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Tubular K member??

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Old Dec 8, 2013 | 11:56 AM
  #1  
Beeman's Avatar
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Tubular K member??

Considering a tubular K member for my bracket race only Camaro. What K member have you installed and how good is the fit of it? Did you use a rack or stock steering? Mild steel or chromoly? Actual weight savings? Coilovers or stock springs?
I have a stock K member now with Moroso trick springs and 90/10 struts.
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Old Dec 10, 2013 | 02:02 PM
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Re: Tubular K member??

I run the PA racing front K member with stock springs and stock steering. I dont know how much weight savings there was, but lifting the parts in my hands would guess around 40lbs. or so. Chrome moly is stronger, but there is no weight advantage, so I went with mild steel.
I had my local alignment guy get everything set up for the track and havent had any problems. 1.54-1.55 60fts on really low boost and fat tune.
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Old Dec 10, 2013 | 09:03 PM
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Car: 1991 Z28 Vert
Engine: 383 single plane efi
Transmission: T-56
Axle/Gears: 8.8 with 3.73s
Re: Tubular K member??

Originally Posted by Beeman
Considering a tubular K member for my bracket race only Camaro. What K member have you installed and how good is the fit of it? Did you use a rack or stock steering? Mild steel or chromoly? Actual weight savings? Coilovers or stock springs?
I have a stock K member now with Moroso trick springs and 90/10 struts.
I went with the UMI K member and A arms, it's the only K member that uses a double hoop/bar across the oil pan which at least leads me to believe it is a stronger design. Installation was a breeze and it fitted perfect. Mild steel. Their customer service (Raimey?) was superb. Gave much more clearance than the stock piece, which after the weight savings is the main reason to purchase one. I am no longer afraid to change motor mounts!! I still use the stock style steering though its been changed/upgraded. I run stock style struts as I don't believe in long term use of coil overs on our vehicles. UMI says you can jack up the front of the car by placing the jack under their double hoop. I have been doing that for a year now and have seen no ill effects, I just use a board or something to pad the bar to prevent scratches or small dents.
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Old Dec 10, 2013 | 09:36 PM
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Re: Tubular K member??

I have a chrome molly spohn k-member with coilovers and tubular a-arms..i was going to get a manual rack but decided against it..i swapped in a manual gear box from an s-10 and hated it..so i went back to power steering..the weight savings with the coilovers and a-arms/kmember was about 60lbs..i noticed a difference
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Old Dec 15, 2013 | 06:20 PM
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Re: Tubular K member??

Im running a spohn mild steel tubular K. Weight difference is minimal. Cleared up alot of space though. I absolutely hate the thing, but its faults really wouldnt affect a bracket car

Modified a coilover K to accept stock springs and reused the stock A-arms

Install was a basic R&R, no fuss
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Old Dec 15, 2013 | 07:06 PM
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From: 51°N 114°W, 3500'
Car: 87 IROC L98
Engine: 588 Alcohol BBC
Transmission: Powerglide
Axle/Gears: Ford 9"/31 spline spool/4.86
Re: Tubular K member??

Profab mild steel k-member and a-arms in my car. Moroso trick springs, Koni SPA1 struts. Manual steering box from an S10.

The only thing I would have done differently would be to get rod ends for the a-arms instead of bushings especially for a race only car but that still doesn't stop me from pulling the wheels sky high. With rod ends, you can play with steering/suspension geometry slightly.

Weight saving over an OEM k-member is very minimal. Room around the engine is the biggest saving. CM does save a little bit of weight but doesn't justify the added cost. CM, although it's a little lighter because it can use thinner tubing for the same strength also has a shorter life span because the metal is so brittle. The metal and welds will show signs of cracking long before mild steel will. It all depends on how you abuse it. You don't see a lot of old CM tube chassis race cars for a reason while there are still a lot of old mild steel tube chassis cars.
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Old Dec 15, 2013 | 07:27 PM
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Car: 86 Camaro IROC-Z
Engine: 565ci 900 hp
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Axle/Gears: Moser 9" w/4:56 Detroit Locker
Re: Tubular K member??

I have Racecraft chrome moly Road race K-Member, with UMI A-arms with Delrin bushings, Racecraft 2" drop spindles with shorten arms and also have Unisteer Rack and Pinion.
Love the setup, but I really noticed the difference when I put on the Edlebrock 3 point strut brace, that made a world of a difference
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Old Dec 15, 2013 | 09:01 PM
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From: Desert
Car: 1991 Z28 Vert
Engine: 383 single plane efi
Transmission: T-56
Axle/Gears: 8.8 with 3.73s
Re: Tubular K member??

I have a stock k member with a arms attached laying around and I can weigh it and give the amount. Ill call UMI and ask for their weight of the k and a arms.
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Old Dec 18, 2013 | 04:06 PM
  #9  
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From: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Car: 86 Camaro IROC-Z
Engine: 565ci 900 hp
Transmission: T56 Magnum by RPM Transmissions
Axle/Gears: Moser 9" w/4:56 Detroit Locker
Re: Tubular K member??

Originally Posted by Tibo
I have a stock k member with a arms attached laying around and I can weigh it and give the amount. Ill call UMI and ask for their weight of the k and a arms.
If you do a search on here the weights are all ready listed
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Old Dec 21, 2013 | 02:34 PM
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Re: Tubular K member??

BMR
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