In truth, I was less concerned about saving a few extra pounds than having the strength required to take the new suspension loads. Back in my road racing days, I experimented with a lightweight tubular K-member on our World Challenge car, only to find out that while it may have been OK for drag racing, the flimsy unit required extensive structural surgery before it could withstand the punishment of road racing. The Maximum piece is ready to go road racing without mods.
It was equally important that the MM piece offered both an increase in wheelbase of 3/4 inch (thereby improving the weight distribution) and optimized vertical location of the control arm pivot points. The ideal mounting location (and therefore angle of the control arms relative to the ground) changes with the desired ride height. Dual pickup points on the K-member provide alternate mounting locations to keep the arms parallel to the ground, offering both an improved camber curve and roll center height.
Unlike many of the aftermarket tubular control arms available, the pair from Maximum Motorsports were a true A-arm design, offering a brace between the V shape produced by the pair of tubes converging from the pickup points to the ball joint. This cross brace adds a great deal of strength to the design, minimizing deflection. Like the tubular K-member, the control arms offer significant weight savings, in this case, over 13 pounds. Though MM offers offset control arms that provide an increase in wheelbase of 3/4 inch (making a total of 1 1/2 inches when combined with the K-member), we opted once again for the more street-oriented standard offset arms.
19 The MM camber/caster plates...
19 The MM camber/caster plates utilize a four-bolt mounting system to spread the suspension loads evenly to the plate (versus the usual three-bolt configuration).
When combining the offset arms with the K-member, it is sometimes necessary to modify the fenderwell to accept the forward position of the wheel/tire package. Not wanting to modify the fender lip, we chose the standard arms.
The tubular control arms required the use of coilovers, so MM supplied its front system consisting of Bilstein struts (with sport valving) combined with 375-pound coil springs. For race applications, spring rates over 400 pounds might be applied along with race valving in the struts, but once again, this street application requires appropriate spring rates and shock valving.
Other modifications to the front suspension included new urethane mount bushings and endlinks for the factory front swaybar, a set of aluminum steering rack bushings, and adjustable tie-rod ends. The urethane mount bushings and endlinks improved the response rate of the factory tubular front swaybar, while the aluminum steering-rack bushings eliminated any bushing deflection to greatly improve steering response.
The real change to the steering came from the adjustable tie-rod ends, which allowed us to adjust the bumpsteer (changes in toe as the suspension moves up and down). Changes in the amount of bumpsteer present were made by altering the number of spacers between the tie-rod end and the spindle. Once dialed in, the bumpsteer was minimized to just 0.020 per inch of suspension travel-pretty good for a strut front suspension. Nice touches on the adjustable endlinks included the machining of a hex at the inboard end (to facilitate adjustment), a wide assortment of high-alloy steel spacers, and two pairs of different length bolts to ensure proper fitment of the necessary spacer arrangement. It was necessary to drill out both spindles to accept the through bolt, but MM also offers adjustable tie-rod kits to work with the stock (tapered stud) spindle, though this combination is limited to moderate changes in geometry.
 20 The MM plates offer a...  20 The MM plates offer a number of desirable features including a Teflon-lined spherical bearing to provide positive location of the strut shaft, spaced main plates to restore bump travel on lowered vehicles and, according to MM, the widest range of camber adjustment in the industry. A nice feature of these camber/caster plates is that they allowed independent adjustment of the camber and caster. Note the washer stack used to dial in travel versus hood clearance. |  21 Here is a shot of the...  21 Here is a shot of the front tubular control arm in place (before installation of the front swaybar). Multiple mounting positions in the K-member allowed the angle of the arm (relative to the ground surface) to be dialed in for differing ride heights. The MM tubular control arms featured a true A-arm design (meaning they featured a brace between the V section to improve strength). Though we chose the standard control arms for this performance street application, they are also available in forward offset configuration (revised ball joint location) which increases the wheel base by 3/4 inch. Note the new steering rack bushings and adjustable tie-rod ends. |  22 Included in the Maximum...  22 Included in the Maximum Grip Box was this solid steering shaft. Even without the improvement in steering response, this upgrade was welcome since there was a slight interference between the factory shaft and our long-tube headers. Installation of the new shaft (combined with some minor persuasion of the offending header tube) cured the interference problem. |
 23 Here's a shot of the completed...  23 Here's a shot of the completed front suspension. Check out the tubular K-member and control arms along with the lower chassis brace (that cleared our long-tube headers). The factory front swaybar is in place along with the new mount bush-ings for the steering rack. |  24 The amount of research...  24 The amount of research and development that went into all of the components in the MM Maximum Grip is evident in little touches like this alignment plate, used to properly position the rear swaybar mount for welding. The plate ensured proper location of the mount relative to the endlinks. Touches like this were evident in nearly every component. |  25 One of the highlights...  25 One of the highlights of the Grip Box was the torque arm. After welding in the front heavy-duty mount and properly aligning the pinion angle (shimming between the arm mounts and differential), the torque arm was installed along with the adjustable rear swaybar. |