the FUN

Hey Guys / Gals

My suspension is starting to go - sagging on road dips. 94 FD with usual bolt on's, nothing too crazy. Car is in a different state so I don't recall what my precise set up is. I believe Bilstein shocks and Purple colored springs (not sure of brand) last installed 10 years ago (yes I don't drive the FD much). Car is lowered, but I'm not sure about the drop. I am asking someone to take off wheel to check on what I have this weekend.

Since I don't track the car, I'm looking for a setup that handles well, but is comfortable (think "touring" suspension), and still good enough for a little street fun.

Coilovers may be overkill, but if forum consensus is that a particular coilover setup suits what I'm looking for, I'd consider it.

Thanks in advance!
-Steve

druggist

iTrader: (4)

Ohlins

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Tein Flex Coilovers

purerx7

iTrader: (61)

I have a set of Tein Flex coilovers in right now I can do for 1000 shipped, limited miles and includes our full one year warranty.

Feel free to send me a PM, we have sold over 75+ sets of coilovers to customers around the world, we can help find a set of coilovers that perfectly matches your needs.

ZDan

Ohlins damping is incredible, they are fantastic for soaking up bumps and road imperfections, but the spring rate is a bit much for street only. Also the 11kg/mm spring rates for both front and rear makes the rear wheel rates 28% stiffer than front which will make the car more oversteer-prone. For street, I would get softer springs for the rear. 8-9kg/mm (450-500 lb/in) rear springs would give better front/rear balance and would be more comfortable on the street.

I went the other way with my street/track FD and put 13kg/mm springs up front (standard 11kg/mm in back). VERY happy with the Ohlins, the ride is still much smoother than it had been before with 9kg/7kg lower-tier coilovers that were on it previously.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

I'd do the following:
- new Konis
- Tein H Tech springs mounted on the middle perch of the Konis to set ride height to a good position
- new OEM upper shock mounts from Ray Crowe
- new rubber bushings between the spring and spring mount where the spring mates with the spring perch on the shock
- any new pillow ball bushings that you might need

That is what I did 2 years ago after a few different sets of coilovers and various other suspension configurations that I played with over the last 14 years on this car. Very happy with the ride quality, performance and balance of the car. On NYC streets, most of the coilovers above would be a bit rough IMO/IME. I grew up in Nassau county and spent my adult life in NYC so I know the streets in that area quite well and what I consider a good riding FD.

the FUN

Thanks for great responses so far. Doing research on all suggestions to see what makes sense for me. Gracer7, I live in manhattan, but don't plan on driving much in the city. My FD is back in central nj. Given that the roads / highways are smoother there, do u still recommend your setup? Or would coilovers be preferable?

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Ah, in that case it would depend on you preferences really. I haven't had a ride in an FD with the Ohlins or the Tein Flexs so can't accurately comment on how they compare to my setup. However, some things that I've learned is that you gain very little in real world, enthusiastic street driving by having an overly stiff suspension.

I ran the Ground Control setup on the Konis for a while. I experimented with spring rates 500f/400r, 550f/450r, 450f/350r. The stiffer the spring, the less the body roll but the worse the ride comfort on irregular roads. The stiffer the spring rate, the less grip in damp and wet conditions.

The GC and most other coilover setups do not use the OEM rubber upper shock mounts so that results in more NVH and are generally a bit harsher on expansion joints.

The setup I'm running now is very comparable to the Ground Control setup I ran previously. The Tein H Tech springs are 400f/300r. The OEM upper shock mounts are re-used. The result is better ride quality on varying roads and better grip in the wet and less NVH overall due to the rubber upper shock mounts. Comparing back-to-back, the steering feel and response to inputs is a bit slower on this setup compared to the GC and Tein HA that I ran since the suspension is softer and the extra rubber damping of the OE shock mounts but it still works well and feels stock-ish in comfort levels but with less body roll and brake dive.

Comfort and ride quality will vary depending on how good the coilover package - i.e. how good are the shocks, how stiff are the springs, how well the shock valving is paired with the springs and how well the valving deals with road irregularities.

Central NJ roads are pretty nice iirc so you might be happy with something like the Ohlins or Tein Flex. You will likely feel a bigger difference with those than by switching to the setup on running. I used to put a good 7-10k miles a year on my FD so the change in suspension setup was very welcome at the time. If you don't drive the car that much where the daily grind of mediocre roads annoy you, you may enjoy the Ohlins more than my recommendation.

The most annoying thing about suspension selection is that comfort is subjective. What I thought was comfortable in my 20s is not the same as what I'd call comfortable in my 40s.


GoodfellaFD3s is in NJ also and he is running the Ohlins so maybe see if you can get a ride in his car to see if you like it. I think he and Igor at IRP in NJ can source them for you also.

data points:
- pomanferrari had the Tein Flexs (iirc) and switched to the Ohlins and didn't notice a huge difference.
- hadavette is running Ohlins and seemed to thoroughly enjoy them here in CA
- another member whose name i forget in chicago is running Ohlins but felt they were a bit rough on his roads. I suspect this might be due to the high spring rates.

you can probably search this section for their posts to do more research on the topic and read their impressions first hand.


I think my next setup is going to be a custom valved Bilstein from Fat Cat Motorsports. He's local to me and we've been talking about an FD application but all of my car budget is going into racing Spec Miata these days so I never followed through.


PS - the reason I recommended the Konis rather than the Bilsteins with the Tein H Tech springs is b/c the springs have the car sit rather high at the stock spring perch height. The Konis have a 3 position spring perch. Setting the spring perch in the middle position yields a 1/2" drop compared to the ride height when using the upper spring perch. I don't think I'd recommend the Tein H tech springs with the Bilsteins b/c of that.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Just get the Tein Flex and call it a day. You can even add the EDFC where you can adjust the dampers from the comfort of your driver's seat.

I would definitely suggest Ohlins if the car will see track time, but Ohlins are a little overkill for just street driving. You won't be disappointed with the Tein Flex.

Natey

iTrader: (19)

I say this all the time and it's not because I have a set (well maybe a little), it's because I did a ton of research before spending my money. I probably rode in 2 dozen FDs before I settled on Zeal.
Made by the same company that makes endless brakes, rebuildable in the USA, not too harsh yet they really woke the car up at the track, and the build quality is on par with anyone.
Rishie (ARDT2 on this site) is an endless distributer and I'm sure he can get you a great price.

https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-w...lovers-602428/

HadaVette

iTrader: (3)

I really like my Ohlins. To me, they ride a bit more comfortable than the previous Koni / H&R sport combo that I had. Really surprising with the higher spring rates. I do like ZDan's suggestion for softer rear springs. I disconnected my rear sway bar instead.

Good luck!