As Ramey mentioned we will have some stuff out and also an open house to check everything out at. We made our event this year actually two days with autocross but still also having our original Saturday evening Cruise in. Check out the link below for info!

http://umiperformance.com/umicruisein/

 

That's a beefy SOB. How strong is the steering mount? In the Mustang universe, those kind of mounts have sheered off when road racing. And that's the only kind I've ever seen in the F-Body K-members. So I don't know if there's any concern in the F-Body because of differences with the steering rack?

Also, I have to ask, how much weight does it shave off vs stock?

I want to shave some weight but keep the car as safe as I can. And want more clearance around the motor. This looks like the ticket.

Also will the boxed a-arms provide any weight savings? Or are they more for strength and adjustability vs stock?

 

Minus 25 lbs for the k-member and a few lbs per side on the arms (varies depending on configuration).

We've never had that particular steering rack mount question. We are on k-member 1700 or so and never any hint of a problem. We beat ours senseless on road race and auto-x as do many others so you are good to go.

-- Ramey

 

Thanks, Ramey. I hadn't heard of it either. But then I saw a couple of Mustang k-members that looked similar with those tabs. And they had sheered off.

But I really like the k-member design.

 

As Ramey mentioned 25lbs on k-member, boxed lower a-arms with rod ends is 5lbs a set.. maybe a little more. If you run the UMI/Strano/Afco coilover up front or similar aluminum shock and 2.5" spring you can cut another 10lbs off too. So 40lbs potential with a front end kit.

Hope that helps,
Ryan

 

That exact k-member in the pictures is currently in Strano's car. So he will help to continue to test it.

 

Ryan and Ramey - I have a question on these.

I see you offer these with Roto-Joints as well. I have the Roto-Joint/Poly combo on my rear adjustable LCAs and Panhard Bar from you guys and they are quiet and work very well on the street. Would it be worth it to upgrade to the dual roto-joints for the boxed lower A-Arm for a street car? Or would the dual rod-ends be okay?

I'm thinking to finish off my suspension (for now) would be the Road Race K-Member, Boxed Lowers with Roto-Joints, and the Non-Adjustable Uppers with the Poly bushings. I drive on the street but am wanting to get back into some Auto-X with it this year. But I want the weight savings for when I drag race and the additional clearance to work on the car. So goodness all the way around.

 

If the car leans toward more street than race, Roto-Joints are a great idea. They are similar in performance to a rod-end but also have some cushioning to prevent NVH (noise, vibration and harshness).

Good choice for sure.

-- Ramey

 

As Ramey mentioned all good options.

We recommend and use rod ends for cars that see lots of course use. Rod ends are lighter and less expensive than Roto-Joints. The weight on a set of 4 is 4lbs more than rod ends I think. Both rod ends and Roto-Joints are items that wear, the rod ends are easier to replace as a they wear out but the Roto-joints offer more streetability. So sounds like Roto-joints are for you.

On the upper a-arms you may want to consider the 2310 adjustable, these are the newer design with more built in clearance than the non-adj. We hope to update the non-adj. here shortly as well.

Hope this helps!
Ryan

 

Development at UMI on the 4th gen F-Body platform continues. Our next step is front roll center:

We have built a custom adjustable k-member that allows roll center height to be changed quickly and easily at the track (see pictures below). This will allow us to make adjustments at upcoming events to dial in suitable front roll center for autocross and road racing. Along with this we have also added a UMI built bump steer kit and we are running bump steer numbers now.

I am pretty excited about this new project.

 

Nice...Have you guys run this yet on this platform?
Collected any data or is this the proto?

 

Not yet, that adjustable item above is what we will be running this season to allow us to collect data and car feel. So above is the test unit with built in adjustment so make changes along the way.

 

We have a R&D team here at UMI that is made up of Engineers,Fabricators and racers that are always gathering data throughout the process of new products.

We generally never release a product until we have physically installed it on one of our house cars and put it through abuse that most customers will not subject their personal vehicles to.

Our race season starts here in a couple weeks. We generally attend 15-20+ racing events a year along with a few private test sessions so that we can get true to life data, meaning not just the numbers but actual data that our products are doing what they are intended to do whether it be making the product stronger or making the car faster.

This is what we pride ourselves on and a huge benefit to our customers in that they can be 100% confident we aren't just building a product and selling it "hoping" that the design is correct and that the product will hold up.

If anybody needs any info please feel to give us a call here at the shop

 

Yeah I don't think anyone's going to argue your quality or pride in workmanship. I've seen plenty of your parts and rode in Jerrys car at Carlisle, Even had the pizza & beer after taking your cash from winning your shootout lol...
I just wondered if you were going to give us any hints yet on what the RC does as you move it up & down & left & right....time will tell.
Thanks for the great products & continued development on these cars.

 

We are focusing on keeping the roll center above ground from static height through full dive. Our initial test will be to evaluate the performance at RC of 2-1/2" static above ground as compared to the factory 1/2" above ground. We are still calculating migration while in roll but this initial test will give us a good place to start. We can already feel the roll resistance due to RC height change and we also put in a small amount of add'l anti-dive. Roger said the braking feels awesome.

More soon

-- Ramey

 

Adjusted the UMI panhard lowering/leveling kit. Had it on the lowest holes since install, raised it up 2 holes. Just in the time I was out running errands (~60 mi.). Dramatic difference. Rear is firmer (more oversteer). With it on the lowest setting you could feel the rear squatting more around corners (less oversteer).

 

Newest product: Delrin rack bushing kit, eliminates the movement and slop in the rack by replacing the worn out rubber. P/N 2116 on our site.

 

Is it possible to make the anti slide for the older version of the road race k-member?

 

how many man hrs to put a kmember?

 

We can sell the stops and plates that need welded on if needed.

I would give yourself 8-10 hours for a job like that.