cortex watts link

[jayh007]

I am looking to upgrade my rear suspension. My next step would be to add a watts link. I checked all the pros and cons of the big 3 (Steeda, Fays and Whiteline).
I was leaning to Whiteline even though it adds additional unsprung weight and is diff mounted. It just seems to be a cleaner design and easier to setup / adjust.
But I've been doing a little research and have come across a Cortex Watts Links unit. Similar to Whiteline in design yet it looks of higher quality.
I would like get any comments from any forum members who have a cortex or any second hand experience.

 

[Roadracer350]

I do not have any experiance with the Cortex unit but I do with the Whiteline. When I did mine I looked at price, build quality, ease of instillation, ease of adjustability etc. At the time I wanted an entire suspension system from 1 manufacture including the watts. IMHO Cortex, Whiteline and Griggs are all top notch kit and at the time the Whiteline system was priced better and would do everything I needed. Since instillation the car has NO noise, is precise and tracks like its on rails plus the Vorshlag guys beat the hell out of theirs and it has worked flawlessly! Any watts you put on (Whiteline, Cortex, Griggs)over the panhard bar you will be extremely happy! Whiteline, Cortex and Griggs are all diff mounted so it just depends on how much cash you want to spend. What other mods are you doing to the suspension or have you done?

 

[2013MustangGT]

Just to add. Terry from Vorshlag runs at ECR a lot. The raceway is hard on everything from brakes to suspension. I can attest to that having broken my UCA at this track. I too run the WL Watts link on ECR and beat the heck out of it.

 

[Roadracer350]

Quick question. What are your lap times at ECR? I drove a buddies P51 at Hallett and it felt super slow but according to him and the lap timer (1:26)it was pretty quick. I felt like I was walking.

 

[2013MustangGT]

I haven't had a timer since my Watts has been installed. Before with the WL PHB was right around 2:16, been going off GoPro for time. Before installing the Watts I should have been able to shave 10 sec. off. Now my goal is around 2:03. My engine is still stock, no tune. I have been trying to keep it stock while I remove weight. My goal is to take the car to TT3 by losing weight alone. Then take it to TT2 by adding power.

 

[jayh007]

I do not have any experiance with the Cortex unit but I do with the Whiteline. When I did mine I looked at price, build quality, ease of instillation, ease of adjustability etc. At the time I wanted an entire suspension system from 1 manufacture including the watts. IMHO Cortex, Whiteline and Griggs are all top notch kit and at the time the Whiteline system was priced better and would do everything I needed. Since instillation the car has NO noise, is precise and tracks like its on rails plus the Vorshlag guys beat the hell out of theirs and it has worked flawlessly! Any watts you put on (Whiteline, Cortex, Griggs)over the panhard bar you will be extremely happy! Whiteline, Cortex and Griggs are all diff mounted so it just depends on how much cash you want to spend. What other mods are you doing to the suspension or have you done?

Mods done
BMR LCA Non adjustable
eibach springs (lowered 1.5")
Steeda shocks
Strano Adjustable sway bar

After the holiday smoke clears I plan on doing the watts link, LCA relocation brackets, and set of hankook RS3. As soon as spring comes to the northeast I'll hit the track and take it from there. Should be interesting I've been racing open wheel cars that weight about 1200 with driver. Now I'm going to track a beast weighting 3500 lbs but just looking to have fun.

 

[Whiskey11]

Cortex makes quality kit and Filip, the owner, is 100% supportive and willing to answer questions. Filip was even willing to work with me when I purchased my Torque Arm to comply to some shitty SCCA rules that are no longer in effect. Frankly, if the Watts Link is as high quality as my Torque Arm is, it will be a great piece to have under your car.

I say go for it, and if you have questions, ask Filip. My only gripes with the way Cortex/Griggs/WL mount theirs is the addition of unsprung weight but considering I slung a Torque Arm under my car, I'm not sure how much room I have to talk! In my defense, I was/am worked into a corner with the Torque Arm, I needed the forward bite back from lowering the car but couldn't relocate anything but the axle side of the upper control arm or go to a Torque Arm. Decision was easy since it isn't easy to relocate the axle side of the UCA on the S197. The Watts link, I had no choice in either since the rules wont allow a diff mounted watts link in ESP or STX(STU) until January 1, 2014. Even with the added choice, if I go to the Cortex unit it will be because it goes with my torque arm better than my current setup and is stronger. Otherwise the Fays2 has more adjustment and is cheaper and less unsprung weight. The chassis mounted WL has some advantages for autocross under braking to help the car rotate some which is an added bonus.

Really though, either configuration is a substantial improvement over a PHB.

 

[Roadracer350]

Mods done
BMR LCA Non adjustable
eibach springs (lowered 1.5")
Steeda shocks
Strano Adjustable sway bar

After the holiday smoke clears I plan on doing the watts link, LCA relocation brackets, and set of hankook RS3. As soon as spring comes to the northeast I'll hit the track and take it from there. Should be interesting I've been racing open wheel cars that weight about 1200 with driver. Now I'm going to track a beast weighting 3500 lbs but just looking to have fun.

I'm the same way. I'm jumping in a 3500lb car after being on a 400lb bike with 200hp

 

[Roadracer350]

I haven't had a timer since my Watts has been installed. Before with the WL PHB was right around 2:16, been going off GoPro for time. Before installing the Watts I should have been able to shave 10 sec. off. Now my goal is around 2:03. My engine is still stock, no tune. I have been trying to keep it stock while I remove weight. My goal is to take the car to TT3 by losing weight alone. Then take it to TT2 by adding power.

Yea I am going to have Jason set it up then play around and see where I am.

 

[knownukes]

I am looking to upgrade my rear suspension. My next step would be to add a watts link. I checked all the pros and cons of the big 3 (Steeda, Fays and Whiteline).
I was leaning to Whiteline even though it adds additional unsprung weight and is diff mounted. It just seems to be a cleaner design and easier to setup / adjust.
But I've been doing a little research and have come across a Cortex Watts Links unit. Similar to Whiteline in design yet it looks of higher quality.
I would like get any comments from any forum members who have a cortex or any second hand experience.

Jay, I have the GRIGGS system and am very happy with it. It totally transformed the car. Being able to put to power down and corner both significantly improved.

 

[Roadracer350]

Basically what everyone is saying no matter what kit you get(Whiteline) you will love it over the stock panhard bar!

 

[NoTicket]

You can read about my Whiteline Watts link failure here.

I believe the cortex design is superior. It is a bigger pain however because there is some welding involved in the install.

If I could go back in time I would get the cortex, but the Whiteline replacement has been holding up well.

 

[jayh007]

You can read about my Whiteline Watts link failure here.

I believe the cortex design is superior. It is a bigger pain however because there is some welding involved in the install.

If I could go back in time I would get the cortex, but the Whiteline replacement has been holding up well.

Thanks for the info. I did read your post a few days ago. Do you think that the failure was in the design or a Manufacturing defect?

 

[Roadracer350]

Every manufacture has had a failure. BMR, Whiteline, Cortex, Griggs yadda yadda yadda. Yours had a bad weld, Whiteline fixed the problem and got you taken care of. I your still not happy with it pull the unit, sell it and buy somthing else. I installed mine the weekend before thanksgiving, drove 1200 miles across country, had thanksgiving with my parents and drove 1200 miles back with not 1 problem with ANY of the Whiteline components. Yours just had a fluke failure. From your pics you had perosity in the weld. It could have came from a number of things. The weld will look great from the outside but on the inside it could be bad. I know Vorshlag beat the shit out of their unit day in and day out and has had no failures.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

Jay, I have the GRIGGS system and am very happy with it. It totally transformed the car. Being able to put to power down and corner both significantly improved.

This. + a million.

I put a torque arm, LCAs and a watts from Griggs on my car and it's a completely different monster.

 

[NoTicket]

Every manufacture has had a failure. BMR, Whiteline, Cortex, Griggs yadda yadda yadda. Yours had a bad weld, Whiteline fixed the problem and got you taken care of. I your still not happy with it pull the unit, sell it and buy somthing else. I installed mine the weekend before thanksgiving, drove 1200 miles across country, had thanksgiving with my parents and drove 1200 miles back with not 1 problem with ANY of the Whiteline components. Yours just had a fluke failure. From your pics you had perosity in the weld. It could have came from a number of things. The weld will look great from the outside but on the inside it could be bad. I know Vorshlag beat the shit out of their unit day in and day out and has had no failures.

This is the truth. But I would not recommend this unit to others over the cortex because the cortex/griggs is a superior design. They are more expensive but I believe they are worth it. I am not unhappy per se but I don't believe it is the best option. I do like that it is quiet. And I really like Whiteline's bushings. But I just recommend the Cortex.

Fwiw I am getting the Whiteline lcas next month. I just don't think that they make the best everything.

 

[jayman33]

We've been running sales on our WL products for some time now, I run their watts link, LCA's paired with AST coilovers here in Germany. Already ran it on the Nurburgring (not for time) and Hockenhiem without a single issue.

 

[Roadracer350]

This is the truth. But I would not recommend this unit to others over the cortex because the cortex/griggs is a superior design. They are more expensive but I believe they are worth it. I am not unhappy per se but I don't believe it is the best option. I do like that it is quiet. And I really like Whiteline's bushings. But I just recommend the Cortex.

Fwiw I am getting the Whiteline lcas next month. I just don't think that they make the best everything.

Why? Because they are in double sheer? That's the only thing they have over the Whiteline unit. The roll center on the Griggs and Cortex is more adj but it's geared towards race cars and Whitelines unit is more for street. Also try and install a Griggs or Cortex in your garage on a Sat by yourself. You can make it double sheer easy and make some arms with rod ends but why? It works just fine the way it is. It's quiet, adjustable, and works just as good as a Griggs or Cortex unit.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

I installed a Griggs watts link with about $100 in tools no problem. Just had to borrow a cheap welder from a buddy.

 

[Powered by Ford]

It works just fine the way it is. It's quiet, adjustable, and works just as good as a Griggs or Cortex unit.

Ok can you prove this statement? Have you used either Cortex or Griggs units?

This kind of posting drives me away from posting. You get these guys that have only used one component and go around saying it's the best thing ever and they haven't used other setups.

It's like all the supercharger threads of which is the best? Of course people are gonna say theirs is. Same applies here.

Whiteline does not use a double shear setup which has disadvantages. Is it a bad product? No.

Just some constructive criticism...