Ok so lets really talk K-members here Folks

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You mean this one......[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_1VJg392gk"]‪Mopars at Maple Grove 2011‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]
 

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johnparts said:
Ok so I will start this off and you guys take it where you see fit.

I am going to compare apples to apples here and see if you can see what I see. I will show you 3 k-members and their prices and you tell me if I am the only one that thinks we are just suffering from the Mopar price gouge.

This is the AJE Mustang unit and it retails for $399
mustangkmember.jpg


Full Chromoly construction and proven to handle a good deal of street abuse as well as race abuse. This unit is on the high end of the price range of Mustang units. BMR makes a K member that retails for $249.

This is the AJE 4th gen Camaro unit and retails for $419
camarokmember.jpg

Again full Chromoly proven unit that is on the high end of the spectrum for prices.

2 big considerations here these units use all stock components bolted to them so you don't need extra parts to bolt them in.

Here is a unit from Mancini that includes the control arms and what not. I believe this is made by CAP for Mancini but I'm not sure retails for $2300
kmember.jpg


Notice anything here folks? Construction seems pretty simple compared to the Camaro unit doesn't it? Sure it is set up for custom arms and spindles.

That is where my conversations with my builder have been going. Feel free to give your opinions here.
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Do they have these for a 71 Plymouth Duster and if so for how much?
 
Who knows? Maybe it was found to be not feasible at the promised price? Myself I feel it would be easy enough to build one as it's just metal. I could use my own Dart as a jig while welding it up and this should keep it square enough.

But I really do agree about the mopar gouge. Theres nothing special about a custom K frame that would demand a price that is 4x the norm.
 
hell everyone says its so easy. i'm waiting for someone to do it at the low cost everyone thinks it can be done for. oh and don't forget the 2 week turn around from order to the customer unpacking it at home.. :)
 
abodyjoe said:
hell everyone says its so easy. i'm waiting for someone to do it at the low cost everyone thinks it can be done for. oh and don't forget the 2 week turn around from order to the customer unpacking it at home.. :)
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Everbody seems to forget that there is a boat load of engineering that goes into a safe front end. Alot more to it than just bending up some metal and booger welding it together.....what is your life worth????
 
hey I was willing to give it ago. UGUYS knock everthing i do? so i will run the K-member for myself THANK U for all the help? ](*,)
 
no one is knocking you. basically saying after all the talk about it, either **** or get off the pot.. :)
 
Maybe the test mule ended up as a smoking pile in the ditch......just wondering out loud.
 
TShell said:
hey I was willing to give it ago. UGUYS knock everthing i do? so i will run the K-member for myself THANK U for all the help? ](*,)
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I have tried contacting you about it but after several attempts I figured you had something going on. You have my number call anytime.

Jason
 
abodyjoe said:
hell everyone says its so easy. i'm waiting for someone to do it at the low cost everyone thinks it can be done for. oh and don't forget the 2 week turn around from order to the customer unpacking it at home.. :)
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If you can weld,cut and measure/fit yes it is surprisingly easy. For me it would be more difficult to aquire materials than anything else. Living in a small town does not help that ,lol!

As for a 2 week turn around,it's entirely possible if you have good amounts of stock and a good shipper.
 
so id this you copying a design or starting from scratch?

now do atleast 5 to 10 of them in that two week turn around.. your gonna need employees which jacks up the price. gonna need a second welder.. jacks up the price.. see where we are going with this... its totally different if you tinker around the garage and build just one for yourself. totally different to create a business out of building them..
 
TShell said:
Just wanted to show you jokers this really works, enough said!
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no one ever said it didn't work in a straight line. our concern was on the street where it needs to go around a corner. so in reality you didn't show us squat.
 
Where can I buy a well built after market unit for my 1971 Plymouth Duster?
 
abodyjoe said:
no one ever said it didn't work in a straight line. our concern was on the street where it needs to go around a corner. so in reality you didn't show us squat.
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Hey Joe, why are you busting chops on this?
I know that you're a big RMS disciple and that's fine. Bill builds a great product. Any reason anyone else can't take a crack at it? Sure there are obstacles to overcome and details to work out, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Where would we be if people quit doing things because other folks or experts said it couldn't be done?
Next time you talk to Bill, ask him how many employees he had when he started. Ask him what his initial turn around time was. Ask him if his first design work right out of the gate. Didn't he just have to do a redesign of his upper control arms for a clearance issue of some sort?

I'm not bagging, I'm just saying to cut the guy some slack. Hell, at least he's trying. Ain't that what it's all about? Heard tell you can get across this ol' country of ours because a couple of brothers proved you could fly without flapping your arms real fast. Bet they heard a lot of folks say it couldn't be done either.

If you're wondering why I chose your quote amongst the other nay-sayers here, it's because I have a good amount of respect for your input and knowledge. You're a pretty straight up guy and I was a bit confused by your position here.
 
Im with Joe on this one.Everyone wants cheap-everyone wants fast.Another phrase to ponder would be-build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.The key word here is-BETTER.
 
im with joe as well....I havent seen DIDDILY SQUAT on what this "new, cheaper, better" suspension system can do...???????? what can it do? anyone can weld up a box of **** and go down a straight line......
 
Revhendo said:
Hey Joe, why are you busting chops on this?
I know that you're a big RMS disciple and that's fine. Bill builds a great product. Any reason anyone else can't take a crack at it? Sure there are obstacles to overcome and details to work out, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Where would we be if people quit doing things because other folks or experts said it couldn't be done?
Next time you talk to Bill, ask him how many employees he had when he started. Ask him what his initial turn around time was. Ask him if his first design work right out of the gate. Didn't he just have to do a redesign of his upper control arms for a clearance issue of some sort?

I'm not bagging, I'm just saying to cut the guy some slack. Hell, at least he's trying. Ain't that what it's all about? Heard tell you can get across this ol' country of ours because a couple of brothers proved you could fly without flapping your arms real fast. Bet they heard a lot of folks say it couldn't be done either.

If you're wondering why I chose your quote amongst the other nay-sayers here, it's because I have a good amount of respect for your input and knowledge. You're a pretty straight up guy and I was a bit confused by your position here.
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i'm not busting chops. maybe johnparts is to blame for all the hype but these guys came here saying they can build this thing so much cheaper and claiming its just as good as others out there. all i did ( if you have read through this thread) was ask how it is going to act in corners. the answer was it has been 150 mph or what ever at the drag strip.. the drag strip and in corners are two totally different things. all we keep getting is video of this thing going in a straight line. i'm just asking a couple questions that anyone should be asking since this thing is going to be on the street with innocent families. i never said this thing was garbage. also said its cool that someone is stepping up to the plate to do this. the problem is people have concerns on how this thing will behave in something other then a straight line and no one has addressed it except to post a another video of it going in a straight line. you don't question that?? hell this thing could be great in corners for all any of us know, but there is no way to tell that because all we see is a straight line video of it. sorry buy i'm not just going to take a guys word for it. atleast put some kind of numbers out there for guys to make an informed decision before buying something like this.

when i was researching these frontends. i read a ton of threads on the different tube front ends out at the time (still do actually). i met up with bill at the mopar nats one year and asked him a few questions about his set up.. he pulled out his lap top and showed me how it worked, explained it all to me ( not that i understand it all to this day) and then went to his display and showed me on an actual front end what the computer was showing me. now i'm far from a front end expert and never claimed to be one. but the fact of the matter is that he had the equipment right there in front of me to show and explain how and why it worked, if i wanted the numbers they were right there for me to look at, record and go research for myself. and that was years before i ended up buying a system. i called him numerous times and talked with him for great length over a couple year period before i bought one.


Next time you talk to Bill, ask him how many employees he had when he started. Ask him what his initial turn around time was. Ask him if his first design work right out of the gate. Didn't he just have to do a redesign of his upper control arms for a clearance issue of some sort?
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as far as bill goes. i can't speak for him but i know he built his first system for his own car, built it for his street car to use on the street. he had no intentions of selling them. as people saw them they wanted them. like sated in this thread earlier he went out and bought the software to prove/improve his design. and he keeps improving his design. again like stated earlier the drag strip and the street/corners are totally different things. tube front ends with R&P have been around forever at the drag strip. i have two friends that have dusters using stock style spindles and a tube/rack front end. those cars are in the 8-10 second range at the track. they go straight as an arrow down the drag strip and work great for that, but turn the wheel and you should see the tire fold over. no way would you want to drive that thing on the street and around a corner.


and in my opinion two week turn around time is a big thing when it comes to price. to pump more systems out and keep customers happy you need employees,more equipment, more space.... etc.. it all adds to the price.



basically what i'm saying/asking is to stop all the talk and show it to us, lets see the thing in corners, lets see prices, lets see this thing produced and on the street with real world feedback. anything less is just talk and means nothing. look i don't care what frontend a guy wants to use. as long as its safe because that damn thing may just be out on the road with my family. all i need is some straight line set up trying to take a corner and no being able to do it and take out my family.. thats not cool man... thats all my question is about...



here ya go, look trough the following thread. basically the same concerns from the drag racers about the system. and they don't have any need for the thing to corner.. problem with any new unproven guy on the block is they have to go out of their way to prove themselves (which to me is a good thing) because there has been too much garbage put out there that ended up being dangerous over the years. a front end is not somewhere to play games with. http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=6377969&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1
 
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