You seem to do a bunch of research before making a decision so I want to know why you choose Griggs over all the other options such as TCI, Heidts, AJE, Rod and Customs and so on. What systems did you consider and what was the final reason for going with Griggs ?
Following this build everyday and I love what your doing!
Thanks!
Yeah, I started out planning to go with a Mustang II and talked with and emailed a bunch of folks and shops with firsthand experience at installing them. When I started hearing the same remarks from different ones, a pattern developed.
TCI- Handles good but not very Coyote friendly and their rep admitted it. It was designed before the Coyote came out and re-designing it around the Coyote would mean changing the roll center in a way they didn't want to go. They do good on autocross.
Rod & Custom- Most liked them, handle good, priced nice and easy to install complete kit
Mustangs To Fear- Started out handling Rod & Custom but saw were some improvements could be made. I like the looks of their partial frame rail kit. Looks strong, heard it handles pretty good.
Heidt's Mustang II- Strong unit, handles good but not Coyote friendly, lot of work to get them to work with one.
Mustang II front end in general- decent handling, especially on short tight turns like autocross, fair to good handling on long sweeps. Ride somewhat on the firm side, heard that from multiple people.
One shop that I talked to really felt the Rod & Custom was the best choice for Coyote install UNLESS I wanted to step up a couple notches and $$ and look at Griggs and Cortex. Said they were the ultimate. Never heard of either one but started digging. The more I dug, the more I realized that this was a different class. I heard comments like "Ferrari like", "like driving a go cart" and "like it is on rails". Talked to Don Rostich at Mustang Dons. He has both installed and raced with Griggs setups for years. He related how he once had a Fox body with supercharged 5.0 and the regular competition add on's underneath that he raced at VIR. One day Bruce Griggs showed up with his Mustang and asked him to take it for a spin. He turned better times in a car with 100 less horsepower and decided he had been throwing his money away on power adders etc. and started using Griggs hardware. He has a 67 couple known for slaying the giants. He knows Filip and Cortex and Bruce Griggs both and likes both but leaned towards Griggs for Bruce's experience. Bruce called me personally and I got a good impression that I was talking to someone who knew his stuff.
I described the kind of car I was building and he asked me if I was building a genuine Ferrari or would I settle for a kit car. Convinced me I wanted handling to match the power of the Coyote and to go with a balanced package.
Where I parted from Don and Bruce's advise was in going with an IRS. Bruce in particular is not a fan of IRS and his torque arm setup is race proven so I didn't brush his advice off lightly. Almost went with it but I was determined to go for the advanced features and ride quality of IRS. After reading and talking to a lot of people, I suspect that I will be giving up some acceleration coming out of curves that a torque arm provides BUT the IRS will allow me to carry higher speeds through the curves. AND there is no denying that in the real world there are rough roads, unexpected bumps and the IRS handles them better, maintaining control and riding them better.
Heidt's website doesn't do a very good job of explaining the benefits of their systems. It didn't take me long to figure out that the Pro G IRS was definitely several steps above their Jag systems. If I had been able to have examined their Pro G front suspension, I might have considered it. Their web page just described their Mustang II systems with a mention that their Pro G was better. Once I actually looked at one though, I immediately saw that it was NOT a Mustang II and in fact, incorporates some of the geometry elements of the Griggs.
