Maximum Motorsports S197 K-Member

[Tob]

Kelly, can you share any photos of the damaged area on the car in that video?

BC, that failure I posted was sent to me as well as much as I had seen the thread prior to it. It was shown in a thread about "Mr Haney" and his install, IIRC. You'll have to wait until MM announces the specifications as I'm not in a position to do that. If there is something more that they are comfortable with me sharing then by all means I will.

 

[BMR Tech]

Kelly, can you share any photos of the damaged area on the car in that video?

Tob, I sent him an email. I will see if he can respond with some pics for me to share.

I posted his profile so you could possibly contact him. I don't think he would be happy if I shared his personal contact info.

There is a substantial amount of talk about this in a thread somewhere over on S197forum....it get's pretty in depth. I am not even sure how I would go about locating it, it's been so long ago. It had some nice info though, and one of the members had a VERY nice billet aluminum plate made up for that location, for reinforcement.

 

[me32]

Wow they waited a long time to finally get k members out. Looks great thoe. Looks like very nice quality.

 

[Bad Company]

BC, that failure I posted was sent to me as well as much as I had seen the thread prior to it. It was shown in a thread about "Mr Haney" and his install, IIRC. You'll have to wait until MM announces the specifications as I'm not in a position to do that. If there is something more that they are comfortable with me sharing then by all means I will.

LOL........I'm the one that took that photo of the bent K-Member. It came off of a car that was competing in the NASA Mid-Atlantic region of the American Iron series in 2012. The crew changed everything to CorteX Racing pieces with the SLA K -Member and suspension.

I can understand on holding the info/specs on these parts until its is finalized and released for sale.

I hope they have some additional anti-dive built into the mounting points of the LCAs. This adds a lot more stress to the K-member under heavy braking, but it will help handling tremendously. The K-Member looks heavy enough to handle the extra stresses that would be introduced by increasing the anit-dive geometry. The failed K Member had additional anti-dive geometry in its design. Between the light gauge of the tubing and no cross brace between the rear LCA bushing mounting points to cancel the stress with opposing forces , you can see how much strain is placed on the K-member during hard braking in this area with that picture.

 

[Tob]

Unsure as your LOL. I wasn't saying that the photo was sent to me by the individual that took it. It was sent to me as something to see that was posted and to go back and revisit that thread to see how Mr Haney had changed his mind 180*.

And trust me, I've studied most every S197 K-member out there. I was going to clip off similar perspective photos so that you could clearly see differing philosophies in one clear photo. Another thread to do I suppose.

 

[OsirisGT]

I don't know if I have any pics but my 2007 GT500 showed the dented floor pan as well. It happened with the stock K member and just spirited mountain driving. I switched to the BMR K member with 1/2 drop in motor. I had a body guy correct the issue but after a few track days I noticed the problem was back. It's just a bad design by Ford.

 

[Tob]

What I find interesting is that I had never heard mention of this "phenomenon" before. While scouring the web last night I did come across some interesting imagery with respect to the area. Really?

Doesn't anyone read the owners manual anymore?


And I spent a bit of time searching for K-members from the major players in this arena, trying to find similar perspective photos. Note the engine mount design, control arm mount (as well as whether the K-member can utilize a stock-style arm or not) design, whether or not a brace is utilized to tie the rear control arm mounts together, the material available to handle the load path(s), and whether or not a different steering rack is required.

 

[BMR Tech]

Tob, after Brand U copied our design, we made some small changes to it - just because. While tweaking the design, I also made a few "corrections" as well.

Here is what our's looks like now.

 

[RedNightmare06]

Tob, after Brand U copied our design, we made some small changes to it - just because. While tweaking the design, I also made a few "corrections" as well.

Here is what our's looks like now.

Why the change?
what improvements if any over your previous one?

 

[Tob]

Kelly, I'll replace the unit I show up above with that one you show.


And for those looking for more information on the Maximum Motorsports K-member, I received an email from them and it looks like they are going to forward me some of the data that people have been looking for.

 

[03 DSG Snake]

Kelly, I'll replace the unit I show up above with that one you show.


And for those looking for more information on the Maximum Motorsports K-member, I received an email from them and it looks like they are going to forward me some of the data that people have been looking for.

 

[Tob]

Ron, as always, you kill me.

 

[BMR Tech]

Why the change?
what improvements if any over your previous one?

Why not?

We simply wanted to revise some areas to save a little weight, provide more clearance, and physically set it apart from the imitator's part.

If someone copies our component, I want to ensure that when I say my product is better - it is better.

 

[BMR Tech]

Kelly, I'll replace the unit I show up above with that one you show.


And for those looking for more information on the Maximum Motorsports K-member, I received an email from them and it looks like they are going to forward me some of the data that people have been looking for.

Thanks Tob!

And, I am definitely interested in knowing the tubing specs on that piece. I'd also really like to know the weight of the entire system with the motor mounts included.

 

[Tob]

I took the car out again today just to get a fresh feel for it before I made some needed adjustments. I've also been getting more in tune with the headers that I added while doing the K-member. I've taken 6 years to do it but I can honestly say that the car is a bonafide behemoth. It continues to offer better feedback in terms of handling while at the same time the excessive power tries to maintain a ridiculous imbalance. And I'm loving every minute of it.

I like to do a follow up after a major mod where I can go through each step in my head. So in this case, I read all the correspondence I'd had with the good people at Maximum and noticed something I hadn't before. Luka had mentioned ensuring that the rod end in the bumpsteer kit be down on its stud about as far as it could go. When I installed it I followed the included directions that gave a general instruction (in lieu of actually "bumping" the car) to install it higher than that, or closer to the spindle arm. So I spoke with Chuck about this and I think he'd have no issue with me sharing his reply here.

...the rod end should be as low as possible on the stud. The instructions in the bumpsteer kit are for a stock k-member. Since the lower set of FCA holes on
our k-member are raised from the stock height, the tie-rod needs to be lowered at the spindle to compensate and minimize bumpsteer.

With that said I got the car up in the air again. Here is where I am now, and when I'm done the rod end will be a bit lower on the stud. Then I'll check the camber and toe again.

You know, prior to this mod, I wasn't leaning towards ever installing a bumpsteer kit. Or caster/camber plates for that matter. I used them on my Fox bodies but I figured I'd hold back on them with this car. After studying that hardware, installing it and seeing it in action, I don't know what the hell I was waiting for. I commented to Chuck at how well done the bumpsteer stud was. The fillets, the threads, the taper, the plated finish - all beyond surgical grade in its exactness. All allowing for a far more precise as well as optimized setup. I take more pride in the car knowing that these parts are working for me.

Kelly, Ron, etc, if all goes well I should have some answers for you shortly.

 

[OsirisGT]

I have never lifted the car by the K member. Correct or not it was always pinch welds to lift and frame for jack stands.

Kinda hard to see but it's there.

 

[OsirisGT]

The guy who (supposedly) is building my car says he's talked with (Corey-agent 47?) and he's seen this as well. It happens under hard braking. Said he has video of this too. Of course this info is second hand to me.

 

[Tob]

Well done Osiris and thanks for the photos.

If this were a problem for me I'd have no issue welding in a plate to spread the load. I wonder if a simple plate sandwiched between the K-member tail and the floorpan (without welding) would help as well. Kind of like a giant washer.

 

[BMR Tech]

Tob, I assist many people with bump in and out, as you likely know. I have found that adjusting rack height is also a great option. It's also very easy to do with these aftermarket kmembers.

And, what is the part # for those rod ends? Those aren't econo style pieces, are they?

 

[BMR Tech]

Yes, a plate to disperse the load is a great solution.