IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Just wanted some user imput. Looking at getting one for my street strip car. But numerous emails go unanswered to Umi in regards to long term reliability and fitment with my current pan and headers. I know the factory k member is a beefy piece of steel and this is tubular steel with a second hoop. I have long tube stainless works headers that fit well but are close to the a arm mounting points on the stock unit. My hamburger pan sits real close to the cradle on the front of the factory k member also. Umi caught my eye with their k member but just concerned with long term road use of it. Any current user imput would be appriciated. Thank you

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

I bought one and have it (UMI K member and A arms) sitting on the garage floor until I install it in two days. It looks beefy and well built, so far I am satisfied. The posts by users on these boards all were positive experiences for longevity. I believe RedRaif had a problem with her K member from PA racing breaking at a weld. Some said it was a bad weld and some said it was the wrong material. They ended up replacing it for free. That was the worst I could find. Some people view them negatively because they aren't as strong and they would bend if you hit a huge rock or something. But I only drive on paved roads so... Another member said he could put a jack under the K member and jack up the whole front end with minimal bending. Although that is probably advised against.
You will definitely gain clearance on this, some members said that they had changed oil pan gaskets with tubular K members.

TrueIroc

So a Stock K Member is stronger?

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

It's the general consensus yes. The selling point of K members is the weight savings and added clearance. Stock K members and A arms are made to somewhat withstand collisions, huge potholes and bottoming out etc. The people who buy tubular aftermarket K members and A arms (myself included) are most likely drag racing, auto crossing or car shows- all closed off "safe" sanctioned events. They still may get light mileage but it will be a fraction of the mileage that a daily driver sees so there is not as big concern for road "obstacles" or collisions. I think I put 700 or so miles on my Camaro last summer.

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

I didnt even think about that. I do usually jack up my car by the k member. Im looking at it from a clearance standpoint. Really tight with stock k member and my headers. Actually have to jack up the motor a tiny bit to get passenger side in and out because of k member size. Now im on the fence with this. Would def like the extra clearance, but I dont know if im willing to give up any strength, even a minimal amount. Maybe Umi can come up with a daily driver, little bit beefier version, bigger and or thicker ubing. But with the extra clearance you get using the aftermarket tubular design. Id definatly be interested in it. Im not so much interested by the weight savings its negligable. Im more attracted to the tons of added clearance you get from the swap. Any thoughts?

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

You will have more clearance for the headers since the motor mount plates and the rear a-arm mount are smaller than the factory k member. Pan clearance will be about the same bewteen the pan and the cross tubes of the crossmember, but you should pickup a little more room where the exhaust crossover would be.

I have their RR k-member in my v6 car, fitment was perfect, and I mean perfect. All the mounting points sat flat on the body, where they should, nothing needed to be fudged or tweaked to fit.

As for durability, the factory piece will always win that fight.

UMI Performance

Hello,

Do you know what address you are e-mailing? Honestly we reply to all e-mails with in hours, sometimes minutes. We never avoid e-mails so I am wondering if it is going to a wrong e-mail address?? I searched and can't find any unanswered e-mails and spam folder looks clear too. So I am very sorry, but you won't find us avoiding e-mails.

We feel we offer one the best k-members on the market so we have nothing to hide and no reason not to reply to an e-mail asking about it.

Please forward the e-mails to ryan@umiperformance.com and I will have it taken care of ASAP.

Merry Christmas!
Ryan

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

I believe that they offer a chromemoly version also that would be stronger. From looking at thi first hand I really only think a problem would occur if you hit a large, heavy and hard road obstacle or were hit HARD in one of the front wheels. If you were to be hit that hard, the car would probably be totaled anyway.

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Ryan, by no means am I saying Umi is hiding anything. I just filled out the contact form on the site. I did that twice. Maybe there is an issue with the contact form. Filled out the name and email requirememts and asked my questions, basically what I posted here. Just was surprised I didnt hear back anything twice. I know you frequent the board so I thought this would be a better avenue to take in regards to questions.

UMI Sales

Which pulldown menu did you use?

Sales
Order Inquiry
Technical Support
Order Inquiry
Media & Website

I just checked Technical Support using my home email and contact info and it worked perfectly.

With regards to reliability, our house car which is a non Road Race unit, has a few thousand miles of not-so-gentle use and is working perfectly. We have probably 50 units out there right now with no indications of trouble. As time goes on we'll continue gathering data but I have a feeling from an engineering standpoint this product will prove itself durable and reliable.

ramey

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

I used the sales link. Ramey if I send you pics of my situation maybe you can lmk what Im looking at in term of what ill gain for clearance. Headers are really close to the a arm mounting points on stock k. As you know gm puts and extra amount of metal over hang in this area. I habe maybe 1/ 4 in or a tad more. Most likly wont hit but I dont like it that close. Plus passengee side header only goes in with jacking up the motor an inch or so to get it in and out, not conveinent at all. My hamburger pan has very little wiggle room to the bottom of the factory k member as it has a welded extension the length of the whole pan., not just the sump area like my previous 7 quart morso. Would like more than I have here as well. But pics would show you what Im refering to. Email posted here is ok to send to? Thank you again for ypur response. In regards to strength.Main reason im looking at UMI is that second hoop you habe intergrated into the design. Now strength wise, weight not withstanding , as I know steel and chromoly are lighter than stock. Which is stronger between those two options you offer? Thanks again for supporting our cars.

UMI Sales

You can email pics to ramey@umiperformance.com. The RR k-member is of course stronger but I'd feel confident daily-driving on our standard version as well.

ramey

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Sent out the pics. Thanks Ramey

UMI Sales

Working on a reply. Have to do some research. And I'm 17 replies deep.

Be with you soon.

ramey

UMI Performance

Thanks for the reply. Maybe the e-mails got lost in e-mail space... but we will get you fixed up!

I wanted to touch on the above quote quick. Our k-member is exactly just as you are asking above, it has extra meat and more support than the competitors designs. We already designed it with a daily driven car in mind. If you look at our design you will see the dual tube center section, other companies only run one tube under the oil pan... we run two to help tie the k-member together better. The downfall to all this is we can't offer the lightest k-member on the market but we still feel we did pretty good with a 25lb weight savings.

Of course like Ramey mentioned there is the road race version if someone wants to pay the extra.

Hope that helps,
Ryan

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

How does it hold up to jacking up the car on bottom tube? Thats only way i can work on my car is to jack from the kmember and use stands at the a-arm joints.

Also what about coming down from a 2-4 ft wheelie at the strip? Not that i plan on allowing my car to do that as it usually leaves straight and down, but curious if it would withstand such loading

UMI Performance

Jacking up the car from the k-member shouldn't be an issue, I would recommend some type of rubber or grip to prevent the jack from sliding. But with any type of aftermarket k-member you should caution when doing this.

Wheel stands is a tough question to answer. Any time you are racing there a chance of breaking something when everything doesn't go right. On a correct launch the landing of a wheel stand is usually smooth and the shocks/springs absorb the hit. If you pop the front of the car up, freak out and let off the gas causing the front end to come crashing into the payment no one is going to guarantee 100% crash resistance in this case. If this happens you will have headers to replace, oil pan ect. So basically it depends on the circumstance of the use. Here is a link to customer feedback where this did happen on a forth gen and our k-member was 100% okay: https://www.umiperformance.com/news/?p=373

Obviosuly we can't replace something like this, just as a header company wouldn't replace the headers or oil pan that hit.

I hope that helps,
Ryan

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

I also use this point to jack up the car. With a rubber pad though on the jack head. I dont even think the stock k member would hold up well to a wheel stand launch. Im sure either way youd crush the sump on the pan as well as the bottom hoop in either case. What did you change this year Orr? You got the motor out so somthings up

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Seen a few thirdgens handle wheelstands on stock members. No concern there and i fully understand that things can happen to any race part and dont expect any manufacturer to replace it because of it. Just seeing if you had any experiences with it under severe duty

My motor needs rebuilt lol had some issues and have 2 bad cylinder walls. No real changes but setting it up for more boost this time around

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Hpe things turn out ok with the rebuild. How long were you runnning two dead cylinders? You ran real fast as it is. Ever since ive seen your car ive been contemplating running twins myself. Shop in RI makes up a kit for our yeaes complete with tune for right around $5500 oit the door. SD concepts, check out there site, they have an 85 that dynoed with twins on a 350 I think 650 to the wheels, do not know the boost numbers though. By the way how did your aftermarket ecu shopping around turn out? Take care.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Heads cam swap finished early this year had no cylinder damage that i could see. This year it happened but still trapped 137 on 13 psi at over 3600-3650 lbs i estimate so it was up on power since last combo but couldnt rev up motor due to float. Frustrating year. Almost bought a holley hp efi but now goin gm 411 swap with coil packs

So now looking at kmember since its out and would allow me to get creative with turbo plumbing if i decide to change again.....

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Too bad I missed the thanksgiving 15% off sale from umi. What are you looking at in terms of time frame to swap in the k member? See if we can get some people interested.

IROCThe5.7L

Hmm. I'm pulling my engine now. I'm interested in the Tubular K-member & A-arm Package. Would this give me better clearance with the long tubes I will be installing?

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

No timeline really, between now and spring time. I got plenty to keep me busy for the time being lol

Umi and spohn are 2-3 hrs from me so i could easily pick up and save shipping

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Clearance is the next biggest perk to the k member next to weight savings. I too habe long tubes , stainless works brand, so this is one of my main reasoning to swap to the k membee as well. What headers do you run?

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Ain t that the truth, lol.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Fwiw i had 2210 hookers and ministarter and no clearance issues on stock kmember. Now if you fab turbo stuff, extra room is wellll received! Lol

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

I have the stainless works long tubes with 2 1/2 collector. They fit good with stock k member, but close on a few spots. Biggest pita is getting in the passenger side. You have no choice but to jack up the motor a tad to slide it in. I can tell you right now. With the umi design they could be slid in and out without touching motor. They hit the starter pad and that without the tranny atrached. But the stock ks width in that area it isnt even attemptable to just slide down the headers , to much metal there. With it attached you have to seperate it, pull the tranny back then jack up motor. Pita, doable for someone that knows these cars and is good with tools. But biggest pita for someone wanting them in and out to check clearances or change motor mounts/ other numerous crap we do in our spare time because we cannot leave stuff alone. Lol

Well looks like we have three interested parties now. Once the word is out Im sure this will get rolling. I saw the k member when it first came out and was impressed. But i nevr buy anything hot off the press. After seeing the RR version I think they have cornered the market on these. Just a well built/ well engineered piece of work.

So much room to be had with swapping the stock unit.

IROCThe5.7L

Group buy?

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Yes we are trying. If your in thats 4. We need 10 min.

UMI Sales

Hey guys. You may want to check out our Christmas deals starting very soon. Since the k isn't a brand new product (which is when group buys work best) the best time to buy is coming up. Ho Ho Ho.

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Ramey, Im blonde, so cut me some slack, I didnt get that HO HO HO in pm until just now, lol. Thank you for the heads up. Take care

UMI Performance

K-members will start at $467.49 and have discounted shipping during the sale. It will be up this evening.

Do I see some self bought Christmas presents?

Merry Christmas!
Ryan

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

I just put mine in yesterday, and the car is still in the air. I can take pics if anyone wants to see something?

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Ryan what will the RR versions start at? Thank you

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Tough call. Road race version or regular version? Price for regular on xmas sale price is hard to beat

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Sure . What headers are you running? And pan? Thanks

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

I have a stock capacity aluminum oil pan, not any larger than stock. The headers are shorties. I have a set of Hooker long tubes but wasn't putting them in until I put the 383 in in a few months. I guess I could mock them in place with a few bolts but with Christmas stuff it would be a week before I could do that. I can say that there is a ton of room with the shorty headers, especially around the starter!

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

A few pics, not sure how helpful though. You can see in one of the pics how easy it is to get to the engine mounts and the clearance around the header and starter.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

UMI- Will this compress the Spring more, less or no difference? It seems that they have the same placement as the stock K-member.

FSTFBDY

iTrader: (33)

I want the road race k-member also Orr. just not sure if its any diff. then the spohn one where the oil pan / crossover area is. I know this turbo crossover I have clears with a spohn kmember and deep sump aftermarket oil pan.

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for setting it up for quick shots. Def alot of room around the pan area. Plus near that starter pad its opened up quite a bit. How much room you have from bottom hoop to underside pf oil pan?

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Just what i was waiting for. Ryan , looking at getting the a arms as well with this order. Delrin bushings? Saw that option dont know what it is. Any info please? Thanks Ryan for helping us self indulge.. Take care

UMI Performance

It will compress the same as stock. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

We put our sale up and the prices are on the site. Honestly, this is the cheapest you will ever see this item... Thanksgiving and Christmas is when we do our deepest discounts.

The Delrin bushings are a nice upgrade, the allow the a-arms to travel with a lot less friction.

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalo...ex&cPath=6_282

I hope this helps!
Ryan

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Very helpful. I see what you mean. My polys I have now are tough to move and squeak when they get dry. Plus they were a basterd to get in because of thickness over stock rubber.
Ryan, btw I had sent pics to Ramey on my oil pan. Just off hand have you had an issues with oil pan clearance with the main hoop? I just have to ask because the Hamburger pan I have is not sold anymore and was a big buck item back when it was. Its basically very close to stock k member now. If the UMI is the same or even gives another 1/8-1/4 Im happy with that. Thanks

IROCThe5.7L

I couldn't resist the discount. I just placed an order.

FSTFBDY

iTrader: (33)

Tibo,

can you take a few pic's from a diff. view? Id like to see how far away the hoop is from the crossover. Yours looks closer then the spohn one.

http://www.spohn.net/productimages/1...-92-703-13.jpg

http://www.spohn.net/shop/1982-1992-...C-BBC-LT1.html

UMI Performance

Merry Christmas!

IROCZ1989

iTrader: (1)

Me neither. With Christmas all settled, placed an order this am for the RR K& A Arms. Thanks Ramey and Ryan. Looking forward to getting these in. Hope UMI can maybe do another sale like this in the comming months. Take care and Merry Christmas.

tricky1

iTrader: (1)

Is there a step by step with pictures post on removal of the stock k member and installation of an aftermarket one? I just ordered one from UMI and would like a heads up on what I'm about to undertake.