CAP Tubular K-frame

[dkn1997]

utilizes the Facotry mounts, Factory steering, and Factory mounting positions

I gotta ask...... why?

I'd rather pony up th extra cash and get an alterkation. A ton of real world feedback from people running it, dump the T bars for header clearance, rack & pinion...

even if you K is banged up, decent used ones are dirt cheap.  I gave a real nice one away a few years ago.  you can also get tubular uppers, and all that other stuff for a stock K member.  you can weld up a stock K for more strength too, not very difficult or expensive.

[Mike DC]

 
The AlterKtion deal loses about 1/3rd of the total suspension travel distance though.  And rubber-to-poly is another decision that not everyone agrees about. 


The AlterKtion kit seems like a very good item for what it's trying to do.  I'm just saying it's not everything for everyone's purposes. 

[71charger_fan]

I looked at the Alterktion and wasn't really comfortable with the attachment of the LCAs. It's probably plenty strong, but appears to be set up in single shear.

[dkn1997]

could you elaborate on single shear? I don't know what that is.. I also wasn't aware about the loss of suspension travel. how would that loss effect actual driving?  alter K is one of my long term pipe dreams for my charger, that's why I am asking.

[71charger_fan]

Look at the upper control arm mounting on your charger. The bolts are supported at each end. That's double shear. If you have a 3/8" piece of threaded rod sticking out of a wall you can hang x number of pounds on it before it fails. That's single shear. If you have a bracket supporting the end of the rod, you can hang a lot more weight on the same rod because it's now in double shear.

[Mike DC]

             

The suspesion travel issue probably isn't major for most people. 

The factory Charger's front end has as much as 8-9" of travel when you really compress the rubber bumpstops both directions, whereas the AlterKtion only has 6" I think.  But most of that loss is probably in the tall/droop extension from the looks of things. 



And the Charger's factory 8-9" number is really a ton by modern standards, especially for the front end.  Six inches is fine for modern American paved roads.  Some sports cars these days have as little as 4 inches.

   

[Mopar2Ya]

Are there any updates as to whether this CAP setup is much better than a factory reinforced K-frame? How many member here have the CAP K-frame or other parts? Any known problems/failures?

[Steve P.]

I looked at the CAP "K" member a few years ago at the MATS. I was impressed with the welding and a few of the parts they had there. I believe they were really in their infant days when I saw what they had because I asked them if they were planning on a rack and pinion system and the owner answered NO..  He said: why would you want it? So of course I gave him the many reasons. Weight, front steer, space for a longer pan so you could have big volume and not drag the ground, close ratio.  I think I left him scratching his head.. Shortly after I think Ron, (or someone from the site), told me he was over at CAP and basically asked the same questions with the same reasons...  NOw I see they have built a "K" with R&P... I wonder what spindles they use??

I have also seen the Alter-K-Tion up close and can tell you that it is a damn nice unit. The only thing I don't like about the Alter-K is the way the spindle arm is extended for the tie rod end.  I guess it works, but to me it looks kind of hokey.

I would like to see the side by side comparo of all the "K" members on the market now and reallly know which is the best and why...


My .02

[Steve P.]

Any more news on your install??   Likes and dislikes??     

[71charger_fan]

I was home for a while and got to enjoy it. I'm glad I did it. No regrets. The front strut bars groan a bit sometimes, but, when you take out the bushings, that's going to happen. I'll probably be back for a few days in May for my daughter's graduation and hope to get a chance to put some more miles on it then. I had it at Carlisle this past summer. I've since added a set of Dr. Diff rear disk brakes to the car. I'll probably repaint it and redo the interior one more time and that'll be it, barring accidents. The next time anything major is done to it will probably be by the next owner after it's sold at my estate sale. Hopefully way in the future.