Front End Diet

[Dana]

Since several of the guys here are way into road course racing, I will direct this primarily at them, but anyone else with suggestions and experience, please feel free to jump in.
I have read all the threads I can absorb for one day and now am putting it out for discussion.
I plan on lightening up the front end as much as is reasonably possible. The car is for drag racing and not road racing.
I plan on installing a Griggs K-Member and their tubular control arms. Any tips or input will be appreciated. I am not too concerned about the install, it will probably be pretty straight forward, but I am concerned about my choice of parts and any negative effects on the drivability of the car. I still plan on driving the car on the street. Any alignment issues or specific install problems?

Just as an aside, I will probably be installing headers around the same time, but really haven’t made up my mind on which ones yet. Maybe Bassani mid-length???

Thanks,
Dana

 

[Cobra-R]

Dana,
If your purpose is to shed weight for the dragstrip, I wouldn't recommend a Griggs K-member. One of the main (in fact it is the main reason to me) for the Griggs k, is to correct the geometry deficincies inherent in the stock Mustang front suspension. This would not be a real concern for the dragstrip.
I would apt for a light (weight) k-member that maintains the stock gemetry and costs way less than the Griggs unit.

Mustangs are pigs in the front end, so move as much weight to the rear as you can, that along with lightweight front suspension pieces are kinda the limit of what you will be able to do.

Good luck. Brian

 

[Dana]

Brian,
Ok, what you're saying, basically, is the Griggs is overkill for the strip?
Ok, I'm open for suggestions then. Something, or combination of somethings, suitable for use on the street and strip, but lighter than stock.


Thanks,
Dana

 

[toofast4u]

I agree with Brian that the Griggs is not the lightest solution for a single purpose drag car. It is substantially lighter then stock with a total weight savings around 70 Ibs for the front end package. There are some drag k-member solutions that boast more weight savings I've seen up to 110 Ibs from the front. I don't know the quality or durability of those kits and would never recommend any of them for that reason. The main question I would pose is will you ever be driving this car on the street? If yes I would suggest the Griggs solution. If you are only planning on straight line and driving back to the pits then those other kits might be in your best interest.

 

[[iSEPIC]]

Careful with the K-Member install. I did that on my 2001, and when the time came for any warranty work on the transmission, they wanted to add 6 hours to the bill and make me pay for the extra time it would take ---

 

[jonas]

I wanted to get an aftermarket k member in the near future too. so far the three i liked were griggs. d & d and maximum.

For drag Id say d and d definately, very light, designed for drag racing.

 

[Poisonous Mods]

Im looking at D&D Motorsports. Thought that the Griggs were no good due to the fabrication required on it? But i need it for taking turns.

 

[tommygun]

I would do a PA Kmember, coil over set up (150-175lb springs), caster camber plates, light weight brakes (aerospace) manual steering rack......with all of that done should be about 100lbs off the front. Its all going to depend on how much you want to spend and the drivablitiy of some mods.

 

[snakeyes]

The Hal K-member is a pretty nice unit and you can add on there A-arms and coil overs to really shed the weight. Just be ready for more suspension noise on the streets.

 

[toofast4u]

Originally posted by tommygun
coil over set up (150-175lb springs)

You guys run coil-overs that light for drag racing? I have 10" 425# on my car now, but it is set-up for road racing.

 

[PhillyCobra]

If car is primarily for racing, wouldn't removing the A/C compressor, condenser, evaporater and plumbing be the easiest way to save weight. Would need to work out alternate belt arrangement, but I think it's easy to get a "dummy" A/C pulley. Could also save weight by taking out stereo head unit and amp.

 

[ROADWARRIORSVT]

150-175# coilovers are the norm for drag racing. Helps wit hthe weight transfer. I second what these guys are saying about the Griggs K-member. Yes, its top quality sh!t, but not the lightest. And for drag racing, lighter is better. I have the D&D k-member, A-arms, and coilovers. No complaints, except increased suspension noise. Squeeks.

 

[Cobra-R]

Originally posted by [iSEPIC]
Careful with the K-Member install. I did that on my 2001, and when the time came for any warranty work on the transmission, they wanted to add 6 hours to the bill and make me pay for the extra time it would take ---

Umm, if they are trying to add time for removing the tranny, either I would find another dealer or show your dealer where the tranny is actually located. :shrug:


Poisonous Mods,
There is no fabricating involved in a Griggs K-member. Have installed two of them in my cars, strictly a bolt on affair.

Guys,
Most aftermarket k-members are sold to save weight, but maintain all the stock k-member suspension points.

Griggs and Maximum Motorsport are the only two that I am aware of that actually change the geometry of the front end, they also sacrifice some weight for the added stregnth needed on the road course. For drag racing the weight reduction is what you are after, so my logic is to go buy a $400 k-member rather the the $650 griggs or MM units and spend the difference on coilovers or something that will shave even more weight.

Brian

ps, How can you guys drive a full 1/4 mile without taking a corner??? ;-)

 

[Uncle Meat]

Dana - You never have stated whether your car is going to be strickly a strip machine or if it will do occasional street duty also? Aren't some of the aftermarket "K" members more crash worthy than others? I read somewhere that the stock K is designed to fold up and help absorb the impact of a head on crash. If you are going to see frequent street action it's something you may want to look at...

U.M.

 

[BadAndy]

K-member

I went through the same thing that you did. I had a tubular front suspension installed when I had my headers made for my car; you get a much better header. I went with UPR for a number of reasons. The fact that the total package price for the UPR suspension is comparable to just the cost of a Griggs or Maximum K-member was definitely one of them. The UPR piece is well made, it comes powder coated, unlike the Griggs K-member, and it is also made of crome-moly. I know several other racers who have used UPR K-members and the have all spoke very highly of the quality of construction and fit on their cars. I know a fellow Cobra owner with a Griggs K-member. Over the winter he removed it to have it blasted to remove rust after just a couple of years of summer street use. That is not a knock on the Griggs piece. Their piece is designed to be used in racing and they will tell you (I asked) that they do not powder coat their K-member because it makes it harder to detect stress cracks. One drawback to the UPR kit is the fact that the coil-over kit is not designed for Bilstein shocks. As for the strength of the K-member, I would find it very hard to believe that the factory K-member is a stronger piece. Is it as strong as a Maximum Motorsports unit? Absolutely not, but it is not supposed to be. There are thousands of Mustangs driving around on the street with drag race style K-members problem free. Having said all that if you are looking for absolutely the best drag race K-member it is probably the Anthony Jones Unit. When I purchased my K-member Anthony Jones had something like a two-month wait and UPR had theirs in stock. Hope some of that helped.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Re: K-member

Originally posted by BadAndy
As for the strength of the K-member, I would find it very hard to believe that the factory K-member is a stronger piece. Is it as strong as a Maximum Motorsports unit? Absolutely not, but it is not supposed to be. There are thousands of Mustangs driving around on the street with drag race style K-members problem free.

Maybe you missed the point I was trying to make in my post above. I wasn't comparing the overall strength of an aftermarket k member versus the stock unit. I read that the stock k is supposedly designed to absorb the impact of a head on collision. A k member with more strength and rigidity may transfer more energy to the passenger compartment during such an accident. Again, just something to think about....

U.M.

 

[BadAndy]

K-member strength

My comment was not in response to your statement. It was a response to concerns about the durability of a drag race style K-member expressed by some of the road race guys. As for any of the aftermarket k-members crash test performance....your guess is as good as mine and I hope I never have the chance to personally find out how mine performs

 

[maoun]

griggs is for handling, not drag

i'm having the whole griggs suspension put in next week
m.

 

[davidmax]

My car should be funny touch and go.Its got to handle to satisfy my craving for TWISTIES and because its built for publicity it has to run low 10's(GOOD LUCK DAVE!!!!)I planted the battery in the trunk,Im getting carbon fibre hood and trunk lid,Tubular frt sway bar,saving 85+ lbs. with all aluminum stroker,SHM is designing what I believe to be the 1st ladder bars for IRS(i could be wrong),rear bushings ,special shocks(I would strongly sugget HALS for you in Chevy land we get great results),10.5" slicks etc.....
My 1st runs will be at 550(or less) until I get used to the launch when the power gets dialed into the 700+ rrwhp area one of my team xtreme drivers will drive hopefully I can get David Schotz who is a road course driver but runs SUPERB 1/4's
I will post about the ladder bars I would have had my car 2 mos. ago but Sean wants to market them and they have to be 100%.I assume your welding in a cage for additional rigidity a definate need be.I am a engine builder and own lots of nice cars but I know Squat on how to race but I will go to school.
I wish you lots of luck,and I hope 1 helpful tip came out of it,Dave S.

 

[toofast4u]

Originally posted by davidmax
SHM is designing what I believe to be the 1st ladder bars for IRS(i could be wrong

Actually there are a couple of guys using them for drag racing with the IRS.

Here is a link with some more info.
1999 Cobra Rear Suspension "Traction Bars"

You car is going to be really sweat btw and I would expect it to do at least low 10's if not high 9's from what you have listed about it. What are you publicizing?