What should I do first?
If you haven't made any of the popular modifications to the suspension of your car you are actually ahead of the gam. Lots of our competitors sell a set of shocks and stiff springs and sends a guy down the road, even though this can actually hurt performance. The first thing you should really do is to decide what your priorities are for the car, handling, drag strip launches or spirited street driving. Then, before you buy anything, read and understand the technical info in this catalog. We have provided a lot of detail because if you understand the flaws of the stock Mustang, you'll probably wind up a customer. If you are careful about defining your goals, you can be sure that your project goes smoothly without wasted dollars on components that require replacement later on. Take a look at the Griggs Racing GR-40 upgrades and the following pages and it will show you how to do it. If you can afford to build your entire chassis in one step, you should. You will save money on labor and have the best handling Mustang possible.
Your stuff sounds pretty racy. I just want my car to work better on the street do I really need all this stuff?
90% of our customers are streetcar owners. Our World Challenge and Drag Race customers are a small minority of our total sales. They buy our parts because we engineer our parts to do the best possible job of increasing grip within the confines of the production body and frame. Since we are so focused on fixing geometry, our cars can be run with soft springs, shocks and sway bars for better performance on rough surfaces with more comfort.
How does the GR-40 Kit affect ride quality? One of my friends already bought springs and shocks and his car rides like a tractor?
Believe it or not, GR-40 cars ride about like a production Mustang. Our focus on high quality shocks, geometric perfection and suspension travel help us deliver ride-quality as good as stock. Our suspensions do, however, reduce the amount of insulation and compliance in the car, to improve its responsiveness. Your car will be a bit noisier over broken pavement or really bumpy surfaces, but in the words of Muscle Mustangs Technical Editor, John Hunkins, (who drove one of our cars from Texas to New Jersey during an east coast tropical storm), "The Griggs Racing approach is to restructure the basic geometry of the suspension from the ground up. By doing so ride harshness, jounce and dartiness at speed are practically eliminated…the GR-40 Mustang feels essentially stock in its ride quality….Other suspension systems have had us begging for mercy but the GR-40 provided a compliant comfortable ride." (MM&FF, February 1996) We couldn't have said it better.
What about exhaust clearance? How do you guys get all that stuff to fit?
Exhaust clearance actually depends a lot on the car. Ford has very broad production tolerances for things like exhaust hangers and crossover tube location so some cars are easy to fit even with big tailpipes, other cars cause some problems. The problems, however, are really quite simple to resolve and each of our installers has the capacity to make the necessary changes.
I have heard TorqueArms create vibrations. Is this really a problem? If so, can you guys fix it?
TorqueArms do not create vibrations, but they may transmit existing vibrations. 98% of the vibration problem we encounter are the result of poor balance with the original drive shaft. The installation of a high quality lightweight unit (which we offer) will usually sort things out. The remaining problems are generally the result of a well-meaning installer trying to shim the TorqueArm to create a high-performance pinion angle. There is no such thing! The TorqueArm installation sets the pinion angle, and prevents it from changing under load. If the TorqueArm is installed, as delivered without modification, a car in good condition should not vibrate.
My street car is supercharged, develops 500 ft./lbs. of torque and traction is terrible. Will the TorqueArm really fix it?
If anybody tells you they can prevent a street tire from spinning on a car with that kind of power, look elsewhere for the truth. It just isn't possible. We can give you the best possible improvement in forward bite that does not compromise the street ability of the car. Carolina Mustang's street strip car, which makes 495 ft./lbs. from its Vortech-boosted engine, has run 1.53 60 ft. times on its 8 inch slicks. This kind of time is typical from cars with larger 10 inch slicks! Moreover, the car launches and runs perfectly straight and is totally consistent. Our testing with radial street tires show consistent reductions of .2 to .3 seconds over any other rear suspension system. You'll still have some wheel spin, but your car will be predictable and easy to drive.
I have heard all about the GR-40 system. I think I understand it but I have heard you have to do the whole system at once if you want to avoid understeer problems. I can't afford to spend that kind of money in one chunk. Can the system be done in stages?
The Griggs Racing system is totally modular and can be done in three stages. Each additional stage will increase your car's performance even more than the last, and the total combination gives an unbelievable level of grip and balance. Call for details on our three-stage method. Either way, with a little planning you can get exactly what you want, save money and keep your car fun to drive at every step of the way.
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