Hey guys can i get some feedback on this subject? I am about to spend some money on a k-member, a-arms, coilovers and rack and pinion parts. I have researched this and it appears that PA racing is the company to deal with. Does any one agree or disagree?

 

Do a search. You'll find a few topics on this very same subject. Some people say they are great, others say they suck. If you want a tubular K-Member that doesnt look like a couple of toothpicks glued together, check out www.roadtechonline.com

 

I cannot find anything but information on rebuilding frontends with different bushings when I do a search. Maybe someone can give me a personal opinion on aftermarket tubular frontends.

 

You must not be searching for the right words:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hlight=KMember

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hlight=KMember

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hlight=KMember !!!!

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hlight=KMember

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hlight=KMember

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hlight=KMember

Those should help

I actually own a RoadTech K-Member, but it is not installed yet. I ordered a PA Racing K-Member, and promptly cancelled the order after reading about it on this board. John @ Road Tech built one for me that looks 1000% times stronger than the PA Racing piece, but I have not been able to test it out yet. I'll hopefully be putting it in next month.

 

This is what I was looking for. Thanks for the help. I am glad there are people on the message boards that are willing to help.

 

first off, just because it looks stronger doesn't mean it is

secondly, both of the k-members in question have been built for 2 different purposes

dont mislead people to one particular brand or the other. There are pros/cons to each of the k-members

 

First off, doesnt matter anyhow, since I dont think John is planning on making any more K-Members.

Secondly, I've read a one too many bad reviews on PA Racing K-Members to recommend them to anyone.

My car is going to be driven on the street alot, and I wouldnt want to trust the wimpy looking PA K-Member with my life in its hands, even if I was just going in a straight line....

Have you compared the two K-members? Check out the pics in the first link I posted, and the difference is clear.

 

I believe 89ProchargedROC has been running the PA kmember for awhile. I've also heard good things about the PA crossmember and it does quite fine on street?

 

I guess its just like anything else. Some parts work for some people, some parts dont. I know you cant tell strength by looking at a part, but it definately looks like the Road Tech has a higher build quality. We'll see in a couple months how good the Road Tech K-Member really is

 

i wasn't going to say anything since your first posts were pretty much just leading people to info, but you shouldn't recommend anything that you haven't had a hand in. hense the reason of recommending something. you say you have a roadtech setup and explain why you chose them. however, you don't have a real basis on the facts other than one looks like a "toothpick".

that's excellent advice!! why don't you try using your parts before you recommend them?

it's true that the pa racing setup is typically "smaller" in size in that it has less bracing. that's because when you go to a tubular setup like these you want them as little as possible while still keeping the strength and use of a k-member in the first place. if very common setups like pa racing and others weren't durable people wouldn't continue to use them.

the roadtech version has more bracing similar to what other companies build for those who do alot of road racing. the extra bracing has been known in roadrace applications to help in areas like deflection and other suitable reasons. the pa racing setup is a common setup used by many other companies for mainly drag racing and normal street use. while it probably isn't ideal to use it at a road course knowing you could reinforce a unit better that doesn't mean you couldn't as many people do.

i have to agree with you completely. i have no problem with anyone not liking a particular product or sharing their opinion. but let people know that it's your opinion. how can you give advice on something you haven't even tried, let alone experience other similar setups to compare?

if i told you a lamborghini was the fastest car in the world and i hadn't driven one let alone any other car to compare would you believe me?

 

And you think that my quote of "looks 1000% stronger" is an actual fact? Should I have proceeded that with an IMHO or something? Maybe the PA K-Member works just fine in a street driven car, but I (personally, in my opinion), would not want to use it due to the lack of extra bracing that I think is necessary to hold up to the rigors of every day driving.

 

no i didn't think it was fact......but the wording you used to describe some of your opnions could mis-lead others to believe otherwise. i just thought that you should make things a little more clear if your going to suggest something.

i agree with your last point here and i think that there's nothing wrong with your decision. that's all you would have had to say as it makes a good point while leaving decisions up to other people. certainly if you don't need the extra clearance and are looking for more bracing for different applications that's the way to go.

i think alot of it definately depends on how you use your car. i know for myself that i would never need the extra bracing and i couldn't do have the stuff i can with the setups that have less bracing.

 

Ok, not this debate again.

I daily drive my PA racing setup as well as drag race. I don't autocross or roadrace, otherwise I would've just used a stock K member. Don't believe the hype about PA's stuff not holding up to daily driving. It's a lot stronger than it looks, and mine is just fine. I drive my car hard when needed, but I don't abuse my car (like driving down dirt roads at 50 mph, or run over pot holes at full speed). The one story I did read where PA's stuff broke is when a 4th gen Camaro hit a guardrail on the freeway or something...well duh, this **** isn't indestructable! IIRC he blew a tire and lost control, not PA racing's fault.

For Tadder89, decide what you intend to do with your car and make an informed decision. This thread should help you with that...just don't be surprised to hear that someone heard from their brother's friend's neighbor that PA racing K members suck because it broke when they went offroading in their Camero.

 

all that i was trying to say is that to make fair opinions about either k-member you either have to list the pros/cons of each and state the facts

you were clearly stating an opinion of how it "looked" compared to strength

This might be a crud example but what if i gave you a 1/2" thick piece of steel and a 1/4" thick piece of kevlar? That kevlar suuuuuure looks weaker, i wouldn't want it around my chest.

See what i'm getting at? I'm not saying that PA's is stronger that RoadTechs, i'm just saying you have to "try" to be clear on opinion and fact on boards like these because people are coming here for information and when you are just giving opinion you have to let them know that so they can use their best judgement

personally, i ended up not using my PA setup because i needed the money for other products that were more important in my buildup. If i happen to have the money in the future i wouldn't hesitate running their setup. You can call up jason and/or vernon and ask them how many people have called them in the years they've been in business and see how many of them have failed (not do to some type of accident on the street or the track). They are very very rare

Roadtech's k-member is very nice, i've seen the pics and feel it's a quality piece for people who aren't looking to give up any type of structural integrity for weight which is what the roadtech does. It doesn't weigh that much lighter if i remember right but it did allow much more access to things.

The end result is 2 products that are being designed to do different things for different applications

 

I never told the guy that he must buy the Road Tech K-Member just becuase I didnt care for the PA Racing version. Do you guys not do any research before you drop 800 bucks on parts? I used what I read on the boards, as well as the appearance of the product (extra bracing...) to base my purchase. Both K-Members are made from the same material (Mild Steel), both of them will offer greater clearance for long tube headers and larger sumps on oil pans.

 

actually mine is chromoly and there is alot more room then the roadtech version.......we've used them both along with many other types that are more commonly available on mustangs.

i don't base my research off of people who are only reading other opinions. sure, i may use it from time to time to help guide me, but i base my purchases off of first hand basis whenever possible.

there isn't any more point going over it as your not getting it. as for price, i only wish it cost me just 800 for my setup.

 

Kandied91z wrote:
i don't base my research off of people who are only reading other opinions. sure, i may use it from time to time to help guide me, but i base my purchases off of first hand basis whenever possible.


Wait a minute !! then you are telling false statements when you compare my k-member to a PA racing, because you have never installed or even had one of my k-members in your hand.....