im just trying to figure out what is going to give me the best result on my car? should i spend the cash and get the complete tubular kmember with coil over kit or should i get the billet specialties street lite wheels with sme m/t drag radials?

 

both are good mods but the K-member is obviously more labor intensive. Depending on what your wheels and tire setup is now, you may see a better gain with wheels and tires.

 

I think you'll see a better gain with the tires, but I wold personally rather have the k-member

 

They will both result in the same effect, freeing up front end weight, and promoting weight transfer. To which is best you have to now how much your wheels weigh now, and what the new wheels would weigh with tires, and also what the difference in weight would be with a K member swap. Which ever is the great weight would be a better option, or do both. Its always easier if you cant decide to just do both. I read in MFF a while back when they did a K member swap if I remember correct was somewhere around 60 or 70 pounds, I dont think you could make that big of a difference in wheels in tires. That would be 30-35 pounds difference in a single wheel in tire. I know my front's weigh around 50 pounds maybe a little more, 17x9 with tire mounted, any way I dont think there is a way to shave 30 pounds off a 50 pound wheel and tire. I would assume even a lite weight 15x4 with a front runner would weigh more then 20 pounds, I know a weld 15x4 weigh's about 10 pounds, so maybe wheels and tires would be a better option. And would cost a whole lot less to install as well...I just talked myself in a circle...

 

They won't have the same affect. It's completely different. With the K-member, your not freeing up rotating mass, with the wheels you are.

the weels=far more expensive. My set of 18" ultra-lites were close to 1k for the wheels alone.
a good Tubular K-member = ~$250

 

Wheels and tire IMO. It will cut down on rotating mass and unsprung weight.

I would do both in the end though.

 

I thought he was drag racing not road racing by the drag radial tire he referred to in his orginal post, your not going to use a 18'' ultra lite for drag racing, a 15x4 in the front, 15x8, 15x10 in the rear would be the most common, a street lite is a drag racing wheel. Weld's are priced a 150-200 a piece. It wasnt the price of the K member that I was referring to either it was the installion cost and then the total cost. I figured would be around 1000 dollars either 250 for the K member then the install, or 4 wheels and tires mounted and balanced for around 1500. When I read this last night it was about 2 am, so I thought he was trying to decide between front runners and a k member. Thats the main reason I said the cost would be close to the same. Any way if he is drag racing your first step before a K-member would be wheels and tires.

"billet specialties street lite wheels with some m/t drag radials"

 

wheels aren't as big a deal as people make them out to be. Get rid of your Kmember weight first. It'll get you closer to 50/50 transfer and it's sprung weight.

 

Sxynerd, thats kinda the way I felt at first, then the more I thought about it, I was convinced wheels would be better. Wheels and Tires would be a better choice if he has street tires now, or having trouble cutting sub 2.0 sixty's. If this isnt a problem for the OP then a K member I would think would be a better choice.

 

I'm totally down with getting better tires but the weight of a wheel is nominal. The only exception could be a 15" set up big and littles with a tall side wall. But normally by the time modders get that far they've already changed the Kmember.