K-member thread. MM, PA, AJE

OnyxCobra

Post Whore
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
14,794
Reaction score
237
Location
Rochester, NY
Right now i have koni orange struts and shocks. I would need to buy bilstein or koni yellows for the conversion, because i prefer those brands over Tokico :p. Thats why I estimated at 1-2k. because shocks are about 700, then the front kit is about 375 like you said, the rear about the same. so already up about 1450. I would love to go Coilover, but right now H&R SS springs are cheaper, i hate the 4x4 look.

and what do you mean by a few small mods? meaning i can use the kit with which ever struts/shocks i want? or have?

because if i can have them fit to my koni orange i might as well get that now, and save up for the FCA/K-member, and get the road racing RLCA. Also how is the ride height adjustability? I want to lower it about 2-2.25 inches all around, can the MM kits do that?


Yes, MM sells strut specific kits. Bilstiens in general are a different diameter than other struts so they make a coilover kit specific for them so they fit properly and you don't get noise. I would assume the MM Koni kit would fit all Koni struts but they can answer any questions you might have. The adjustability is huge, i have mine dropped 2.75-3" in the front. It does depend a little on what size springs and spring rate you get but they can help with that too.




original plan:
so now questions:
1.) if i get the MM FCA with a forward Offset, will i have rubbing issues or turning issues? i plan on running a 275/40/17 up front.
2.) will i be better off going with MM k-member or Team Z? what about the FCA?

Obviously MM is good quality, but if Team Z is as good as MM i rather get that and save a couple hundred $$$$

You shouldn't have any rubbing issues, if anything the offset arms should help to center up your wheels as they tend to sit back in the wheel well a little bit from the factory; mine have never rubbed due to offset.

as far as which K member is better, people will suggest whatever they have. I run all MM stuff cause I wanted it to all be the same brand and I was very impressed with their R&D, quality and customer service. People like Team Z stuff but I think i heard it's more drag oriented vs MM which is more track specific.
 

OnyxCobra

Post Whore
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
14,794
Reaction score
237
Location
Rochester, NY
also you don't have to run rear coilovers (sometimes they aren't suggested for street use). I run normal rear springs on adjustable lower control arms which let me adjust the height. So that's another option for you.
 
OP
OP
B

B.mad

Well-Known Member
Preferred Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,041
Reaction score
21
Location
SoCal
also you don't have to run rear coilovers (sometimes they aren't suggested for street use). I run normal rear springs on adjustable lower control arms which let me adjust the height. So that's another option for you.

well i might as well run them on all 4. They dont sell just rear springs, and rather get a kit that flows together with each other front & rear. I was looking at the adjustable lowers, but for the same price i can get the conversion and RR lowers. I am not to worried about harshness of ride, because i dont mind it, as long as i dont have neck injuries or feel when i run over a pebbles.
 
OP
OP
B

B.mad

Well-Known Member
Preferred Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,041
Reaction score
21
Location
SoCal
Yes, MM sells strut specific kits. Bilstiens in general are a different diameter than other struts so they make a coilover kit specific for them so they fit properly and you don't get noise. I would assume the MM Koni kit would fit all Koni struts but they can answer any questions you might have. The adjustability is huge, i have mine dropped 2.75-3" in the front. It does depend a little on what size springs and spring rate you get but they can help with that too.






You shouldn't have any rubbing issues, if anything the offset arms should help to center up your wheels as they tend to sit back in the wheel well a little bit from the factory; mine have never rubbed due to offset.

as far as which K member is better, people will suggest whatever they have. I run all MM stuff cause I wanted it to all be the same brand and I was very impressed with their R&D, quality and customer service. People like Team Z stuff but I think i heard it's more drag oriented vs MM which is more track specific.

I would have to contact them, but i rather have bilstein's for some reason, heard so many more good things about those than konis. and that is true about Team Z and MM, but the Team Z autocross k-member looks pretty dam sturdy too, i dont know ill have to decide when the time comes. and yes MM's support is top notch! first hand experience.

I can run the offset control arms with stock k-member right? Ill get those, save for bilsteins, get the rears and possibly do the 3 link conversion, and drop the height.

can i see some pictures of your ride height? what size tires do you run?
 

OnyxCobra

Post Whore
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
14,794
Reaction score
237
Location
Rochester, NY
Yeah you certainly can do rear coilovers, just from what I've been told they can be a little noisy on uneven surfaces. Run some helper springs with them so they stay seated.

Yes you can run the offset arms with the stock K member. I went with non-offset cause with the MM K-member you get a .75" offset to start with.


The Saleens are wrapped in 265/35-18 and 295/35-18, the RKs in 255/40-18 and 285/35-18. I never adjusted the rear suspension when I installed the RKs so the rear looks a tad high to me being that the tire is shorter.


Cobra11.jpg~original


Cobra7.jpg~original


DSCN0739.jpg~original


IMG_20130828_183836_069.jpg
 
OP
OP
B

B.mad

Well-Known Member
Preferred Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,041
Reaction score
21
Location
SoCal
Yeah you certainly can do rear coilovers, just from what I've been told they can be a little noisy on uneven surfaces. Run some helper springs with them so they stay seated.

Yes you can run the offset arms with the stock K member. I went with non-offset cause with the MM K-member you get a .75" offset to start with.


The Saleens are wrapped in 265/35-18 and 295/35-18, the RKs in 255/40-18 and 285/35-18. I never adjusted the rear suspension when I installed the RKs so the rear looks a tad high to me being that the tire is shorter.


Cobra11.jpg~original


Cobra7.jpg~original


DSCN0739.jpg~original


IMG_20130828_183836_069.jpg


i am not familiar with helper springs.

and will 1.5" be to much forward or will i be ok still?

Car looks good any scrapping issues? have you taken it on the track yet? or canyons?
 

OnyxCobra

Post Whore
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
14,794
Reaction score
237
Location
Rochester, NY
Helper springs are springs that go in with the coilover spring as basically a space filler. For example when I lift my front off the ground the coilover springs become totally loose but that wouldn't happen under normal driving conditions. I guess the rear springs are a lot shorter or something and it could unseat hitting a steep driveway or something, although MM didn't seem to think it would be an issue most of the time.


1.5 offset is pretty aggressive, MM said even with .75" you're getting plenty of additional caster and the 1.5" is pretty much track only. I wouldn't think it would cause any real problems, it's just a little overkill.


I don't really have any scraping issues but I also don't press my luck, the K member and headers are quite low to the ground. if you frequent speed bumps or steep drop offs regularly you won't want to go this low. the 295s would rub every once in a while when taking hard left (I think) turns but I pounded the inner fender in with a hammer. The car has been out of commission for a while so I haven't had the chance to auto-x it yet but it does feel a lot flatter on the street through some twisties, but I haven't gone crazy with it.
 
OP
OP
B

B.mad

Well-Known Member
Preferred Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,041
Reaction score
21
Location
SoCal
Helper springs are springs that go in with the coilover spring as basically a space filler. For example when I lift my front off the ground the coilover springs become totally loose but that wouldn't happen under normal driving conditions. I guess the rear springs are a lot shorter or something and it could unseat hitting a steep driveway or something, although MM didn't seem to think it would be an issue most of the time.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fip-4103/overview/make/ford/model/mustang is it something like this????


1.5 offset is pretty aggressive, MM said even with .75" you're getting plenty of additional caster and the 1.5" is pretty much track only. I wouldn't think it would cause any real problems, it's just a little overkill.


I don't really have any scraping issues but I also don't press my luck, the K member and headers are quite low to the ground. if you frequent speed bumps or steep drop offs regularly you won't want to go this low. the 295s would rub every once in a while when taking hard left (I think) turns but I pounded the inner fender in with a hammer. The car has been out of commission for a while so I haven't had the chance to auto-x it yet but it does feel a lot flatter on the street through some twisties, but I haven't gone crazy with it.

mine i would need to decide what i want to do. The arms are the same price so that doesnt matter, if i have the additional caster (1.5 offset) will it eat away my tires? will it cause instability in the street? i plan on running whatever caster i can, stock toe specs, and maybe -0.5* - -1* of camber. I do alot of canyons, and i love within distance of several go cart tracks, drag races, and i live 20 minutes away from autoclub speedway, which extremetrackevents.com host a yearly HDPE there.
 

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
Image of my rear coil-over with helper spring (it's the smaller looking spring sitting on top of the hypercoil spring):

IMG_1343.jpg


IMG_1345.jpg
 
OP
OP
B

B.mad

Well-Known Member
Preferred Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,041
Reaction score
21
Location
SoCal
Image of my rear coil-over with helper spring (it's the smaller looking spring sitting on top of the hypercoil spring):

IMG_1343.jpg


IMG_1345.jpg


How do you llike your rear coilover? any pros and cons you can list? and are you using the MM kit? with bilsteins? they look like konis. And where did you get that helper spring?
 

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
How do you llike your rear coilover? any pros and cons you can list? and are you using the MM kit? with bilsteins? they look like konis. And where did you get that helper spring?

I have no issues with them. I haven't tracked the car yet, it's down for a bunch of other work right now, so I haven't really had a chance to push it around a corner yet - but I have high expectations. . There are numerous pros for me: more aggressive spring than stock set up, I am now able to corner-weight the car, I can adjust ride height (though I'll only do that once). No cons yet that I am aware of: the install was straightforward, they don't make noise, I haven't had any issues with the spring unseating (I get in and out of my driveway just fine). I honestly don't see any downsides yet.

I'm using Koni SA struts & shocks. I wanted a damper that was adjustable for now, and if I decide to step up to the double adjustable ones I can just swap over my coil-over kits. I'm using 375 lbs springs up front and 225 lbs springs out rear (I have a pan hard bar). I talked with Jack Hidley at MM for spring recommendations and that's what he recommended.

My only real regret is that I didn't go with coil-overs in the first place. I started with H&R Race springs and Tokico Blue struts/shocks. They worked great, but I should have gone coil-over from the get go, I ended up wasting some time and money.

Oh, and I got the helper spring from here: Amazon. You can run a helper spring in the front if you want (I currently don't), just bear in mind that the diameters of the front springs and rear springs are different.

Edit: forgot to add, if you do go searching, helper springs and tender springs are two different things. You'll also need a spacer to mate the helper spring to the coil-over spring - I'm trying to dig up where I got mine.
 

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
Found the spacer I used. It's an Eibach product, part number SPACER225. You can get them here, from Summit Racing.
 

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
what's the diff?

Helper Springs: do NOT contribute to spring rate, their sole job is to keep the main spring seated when the strut/shock is extended beyond the main spring's height (e.g. steep driveway, or wheel leaves the road).

Tender Springs: DO contribute to the spring rate. The intention is to make the main spring act more like a progressive spring. The spring rate of the Tender spring adds to the main spring, softens it up a bit. But like a progressive spring, when the Tender spring is completely compressed, then the main, harder spring rate of the main spring takes over. Summary: essentially converts your coil-over into a progressive spring.

IMO, if one is going with coil-overs because they want to lower the car (and NOT for performance reasons), they should look into Tender springs, might give a little softer ride while keeping adjustment. However, if one intends to drive their car like a raped-ape (on-track preferably) and is concerned about the main spring becoming unseated: helper springs are the way to go.
 
OP
OP
B

B.mad

Well-Known Member
Preferred Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,041
Reaction score
21
Location
SoCal
Nice, thanks for the help!

i plan on running bilsteins like previously stated. I emailed MM, havent gotten an email yet, but looks like ill be running a 325lb front spring with 250lb rear spring, with the RR RLCA, and bolt on sway bar, and yes i am going panhard bar/torque arm. I just hope i wont have understeer. I want 0 steer as much as possible. going to do the bracing as well to help distribute weight.
 

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
Nice, thanks for the help!

i plan on running bilsteins like previously stated. I emailed MM, havent gotten an email yet, but looks like ill be running a 325lb front spring with 250lb rear spring, with the RR RLCA, and bolt on sway bar, and yes i am going panhard bar/torque arm. I just hope i wont have understeer. I want 0 steer as much as possible. going to do the bracing as well to help distribute weight.

Sure thing! Let us know what MM says, I'm always interested to hear what they suggest for other cars/setups. Personally, I think your fronts are a little soft and your rears are a little hard - will this be a dedicated track car or still mostly street driven? If mostly street, then I guess I can see the 325 lbs up front, but with a pan hard bar and TA you'll probably want to run a softer spring in the rear. Let us know what MM says.
 
OP
OP
B

B.mad

Well-Known Member
Preferred Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,041
Reaction score
21
Location
SoCal
Sure thing! Let us know what MM says, I'm always interested to hear what they suggest for other cars/setups. Personally, I think your fronts are a little soft and your rears are a little hard - will this be a dedicated track car or still mostly street driven? If mostly street, then I guess I can see the 325 lbs up front, but with a pan hard bar and TA you'll probably want to run a softer spring in the rear. Let us know what MM says.


Its going to be a street driven car, yes itll see some track days, but its definitely no where near a dedicated track car.

I chose those spring rates because they are at the limit for bilstei HD, maybe going with 350lb and 225LB?
 

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
Its going to be a street driven car, yes itll see some track days, but its definitely no where near a dedicated track car.

I chose those spring rates because they are at the limit for bilstei HD, maybe going with 350lb and 225LB?

If the car is mostly street, then perhaps 325 to 350 up front is fine? I'm using Koni SA's with 375lbs up front, and Koni SA's with 225lbs in the rear - with a pan hard bar. I would think anything above 225lbs in the rear would be too stiff for a pan hard bar and torque arm. Having said all of the above, I would totally defer to what MM tells you, they have *way* more knowledge and experience than I do.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
77,440
Messages
1,502,162
Members
14,920
Latest member
marktuck99

Members online

Top