QA1 K-Member going to the trash pile

[Nuked]

Well we got the car up on the lift tonight to try and figure out why the front sits an inch lower on the drivers side... We discovered the control arm mount was bent and not allowing the control arm to fully move. Then after looking at the passenger side we noticed a nice crack where the control arm mounts over there!

Needless to say it is coming off and my friend who has a fab shop is going to make a new one along with a set of tubular control arms that use the stock style springs.

SQ

 

[Gallows]

Is it a quality issue or did you hit something to damage it?

 

[PACIFICGREENSVT]

Tube k frames are not good for street cars or dd's.
have you seen a car thats been in a small fender bender with a tube k member? not preaty.

 

[Nuked]

Is it a quality issue or did you hit something to damage it?

Has to be a quality issue. I have not hit anything, nor are there any marks on the K-member showing any abuse.

SQ

 

[whtcobra1998]

do you daily drive it? qa1 are really only good for drag racing

 

[Nuked]

do you daily drive it? qa1 are really only good for drag racing

It was on the car when I got it, but yeah will be a daily driver. After seeing the QA1 "quality" up close, I wouldn't even want it on my drag car.

SQ

 

[MLS]

This worries me about putting my MM kmember on a street car...

 

[Nuked]

K-Member is off the car, hopefully get a chance to get some pics tomorrow night. The problem areas are where the control arms mount to the K-member. Craftsmanship is very poor from what I have seen.

At any rate we sourced a stock K-member locally to use to build a jig for the new aftermarket one. Our goal is to have a sturdier option that allows stock or aftermarket control arms to be used and come in around 500 dollars.

SQ

 

[DVJ38]

This worries me about putting my MM kmember on a street car...

You are better off with a MM piece (road race type) than a QA1 or UPR (drag) piece.

 

[MLS]

Thats a relief... It wasnt cheap lol and its not on yet.

 

[CJK440]

If you compare the "drag race" designs to the MM stuff you will see a big difference.

To the OP, unless you really have a desire to make one yourself, if you have a fab shop at your disposal why not fix the issues with the QA1 and beef it up further?

 

[Nuked]

If you compare the "drag race" designs to the MM stuff you will see a big difference.

To the OP, unless you really have a desire to make one yourself, if you have a fab shop at your disposal why not fix the issues with the QA1 and beef it up further?

There are two others locally that are in need of a K-member solution as well. Would be cheaper and better in the long run to fab a new k-member as opposed to buying a QA1 and modding it to be acceptable.

SQ

 

[2DXTRM]

Thats a relief... It wasnt cheap lol and its not on yet.

Besides the stock K-member, MM or Griggs are the only two I would put in my car.


OP, if your friend is going to make you one, have a look at something like the MM or Griggs piece to see where he can make yours stronger (bracing, triangulating) compared to the QA1 unit.

 

[Cookieman00x]

Call the company and see what they have to say about it. Its possible it was a quality control issue.

 

[Nuked]

Besides the stock K-member, MM or Griggs are the only two I would put in my car.


OP, if your friend is going to make you one, have a look at something like the MM or Griggs piece to see where he can make yours stronger (bracing, triangulating) compared to the QA1 unit.

His will be similar to the Griggs unit. Obviously we won't be copying it, but thats the "style" we are looking for.

I can call QA1, but honestly I do not expect much result from it. As stated before, it was on the car when I purchased it, so it is not like I bought it and installed out of my pocket. We had tossed the idea around of making a new K-member anyways, and after seeing the condition of the QA1 it solidified the idea for us.

SQ

 

[White96svt]

Call the company and see what they have to say about it. Its possible it was a quality control issue.

Hostly, I wouldn't even waist my time calling QA1! I have over 2K dollars in QA1 drag suspension stuff and would LOVE to throw every bit of it in the trash and just eat the loss. I have had tons of fitment/Quality issues not just with the parts to the car but to each other. I spent MONTHS on the phone with thier less than useless customer service and couldnt even get descent assistance from their executive vice president. I was pushed to the side three times because of auto shows. Thats good customer service, huh!

Besides all that, if the car is a DD I wouldnt waist your time with a tubular K-member. They aren't designed to withstand the rugged abuse of normal driving. If you choose to anyways, go with an MM or even griggs if you want to pony up for it.

 

[cobraman1024]

My '95 Cobra isn't a daily driver anymore but when I do drive it, I put about a 100 miles on it usually. About all I do with that car now is street driving since I put in the ProMotion transmission lol............anyway, its got a QA1 k-member in it with the Terminator control arms, poly bushings. I haven't had any issues with anything breaking or tabs bending and didn't have any major issues with installation either other than those I knew about with using stock arms.
From what you're describing, sounds like that car hit a curb or something and that caused the bent a-arm mount and probably the crack too. makes sense anyway. There was an impact somehow.

 

[kikz97cobra]

so you guys dont recommend having a tubular front end if the car is a dd?

i love driving my cobra but would hate to stop just cuz i spent 550 on a suspension set up!! is anyone out there daily driving their snake on a tubular front? any problems?

 

[chromeyellosnak]

That's what sucks about going turbo on these cars, you need a tub k member but who wants a tub k.member on s street car? I know I sure don't, there's a bunch of the sale stories all over with dd cars.

 

[mustang3X]

What I think is ridiculous is that anyone would even consider installing an aftermarket K-member on a street driven car.

You spend a few hundred dollars for the part and a ton of time installing it and for what? you save a few pounds of sprung weight? All the while trusting your cars handling (and more importantly safety) to some poorly engineered piece of shiit.

You think these companies crash test? any FEA? do you think some of these companies give a crap about making a properly engineered part that will need to be sound enough to save your bacon in a wreck?

Sorry guys, flame me if you want but if you have a street driven you should be sticking with the stock K-member.

If you must have an aftermarket K-member it should be from a company that has PROVEN engineering chops, and I think we all know who these companies are.