I like the 8 piece notch better because you can weld the inside plates to the frame before you fully box them in, and I think they are tied in to the frame better than the prefabbed type of notch, but I installed both type's of notch. Also I agree on the heat I have been welding a lot here recently and it's 110+, it totally suck's to have to wear long sleeve welding shirt and pant's!