mmmappajoos

Hi, I have an 84 GSL-SE and I知 going to start doing some suspension work. I知 planning on getting the springs from Racing Beat but I知 having a lot of trouble finding good quality shocks/struts. I知 sorry if this has been gone over many times but if anyone knows where I can get non-OE struts unlike KYB Excel-G that would be greatly appreciated. I also really don稚 want to have to do a coilover conversion unless completely necessary.

Thank you.

sa7

iTrader: (13)

You can get koni yellow shocks

For the front, get 85 mr2 rear shocks. They are the same size as our fronts.
For the rear, get mustang foxbody rear shocks.

mmmappajoos

Are 86 AW11 shocks ok? Someone is selling them nearby. Thanks for the response.

sa7

iTrader: (13)

Yes, those are the ones! you want the rear mr2 shocks for the front.

johnnyd69

Jumping in on the post as this is what I am planning on doing the front struts/rear shocks on my 85 GSL-SE. Just clarifying. You can get the above koni yellows and not have to do any modifications? I have searched a fair amount myself and was looking for Blues but can't locate any anywhere so thinking this is the next best thing..and doing the racing beat coil/springs.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Almost no mods. For an SA you will need to switch to FB strut tops. For the FB strut tops you will need a thin spacer because the KONI shaft is a little bit small than the FB strut top bearing opening. I think T3 has the spacers in stock, not sure if they sell them by themselves.

I started this thread discussing shock options and theres a lot of good stuff in it: https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...hocks-1131380/

klptk

iTrader: (1)

Adding on to what was already said, some people have reported having to grind down the MR-2 inserts to make them fit the stock strut tube. I didn't experience this problem and was able to drop them in as is.

mmmappajoos

What about KYB AGX? My friend runs (or ran, rip Corolla) them on his ae86. What are they like compared to KONI yellows?

GSLSEforme

I believe these are an adjustable strut/shock,and no longer available in this country,very likely discontinued. What is available are KYB Gas Adjust and they are easily overpowered by RB springs,initially they seem to work good,as shock wears in the ride becomes bouncy as shock struggles to control the stiffer spring. They are a good replacement using original springs,however. Best match for RB springs is Tokico Blues,really hard to find currently. Konis are a good substitute.

johnnyd69

Sounds good. Thanks for the info. I came across some New OEM Mazda front and rears for the GSL-SE. Vendor says they are equivalent to the Tokico's. Is that true? They are about 450 for all 4 plus shipping. My main concern is getting cambers right, and not having to do a lot of modifications. But also want to spend my $$$ wisely. I And wondering how those would be with those RB springs.

GSLSEforme

What vendor(eBay?)post pics/part #s of these oem shocks. If OEM they will have Mazda part #s. To my knowledge original Mazda struts/shocks have been discontinued for some time. Tokico shocks your vendor is comparing his to are near impossible to source

RB springs need a stronger than stock type shock to be compatible with them. Koni strut/shock is available and a good match for RB springs.

There will be no modifications necessary to install either and camber adjustment is done by rotating upper strut mount in one of
four positions before bolting assembled strut assembly back into car,very easy to do.

johnnyd69

Mazdatrix shows availability on their website and called them today to verify....on the oem mazda shocks compatible with a GSL-SE.

johnnyd69

And sounds good on the Koni's. If the yellows pop right in without modification that is great. My understanding was they needed to be modified to work and/or a spacer put in/things ground down etc...seems to be some conflicting info on what I have seen so far...granted I am new to this. Not working on cars but on working on a RX7....been a while since I was behind the wheel and back them I wasn't great at mechanical work...still not great but better by far and know my limitations and on what I can accomplish.

GSLSEforme

They have an oe design strut and shock on their website. If you're going with RB springs which is a good upgrade,you'll need a more substantial strut/shock than oe level. RB springs will overpower the shocks in a short amount of time.
If someone at Mazdatrix led you to believe what they're selling as oe strut/shock is comparable to a Tokico strut/shock, Blue or Illumina,this is not true. Tokico Blues and RB springs are a perfect match,but they are near impossible to find,next best bet is MR2 koni strut insert for the front and Fox Body Mustang for rear of car.

johnnyd69

Yep, that is what they said...didn't sound quite right and honestly, felt they were a little rude to me. I'm no dummy...Just asked a few questions and got short answers and felt like they thought I was wasting their time or something. Just wanted to confirm a few things. They said the oem was equivalent to the Tokico, which I had my doubts about. I think I will go with those MR2 and Fox Body strut/shocks. And the RB Springs. Hope it's not too hard to change put them in. Rears look easy, front's not as much. Appreciate all the help. Forums are great when people are helpful. When I get more into the groove of things, maybe I will have some knowledge to help someone else down the road and return the favor. And took off my front licence plate today as I have collector plate on it now, as it is not going to be a daily driver and only used on nice days and going to a few shows/cruise ins/etc. Looks SO much cleaner IMO.

GSLSEforme

Dealt with them several times,some good experiences and one not so much. Depends on who you get on the phone,like a lot of places,usually helpful.

Rear shocks/springs pretty straightforward. You'll need to remove interior trim over wheelwell to access hardware for top of shock.

Front of car will require a spring compressor,can be rented at a lot of parts stores,to compress oe spring to allow hardware at top strutmount to be removed. Make matchmarks for strutmount/body before removing strut from car. You may or may not reinstall in same position.
Before disconnecting strut from anything,reach in thru wheel well and use large channelocks or pipe wrench and break gland nut loose. Much easier to do now while strut is being held in place so you don't have to wrestle with it when it'not in car.
There are Two 17 mm bolts at bottom of strut that separate it from rest of suspension. Depending on where your car has spent its life,they may be very easy to loosen,or not. If not,PB blaster sprayed and left to soak is a good idea(patience=good)heat is your friend in event that bolts are stubborn.

When you get strut assly out,keep it upright. You will be putting a strut insert into the tube,if it's original,it's not an insert and full of oil. If you lay struts on their side,very good possibility oil will leak out. Once gland nut is removed,you can lift out insert,if it has one(it will look like your replacement,if not,pull complete shaft/seals out of strut tube and place in drainpan,pour out oil in strut tube. Rinse out strut tube with brakleen and air dry or wipe out.
Place new insert in tube and see if gland nut will install and hold insert in place,if it does,remove it and set aside. Pour @2oz of 5-30 engine oil into strut tube and slowly lower insert into tube. You want the oil to come up the sides of insert til 3"from top of tube.Take a wire tie and measure 3"from the top of it and cut off the rest,makes a dipstick to place into strut tube alongside insert to check oil level. The oil is to allow strut insert to transfer its heat into strut tube/housing.
Tighten gland nut and put new spring onto housing and reinstall strut mount. Every 1st gen is a bit different,you may not have to compress RB spring to assemble strut,spring is shorter/thicker than original.

When you put the strut into mounting holes in fender apron,orient the strut mount like you see in the pic. The mount is offset allowing four different adjustments to camber/caster. Oriented as in pic gets you best negative camber/positive caster. Drive car @ 200 miles to let springs settle and take it to be aligned. Toe in should be set at 1/16" Get a printout of before/after specs. You saved yourself some money by orienting strut tops for best camber/caster settings,not usually included in alignment charge. Since it's "just an old car" most places will only want to set toe. Make sure before you drive very far from alignment shop the steering wheel is centered-it should be.
Many here will say to set toe yourself with the string method,and you can do that,but you'll never know what the other specs are. This becomes important if you have a drift,pull to one side and trying to figure out what's causing it or you hit something and bend something,you have the printout of the "good"alignment to compare to what is showing from current alignment readings.Especially helpful if you can't see any bent parts.
Some pics...

johnnyd69

WOW. Above and beyond. Thanks so much for the helpful info. Will definitely come in handy. Many thanks. I plan on getting it done pretty soon. Do you find that the strut brace pictured makes a big difference? If so, in what way. And am I on the right track with those RB springs...they seem to be a good fit for what I want to do. You have been very helpful and I truly appreciate the time you took to show pics and explain things. VERY thoughtful.

GSLSEforme

Strut bar does help solidify front of car, on hitting large bumps,pothole,deviation in pavement,seems to transmit less of the "shock" to steering wheel. Steering input into turns a bit more direct,noticed more with tires with good grip.

This bar is not as good as others i've had that also bolted to the firewall,triangulating strut towers which really stiffens front part of chassis and helps suspension work better. There is a noticeable difference with and without the bar. This bar can be removed in couple minutes while keeping adjustment dimensions unchanged,to do maintenance work if needed. The upper dynamic chamber on SE makes it difficult to fit what is available out there. If i possessed better fab skills,i could make a triangulated strut bar. Racing beat used to make one that was very effective,discontinued some time ago. Search chuylers' build thread here for a pic of RB strut bar.

RB springs are a known commodity,have used them on several cars with like results,they can be trimmed to alter ride height to a point. There is a fine line on this as 1st gens with aggressively lowered ride height exhibit some undesired handling quirks from rear suspension.

There are other springs available from BG,Suspension Techniques that i have used before,that i eventually replaced with RB springs. BG springs for being "lowering" springs were too stiff,not very close to stock specs lb rating wise. Some like to stiffen their cars this way,i prefer doing that with swaybars front/rear and less stiff springs and strut/shock that complements the springs, keeps the ride on the street more civilized. The ST springs i tried were variable rate that gave a soft ride til spring compressed to a certain point at which time it stiffened considerably,they worked but didn't like body roll til spring compressed and stiffened up,prefer car to corner flatter. Variable rate springs in a corner allowed inside rear tire in a turn to pick up and lose traction under power,compromising LSD ability to do its job.

johnnyd69

More great info, thanks. Lots to think about and do. I have had a few other sports cars (2 honda S2000's, 1st and second generation) Audi TT Quattro 6 speed and a few others. Had quite a few RX7's back in the 90's.. 81,83, 88 convertible, 88 GXL and a 90 white convertible (which I loved but was a automatic so that ruined it for me)...all the others were manual transmission. Just wanted to get back into the rotary world and wanted to do it right and I think I nailed it, for me. Car is a lot of fun to drive and with a little work, basically getting up to date on service on a few things, it will be a blast and a joy to own and drive. It's a little tough as certain things are a lot harder to find parts wise than they used to be (which I understand why) But maybe that is part of the adventure.

johnnyd69

Looks like I can get those Koni Yellows for the front and rear for 496.00 with free shipping at Koni Market. Best price I found out there. And looks like they are a legit company so not too bad $$$ wise. Was expecting to spend more.