which tubular k member?
 

I am considering a tubular k member before i put my motor back in. Are they all similar as far as fit and finish? How much lighter would a cromoly one be over mild steel? For those of you who have them, give me your feedback. Thanks.
Nick :burn:

UMI is arguably the strongest, but sacrifices a few pounds with its double tubed design. To me the added strength is worth the few extra pounds, so that's what I'm using.

PA Racing chromoly is one of the lightest around.

UMI is the only one I've never heard of any issues with.

Im running almost everything UMI for my suspension but i have been also debating lately if i want to bite the bullet and do a k member while im putting the new motor in this spring. UMI price is now 489 and just heard of PA Racing which is also selling one now for 319. I know UMI is quality shit but not really looking to fork out over 5 billd for one either unless the quality of the PA one isnt up to par.

Any thoughts on the PA Racing k members?

Thanks everyone for recommendations.

I think comparing the our K-member to PA Racing is like comparing apples and oranges. Our K-member features a lot more machine and fabrication time because it is designed for street use as well as drag racing. The PA Racing K-member appears to be a drag race only with very light street use... at least from what I have seen this is my opinion. Because of the fabrication time and extra material our item is more expensive and a little heavier. So to me it is different items designed for different uses making it tough to compare. What you need to decide is what is the car truly going to be used for?

I hope this helps,
Ryan

If your going to drive on the street I would go with a UMI without a doubt. Like it was said above, strength is sacrificed to save weight. Plus Ive dealt with UMI over the phone, online, and in person at Carlisle car shows and there customer service and my customer satisfaction are very good. If you have any installation issues they will surley help you out to.

Like i said above too everything else i have for my suspension is all UMI and is top notch and ive ordered stuff direct and customer service is awesome specially when there willing to ship it to me via USPS for us Canadian folks. I was planning on picking one up if i end up going down to Carlisle in April to save on shipping costs while im there. Might get some other goodies too who knows haha.

I just wanted to throw the PA K member up there to see if anyone had any results with it to see if it was a quality product and if that means saving more money im in cause building motors is an out of control addiction and the pocket is hurting but this is the perfect time to do the k member swap so im debating to kick myself now and get done then later and have to put it in at later date.

We will be at spring Carlisle and offering some show discounts like always :)

If you know you want one I recommend to preorder it to make sure it is at the show for you to take. You don't need to prepay but just let us know you are definitely picking it up so we have it there in the right color.

And just to make sure I was not misunderstood... there is nothing wrong with the PA Racing K-member, just designed for different uses than ours we feel.

Thanks again :)
Ryan

I've been running a CM Spohn Kmember for years, I love the extra room to work under the car.
I have not installed UMI's Kmember, but I have seen more of their other parts.
They are quality pieces.

Love my UMI K-member!

Does the UMI come with hard ware like the Spohn does?

No I reused the stock stuff

i had a chromoly pa racing k member on a old car i sold. if i left the front qa1's on the setting for the strip i would bottom out on the oil pan bad. the umi design is harder to do that plus the workmanship is a ton better (i have a umi in storage)

I have a pro fab. I think they are out of business now though. It weighed in at 11lbs. I thought that was pretty light?

how much total lighter on average could you expect a moly k member and lower a arms? i am trying to build this thing as light as i can, but i know it will be a few hundred more for moly stuff...just wondering if its worth the extra $.

It is worth the extra money to go chromoly on the k-member. Not so on the a-arms. The additional price on the a-arms for chro-mo is around $100 and you'd shed maybe an additional pound per side. A k-member could shed an additional 4-5lbs which is worth it.

I run the UMI k-member and a-arms. It's probably the heaviest of them all. I'm anal when it comes to taking weight off of my car, and if I had to do it again I would have chosen a different one. Not saying there is anything wrong with my k-member, but as stated above by the UMI guys themselves, they built it with a specific target consumer in mind. Their product is targeted for a street/strip car that might hit the occasional pothole or 3. If I was running 275 tires out front and my car was lowered and built to handle, their product would be my first choice. I run tall skinnies that can absorb quite a bit and I just putt around town when I cruise it. I'm pretty confident that the tiniest k-member built would suit my specific needs just fine. But that's me, you might drive your car different.

I will say this though about the UMI piece.....the powdercoating is fantastic. It is thick, and very chip resistant, making it very durable. I bought a k-member and a-arm package and the a-arms came with hardware.

5 yrs w/ the UMI and not a hiccup. Just now starting to lose pwd coat though but minimal. Best K out there period.