Cool, this is hardly a post that one would even consider to be offensive or anything.
Griggs cars get smoked at most open track events I have been to if a MM car is around.
Whoa, hold on there. That?s a nice blanket statement, considering the wide variation in power between most track Fox/SN95 Mustangs.
I dont know if you have seen all the Mustang suspension shootouts in every Mustang mag, but MM wins them all.
Let?s just stay away from magazine ?shootouts?, since the majority of them are predetermined by sheer advertising $$. After all, that?s the only reason that companies like BBK and Mac get rave reviews on their suspension poo. Not that MM should be even considered near the same category as those craptastic companies, since MM stuff does, after all, work when compared to their BandAid solutions. Regardless, the last time I remember seeing a Griggs car mentioned in a suspension shootout, that vehicle (96-98 Cobra with full GR40, I believe) was suffering from severe overheating issues and didn?t get the chance to lay down the sauce.
The quality is just not as nice on Griggs components. Most of the welding, and overall quality is just not there on the Griggs stuff.
Maximum Motorsports PB
Griggs non-adjustable PB
Do you know Bruce Griggs? I dont work for MM, but have met Bruce and know Chuck from MM pretty good.
I?m an east coast bastid, so I haven?t had the oppurtinity to converse with any of these guys in person. That said, I?ve dealt with Jack Hidley (or Hibley, as MMFF refers to him as) from MM on a number of occasions, and he is a stand up guy. That said, I have heard nothing but the best about both companies, which makes it feel strange to even be comparing these two companies.
Im not biased due to who I know, Im biased because I have seen and used both and built alot of stuff myself. All the Norcal guys love Griggs. Griggs actually used to be about one mile from MM in San Luis Obispo. Griggs stuff is cool, just not as good as MM.
Check out a torque arm or panhard system from both, and you tell me what quality is better.
Honestly, I?d have to say both TorqueArms are about equal in design. The Griggs piece uses a single-shear front crossmember mount that I am not overly happy with, while the rear of the MM piece mounts via U-bolts to the axle tubes, which is certainly an ease of access compromise compared to the Griggs setup. As far as the PB goes, (referring to the pics above) notice the bends in the MM bar. Those (compromises) are there to help with exhaust clearance. The Griggs bar was designed with strength in mind, regardless of having an extra inch of exhaust clearance.
I know that Griggs was even using MM caster/camber plates for a while. I dont know what they use now.
That?s correct, Griggs has always used the Fox3 C/C plates from MM in their suspension systems. Why? Because Bruce Griggs said that there wasn?t any point in trying to improve the good design that MM has. However, the initial 3-bolt SN95 plates that MM was shipping was an inherently weak design, due to the coil-over strut load being centered outside of the load triangle that the SN95 strut towers have. The first case of a MM plate bending was actually on a Griggs GR40 equipped car. MM fixed this with their 4-bolt design, which is a quite excellent piece. Griggs, however, designed their own SN95 C/C plate while MM was redesigning theirs, and have been using this design ever since on SN95 vehicles:
By the way at the West Coast Suspension shootout the MM-equipped shop car bested all comers with the fastest lap time of the weekend. The closest competition was a Griggs-equipped race car, over two seconds behind. Smoked the Global west car by 3 and Ips by almost 5 seconds. The proof is in the pudding.. http://www.maximummotorsports.com/wcss.html The MM shop car also happened to be sporting their prototype K-member, which is more than a year over-due. While they have since changed their design and are now going with a double a-arm setup, you still can?t buy the damn thing. The second place Griggs car, by the way, happened to be powered by a 306ci SBF sporting the infamous ?7-cylinder? option. Take a look at the American Iron series, where MM cars are constantly being crushed by Griggs cars. By the way, feel free to head over to the opentrackchallenge.com message boards, where there?s plenty of MM/Griggs shop and customer cars that will be competing this coming May.
BTW, here's some discussion about the
shootout .
That all said, let me say this. Maximum Motorsports is an outstanding company, which has quality products and customer service second to none. However, they (at this time) have yet to release:
*Tubular front control arms
*K-member
*Adjustable panhard bar
*a ?through the floor? subframe kit
Griggs has been around for almost 20 years, and even now most companies are still trying to catch up with their products. I must give props to MM, as while most companies (i.e. Ground Pounders, Grantelli, etc.) simply do half-assed rip offs of Griggs hardware, they actually have taken the time to come up with their own designs, and it shows in how when you talk with them, they actually know how their **** works. As I said before, when it comes to suspensions, Griggs is king. MM is good for the money, and I?d be proud to be running their banner, but when it comes to design and quality, you can?t beat Griggs.
Oh, I guess I?ll say "hi" to Rara, who at this point I?m sure will come along to say something about the Rob Eato-, err, Steeda 5-link, which I?ll admit is a damned fine setup. Just get them to make a kit with a non-adjustable PB and a catback that?ll clear the damn thing
