Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

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Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

December 12, 2004, 11:01:01 AM

Maybe this thread will be used as reference thread for Fox K-Member Upgraders...

I did lot of reading and found some ies.... :ies:
euh... i meant Goodies... :grinno:

UPR Products
Pro : Low cost kit, Chromoly, fits stock arms, Possibility to choose wider arms (ex: 94+)
Con : V-Arm Style. Coilover only w/o stock arms

K-member, Coilovers and Arms kit (650$) link

Maximum Motorsport (NOT TUBULAR)
Pro : Stronger than any others, Perfect for daily Driver, real A-Arm, Stock Arm Compatible, optimized vertical location of control arms.
Con : *Moves wheel 3/4" foward, Need coilovers and prepare your wallet to be sucked dry for a kit (+1800$)... :shoothead

K-Member (650$) link
A-Arms (350$-450$ depending of bushing type) link
Coilovers Kit (250$) link
CC Plates (200$-250$) link

AJE Racing
Pro : Real A-Arm, 2" dropped spindle, Affordable
Con : Mild Steel, Dont know if it fits Stock arms...

Tubular K-member (310$) link
Arms (279$)
Coilovers (239$)

QA1 HAL
Pro : Fits Stock Arms, seem excellent for a K-member upgrade only.
Con :V-Arms, *Moves wheel foward 3/4"-1", Arms doesnt like to have Sway Bar fixture

Tubular K-member (230$) pic
V-Arms Eco Street = 170$ / Pro Comp 370$ (What is the diff?) link
Coilovers Convertion Kit (170$) link

D&D Motorsport
Pro : Free Up 75lbs, Real A-Arms, Stock arm compatible, Keep the Stock Geometry.
Con : Mild Steel, Adittional Cost for Chromoly or stock spring bracket.

Tubular K-Member (350$min) link
A-Arms (240$) link
Front Coilover conversion Kit (220)$

Griggs Racing (GR-40 kit)
Complet kit without Struts cost 1800$
Pro : Free up 50lb, ???
Con : High Priced, V-Arms

Tubular K-Member (630$) pic
V-Arms (440$) pic
Coilover kit w/ CC plates (220$) <<--- Goood deal

pic

PA Racing
Pro : Many Option available (Color, Chromoly or steel)
Con : Look like A-Arm but doesnt have the strenght of Real ones.

K-member (250-400$ Depends options you take) link
A-Arms (250$) pic

*Moving wheel foward increase wheelbase. Its ugly as hell when the wheel arent in the center of the fender...
It can be a Pro if you desire a better weight distribution....

I'm gonna upgrade my suspension in the next year and I need advice (Maybe some others too) and I still dont know wich one will be the best for the buck... I want Coilovers, K-Member upgrade and A-Arms.

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #1 – December 12, 2004, 11:52:51 AM

Wow, that's great info an a LOT of homework. Thanks....we'll make this thread sticky for ya.

One other thing to check: make sure that you can use a sway bar with whichever front suspension you go with. Most of the aftermarket tubular control arms do not have provisions for the sway bar end links...great for racing, not so great for the street. Obviously if you can use your stock A-arms with one of the setups then that solves the issue.

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #2 – December 12, 2004, 12:00:50 PM

Ill check furter for detail and/or comment about those and will add em.... but for now, i need some sleep...

Since im seriously talking about doing the move, i dont want to buy something and regret it months later... (impretty sure everyone agrees on this) :grinno: :grinno:

BTW, feel free to use it on your site... could be a great Swapping info in the technical section....

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #3 – December 12, 2004, 12:18:10 PM

QA1, UPR and D&D look to be the same K-member...and they all look scary, at least when it comes to any kind of hard road/track usage. Ok to street strip I guess. AJE and PA both look like drag-strip only units...primarily take off alot of weight, but I wouldn't trust one for hard cornering.

Griggs and Maximum build units for track use and don't just worry about how much weight they can take off.

You will get what you pay for on a K-member.

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #4 – December 14, 2004, 10:16:00 PM

As noted above, the Maximum Motorsports K moves the wheel base 3/4" forward. My ride height is a little lower than it should be, just need to find the time to raise it a little.

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #5 – January 10, 2005, 02:40:27 PM

I have tried to do bussiness with UPR before and all I can say is that I would not waste my time with them, they have extremely sloooooooow shipping if they remember to ship at all and their quality is not up to par in my opinion. Just thought I would add my two cents

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #6 – January 12, 2005, 08:15:58 PM

I would also like to point out that the 75lb weight reduction claim is combined between the k-member, a-arms, and coil over kit. The k-member alone will probably drop 25-30# max

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #7 – March 31, 2005, 09:54:00 PM

I have the griggs racing k-member in my thunderbird with a 351w and bbk long tube headers...fit in but had to modify the back parts with a grinder a little...

Overall i'm happy with the great clearance, but i'm not so happy when i found out i have to buy their a-arms as the stock ones wont physically bolt up.

Re: Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #8 – June 17, 2005, 05:32:58 PM

Any one with any experiences with the Granatelli k-member? Couldn't find any info on thier site as to wether or not you can use stock a-arms. Summit has them listed as $220 right now.

They look a wee bit beefier than some of the k-members I've seen.

Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #9 – April 17, 2006, 03:27:36 AM

I have no experience with the granatelli K member but after trying their coil over kit I wouldnt think twice before trying any of their products they seem to be great quality products. That one does look stronger then some of the others Ive seen though.

Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #10 – April 19, 2006, 04:43:54 PM

I used the AJE with road race bracing on my 03 mustang and was very impressed

Yes you can use the stock arms with the purchase of spring purches

Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #11 – April 19, 2006, 10:09:45 PM

how did you like the spring purches.....im not so sure about just bolting them on. i might have them welded and then have the k member re powder coated...

Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #12 – October 08, 2006, 11:23:35 PM

I thought the Griggs K-member pushes the wheels about 1" forward...it does on my brother's 1991 Mustang coupe. Am I missing something?

Reference Thread : Choosing the best K-Member upgrade

Reply #13 – October 10, 2006, 09:06:16 PM

The Griggs unit pushed the wheel foward 3/4" and the lower control arm pushes it foward another 3/4" unless you opt to buy the severe duty adjustible control arm. This will allow you to move the wheel foward anywhere from 3/4" to 1-1/2" total. Griggs does not make a K-Member that does not relocate the front mounting points.

Maximum motorsports has a K-Member as well and it does the same thing. They offer two lower control arms, one with zero offset and one with 3/4" offset. Again, either 3/4" or 1-1/2" foward movement of the front wheel.

Wanted to post an update on Maximum Motorsports K-members. They now offer lower control arms with a reverse offset which will allow you to achieve the original wheel location. So basically the K-member still has the 0.75" forward movement of the control arm mounting points but the new control arm completely offsets this to bring the wheel back to the stock location. This is very nice if you have already purchased the K-member and want to move the wheel back as it is cheaper than buying the K-member and you can most likely sell other the lower control arms.

Darren