Weld subframe connectors loaded or unloaded?

replicaracer43 said

Exactly, the whole unibody structure was welded together "unloaded" and so my thoughts are, by welding them in with weight on the chassis, you allready have flex in the structure, and your welding in bracing to tie into a allready "stressed" structure.

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I think the only way to get back to that point is to completely gut the car before doing any stiffening. No argument that doing the work while sitting on the suspension loads it, but on jack stands with a drivetrain flexes it the other way. And finding the "middle point" of that flex would be a flat out guess.

For a backyard build, I guess no drivetrain, front sheet metal or front/rear bumpers would be a close approximation?

Really the only way to do it "right" would then be a surface plate and bare chassis.

But in the end, unless the chassis has some issues, I would guess it doesn't make that much difference like Blu said. Maybe if you were building it for something like the Optima USCA series and needed 11/10th it would be important.