Who has a BMR k-member and drives their car daily?
08-07-2005, 11:57 PM
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Who has a BMR k-member and drives their car daily? Would there be any downside to this? I'm considering building my next f-body in the very near future, and one of the things I want is superb handling. I was thinking of going with basically everything BMR makes for the f-body, save for some double diamond style SFC's, or perhaps the Wolfe ones that go through the floorpan. For some reason, the idea of a tubular K-member seems like it might not be a good idea on a street car. What are your opinions on this?
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08-08-2005, 03:41 PM
#10
Originally Posted by badmfkr
it's too weak for the street, made for wieght saving
countless people including myself run them day in and day out for years (I have 3 years and 50K miles on mine) on end without a single problem.........if they were too weak to take daily driving they would be a death trap for any serious racing........what next....don't use aluminum rims because they are made to reduce weight......
Originally Posted by obZidian
i read some negative feedback about the k memebers that they flex under load when cornering of make noise..
is this true or just an incorrect diagnosis?
is this true or just an incorrect diagnosis?
again.....if it is bending and flexing, you have got some serious problems......
BMR K-member is an really good mod not just in weight savings but also for ease of working on ones car....it opens up all kinds of room and prevents the dreaded "dropped bolt caught on the K-member" syndrome everyone loves so much.....if you have the money, get one.....
08-08-2005, 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by 2001CamaroGuy
again.....if it is bending and flexing, you have got some serious problems......
BMR K-member is an really good mod not just in weight savings but also for ease of working on ones car....it opens up all kinds of room and prevents the dreaded "dropped bolt caught on the K-member" syndrome everyone loves so much.....if you have the money, get one.....
I also found 2 spark plugs, 3 sockets and some other odds and ends in the factory one when I dropped it.
08-08-2005, 07:49 PM
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Nothing will be as strong as the stock stamping,
until you approach the same weight and more
importantly, cross section and continuous-sheet
construction.
But "good enough, and much lighter" sure is an
appealing proposition, because the stock piece
(plus cast iron mount pedestals) is a real pig.
There is some incidence of weld breakage. Do
not know the odds or the causes. Claims that
the design has been improved, but I do not
know what side of that line, mine was produced
on.
I did pick up a shakier front end feel after the
K-member install. It's a little floppier, not so
bad that handling feels compromised, more a
"jiggy" response to road bumps. I don't notice
it in aggressive cornering but do, on uneven
pavement.
I think you need to treat this piece (and other
highly-stressed, abuse-exposed critical chassis
pieces) almost like aircraft stuff; inspect it,
respect it. It leads a rough life and you want to
stay on top of any fatigue or latent weakness
before it gets a chance to fail on you.
You will get a lot of love/hate opinions in the
Chassis & Suspension section. Hard to make out
the whole picture. Several designs out there,
most of them with a lot less units on the street
than BMR; how solid are the others, when will
we find out?
Personally I favor the light-weight Ks, but want
one that's better beefed up for the street (added
metal & welding is in mine's future).
Note that improved clearance is not a given.
You get it in -most- areas. But I had a stock-
manifolds, Random Tech high-flow catted Y pipe
that just happened to place the cats exactly
where the BMR K-member rear mount boxes
are, and these stick out more than the stock
stamping's curved shape. It didn't look like a
place I wanted to cut structure so I had to ditch
the RT Y-pipe. I think this is an abnormal thing,
headers seem to fit better with the tubular Ks
at least.
until you approach the same weight and more
importantly, cross section and continuous-sheet
construction.
But "good enough, and much lighter" sure is an
appealing proposition, because the stock piece
(plus cast iron mount pedestals) is a real pig.
There is some incidence of weld breakage. Do
not know the odds or the causes. Claims that
the design has been improved, but I do not
know what side of that line, mine was produced
on.
I did pick up a shakier front end feel after the
K-member install. It's a little floppier, not so
bad that handling feels compromised, more a
"jiggy" response to road bumps. I don't notice
it in aggressive cornering but do, on uneven
pavement.
I think you need to treat this piece (and other
highly-stressed, abuse-exposed critical chassis
pieces) almost like aircraft stuff; inspect it,
respect it. It leads a rough life and you want to
stay on top of any fatigue or latent weakness
before it gets a chance to fail on you.
You will get a lot of love/hate opinions in the
Chassis & Suspension section. Hard to make out
the whole picture. Several designs out there,
most of them with a lot less units on the street
than BMR; how solid are the others, when will
we find out?
Personally I favor the light-weight Ks, but want
one that's better beefed up for the street (added
metal & welding is in mine's future).
Note that improved clearance is not a given.
You get it in -most- areas. But I had a stock-
manifolds, Random Tech high-flow catted Y pipe
that just happened to place the cats exactly
where the BMR K-member rear mount boxes
are, and these stick out more than the stock
stamping's curved shape. It didn't look like a
place I wanted to cut structure so I had to ditch
the RT Y-pipe. I think this is an abnormal thing,
headers seem to fit better with the tubular Ks
at least.
Last edited by jimmyblue; 08-08-2005 at 08:01 PM.
08-08-2005, 08:11 PM
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When I performed a practise road race run with mine, it's imperfections reared its ugly head. I know the question was for street performance, and weight savings is definitely essential for my demands, however not at the sacrifice of high speed road racing chassis stability. Don't know if you guys remember another thread where I mentioned that my tubular K-member cracked after taking that tight exit ramp 2 years ago, but that was enough for me not to run one on the street.
Sounds pretty closed minded, however I believe that there can be better designs than the tubular ones made so far. Can't remember which manufacturer was planning a boxed style K-member, but from what I saw, I was a little more impressed by it's design for lateral loads. As far as weight savings, it was to yield at least 17 lbs. less in its mild steel form. I think it was one that LGM was designing, but wasn't quite sure. Saw it from a link on FRRAX.
I could care less who designs and manufactures it, just as long as it's strong enough for a road course, because if it isn't strong enough for a challenging road course, who knows what random turns and manoeuvres on a street could do to it. Collisions with kerbs is a whole other situation altogethor, and most K-members might not survive something like that and perform like it was originally supposed to.
Sounds pretty closed minded, however I believe that there can be better designs than the tubular ones made so far. Can't remember which manufacturer was planning a boxed style K-member, but from what I saw, I was a little more impressed by it's design for lateral loads. As far as weight savings, it was to yield at least 17 lbs. less in its mild steel form. I think it was one that LGM was designing, but wasn't quite sure. Saw it from a link on FRRAX.
I could care less who designs and manufactures it, just as long as it's strong enough for a road course, because if it isn't strong enough for a challenging road course, who knows what random turns and manoeuvres on a street could do to it. Collisions with kerbs is a whole other situation altogethor, and most K-members might not survive something like that and perform like it was originally supposed to.
