Custom Tubular K Member, Tubular Control Arms, etc

[Street Surgeon]

Looks great I'm very interested in getting this! Subscribing!

 

[1stGenRocks]

do a 2g next. i think theres as much or more demand from the 2g guys for autox then 1gs.

 

[Morphius]

Post a picture of how your heims ends are attached to the upright. It looks like you are using them in single shear which is not good. Type? Brand? Load rating?

You'd get more than enough adjustment making the joint at the upright fixed (ie no heims end) and then having the heims end at the cross-member joint.

 

[gixrman]

This would be strong enough for daily use I would assume? Also would love to see this in the rear too.

I'm sure too cover his butt it will come with a "for off road use only" clause. For it to be a true street legal piece I'm sure it would have to go though lots of failure testing for something so critical to the operation and control of the car. But hey I'm all for it.

 

[Staytuned]

I'm sure too cover his butt it will come with a "for off road use only" clause. For it to be a true street legal piece I'm sure it would have to go though lots of failure testing for something so critical to the operation and control of the car. But hey I'm all for it.

I am all for it too, I just pictured myself rolling down the highway and having this thing come apart from a stress fracture or something. I am all for tubular designed K members and control arms and I wish somebody would step up to the plate and design and test something like this for us die hard DSMers.

 

[jtmcinder]

The piece that would benefit a 2G the most is a light front compression arm. The problem, of course, is how to keep it from rotating on the inboard end while still having some off-axis slop.

- Jtoby

 

[GSXNXS]

Post a picture of how your heims ends are attached to the upright. It looks like you are using them in single shear which is not good. Type? Brand? Load rating?

You'd get more than enough adjustment making the joint at the upright fixed (ie no heims end) and then having the heims end at the cross-member joint.

When all is said and done with fabrication, I will post some better pics. Everything is double shear. There are two pics that show double shear mounting points. The first is the second K-Member picture and the second is the picture with the transfer case (upper/middle right in the pic). They are FK moly rod ends 5/8". Could have gone 1/2" but stronger is better. The minimum load rating is 9713lbs and goes up to around 15,500lbs.

These are only intended to be used off road as mentioned. If they are used on the street, it would be absolutely at your own risk. Basically it would be stated something like this...

Due to the intended use of these products in racing, we make no warranties, either expressed or implied, including any warranty of merchantability of or fitness for a particular purpose. There is no warranty expressed or implied as to whether the goods used hereby will protect the ultimate user of such goods from injury or death. Racing is a dangerous activity, the user shall determine the suitability and safety of the product for it's intended use and, once installed, the user must assume all responsibility and risk arising from malfunction, damage, or misuse.

I am a consultant and bill rates that will probably make this look like non-profit work to put it bluntly. I don't even own a DSM so I am doing this more or less to hopefully help some enthusiasts out and give the fabricator some business he probably doesn't even need. I am trying to put myself in your shoes as though I still do have a DSM. I also like learning about everything I possibly can, meeting new people, and networking. The last thing I want happening is trying to help a bunch of people out with a need and then turn around and get sued or give myself a bad rep.

 

[GSXNXS]

I'm sure too cover his butt it will come with a "for off road use only" clause. For it to be a true street legal piece I'm sure it would have to go though lots of failure testing for something so critical to the operation and control of the car. But hey I'm all for it.

Thanks for bringing that up.

 

[almostquick]

and we appreciate all that your doing for us gsxnxs. The fact that your going out of your way to give us a product that isnt very popular in the community is amazing. Most people should be aware that a part like this is ofcoarse going to have an off road only disclaimer. Not to mention by the time you'll be producing these I'm sure there will have been many 1/4 mile runs on the car that these parts were orginally made for. off road only is nothing new to alot of us, If I had a quarter for every part that said off-road only, I'd have a lot of quarters. Anyway, have you guys thought of possibly welding in a bar between the lower control arms, for possibly a little more bracing/strength? and how are they connected at the ball joint?

cant say it enough, but thank you.

 

[Morphius]

When all is said and done with fabrication, I will post some better pics. Everything is double shear. There are two pics that show double shear mounting points. The first is the second K-Member picture and the second is the picture with the transfer case (upper/middle right in the pic). They are FK moly rod ends 5/8". Could have gone 1/2" but stronger is better. The minimum load rating is 9713lbs and goes up to around 15,500lbs.

I'm interested in the interface of the upright. (I can see your inboard joints are double shear.)

 

[GSXNXS]

and we appreciate all that your doing for us gsxnxs. The fact that your going out of your way to give us a product that isnt very popular in the community is amazing. Most people should be aware that a part like this is ofcoarse going to have an off road only disclaimer. Not to mention by the time you'll be producing these I'm sure there will have been many 1/4 mile runs on the car that these parts were orginally made for. off road only is nothing new to alot of us, If I had a quarter for every part that said off-road only, I'd have a lot of quarters. Anyway, have you guys thought of possibly welding in a bar between the lower control arms, for possibly a little more bracing/strength? and how are they connected at the ball joint?

cant say it enough, but thank you.

I will forward the questions to the fabricator and let you know what he says. I am not sure we can change the patent this late in the ball game...




j/k about the patent

 

[gixrman]

Thanks for bringing that up.

Your welcome I'm all for inovation and new products. And thats the best one I've seen in a while. Good luck with it.

 

[twicks69]

If you decide to design these parts for a 2G AWD (K-member, control arms, and front compression arms)...

PLEASE PM me! I am extremely interested, and will wait patiently if the 2G stuff becomes an option in the future!


That is fantastic work, and THANK YOU for the innovation of bringing new products to our old ass cars! Hopefully 2G's will be loved in the future, and will recieve the same fab stuff as the 1G's.

 

[GSXNXS]

If you decide to design these parts for a 2G AWD (K-member, control arms, and front compression arms)...

PLEASE PM me! I am extremely interested, and will wait patiently if the 2G stuff becomes an option in the future!


That is fantastic work, and THANK YOU for the innovation of bringing new products to our old ass cars! Hopefully 2G's will be loved in the future, and will recieve the same fab stuff as the 1G's.

Will do. I am hoping at some point we can help out the 2G enthusiasts as well and yeah I do have love for 2G's. I started my DSM life back in 96' with a factory exec 95 GST and raced it when Brent Rau was just getting into the 12's at the local track so my roots are deep and so is my loyalty

 

[GSXNXS]

and we appreciate all that your doing for us gsxnxs. The fact that your going out of your way to give us a product that isnt very popular in the community is amazing. Most people should be aware that a part like this is ofcoarse going to have an off road only disclaimer. Not to mention by the time you'll be producing these I'm sure there will have been many 1/4 mile runs on the car that these parts were orginally made for. off road only is nothing new to alot of us, If I had a quarter for every part that said off-road only, I'd have a lot of quarters. Anyway, have you guys thought of possibly welding in a bar between the lower control arms, for possibly a little more bracing/strength? and how are they connected at the ball joint?

cant say it enough, but thank you.

Bracing could be added to the lower control arms. Fabricator didn't think it was necessary though. Here is a picture of the control arms not installed. That should answer some questions hopefully.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[mavisky]

So it's a complete combo then, as in you have to have both the control arms and the subframe.

Would these fit a 1g fwd as well? I know that the awd's don't have the central brace that our engine mounts mount to.

 

[almostquick]

thats awesome! only thing to wait for now is pricing.

 

[jtmcinder]

thats awesome! only thing to wait for now is pricing.

Which, of course, will be posted sometime after he becomes a supporting vendor.

- Jtoby

 

[turbo90gsx]

So it appears as though the sway bar is removed, or are there mounting brackets for the links?

 

[GSXNXS]

So it's a complete combo then, as in you have to have both the control arms and the subframe.

Would these fit a 1g fwd as well? I know that the awd's don't have the central brace that our engine mounts mount to.

I am not sure on the 1G FWD as of right now or what will need to changed if anything. It will definitely be checked into though in the future. Thanks for asking Kyle.

 

[GSXNXS]

So it appears as though the sway bar is removed, or are there mounting brackets for the links?

For this application it was removed.

 

[Morphius]

Bracing could be added to the lower control arms. Fabricator didn't think it was necessary though. Here is a picture of the control arms not installed. That should answer some questions hopefully.

http://www.dragnracing.com/Pic/Shamus/GSX/controlarmsnotinstalled.jpg

[Pic too damned big.]

Ok, so the rear bar of the a-arms has the typical ball joint and attaches to the upright. Then the front leg of the 'a-arm' attaches to the rear leg via the tab. The heims end on the front leg, at the upright, is in single shear. Obviously, you're driving a fast car on the strip and braking becomes critical.

If it was me, I'd question the safety of that. With that heims end in single shear, it'll be see a bending load or axial load (ie through the ball) for which the load rating is significantly lower.

My suggestion would be to either:
A. Make it a double shear joint.
B. Make it a fixed joint, removing the heims end at that end. Leave the adjustment to the inboard end. In all reality, the amount of adjustment on the inboard side of the arms is more than enough.

 

[GSXNXS]

Ok, so the rear bar of the a-arms has the typical ball joint and attaches to the upright. Then the front leg of the 'a-arm' attaches to the rear leg via the tab. The heims end on the front leg, at the upright, is in single shear. Obviously, you're driving a fast car on the strip and braking becomes critical.

If it was me, I'd question the safety of that. With that heims end in single shear, it'll be see a bending load or axial load (ie through the ball) for which the load rating is significantly lower.

My suggestion would be to either:
A. Make it a double shear joint.
B. Make it a fixed joint, removing the heims end at that end. Leave the adjustment to the inboard end. In all reality, the amount of adjustment on the inboard side of the arms is more than enough.

Thanks for your suggestions. I will relay your comments to the fabricator. Knowing how long he has been doing this, I don't think there are any safety concerns with the current design.

 

[topstreet]

If it is cool to ask?... What drive shaft yoke and U-joint are you guys using?

BTW: Looks good!

 

[GSXNXS]

If it is cool to ask?... What drive shaft yoke and U-joint are you guys using?

BTW: Looks good!

No prob, everything is Driveshaft Shop. I remember seeing your car at GLD this spring. I believe it was the first time you hit 9's! Congrats!! You have one badass car. I was there in a white EVO. I know you were part of the inspiration for my friends build and very helpful. Thanks!