I'll be buying long tubes soon and installing them myself and I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to put in a BMR tubular K-member first. They state: "it also provides additional room for headers" which I'm assuming would make the header install a little easier. Is this true? If not $440 seems like a lot of money to spend just to shave off 20 pounds (I don't see this making much of a performance difference), plus loosing the integral jacking point of the factory unit would be annoying. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

Not only does it provide more room for header installation but when purchased with the integral motor mounts it doesn't allow the engine to rock as much in turns when the headers can interfere with the steering shaft.
The price of the Steeda Motor Mounts alone are $279 making the K-Member with integral mounts a bargain. You can also purchase the Prothane mounts through BMR for $119 i believe.

The K-Member also makes the front end feel stiffer but with all the other mods I have it's already much stiffer than stock.

You will notice a little more NHV in the car though due to the firmer motor mounts but not enough to call it annoying IMHO.

 

Thanks for the info. I did some more research on the long tubes and found out about changing out the motor mounts after I made the post. OK, I've got some $ burning a hole in my pocket so I'll order one up.

 

I've got that setup on my car. I like it, but on my car, it's turned into a rattle bucket! I'm gettin it up on a lift this weekend to try and get rid of some of the most persistant rattles.

Yes, it does make the install easier....wayyyyy easier. Getting the stock member off can be a bear though.

 

OK, I just ordered it. BMR sent me the installation instructions a few weeks ago and it doesn't look TOO bad.

Did you use threadlocker on all the fasteners? Hope you're able to banish the rattles.

 

Me Too! Didn't use threadlocker, but probably will this weekend. My rattles are a combo of muffler/catted H-pipe/front crossmember/eibach springs.

Gonna sock everything down, identify where they all are and hopefully be done with it for awhile.

 

Doing a K-member and LTs at the same time would certainly seem like a smart approach to me. If I were doing it, I would drop the stock K, remove the motor mount brackets from the block, install the LTs, put the brackets back on, and then put the new K on. And then I'd head to the algnment shop for a front-end alignment.

 

Yup, that's the order.... I just never got the alignment done...I'm lazy

 

Yeah but you did it without a motor in the car didn't you?

The motor mounts don't need to be removed from the block. Just the single nut that attaches to the bolt that comes up from the hydra mounts.

 

True... I did the K-member sans motor. But, I did the LTs before the engine was out. So, based on my observations, if I was doing both of them with the motor in, I would do it the way I described above.

And it's also true that you don't need to remove the brackets. But the reason I suggested removing the brackets would be to allow easier access to some of the header bolts. They were a royal PITA when I did my headers, and tough to torque properly with the brackets in there.

Remember, all my previous post said was, "If I were doing it..."