I have a new project in mind but need a Tubular K-member to achieve this. Did some research and came to 2 companies to order from

-RaceCraft
-UMI

Race Craft has a real good looking set up but may have a little extra support that i need taken off. Price is is $800. Not sure if it can fit the Factory LS1 A/C

UMI also has a nice piece. But it cannot fit the factory LS1 A/C. So this might be out of the question for sure.

I do not want to try spohns stuff. I read to many bad things. Even though i got a good amount of stuff from him.

what do you guys suggest?

 

you can relocate the ls1 ac.

http://www.kwikperf.com/lsx_ac.html

that way you can use whatever k-member you like better. Both of those choices are good ones, both companies make very good parts. UMI's looks a bit beefier, but racecrafts may offer more oilpan clearance at the cost of ground clearance.

**edit***

i though kwik offered a relo bracket for the stock ac comp, but i cant find it on their site?

 

I just talked to BMR. They also have a very good k-member. Racecraft and BMR is what it all comes down to. Have you read anything bad about BMR? I want to keep the A/C where it is. It adds a very clean look to the engine bay

 

4th gen fbody A/c is the reason I stuck with Oem k member . Haven't seen any one clearing that section for the 4th gen fbody ac compressor area ..

On top of that I was looking at the umi k member and the main hoop sits higher than the ls1 fbody pan. Lookd a bit sketchy for lowered cars .

Keep us informed if you find one

 

I was reading something about that, but they were using the C5 accessories. Not sure how different they are between the F-body style. Kevin @ BMR assured me that the LS1 A/C would fit no problem. Maybe they made some improvements. But yeah the UMI does look kinda sketchy.

 

The c5 compressor sits In the same area as the fbody . Almost identical compressors

 

Well this could be a problem. He said that he had a picture. I will ask if you could send it to me for proof. Racecraft is still an option. They havent answered my email yet about the A/C. But the more i look at BMR, the more i like it. There isnt really any pictures of these BMR k-member installed

 

I am thinking almost all the brands sit higher than the oil pan?

I know on the 4th gen k-member we are the only brand that covers the oil pan, no other 4th k-member gives oil pan protection. On the 3rd gen we would need to drop our center tubes very low to try to cover the oil pan which added weight, it would need to drop another 4-6" I think.

Looking at the pictures I highly doubt the BMR set up covers the oil pan either. Their center tube looks very high.

I hope that helps,
Ryan

 

Got an update from Kevin at BMR

"Has to be F-Body accessory assembly, Corvette setup will not work."

"The oil pan will not be a problem if you’re using an OEM LS1 F-Body pan and not an aftermarket increased capacity."

im still not 100% sure it will clear the A/C but it might be worth a try. But if it doesnt work, knowing me, i will make it fit lol

UMI has also been working with me, But i see more cutting than anything. UMI, you need to modify your K-member to accept the factory LS A/C. Have the best of both worlds. I was dead sold on you guys till i found this out.

Joey

 

This is a situation where the manufacturer is stuck in a "damned if you do,damned if you don't" situation. Fbody ls1 ac does not fit a stock k member. To make it work with a aftermarket k member, you have to delete the provisions for factory k-member to frame braces, similar to.what you need to do to the factory k member to fit the ac. People looking for a aftermarket k-member are using it to lose weight, gain oilpan and exhuast clearance, and still keep the front end as rigid as possible. That's hard enough in a unibody car, and harder still when you lose the ability to use factory bracing intended to strengthen and tie together the front end frame rail.

I personally would rather keep all the factory chassis bracing and relocate the ac long before deleting structure in favor of stock ac location. Others like you feel differently, and no matter what is done, there is always sombody with a different need or opinion and its not always that easy to accomidate everyone.

 

I get your Point, But why make an "LSx K-member" if your not going to make some of the accessories not work. It easy to modify the stock k-member for something like this to work. But again the LS1 was never intended to fit on the stock k-member. I just wished they took something like this into consideration thats all. Not every one with an LSx motor is all about Drag racing and making crazy horsepower. But if it comes down to it, i might just have to move the A/C.

 

I found this thread. Read down to post #4. Looks like the F-body accessories might work without any issues

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...revisited.html

 

Just to say what that thread says.........C5 accessories are 3/4" closer to the engine than the F-body accessories. That is why the C5 a/c compressor will not fit on the BMR, without some work. I understand the F- body setup is no problem.
F-body uses the same compressor, but with DIFFERENT mounting than the C5 unit. I have BOTH. One fits, one does not.

 

Joey, Phil (86TA) above posted pretty much what I would. It is one of those things where we can't make everyone happy. We are very pleased with our design of the k-member, the fit is great, the structure is ridged and the feedback has been good. We were disappointed when we found out factory A/C wouldn't clear, after many days of debating and research we made the decision that is wasn't worth sacrificing our excellent design for an A/C pump. Since our design is unique it would require a complete redesign in order to clear with out making the k-member look like a hack job. We decided relocating the A/C was the best route as were weren't happy with some of the designs now that clear the A/C. Also we assumed most people would ditch the A/C based on our research as well but we were prepared to loose a few sales from it.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

I understand Ryan. Your K-member looks awesome. And if i wasnt trying to keep the A/C, your k-member would be on my list. Good luck and thanks for the info and support.

Joey