal operation they told me they designed there bushings and one of these braces and the bushing just worked better. Basically they did not bring this to market.

hotchkis and BMR still make one though you might talk to them and listen to there pitch but pedders and PHADT said bushing where the way to go.

These mount completely in front of the rear suspension subfame. They are kind of like a poor roll cage that ties the right side of the car chassis to the left. I think the solid cradle bushing is a much more effective mod because it removes one of the sites of clearly documented flex from the suspension. This 4000+ pound chassis is not flexing much left to right but the stock rubber bushing that connects the rear suspension to the chassis is flexng like crazy under heavy loads. Here is pic of where it mounts:

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by jessrayo

Do you race your car? Road race or 1/4 mile? What other mods do you have in the suspension and what tires are you running?

I think you have to really push the car before these will be anything other than extra weight. If you have a lot of mods already these may help but you have to exceed the stock chassis flex tolerances before these do anything.

This. They have their place in a full suspension package if you really push your car on the track. But for the average bolt on street car there is much lower hanging fruit.

[Spartan01]

Upgrading the bushings is lighter and overall a better mod.

However, I got one of the Hotchkiss braces really cheap, installed it, and could feel an improvement.

[Nickey31]

I added the BMR sub-frame connectors at the same time the full cage was installed to meet the requirements for an unlimited speed road race. I can tell you that I have zero flex or body roll, but unfortunately I can not tell you how much of that is from the cage versus the sub-frame connectors.

Prior to either of those, when I jacked the front up, the rear would squat. Now, when I jack the front up, the rear lifts up too. So its major stiff now. Neither of those took away from the ride quality.

I recently replaced the cradle bushings and I am kinda regretting it. What I loved about my car was that it drove like a cadillac on the street and ran like a race car on the track. With the solid cradle bushings and solid engine mounts, it no longer feels like a cadillac on the street. You feel everything. Those are the only two mods I have done that I have some hesitation on.

[mmarx82]

I have PFADT solid subframe connectors and the Hotchkis chassis max brace which is basically the same purpose as the BMR kit your asking about here. It's just my opinion as I had the solid subframe connectors for a long time before adding the chassis max brace. Had I done it over I would not have spent as much as I did on the solid subframe connectors as I just don't see the value in them after having had them in for awhile. Had they been in the $200-$300 range I probably would feel better about them. In 2012 GM redesigned the subframe mounts and they are much better (stiffer) than what was on the 2010 and 2011 Camaro's. To do it over I prob would not have done that mod. The chassis brace I just put on last month and ran an autocross event since, with all my mods the car is tight and stiff, even more so when I'm in PTM 5, I'm looking at tweaking my sway bars some more as I have a bit of understeer atm.

My full up suspension mod is below:

PFADT Tie Rods
PFADT Trailing Arms
PFADT Solid Subframe Bushings
PFADT ZL Spec Sway Bars
PFADT Lowering Springs
Hotchkis Chassis Max Brace

[lbls1]

These were very popular with 4th gens because they were more prone to twisting and rear fender creasing from drag racing. I haven't heard much talk of the bmr's being used on 5th gens though.

[JDP Sales]

Originally Posted by Nickey31

I added the BMR sub-frame connectors at the same time the full cage was installed to meet the requirements for an unlimited speed road race. I can tell you that I have zero flex or body roll, but unfortunately I can not tell you how much of that is from the cage versus the sub-frame connectors.

Prior to either of those, when I jacked the front up, the rear would squat. Now, when I jack the front up, the rear lifts up too. So its major stiff now. Neither of those took away from the ride quality.

I recently replaced the cradle bushings and I am kinda regretting it. What I loved about my car was that it drove like a cadillac on the street and ran like a race car on the track. With the solid cradle bushings and solid engine mounts, it no longer feels like a cadillac on the street. You feel everything. Those are the only two mods I have done that I have some hesitation on.

Tony, chances are, what you are disliking is the vibration due to the engine mounts. The Cradle bushings transmit very little road noise.

As for the BMR subframe connectors, I am a firm believer that they do not do much at all. There are much better pieces to spend the money on.

If you have any questions feel free to call, PM or email me anytime!

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007

[2013ZL1FUN]

I went from a 67 Camaro RS/SS convertble to a 13 ZL1 Vert. This is like night and day as far as stiffness goes. I cannot imagine needing any more sub frame connectors over whjat came on my 13, because my 67 had NONE !