K-member

[01BlkGT]

That's not the point. K-members are prone to crushing the foot-well area and breaking legs, toes, feet even killing you by driving the foot-well and firewall in to the compartment. Even in moderate crashes of 35mph-45mph

This is why they are stamped and "crumple zoned".

Also, they can make your car feel like a go-kart. Now that's desired on the track, but driving in LA rush hour traffic....it's not.

I'm not trying to flame at all so dont take this as one, but have you ever owned a car with tubular k-member, a-arms, and coilovers? If not, then I dont know how you can speak for the handling part. When I did the swap, there was a night and day difference in terms of handling. Instead of the the dead steering feel (and part of this is from the aluminum steering rack bushings), there was immediate feedback of what the tires we doing on the road. Instead of the huge brake dive, and bouncy-ness/jitterness you get when you go over bumps the suspension actually responds to teh situation keeping the car more under control. This is especially true for rear coilovers as well.

I cannot speak for the safety, b/c I have no data to back it up other than hearsay. I dont know about you, but I dont consider 35-45mph moderate. More like 15-25 would be moderate. Truthfully, I dont see how tubular k-members could be anymore of a liability at those speeds than OEM parts on the car. When I inspected it, and compared it to the stock k-member, it was physically the same dimensions, shape, etc. The only difference would be the factor in weight and the fact that it's welded rather than stamped. The bars to me (and this is IMO) crumple/bend just as easy in a frontal/offset frontal impact as

I dont see where the safety hazard in terms of the k-member pushing into the firewall. Both of the outer points are connected to the outside edges of the car (where the stock k-member is connected) and I would think would react the same. Maybe its a difference in terms of k-member design, meaning other manuf. have a bar going accross the back This is all based on my opinion and is open for suggestion or for someone to point towards actually fact. I attached a pic for visual purposes.

 

['96&'01Stang]

01blkGT do you run coilovers on your car?

 

[01BlkGT]

[QUOTE='96&'01Stang]01blkGT do you run coilovers on your car?[/QUOTE]

Yes I do, Maximum Motorsports coilovers on all 4 corners (325#-front, 225#-back).

 

['96&'01Stang]

Do they they make that big of a difference? Is your car a daily driver?

 

[stallion98gt]

I had a MM k-member brace installed on my stock k-member if that can help...pretty cool and cheap upgrade..less body flex....

 

[01BlkGT]

Yea its on my daily driven car and it makes a huge difference in terms of how the car feels. Car feels completely stable at all speeds, surfaces, etc. I wouldnt say that the ride quality is any better, but it is not any worse. That mostly depends on the the spring rate chosen of course. You got anymore questions, pm me and I'll give you my number to call me on.

Edit: and dont forget, for added bonus you get to set your own ride height

 

['96&'01Stang]

Thanks I'll pm you when I get a chance

 

[Roush97]

That's not the point. K-members are prone to crushing the foot-well area and breaking legs, toes, feet even killing you by driving the foot-well and firewall in to the compartment. Even in moderate crashes of 35mph-45mph

This is why they are stamped and "crumple zoned".

Also, they can make your car feel like a go-kart. Now that's desired on the track, but driving in LA rush hour traffic....it's not.

if the k-member is tubular i really dont see how it would crush anything, do you have any link or info i could read about tubular kmembers being dangerous?? also the coilovers didnt make my car feel like a go-cart...with the springs i choose it made the car handle very well however it is still 3300+ lb. car so nothing is unstable

 

['96&'01Stang]

I would like some more info on this as well

 

[Mr_Q]

[QUOTE='96&'01Stang]I would like some more info on this as well[/QUOTE]

The Insurance Institute that does all those offset crashes had posted information on how k-members can do this. Actually they have topics on all parts of the cars and how they can be improved or have been improved. This is where I read about this awhile ago. I am sure they still have something. Just do the research online, you'll find out all about it.

In brief...
K-members on the older cars in the 40s and 50s were solid steel construction. This proved to be very destructive. This is why manufactures started making them out of flexible stamped steel and other metals. Even back then.

K-members with their tubular contruction makes them VERY rigid and strong. As this is what they are designed for. In a crash they do not tend to flex and crumple. They actually push in to the car. They take whatever is in their path with it. The reason is so obvious too. You're comparing a flexible part designed to give versus a rigid one designed not to. Basic physics 101. If the arms can't bend and crumple they have to go somewhere.

As I said, GREAT for the track, not so safe for daily driving.

 

[BlackStripes]

The only thing, i can add here, is that in the road racing community there are only 3 K-members that people will accept : MM, Grigg, and KB. And actually only MM is the only one, without bad experiences.

All the rest are made with weight reduction in mind.... which is very good, but for turning at 100+mph... hmm.. no thanks.

 

['96&'01Stang]

Anyone else?

 

[DC-GT]

Wow, that was some interesting reading! I need to do some research on-line now! I am way behind looking at this upgrade at this point but I am seriously curious...

Bo

 

['96&'01Stang]

Yea after reading some of this I am reconsidering getting an aftermarket K-member

 

[Screwed2V]

I'll take a D&D to go in february..................just like Daves' soon to be 700 rwhp street car.

 

[Trublu01]

This is too funny! K-Members are perfectly safe for any environment. I know people that have been running daily on a tubular K for years with 0 issues. I've been running on UPR's Chromolly Tubular for 6 mos, again with no issues and the fit with MAC Longtubes is great. I also run their coilovers with 14" 150# springs.

 

[01BlkGT]

The Insurance Institute that does all those offset crashes had posted information on how k-members can do this.

Just went on their site and ran a search for Tubular k-members and k-members, and no documents related to crash tests or crash ratings with aftermarket k-members came up. Could you provide a link since you know where to find this information.

K-members with their tubular contruction makes them VERY rigid and strong. As this is what they are designed for. In a crash they do not tend to flex and crumple. They actually push in to the car. They take whatever is in their path with it. The reason is so obvious too. You're comparing a flexible part designed to give versus a rigid one designed not to. Basic physics 101. If the arms can't bend and crumple they have to go somewhere.

I realize what you saying, but scroll up to the picture I provided...
Yes, tubular k-members are rigid, but that's not because of major reinforcements that are placed around the k-member to make it that way, it's mainly because of the tubular design. Since the individual parts of the k-member are tubular, then how do you figure they would not give when hit. They arent solid tubes, so if contact made with high enough pressure (crashes I'm sure will provide enough pressure) they will bend.

I was looking and it seems they havent tested the mustang in offest crashes so I dont see how it can be compared to offest aftermarket crashes. Once again, in a frontal crash, what part of the k-member do you see pushing into the cabin . In an offest crash I could see you point, but if its that extreme that it does get pushed into the cabin, better believe that the stocker will do the same. It's not made out of any special type of crumpling steel or designed with the interest of providing the best safety in crashes.

 

[madmatt]

This is very good reading. I have a question though just outta pure curiosity. What about when a tubular k-member car crashes on the track. Does it go into their cabin? Im not trying to add fuel to the fire i am just wondering. I wanna learn some more about this. I know a race crash and a street crash are very different but it would still be nice to see what happens.
Matt