steveff
05-14-2016, 08:23 PM
What's up guys. Finished the install and did a quick shake down of the GKtech angle kit earlier today. Wanted to make a post here giving as many details as I can and my opinion of the kit as I haven't really seen much feedback on GKtech's products. I did not get this kit for free. I paid full price for it, so this is 100% unbiased and unsponsored. Cost was roughly $800-900 USD at the pre-buy price. I did wait about 5 months for my pre-order to arrive though. So take that into consideration before purchasing. Chances are, you're going to wait A WHILE for them to arrive.
My set up on my S13:
GKtech v2 front knuckles
GKtech Super Lock lower control arms extended +74mm
GKtech offset strut tops. The "no-cut" version
2000 maxima inner tie rods
1990 sentra outer tie rods
PBM eccentric steering rack bushings
SO throwing a PBM product in there is weird right? Well, I had the GKtech offset steering rack spacers but they didn't fit my steering rack correctly. My rack didn't have the same notches that the GKtech spacers had so they didn't sit right. So I decided to just go with the PBM rack bushings to move the rack forward instead of the offset spacers.
GKtech offset strut tops:
-These things are sweet. They kick the camber out to roughly ZERO if you set it so it's maxed all the way out. Now, with my BC coil overs, I actually had to cut my strut tower to clear the damper adjustment knobs. I was pretty pissed about that considering they were advertised as "NO CUT" but once I cut it out - no issues. All in all, not a huge deal, but I would've liked to not hack up my strut towers.
-The studs included were different thread from the factory strut top studs, so I needed to order M10x1.5 nuts from Fastenal because they weren't provided with the kit.
-I opted to run them similar to the Wisefab kit, moving the strut top forward to reduce castor.
GKtech V2 front knuckle:
These look beefy as hell. Everything is boxed and reinforced. Pretty solid looking design.
-For some reason my hubs didn't want to go onto these. Destroyed 2 wheel bearings in the process of installation. Had to grind down the very tip of the spindle to taper it in order for the bearings to slip on.
-The way they made the back side of the knuckle almost boxes in the ball joint nut, so in order to install the ball joint, you need to disconnect the coilover in order to fit an extension down the halfway enclosed part. So, not a huge deal, but definitely a hassle if you need to swap lower control arms or ball joints at any point.
-The brake caliper position is VERY low on these knuckles. Moves the caliper down to about 4-5 o clock on the rotor. I didn't think this would be an issue until I installed the kit. The brake caliper limits trailing wheel angle to roughly 40-45 degrees because it makes contact with the lower control arm. I have z32 calipers so I don't know if you'll have this issue with stock s13 calipers, but big brakes are a no-go with these v2 calipers IMO. So for right now I'm settling with the 45 degrees of angle on the trailing wheel. Lead wheel makes roughly 65 degrees before tie rod over centers on my setup. So that's a shit ton of ackerman. Definitely not low ackerman knuckles.
-The V3 knuckles actually remedy this issue. Moving the brake caliper up significantly and greatly reducing ackerman. Definitely recommend the V3 knuckles over the V2.
GKtech Super Lock LCA's:
-Super rad design. Soooooo much clearance everywhere. The joints are beefy as hell and I trust them 100% fully extended.
-I opted for the standard length balljoint shanks for a total of 50mm roll center correction when combined with the V2 knuckles. But Greg from GKtech is sending me the 20mm extended ball joint shanks to help the brake caliper clearance issue I mentioned earlier.
-So 70mm total roll center correction. Which is pretty crazy.
Driving impressions:
-I previously had cut knuckles and extended lower arms. The alignment settings up front were roughly -5 degrees camber, 10 degrees castor and 1/4" toe out. With this kit it's roughly -2 degrees camber, 5 degrees castor, and 1/4" toe out. And I like it a lot more than I thought I would. With these settings and the roll center correction, the tires stay almost completely flat from lock to lock much like the Wisefab steering kits. Super smooth transitions and crazy grip. Turn in response is great and self-steer feels super smooth. I run 235/40 Nitto NT05 on a 17x9 +0 and clearance is spot on. No rub on anything with the LCA's extended all the way out.
So overall the kit is incredible. There were a bunch of little things along the way that pissed me off that I shouldn't have had to deal with. But it's to be expected with car parts. Everything needs a little bit of modifying here and there. Nothing I wasn't able to fix or work around. Customer service was awesome. Received email responses from Greg Kruse almost immediately. Answered all my questions along the way.
I'll include pictures of everything tomorrow when the rain stops.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Cheers!
My set up on my S13:
GKtech v2 front knuckles
GKtech Super Lock lower control arms extended +74mm
GKtech offset strut tops. The "no-cut" version
2000 maxima inner tie rods
1990 sentra outer tie rods
PBM eccentric steering rack bushings
SO throwing a PBM product in there is weird right? Well, I had the GKtech offset steering rack spacers but they didn't fit my steering rack correctly. My rack didn't have the same notches that the GKtech spacers had so they didn't sit right. So I decided to just go with the PBM rack bushings to move the rack forward instead of the offset spacers.
GKtech offset strut tops:
-These things are sweet. They kick the camber out to roughly ZERO if you set it so it's maxed all the way out. Now, with my BC coil overs, I actually had to cut my strut tower to clear the damper adjustment knobs. I was pretty pissed about that considering they were advertised as "NO CUT" but once I cut it out - no issues. All in all, not a huge deal, but I would've liked to not hack up my strut towers.
-The studs included were different thread from the factory strut top studs, so I needed to order M10x1.5 nuts from Fastenal because they weren't provided with the kit.
-I opted to run them similar to the Wisefab kit, moving the strut top forward to reduce castor.
GKtech V2 front knuckle:
These look beefy as hell. Everything is boxed and reinforced. Pretty solid looking design.
-For some reason my hubs didn't want to go onto these. Destroyed 2 wheel bearings in the process of installation. Had to grind down the very tip of the spindle to taper it in order for the bearings to slip on.
-The way they made the back side of the knuckle almost boxes in the ball joint nut, so in order to install the ball joint, you need to disconnect the coilover in order to fit an extension down the halfway enclosed part. So, not a huge deal, but definitely a hassle if you need to swap lower control arms or ball joints at any point.
-The brake caliper position is VERY low on these knuckles. Moves the caliper down to about 4-5 o clock on the rotor. I didn't think this would be an issue until I installed the kit. The brake caliper limits trailing wheel angle to roughly 40-45 degrees because it makes contact with the lower control arm. I have z32 calipers so I don't know if you'll have this issue with stock s13 calipers, but big brakes are a no-go with these v2 calipers IMO. So for right now I'm settling with the 45 degrees of angle on the trailing wheel. Lead wheel makes roughly 65 degrees before tie rod over centers on my setup. So that's a shit ton of ackerman. Definitely not low ackerman knuckles.
-The V3 knuckles actually remedy this issue. Moving the brake caliper up significantly and greatly reducing ackerman. Definitely recommend the V3 knuckles over the V2.
GKtech Super Lock LCA's:
-Super rad design. Soooooo much clearance everywhere. The joints are beefy as hell and I trust them 100% fully extended.
-I opted for the standard length balljoint shanks for a total of 50mm roll center correction when combined with the V2 knuckles. But Greg from GKtech is sending me the 20mm extended ball joint shanks to help the brake caliper clearance issue I mentioned earlier.
-So 70mm total roll center correction. Which is pretty crazy.
Driving impressions:
-I previously had cut knuckles and extended lower arms. The alignment settings up front were roughly -5 degrees camber, 10 degrees castor and 1/4" toe out. With this kit it's roughly -2 degrees camber, 5 degrees castor, and 1/4" toe out. And I like it a lot more than I thought I would. With these settings and the roll center correction, the tires stay almost completely flat from lock to lock much like the Wisefab steering kits. Super smooth transitions and crazy grip. Turn in response is great and self-steer feels super smooth. I run 235/40 Nitto NT05 on a 17x9 +0 and clearance is spot on. No rub on anything with the LCA's extended all the way out.
So overall the kit is incredible. There were a bunch of little things along the way that pissed me off that I shouldn't have had to deal with. But it's to be expected with car parts. Everything needs a little bit of modifying here and there. Nothing I wasn't able to fix or work around. Customer service was awesome. Received email responses from Greg Kruse almost immediately. Answered all my questions along the way.
I'll include pictures of everything tomorrow when the rain stops.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Cheers!