Ad for PA Racing K member. What's the real deal?

Any truth to any of this?

Our K-Members are made with provisions to reuse the factory motor mounts and motor stands. We have found that incorporating the motor stands into the k-members not only weakens the k-members, but makes it impossible to remove the motor through the top of the car.

This is a direct bolt in component. All of your factory components will work with this k-member. We have found it to be the ultimate choice for Street, Strip, and Road Course use. We are the original and still the best fitting and lightest for this application. Our K-members weight between 18-20lbs, thats a fraction of the factory units weight.

For almost $200 less than a BMR K member it's hard to say no. Unless, of course, all this is false and it is gonna be a lot of bs to install this thing properly.

What install and use differences am I lookign at, if any, with using the PA K without the motor mounts welded on vs using a BMR K with the motor mounts already welded onto it?

this would be good to know. my kmember is dented and needs to be replaced so i can have perfect alignment. wich one is good? wich one is worth it? wich one do i need?

I can pull my Motor and put it back in from the top with my BMR no problem, and it has the integrated mounts.
As far as weakening concerns go, I have no clue... I can't see a reason as to why.

I believe bmrs is slighty lighter, about 6lbs lighter.:)

Anyone else have some info to add?
I still am not sure if I wanna go w/the PA K member or if it's gonna be worth the extra $200 for the BMR.

i have a PA ready to go on my 97,and friend has a PA on his 87 formula for a while. cant beat the room they offer,and the price is great. BMR has a few extra pipes to it,but havent seen 1 up close.

we have no regrets in regards to the PA.

The PA has been working well for me, but there are some quality contol issues.

PA doesnt seem to own a wire brush or grinder, as they just powder coat right over the slag.

Also, check out the placement of the bolt holes for the frame mounts. One is directly under the main bar. It was an SOB to get the bolt in, even after finding a short bolt and trimming the head.

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/201000-201999/201570_173_full.jpg

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/201000-201999/201570_175_full.jpg

And I didnt like the fact that it came with no instructions and no bolts - just the k-member itself in box.

Where is the $200 difference coming from ??? When I bought mine last year, there was only about an $80 price difference between PA and BMR.

Originally posted by speedmiser
The PA has been working well for me, but there are some quality contol issues.

PA doesnt seem to own a wire brush or grinder, as they just powder coat right over the slag.

Also, check out the placement of the bolt holes for the frame mounts. One is directly under the main bar. It was an SOB to get the bolt in, even after finding a short bolt and trimming the head.

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/201000-201999/201570_173_full.jpg

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/201000-201999/201570_175_full.jpg

And I didnt like the fact that it came with no instructions and no bolts - just the k-member itself in box.

Where is the $200 difference coming from ??? When I bought mine last year, there was only about an $80 price difference between PA and BMR. There are PA K members on ebay all the time for under $300. That's where the $200 or so difference comes in.

Were there any install problems because of the PA not having the motor mount brackets already on it like the BMR does?

I'm gettin the pa over the bmr, because I dont feel like spending 200 more just to have BMR... I think the PA will be totally fine and its got a really good price !!!

Originally posted by slider
There are PA K members on ebay all the time for under $300. That's where the $200 or so difference comes in.

Were there any install problems because of the PA not having the motor mount brackets already on it like the BMR does?

Only problems I had were the ones I mentioned above. If the mounts were integraded, I wouldnt have spent hours trying to find the right size bolts and modifying the one to fit through a poorly designed mounting point.

Prices at Thunder racing still show only a $80 difference between the two brands. But if you can get a new PA for under $300 and dont mind a few hassles - then go for it. If I had it to do over, I would have paid extra to get the BMR...

Originally posted by speedmiser
Only problems I had were the ones I mentioned above. If the mounts were integraded, I wouldnt have spent hours trying to find the right size bolts and modifying the one to fit through a poorly designed mounting point.

Prices at Thunder racing still show only a $80 difference between the two brands. But if you can get a new PA for under $300 and dont mind a few hassles - then go for it. If I had it to do over, I would have paid extra to get the BMR... I won't be doing the install, but I still don't want to have to pay more cuz the shop has to do custom crap. That would probably bring the cost up to where a BMR one would be.

Originally posted by speedmiser
And I didnt like the fact that it came with no instructions and no bolts - just the k-member itself in box.

the BMR does not come with bolts either.

if neither kit comes with bolts is thier a reason?
i don't get it.
does the bmr come with directions?

Originally posted by cndctrdj
if neither kit comes with bolts is thier a reason?
i don't get it.
does the bmr come with directions?

BMR told me it does not come with bolts because it is designed to use your stock bolts. Not sure on the instructions

I have the BMR and there were some fitment issues on my car: (1) pass side Hooker LT interferes with k-member... unforgivable considering the Hookers are probably the most popular LT header for these cars... I ground the k-member and dented the tube for clearance but have to do it again since I didn't go far enough (got a good 1/8" clearance but settled back down to "zero" clearance after running it), (2) the integrated motor stand really reduces the space available for maneuvering the engine in the top... I got the shortblock in (which was close) but I think the heads will have to come off to get it out of there again (I have a Canton pan which may be a factor), (3) the passenger side motor mount tends to sag... I had to put a big washer in there to keep the rear bushing from working itself halfway out (this didn't totally fix #1 but helped), (4) I got the Canton pan version and had to lengthen my steering linkage to fit (I removed the rag joint and installed a 1.25" thick aluminum spacer).

Other than that I am happy with the quality of the piece... great looking welds, etc.

So it sounds like whatever choice you make you are going to have to do some customization.

Originally posted by RunRiot
I have the BMR and there were some fitment issues on my car: (1) pass side Hooker LT interferes with k-member... unforgivable considering the Hookers are probably the most popular LT header for these cars... I ground the k-member and dented the tube for clearance but have to do it again since I didn't go far enough (got a good 1/8" clearance but settled back down to "zero" clearance after running it), (2) the integrated motor stand really reduces the space available for maneuvering the engine in the top... I got the shortblock in (which was close) but I think the heads will have to come off to get it out of there again (I have a Canton pan which may be a factor), (3) the passenger side motor mount tends to sag... I had to put a big washer in there to keep the rear bushing from working itself halfway out (this didn't totally fix #1 but helped), (4) I got the Canton pan version and had to lengthen my steering linkage to fit (I removed the rag joint and installed a 1.25" thick aluminum spacer).

Other than that I am happy with the quality of the piece... great looking welds, etc.

So it sounds like whatever choice you make you are going to have to do some customization. More money out of my pocket, lovely. Perhaps BMR and PA should read the board and take notes ;)

my car, had no problems at all with the BMR (LT1 mounts) and Hooker LT's
great welds, great powder coating, great clearance, big diameter tubing!
no instructions but its a straight forward install and no bolts, you reuse all the factory hardware!

thats my findings with my k-member

Originally posted by slider
BMR told me it does not come with bolts because it is designed to use your stock bolts. Not sure on the instructions

No way the stock bolts would work for the PA - they are way to long. As far as instructions go, they really arent needed, since the job is pretty staightforward, but it would be a nice gesture if PA threw a few install pointers in the box - at least bolt sizes and such *** since they dont include them ***

The Hooker LTs cleared fine though.

my only prob with my PA was the motor mount bolt getting in the way of the bar. i simply drilled another hole next to it to solve that prob.

Originally posted by slider
Any truth to any of this?

All of your factory components will work with this k-member.



I bought one off Ebay, and after reading the above can confidently say :bs: . It installed ok (same problems as noted above reference tight fit for motor mount bolts, and I had to buy some 12mm x 40mm bolts to attach it to the car), but today when I went to attach the brake lines, I noticed there were no lugs for mounting the factory brake line/hose fitting on it like the factory K-member has. There is also no place to attach the screw that holds the line forward from this lug.

In light of this, I am having to make two custom brackets per side after measuring the stock K-member for dimensions.

I'm going to do some more searching here to see if anyone else has encountered this problem or if my K-member is unusual.

anyone using S&W parts ?
http://www.swracecars.com/pdf/CENTERS2.PDF

There's no need to make new brackets for the brake lines. You can redrill and mount the stock brackets on the frame w/ a couple of self tapping screws. If I remember correctly, I think I bent the bracket straight, before I remounted it.
Anyway, the lines have plenty of slack and they dont get in the way of the springs - here's a pic at the mounting point.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/201000-201999/201570_231.jpg





Originally posted by Live for TAs
I bought one off Ebay, and after reading the above can confidently say :bs: . It installed ok (same problems as noted above reference tight fit for motor mount bolts, and I had to buy some 12mm x 40mm bolts to attach it to the car), but today when I went to attach the brake lines, I noticed there were no lugs for mounting the factory brake line/hose fitting on it like the factory K-member has. There is also no place to attach the screw that holds the line forward from this lug.

In light of this, I am having to make two custom brackets per side after measuring the stock K-member for dimensions.

I'm going to do some more searching here to see if anyone else has encountered this problem or if my K-member is unusual.

This good info on the pa since I will be installing one soon.

I got a PA member for my Camaro and was disappointed a bit.

As said before, the welds needed help. The stock bolts could not be reused. It did not offer the weight savings it claimed. It weighed about half of my stock k member(but didn't save me the weight they claimed). My control arms did not work at all. I had to cut them and reweld them. I think they said they have redesigned their kmembers to work with stock parts now but they had claimed they would when I bought mine. I ended up tie wrapping the brake line to it.

It may be 200 bucks cheaper than another one, but it still should be a relatively painless experience to put in, and also not suffer in the quality department. At least it hasn't cracked yet(on that note, I should check tomorrow).

I have a PA-racing K-member installed on my car... Put it on a while ago... It was cool getting it on.. pissed me off about the bolts... and no directions... but I just figured it out... not that hard. Brake line situation is super Pissy if your using Steel Brakelines... These things should come with bracket extensions... (now that this post reminded me... I guess I'll make those tommorrow).... The welds look awful... and there's excess all over the thing. They could alteast clean it up. Otherwise for the price it's nice... and it's lighter than the stocker... which weighs as much as a tank. compalin over sepending 200 extra for a BMR to save 6 pounds:rolleyes: bah!!! rahter just go on an atkins diet and loose them there... it was worth it just to gain the engine access... and not worrying abour loosing tools in the bay any more. The weight difference is highly noticeable.. car springed up a bit higher. No cons to it really... well worth the upgrade... only problem I had on my install was fitting the RAck and Pinion back in.... Tabs didn't meet up at all... Pissed me off somehting good. I ended up cursing and beating the Sh1t out the thing till it fit in. I was pissed for a while after that... but hte damn thing looks so good under the car.. it's like it should have been there all along...

I'd go PA RACING over BMR... because the price was right. and I pretty much got what I wanted....


Oh yeah...

PA-RAcing K-member you'll need to get smaller Bolts ... The Size is M12 X 1.75 75mm You need 6 of them if I recall... you can find them at Home Depot, Lowes, Pep turds... ETC

That should save you some time... I spent half a day going around the world with my stock GM bolt trying to find an idiot with the right measuring tool to tell me the size of my stock GM bolt... so I could get hte shorter replacements... Don't know why PA doesn't tell you that...but that pissed me off too...

I just put the pa racing piece on my car,knew i had to get bolts,so took a stocker to home depot and got the sizes mentioned above.
It saves plenty of weight,has NO bad welds,fits great,and i'll worry about brake lines later.

we have had a PA unit on a friends 87 for 2 years and no problems whatsoever.

Originally posted by speedmiser
There's no need to make new brackets for the brake lines. You can redrill and mount the stock brackets on the frame w/ a couple of self tapping screws. If I remember correctly, I think I bent the bracket straight, before I remounted it.
Anyway, the lines have plenty of slack and they dont get in the way of the springs - here's a pic at the mounting point.


Good information- sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees :) . I've been doing so much engineering on this car to get everything to fit in (and it all has not yet :( ) that I didn't even think about attaching the line brackets to the body/subframe.

Also, the bolts I used were rated 12.9 (strength rating, stock bolts were 10.9, and I think most hardware stores will sell 8.8 which is lower than stock rating) and 40mm long, which is the same length as the rearmost two bolts. I think if you use the stock two front (long) bolts for reference, you will have bolts that are too long or that are not threaded all the way down and you won't be able to tighten the K-member. I'm using socket head bolts with 7/16 washers and 1/2 lock washers until I can get a set of 10.9 hex head bolts with 12mm washers.

i've been running the chromoly coilover version on my 91 for almost 2 years now.

:)