Which K member for street build.

[whyxitx]

Sorry to beat a dead horse with this subject, but any personal input would be fantastic.

I still haven't had the time to get my motor and transmission pulled, but i think i'm putting off building the engine for boost until i am more financially stable and can afford to throw 6-10k at one time into it. With that being said, i'm most likely going to take my saved up cash and put it toward suspension and other miscellaneous things like getting a set of GT500 seats. I've looked into the UPR K-member packages, Team Z, and all the other lower-cost K members. What are the draw backs to these that would make it worth it to go with the MM kit? If i were to go with the MM kit, would it be in my best interest to go with their complete kit? What all do i need to get separately if i were to order it? I've been at a battle with myself on what i want to do with the car. At this point i just want the car back on the street so i can stop driving my Geo on a regular basis since driving that is no where near a luxury to do. This is going to my daily driver for the for-see-able future so i'm looking for something that will be more comfortable to drive. I'm not sure if i want to do coil overs or not, so obviously that's one thing that will be a factor.

at the moment, this is the package from MM that i'm looking at.

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/K-Member-Package-1996-04-Urethane-bushings-Bilstein-P376.aspx

I talked with a few guys from Team Z a while back and I've heard some great reviews on their K members as well. But, with every great review there's always someone with a bad experience.



This cold-weather and snow can go away any time now! It's killing me not being able to work on the car.

 

[98cobra#1222]

I would say if you have the cash go with MM and never look back. Their stuff is of such high quality and a ton of R&D goes behind their K members. I wish I would have just went with one when I had the chance as now I will be buying two k members and loosing a lot of money for no reason.

Just my 0.02 though.

 

[whyxitx]

Which K member did you go with first?

At the moment i'm leaning towards MM. But man, what a chunk of change it is.

 

[whyxitx]

Double post.

 

[98cobra#1222]

Right now I have an UPR. It's ok and fitment for mines seems to be good but it is designed for drag racing applications which at the time was ok but now I am looking for more of a road race/ autocross setup. To be honest I think spending another 200 on a much nicer K member that is stronger and better suited for abuse is a worthwhile investment. But again thats my feelings, I am not dissatisfied with my UPR k it seems to be of good overall quality and fits just fine.

 

[Tabres]

I'll share my experience as I've personally been on both sides of the coin when it comes to k-members - the cheaper, drag race style and the more expensive MM setup...

I at one point had a mild-steel PA-Racing k-member in my car with their tubular a-arms (very similar to UPR or QA1, etc.) and MM coilovers. I drove the car this way for probably about 1,000 miles. Handling was definitely compromised and it was instantly noticeable that the rigidity of the car was significantly decreased. NVH was also hugely increased. Rough roads made me cringe because most of the time it felt like the car was going to come apart. I was never comfortable driving with it in the car. I wound up removing the setup and selling it to a friend who is into drag racing. I know lots of people run these styles, but in my opinion they are in no way fit for the street.

I then moved to a Maximum Motorsports k-member package. Talk about night and day difference. There is a reason why they advertise it as track-tested, race proven and so many of the top AI and AI Extreme guys run their setup. Just looking at it you can physically see and feel the difference in materials used and the quality of the construction. It went into the car with no fuss and I was able to square it without massaging any of the mounting points. The rigidity of the car was vastly improved compared to both the PA-Racing setup I had and the stock k-member. The handling characteristics were hugely improved, as well as brake dive. I honestly get no NVH from mine, even with the coilovers on the roughest roads. The extra room for working on the car it provides is, I feel just as good as the drag-race k-members are (argueable, I know). Their customer service is by far the best in the industry that I've experienced and I've had a lot of different parts from a lot of different manufacturers over the years. And one of my favorite aspects of Maximum Motorsports as a company, all of their products are 100% American made.

It's not cheap but I have zero regrets about the money I've invested in the Maximum Motorsports parts on my car.


-edit- I wanted to note, I have no first hand experience with the Team-Z stuff, but I personally know many people that run their front end setup and are very satisfied. They seem to make great stuff.

 

[whyxitx]

That's the kind of comparison I needed. Looks like I'm going to bite the bullet and go with MM.

What spring rate for the coil overs are you running?

 

[bumsoil]

i cant compare the MM stuff with what i have (upr) but i will say the difference in the UPR to the stock is huge, in a good way.

more front end grip, less tracking, way more high speed stability. im SURE the MM stuff it better but i cant find anything that i don't like about the UPR setup. in fact its so good im planning to get their coilovers (with MM springs).

my car is NOT a drag car, i regularly beat the piss out of it on windy roads and i drift a whole hell of a lot. like daily drifted. lol.

look into granatelli stuff, its all MM copies and that's not really a bad thing because its just cheaper and very good.
UPR copied PA for a few years until they made their new design (which is great).

UPR stuff is very tough and much more rigid then the OEM k-member. after installing my UPR K my rear tires started to rub when going up inclines at an angle, less front chassis flex for sure.

 

[Tabres]

That's the kind of comparison I needed. Looks like I'm going to bite the bullet and go with MM.

What spring rate for the coil overs are you running?

I'm currently in the process of having my struts revalved and am switching to a 400 lb/in front spring to match my rear coilovers. It's not as harsh as you might think but I don't think I would recommend it for a daily driver.

 

[SVTPete83]

My shop (AED) recommend racecraft. Drew told me they install perfect every time. I went with a racecraft k member and a arms with spring perches as I drive my car a lot. I did not want to go coil over. The racecraft is a sturdy piece. The car is definitely more responsive and there is no NVH compromise. I highly recommend the racecraft for a daily driver setup

 

[UncleSAm]

not to high jack but anyone run a kenny brown?

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

I run a Griggs, way overkill for the street lol.. But it's a night and day difference compared to stock.. Also if you look at all the shit you have to add for a MM the griggs is actually cheaper.

 

[IronSnake]

Just finished installing my UPR setup. Was mostly for the turbo setup.

If you request a different spring rate and height they will actually order it for you and have it dropped shipped no charge. I ordered mine and asked for the 10-300 springs. I have to say fit and finish is pretty damn good for the money. They use Viking springs out of MN. The 10-300 with the collar at half way has the car in the weeds. The AMP sleeves for bilsteins are actually pretty damn tight on my struts. No typical wiggle from the sleeves being to large for the shock body.

The K member is by no means remotely close to the QA1. I've had both and the QA1 was flimsy and thin. First time running any of their parts but I'm impressed so far. As for NVH, it's to be expected when you consider you're taking rubber out and putting delrin/poly back in. So far I'm impressed for the money.

 

[thumper]

I have all AJE under the front of my car, and I'm really happy with it. I do drive it on the street from time to time. I will offer this advise, If your worried about noise DO NOT get a arms with heim joints or Strange struts. I don't have any bushings anywhere on my cobra, its all heim joints front and rear. The Strange 10 way struts and shocks work great, but are really noisy. I'm the type of guy that noise doesn't bother me as long as everything works as it should. I traded a quite, smooth ride for every piece of my suspension being adjustable, but then again my car is geared more toward the strip then the street.