Gaz Suspension for Griff 500 1998
Discussion
Sorry to go down this road yet again; but can any Griff 500 owners who have fitted this upgrade please comment on the outcome and resulting improvements.I would like to fit Steve's drop link's front and back also.
Against standard what improvements in handeling can i expect? also would i be able to lower the rear end by 30mm and the front by 20mm.
My car is on its stands going down the winter chassie cleaning routine! sorry if the spelling is wrong but Cabernet Shiraz has the better of me at this time!!!!Thanx pasco.
Against standard what improvements in handeling can i expect? also would i be able to lower the rear end by 30mm and the front by 20mm.
My car is on its stands going down the winter chassie cleaning routine! sorry if the spelling is wrong but Cabernet Shiraz has the better of me at this time!!!!Thanx pasco.
Hi Pasco
I fitted the Griff Gaz (Absolutely Shocks) setup approx 6 mths ago, the noticable
difference to the standard TVR ones are a great improvement in handling and general
ride, I still have not got around the ideal adjustment settings due to a couple of
other recent mods.
One error I made twice since was to under adjust the damping, thinking it would
improve bump steer & handling, I soon learned to increase the dampening to improve
that problem which made sense in the end.
My experience of Gaz shocks & springs so far are of money well spent for a medium
market setup, the shocks have a very wide range of dampening adjustent to suit all
applications. The ride height can be set very low front & rear, however I did not set
mine too low due fears of grounding etc.
Steve.
I fitted the Griff Gaz (Absolutely Shocks) setup approx 6 mths ago, the noticable
difference to the standard TVR ones are a great improvement in handling and general
ride, I still have not got around the ideal adjustment settings due to a couple of
other recent mods.
One error I made twice since was to under adjust the damping, thinking it would
improve bump steer & handling, I soon learned to increase the dampening to improve
that problem which made sense in the end.
My experience of Gaz shocks & springs so far are of money well spent for a medium
market setup, the shocks have a very wide range of dampening adjustent to suit all
applications. The ride height can be set very low front & rear, however I did not set
mine too low due fears of grounding etc.
Steve.
Have you considered the Protech alloy bodied dampers that www.Track-car-solutions.co.uk sell?Being alloy bodied has its advantages,they outperform the gaz dampers and dont cost much more at all,they also have a three year warranty
.The best thing about buying from Trackcar is that his suspension experience goes back many years with these cars,and Julian is always happy to offer as much advice and help as you need,there seems to be nothing he doesnt know when it comes to this stuff!For me there was no contest,and i'm very happy with mine
Well worth a chat with him to help you decide.
.The best thing about buying from Trackcar is that his suspension experience goes back many years with these cars,and Julian is always happy to offer as much advice and help as you need,there seems to be nothing he doesnt know when it comes to this stuff!For me there was no contest,and i'm very happy with mineWell worth a chat with him to help you decide.pasco said:
Sorry to go down this road yet again; but can any Griff 500 owners who have fitted this upgrade please comment on the outcome and resulting improvements.I would like to fit Steve's drop link's front and back also.
Against standard what improvements in handeling can i expect? also would i be able to lower the rear end by 30mm and the front by 20mm.
My car is on its stands going down the winter chassie cleaning routine! sorry if the spelling is wrong but Cabernet Shiraz has the better of me at this time!!!!Thanx pasco.
Following Guglielmi's testing you should consider having the rear about 15mm higher than the front.
You will hear many arguments for Alloy shocks or Nitrons but I would enquire further on the forums before wasting money, you may be surprised at the replies.
>> Edited by the gazman on Sunday 18th December 21:51
the gazman said:
Sorry to go down this road yet again; but can any Griff 500 owners who have fitted this upgrade please comment on the outcome and resulting improvements.I would like to fit Steve's drop link's front and back also.
Against standard what improvements in handeling can i expect? also would i be able to lower the rear end by 30mm and the front by 20mm.
My car is on its stands going down the winter chassie cleaning routine! sorry if the spelling is wrong but Cabernet Shiraz has the better of me at this time!!!!Thanx pasco.
Following Guglielmi's testing you should consider having the rear about 15mm higher than the front.
You will hear many arguments for Alloy shocks or Nitrons but I would enquire further on the forums before wasting money, you may be surprised at the replies.
>> Edited by the gazman on Sunday 18th December 21:51
yep, needs 1/2" or it'll be 'orrible, but that std factory anyway.
i've got Nitrons, Gas, rose jointed. expensive but very good.
my money would be on absolutely shocks stuff. they've done loads with steve guglielmi and his settings are now becoming the fast road "norm" with higher spring rates etc.
Jools was very good at the "Monster" and is well thought of, so he'd defo be worth checking out too.
Guillotine said:
yep, needs 1/2" or it'll be 'orrible, but that std factory anyway.
i've got Nitrons, Gas, rose jointed. expensive but very good.
my money would be on absolutely shocks stuff. they've done loads with steve guglielmi and his settings are now becoming the fast road "norm" with higher spring rates etc.
Jools was very good at the "Monster" and is well thought of, so he'd defo be worth checking out too.
I have 15 or 20mm difference cant remember which.
Will sit firmly on the fence on suppliers and tuners as mine were:
Supplied by Jools who was very very helpful throughout.
Fitted by me (eventually!!! if you remember Jools
) Set up by me with a little fine tuning help from a track day neighbour ( who is involved with super chargers at the moment
) Driven by Steve Guglielmi (sorry I will say it again) who was very impressed with the overall set up & performance
>> Edited by Seasider on Monday 19th December 10:04
what I want to know is how does it effect the ride comfort? obviously the Gaz/Protech shocks are adjustable so can be 'uned' but to be honest I quite like the way my car drives and handles on smooth surfaces.. its just the really bumby stuff I and it would appear it doesn't like..
I need to change my shocks and spring as my 'standard' one are tired. Will the higher rate springs effect what comfort levels can be expected? and are the dampers adjustable to standard like ride? obviously once I start playing with them I may find settings I prefer, but I went out in a griff once with 17 inch rims and the ride quality was sh1te to say the least. I'm just nerous I'll spoil what I consider to be a nice ride???
I need to change my shocks and spring as my 'standard' one are tired. Will the higher rate springs effect what comfort levels can be expected? and are the dampers adjustable to standard like ride? obviously once I start playing with them I may find settings I prefer, but I went out in a griff once with 17 inch rims and the ride quality was sh1te to say the least. I'm just nerous I'll spoil what I consider to be a nice ride???
griffsmith said:
what I want to know is how does it effect the ride comfort? obviously the Gaz/Protech shocks are adjustable so can be 'uned' but to be honest I quite like the way my car drives and handles on smooth surfaces.. its just the really bumby stuff I and it would appear it doesn't like..
I need to change my shocks and spring as my 'standard' one are tired. Will the higher rate springs effect what comfort levels can be expected? and are the dampers adjustable to standard like ride? obviously once I start playing with them I may find settings I prefer, but I went out in a griff once with 17 inch rims and the ride quality was sh1te to say the least. I'm just nerous I'll spoil what I consider to be a nice ride???
There is no need to sacrifice a comfortable ride when having adjustable shocks.
I offer a free spring exchange to all customers and out of 150 kits sold to trade and retail over the last few months, nobody has taken me up on it yet.
That said, dropping 25lb on the springs will not do any damage on handling and may be preferable to you.
You will find that the SHENG drop links will help on the bumpy stuff as in most cases the twitchyness is all due to the shocks having to act as ARBs and that tends to be not what they are designed for really. To be honest, it is really the first thing that should be changed because they will have a beneificial effect irrespective of what shocks and springs are fitted.
The links will cause less roll and less twitch as the ARB is working correctly instead of just coming in one big dollop. Result is a better handling car without doing anything to the setup.
From another Griff owner...
Just fitted Steve Heath's demon anti-roll bar drop links. The results are amazing. Now the bars work properly and instantly - the car stays totally flat and I've been able to soften of my Nitrons, improving the ride. They're worth every penny, easy to fit and Steve's instructions (as you'd expect from the man who wrote the "bible" are spot on.
see www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=2&f=9
The links will cause less roll and less twitch as the ARB is working correctly instead of just coming in one big dollop. Result is a better handling car without doing anything to the setup.
From another Griff owner...
Just fitted Steve Heath's demon anti-roll bar drop links. The results are amazing. Now the bars work properly and instantly - the car stays totally flat and I've been able to soften of my Nitrons, improving the ride. They're worth every penny, easy to fit and Steve's instructions (as you'd expect from the man who wrote the "bible" are spot on.
see www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=2&f=9
If you're more interested in road manners and comfort than out-and-out handling on the track then I suggest you keep fairly close to the standard spring rates. The harder the springs are the less forgiving the suspension is, and also the higher damper settings you run the more you need to spend on the dampers to get acceptable ride quality and compliance.
GreenV8S said:
If you're more interested in road manners and comfort than out-and-out handling on the track then I suggest you keep fairly close to the standard spring rates. The harder the springs are the less forgiving the suspension is, and also the higher damper settings you run the more you need to spend on the dampers to get acceptable ride quality and compliance.
I have looked into this subject and beg to differ.
The original cars had Bilstein shocks with very hard valving and relatively soft springs, Protech,Gaz and others tend to run stronger springs and less bump but more rebound, particularly on the back and this has a benificial effect on the ride quality, despite the large increase on spring rates.
The ethos is "sit the car on the springs and let the damper do the damping".
The springs and dampers need to be proportional to each other - stiffer springs need stiffer damper settings. Running the dampers slightly softer for the same springs (as you suggest) will improve the comfort at the expense of body control, and running less bump damping and more rebound damping within reason may do the same. The fact still remains that a 400lb/in spring/damper setup from Gaz, or Protech, or AVO, or whatever will be more harsh than the equivalent 300 lb/in from the same supplier. In general higher rates result in poorer ride quality.
GreenV8S said:
The springs and dampers need to be proportional to each other - stiffer springs need stiffer damper settings. Running the dampers slightly softer for the same springs (as you suggest) will improve the comfort at the expense of body control, and running less bump damping and more rebound damping within reason may do the same. The fact still remains that a 400lb/in spring/damper setup from Gaz, or Protech, or AVO, or whatever will be more harsh than the equivalent 300 lb/in from the same supplier. In general higher rates result in poorer ride quality.
I agree that this is the theory but the Decarbon principle shock manufacturers tend to run softer springs and sit the car on the shocks, whereas the twin tube guys do the opposite.
In fact just sold another Griff set, Cheers Simon
I sell Griff/Chim shocks everyday and I repeat, no complaints about ride quality yet
>> Edited by the gazman on Monday 19th December 15:12
I have just done this mod (Gaz shock/spring kit with SH drop links front & back).
I would suggest that the 'level of improvement' will depend on how shot your standard system is!
My car is older than yours at 96 with 23k on the clock and I was aware of the tendancy to rear up slightly on fast undulations which was a bit offputting to say the least.
I was told (I forget who) that the factory Griff was set up with hard springs and soft shocks (or was the other way round!) and that the GAZ set up reversed this principle to soft springs and harder shocks (depending on setting)
Any way I am still experimenting with the final shock settings but already the car feels more stable with no loss of ride comfort (so I am not talking go kart here)
As for the SH links - I fitted these at the same time as the Shocks so cannot realistically comment but looking at the under side of the car it looks much better (engineering wise) so it must help keep the car more level.
I have kept the ride height exactly as TVR intended i.e. with the nose down attitude.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Paul
I would suggest that the 'level of improvement' will depend on how shot your standard system is!
My car is older than yours at 96 with 23k on the clock and I was aware of the tendancy to rear up slightly on fast undulations which was a bit offputting to say the least.
I was told (I forget who) that the factory Griff was set up with hard springs and soft shocks (or was the other way round!) and that the GAZ set up reversed this principle to soft springs and harder shocks (depending on setting)
Any way I am still experimenting with the final shock settings but already the car feels more stable with no loss of ride comfort (so I am not talking go kart here)
As for the SH links - I fitted these at the same time as the Shocks so cannot realistically comment but looking at the under side of the car it looks much better (engineering wise) so it must help keep the car more level.
I have kept the ride height exactly as TVR intended i.e. with the nose down attitude.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Paul
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