develpement and enhancements

[MW666]

Totally new to this forum - always enjoyed my elise when i had it and was looking forward to buying another when funds become available - but a strange thing happened when i read the latest classic cars, i suddenly really want a griff.???
Questions though, what developments to the car's dynamics happened over time? - I am looking for the best handling example.
And you are the guy's who know your griff's better than even the factory did by this time - have any of you uprated suspension and got worthwhile gains?
_ boring question - have the good griff's out there got the niggles ironed out yet? and can owning one be quite painless now???
Thanks in advance for any advice

[fastandcurious]

Welcome to Griff land. I'm quite new also, having bought my first Griff last December. I view my griff as fun machine rather than transport. I've had and driven many different cars, but nothing comes close to this for shear exilleration and enjoyment. Be prepared to tinker though cos they are quite high maintenance. Suspension wise haven't quite got around to that bit yet but upgrades are plentiful and there are a lot of people on here who can advise. Pick the right car and you'll have more giggles than niggles!

[Bluebottle]

MW666 said:

boring question - have the good griff's out there got the niggles ironed out yet? and can owning one be quite painless now???

The only pain you will experience really is in your cheak muscles, this usually subsides after a couple of months, as your cheak muscles get used to the perminant grin you will have when driving

Go on You know you want one

[Jay Ayegees]

Both cheeks - facial and bum cheeks - one from grinning the other from clenching too hard.

[MW666]

must be people who know more about the chassis development on the griff over it's life span - and which model years got closest to the ideal set up? I heard a '92 chassis and a '97 chassis have little in common so i guess this must have changed again while the tuscan was being develped??

[v8sag]

MW666 said:

must be people who know more about the chassis development on the griff over it's life span - and which model years got closest to the ideal set up? I heard a '92 chassis and a '97 chassis have little in common so i guess this must have changed again while the tuscan was being develped??

Hi
The chassis stucture as such is identical throughout the years except for diff and gearbox mounts changing around 95 also an extra diagonal brace around the diff housing.
This is when they changed from rover box to a borgwarner t5(maybe a year earlier for the gearbox) and GKN to BTR diff,both stronger however don't let that put you off the earlier cars if condition dictates.
On the handling front and I'll probably get pooh hoo'ed,these cars can be set up to keep a Lotus very honest on the twisties,your budget only dictates how far you want to push the envelope.
Shocks,bushes,arb stiffening,brakes(assuming all steering components and geometery are spot on),in that order are what I would be uprating long before engine upgrades.
Plenty of info on these pages,pity the search facility is'nt as thorough as it used to be.

[Bluebottle]

[anonymous-user]

Agree with v8sag. You can also add in droplinks to the list he mentioned. You'll find info on all these by searching through here.

To really get it to corner on rails through, you need good people to provide advice, install it, and set it up...here's a start
http://www.track-car-solutions.co.uk
http://www.scaredstifff.com
http://www.topcatsracing.com

[RichB]

MW666]I heard a '92 chassis and a '97 chassis have little in common [quote said:

On the contrary, they are almost identical...

For chassis stuff there is loads on here so start searching the archives but to point you in right direction, search for Nitron adjustable dampers, poly-bushes for the wishbone joints, Steve Heath's drop links for the anti roll-bar. Then you can consider bigger discs/4 x pot calipers for better stopping power. The world is your oyster!

Edited by RichB on Tuesday 29th May 11:26

[Bluebottle]

dod said:

Agree with v8sag. You can also add in droplinks to the list he mentioned. You'll find info on all these by searching through here.

To really get it to corner on rails through, you need good people to provide advice, install it, and set it up...here's a start
http://www.track-car-solutions.co.uk
http://www.scaredstifff.com
http://www.topcatsracing.com

Also http://www.dulfordauto.com who are just down the M5 from you.

[dnb]

MW666 said:

...and can owning one be quite painless now???
Thanks in advance for any advice

As long as you redefine painless

Just coming to the end of a 6 month rebuild project. Mostly it's been fun, but now I'm tired, have too much other stuff to do at work and at home and am running out of disposable income to throw at the thing. I hope it has been worth it because I just want to drive the thing!

The suspension is all upgraded along with the brakes, engine & interior. All being well, it should be a niggle free car to pretty much everyone except me by next week.