FTBR Opinions

PC03GT

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I'm looking at possibly purchasing an FTBR kit. I know it's all over the forum, but I want to know what exactly to expect. I hear conflicting stories, some say it's the best and other's complain about NVH and harshness of the ride.

This car is just something to cruise around in, I'm not concerned about a little noise as long as it does what it's supposed to. The stock IRS as it is now leaves a lot to be desired.
 
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MG0h3

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More than happy with mine. I suppose there is a little more noise out back but I don’t even drove my car unless it’s windows down weather.

I’m used to it now but I remember right after I did it, felt like I had rear steering. Could accelerate through a corner and it would actually turn harder.

Would def do it again


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01yellercobra

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Only real "issue" I have is the gear noise. Part of that is having aluminum diff bushings and the other part is not getting the original gears exactly where they were when I went to a solid pinion spacer. I found it road better and felt more planted even when I still had the H&R springs.
 

Blkkbgt

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Do it and you'll never look back.

The car will for more planted and poised through the corners and will actually be smoother in some aspects due to the suspension being allowing to actually work and articulate without binding. I haven't the slightest regret. The ONLY NVH I experienced was from the diff at certain RPMs with the radio off. I fixed that per FTBRs recommendations with a little dynamatt right above the diff.

From what I have seen the guys that complain about ride harshness with the kit have their cars dumped and have minimal shock travel in the rear to begin with. What was happening before the kit was installed was the rubber bushings were deflecting/compressing when they hit bumps. With delrin installed that movement is now non existent and subsequently the ride is now to harsh. There is less travel in the rear shocks than the front and when you dump the car north of 2 inches all the way around its easy to understand that delrin isn't going to make things better. I have seen pictures of rear shocks that show signs that the bump stops have been compressing as well which further proves my point/observations.

With all the above said if you are a more show than go type and have your car slammed/dumped I wouldn't do it. If you have moderate drop and want the car to handle well go for it.
 

PC03GT

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Do it and you'll never look back.

The car will for more planted and poised through the corners and will actually be smoother in some aspects due to the suspension being allowing to actually work and articulate without binding. I haven't the slightest regret. The ONLY NVH I experienced was from the diff at certain RPMs with the radio off. I fixed that per FTBRs recommendations with a little dynamatt right above the diff.

From what I have seen the guys that complain about ride harshness with the kit have their cars dumped and have minimal shock travel in the rear to begin with. What was happening before the kit was installed was the rubber bushings were deflecting/compressing when they hit bumps. With delrin installed that movement is now non existent and subsequently the ride is now to harsh. There is less travel in the rear shocks than the front and when you dump the car north of 2 inches all the way around its easy to understand that delrin isn't going to make things better. I have seen pictures of rear shocks that show signs that the bump stops have been compressing as well which further proves my point/observations.

With all the above said if you are a more show than go type and have your car slammed/dumped I wouldn't do it. If you have moderate drop and want the car to handle well go for it.
So far I've ordered eibach prokit springs and sway bars, bilstein b8 shocks and struts, and MM caster camber plates
 

Albatross

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Definitely do the FTBR kit! The increased NVH isn't that bad. In my opinion, the performance upgrade you gain outweighs the NVH. It feels like a different car after the kit. I highly suggest purchasing the install tool from them. Makes the install much easier. Also, if you're adding an eibach rear sway bar, get the rear adjustable sway bar links from them as well.
 

legwound

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I use a small lift table to get mine in and out. Not a big deal. I have a piece of plywood and blocks strategically mounted on it to position the assembly. My personal struggles have been for/aft position adjustments once wrestled in. I use 6 ton jackstands with blocking under them to get the car high enough.
 

Albatross

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@SVT_JP I did it on jack stands in my garage. It's not bad. Just make sure you get the car high enough so the whole IRS assembly will clear once lowered down with a jack. . Once you get the IRS out its pretty simple. Just removing old rubber bushings and installing new delrin. Having a map gas torch really helped on the subframe bushing removal. Put the new bushings in the freezer overnight and don't take them out until they are ready to be installed. And I can't stress enough, buy the install tool from Full Tilt Boogie! It makes things much easier.
 

Badaz01

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So far I've ordered eibach prokit springs and sway bars, bilstein b8 shocks and struts, and MM caster camber plates
I have the same shock/spring set up along with stifflers fit full length welded sub frame connectors. And I noticed big difference with just that. I am getting the ftbr kit in the spring which the one comes with grease fittings. Keep it maintained with grease the correct grease that is and it should be smooth as butter plus wheel hop will tame down significantly.
 

52merc

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I did my FTBR install without a lift. No problem. I have had Eibach springs on the car since 2001 and only noticed a little more gear noise, which I will likely fix with some dynamat.

Jack it up pretty high and have something like a cart or trans lift to drop it on. Then you can easily pull it out from under the car to work on it. I used 2 wheel dollies and some hefty wood blocks I had. I even made my own bushing removal tool as cross-border shipping of loaner tools was not an option.
 

shurur

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I cobbled together a IRS kit with the steeda stop-the-hop kit and the MM delrin bushing kit...the cover brace and urethane diffy bushings and no toe-bar update as yet...so I have no FTBR products on my car..I have essentially what was called the "red-pill"

Get the FTBR kit..everything ..and be done with it.
Dynomat or whatever in the trunk and rear seat area..with extra around the diffy area will reduce any noise you think you may be hearing.

get the steeda swaybar and FTBR swaybar links while you are in there and the FTBR diffy cover as well.....rear shock tower bead welding and brace (check out the CHE brace)
Hell replace the Fuel pumps as well!!

Do this all at once or you will be revisiting it again and again,.
 

1Kona_Venom

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Both Terminators I owned had the FTBR kit.
One with HR Springs, the other other with MM C/O kit and K member.

98% of the folks won't employ the FTBR kit to it's full potential. Get off cheaper just replacing with poly and diff bushings etc. And GOOD TIRES.

But, if you feel the need to do the FTBR kit, here are some techniques I used.

1. Car up all four corners (can be scary if you aint never done that before.
I used a motorcycle jack and a piece of plywood to drop the IRS.
2. Electric drill with wire wheel brushes to clean out the old rubber bushings (I killed my drill and set it on fire) lol
3. Clean and inspect everything.
4. Good rear tires like R888
5. I flat bedded my car after to get an alignment. Tried to set the tie rods and stuff as close to what was removed. Did not wanna risk it

Here are some pics


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POWDERCOATED

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GREAT TIME TO DO YOUR EXHAUST


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ALL FINISHED UP

50547327463_ae931422fd_b.jpg
 

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1Kona_Venom

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@1Kona_Venom powder coating the IRS was a great touch, looks awesome. I bet there is some serious pucker factor with putting the entire car up on jack stands in your garage LOL

thank you.
Yes, I held my breath for most of it.
But we had 2 jacks going, one on each side which actually worked out pretty good
 

Badaz01

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Both Terminators I owned had the FTBR kit.
One with HR Springs, the other other with MM C/O kit and K member.

98% of the folks won't employ the FTBR kit to it's full potential. Get off cheaper just replacing with poly and diff bushings etc. And GOOD TIRES.

But, if you feel the need to do the FTBR kit, here are some techniques I used.

1. Car up all four corners (can be scary if you aint never done that before.
I used a motorcycle jack and a piece of plywood to drop the IRS.
2. Electric drill with wire wheel brushes to clean out the old rubber bushings (I killed my drill and set it on fire) lol
3. Clean and inspect everything.
4. Good rear tires like R888
5. I flat bedded my car after to get an alignment. Tried to set the tie rods and stuff as close to what was removed. Did not wanna risk it

Here are some pics


View attachment 1669832



POWDERCOATED

View attachment 1669834




View attachment 1669836




View attachment 1669838





GREAT TIME TO DO YOUR EXHAUST


View attachment 1669840





ALL FINISHED UP

View attachment 1669842
Beautiful car I love the way the powder coat restored new look. Definitely gonna look into that for my 01 in the spring as well as those hard to reach spots on the under body while I’m in there. Good job looks awesome.
 

52merc

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Here are some pictures of my IRS rebuild. A few notes:
  1. If you look closely you will see the first FT1291 diff torque brace they sold. It wasn't even finish painted.
  2. My car is a stock engined MY01 with no FI plans so I didn't change the rear cover.
  3. Jacking the car up was not that bad. I was just high enough to get the assembly out.
  4. I painted the subframe and axles with POR15. Just couldn't justify the cost of powder coating.
IRS Out of Car.jpg
IRS Going Back In.jpg
IRS Ready to Install.jpg
 

03yllwguy

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For those of you who installed your own kit, can you shed some light on my situation.

Didn’t have time so had a FTBR recommended shop do it. Just got the car back, diff fluid everywhere and NO grease fittings installed.

Since you are supposed to freeze the bushings to get them in,I’m guessing there is no way to get them out with destroying them to install the missing fittings?

Sorry for the hijack, looking to capitalize on an active thread on the topic.

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