Vicinity

iTrader: (7)

Ok, from what I've read, it has built in motor mounts to make things a little easier and it saves weight.

But is that its only purpose? Does it improve handling? And is it noticable?

Is it worth it to upgrade for a DD?

mook99ta

iTrader: (3)

Tube K-members are lighter and stronger than stock. Will offer a great weight savings, I believe 30lbs. They also offer greater clearance for turbos. As for a DD, if you have the money go for it, when paired with tubular A-arms it will improve your handling, when I get some other things taken care of I will be going with a UMI k-member and A-arms just for that peice of mind that all my suspension is built. If you got the money go for it. If you want a more indepth answer contact UMI they are great and will probably give you a better answer than me.

dragonrage

Keep in mind some of them are not strong enough for DD use it seems. I have not tried any of them, but I have heard bad things about some of them. I would probably go for the beefed up UMI one if I got one - seems they call it the "road race" version.

Edit: There's another thread about this that's current, so I guess post in that instead, if you haven't already.

Black02SLPSS

iTrader: (5)

Im curious to know how much NVH the a-arms add. Would be a nice upgrade though

SS101

iTrader: (2)

the k member's job is to hold the engine and front suspension in place. going from factory to aftermarket will make the front end of the car much lighter. lighter cars means better handling characteristics and it makes it easier to pull the wheels to

the factory k member is the strongest one out there, period. aftermarket ones can be strong too - UMI's road race version is about the best you'll get - but they'll never be as strong or as heavy as the stocker.

UMI Performance

iTrader: (77)

Hello,

Thanks everyone for the recommendations... I feel we do we offer one of the best set-ups out there for daily driven vehicles and race only vehicles.

Like mentioned the K-member is designed to save front end weight or "unsprung" weight. A tubular K-member such as ours will also offer additional clearance for turbo set ups and header clearance. Also our k-member has additional adjustment built in for alignment purposes.

If I can help anymore please ask. Thank you!
Ryan

Cap'n Pete

iTrader: (2)

For a DAILY DRIVER, leave the stock parts. You're not going to "notice" the difference. I HAVE the UMI RR K-member, so I can speak from experience. The K-member is great for ME because I actually race my car on the track, so I liked the increased adjustability. I also HAD their A-arms, but I went back to stock ones. I could still get all the adjustment I needed without the adjustable arms.

As SS101 just posted, the factory stuff is ultimately stronger. Don't kid yourself .

I'm not trying to knock the products, but they have a specific PURPOSE, and daily-driver isn't one of them.

Black02SLPSS

iTrader: (5)

Cap'n, was the only reason you went to adjustable a arms for the added adjustability? And out of curiosity what made you decide to go back to the stockers?

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

My opinion is no. It's not worth upgrading for a daily driver. Buying an aftermarket K cuts down sprung weight, clears up room, adds some bling, doesn't effect handling, and will be a lot weaker than your stock k-member. I have no experience with a lighter k-member so can't say if it's noticeable or not.

BMR Sales2

iTrader: (40)

Agreed. But after working on a car with and one with the factory piece, it makes working on the motor so much better. They free up a lot of room!

Not to mention our Turbo K-member will clear up to a 5" down pipe.

TurdsOfMayhem

iTrader: (4)

I'm just looking for information, as this was a route I was recently discussing briefly with LMR.

Why would the aftermarket K-Member be weaker than stock? If it makes turbo installs easier and provides more clearance, why aren't high HP cars tearing them up???

Just a general question, i could be way out in left field in my thoughts, so just looking for why its weaker than stock.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

They are tearing them up. I've seen a few people break them. I'm not saying it's a 100% guarantee failure, but that's not an area that I'm willing to have fail on me.

Gotta look at it from a racecar standpoint. Sometimes loosing a bit of weight to get a better time is worth sacrificing other things. If you expect to blow an engine every few years, who cares? Tube k-members should hold up through a drag launch where the front end may come back down on the wheels hard because the impact is absorbed by the springs and shocks. Force from lateral movement though is absorbed through the k-member.

Is it worth it do add that on a daily driver in my opinion? Nope

SS101

iTrader: (2)

a tube k member is fine for drag cars, but daily driving and corner carving are much different. driving over potholes and cornering at the limit of good street tires loads the k member laterally, exactly where its design is weakest. this is no fault of the designers, its simply a property of the shape. gm got around it by just making the stock piece bigger and heavier then it ever needed to be, but when you're trying to cut weight that's not an option.

for what its worth, i'm going with a UMI RR k member for my DD/RR car. the APS turbo system was designed around the BMR piece but i like the twin tube design of UMI's better....besides its built for road racing stresses. now if i can just figures out how to reclock a turbo............

Cap'n Pete

iTrader: (2)

That's what I've got as well, and for the same purpose. IMO, it is the best piece available in the after-market in terms of strength. You can tell just by LOOKING at it next to other brands. I'm sure that the lighter weight ones are fine for a straight-line car, but for cornering or daily-driving abuse? The UMI RR version as a minimum. However, I still concede that the factory piece, while big, bulky and heavy, is ultimately the most durable.

..... I ran my car off the race-track a couple years ago and bottomed out HARD, and all it did was bend, so yeah, I've got experience putting the factory piece to the test!

jbro90

Hey guys I want to put a tvs 2300 on my camaro but have been told that I have to lower the k member and was woundering where is this and how hard it it and what is this used for and dose anyone have any pictures of one or a tvs 2300 on there ls1 4th hen camaro or teams am

Rob94hawk

iTrader: (1)

IMO I feel I wasted $1000 that could have been better spent elsewhere. I'm keeping my stock just in case it breaks.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

You should not confuse initial strength with durability.
When Ks fail they fail at weld points through fatigue.
This is about the design of the structure, and how
much bend and twist, over and over, a weld and its
adjacent heat-affected metal can and must take.

Yes, there are weight and access benefits. No, they
are not all equally tough, and a pound in the right place
makes all the difference between riding and walking
someday down the line.

If I had it to do over, I'd take a plasma cutter to a stock
K instead and lighten it up. The factory piece is all about
toughness. You won't find a single "T" weld in tension
there. This is the feature to most beware, nothing but
two highly-stressed surface welds between good times
and a crank pulley resting on the sway bar (and some
suddenly seriously fucked steering geometry).

litle88

iTrader: (20)

Just get it, I've never heard of a kmember just breaking because of street use. I have seen them break after a high wheelie and it comes down on the kmember.

I live in Chicago home of the winter and construction seasons. I've had my UMI for almost 3 years and i have no problems. I should of made this my first mod instead of anything else. It just makes everything sooo much easier.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

You may not have heard of it, but I've lived it. And my car
can't pull a wheelie to save its life, has never been curbed
and was babied over every speed bump. The K let go backing
into the driveway after 3-5 years of service. The warning,
which I missed, was a couple weeks of loose feeling steering.

theaccountant

K-members for fox body Mustangs were designed either to improve cornering/handling by changing the front suspension characteristics (not that I really understand what was changed)...and then there were some that were mainly for removing weight for drag racing. All of them were known to be weaker than the factory K-member, just like you guys are saying about the LS1 Camaro K-members.

I'm new to LS1 Camaros (just got mine about a week ago) but it sounds like the K-members for these cars is just for weight savings and to make the car easier to work on. I don't understand if this is just because nothing can be done with a K-member to improve handling (beyond weight savings) on these cars or because it just hasn't been looked at/tried?