John Earl Robertson

Since the day it was new, my 1984 RX7 GSL has been unsafe to drive. It has to be steered constantly, to drive in one lane. Serious cornering ? forget that, it will not corner fast. It cannot be set up for a fast corner & powered thru with the throttle. I have kept that car because it is so beautifully racy looking. To gratify myself, I have owned 5 sporty cars which will corner safely & delightfully, in grand racing style. Your kindness of telling me what Mazda did wrong to produce such an evil handling, dangerous, unsafe, car will be appreciated. That car is so dangerously unstable that I have never had the courage to run it to redline on a freeway. Remember, this car has a lifetime instability problem, since it was new. All suspension components & all steering components are like new. Please don't tell me to unnecessarily replace new/good components. Thank you, jer.

inittab

"evil handling, dangerous, unsafe"? I admit that the 1st gen doesn't drive itself but those a pretty strong words. Perhaps some good tires and an aligment might help the situation. Good luck!

Illswyn

I believe it's the recirculating ball steering that is the problem. If you mean the looseness at center, mine has it too. It's something you have to get used to, and from what I read isn't an easy fix.

But it is fixable, search the FAQ for steering info, I'm sure I read about it somewhere on here. Something you have to do to eliminate the looseness in the system.

If you have power steering, I assume it's the same issue. Being that I don't have power steering, I have ignored that info.

I can't believe you've had a car for 20 years, and are just now asking about the steering.

purple82

Most will disagree with the dangerous and unsafe comments. I've personally had both of my 1st gens over 100mph without any fear of the car doing something unexpected. Maybe you are experiencing problems with a faulty or poorly adjusted steering box. Have you tried driving other Rx-7s for comparison to see what might be wrong with yours?

MosesX605

My steering box has 107,000 miles on it and has almost no slop whatsoever. My SA tracks in a straight line at 75 MPH with my hands off the wheel. Hard cornering is a breeze as well, my car performs beautifully on the Solo II course and in the real world.

Have you taken the car in for service to be checked out? There is no way that a RX-7 in good working order is dangerous or unsafe to drive.

Locost7

cp racing . ca has a rack and pinion conversion which is the best upgrade I have done to the car to date and I have a TurboII conversion. Trust me!

vipernicus42

iTrader: (4)

The problem is when you're used to a car which has a power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering setup, the non-power recirculating ball setup might SEEM to be "unsafe".

Yes, there is quite a bit of play in the system, yes they SHOULD have put Rack and Pinion in, but the steering system is definitely NOT on the virge of flying apart in corners.

To learn more about the differences between Recirculating Ball steering and Rack and Pinion steering, go to www.howstuffworks.com and look up steering. This will explain to you why there is slop in the steering, and why it must constantly be adjusted on the freeway.

If you absolutely MUST rectify this problem, you're in luck. CP Racing in Toronto has come out with a Rack and Pinion kit for the first generation Rx7. The cost is about a thousand US dollars and includes pretty much everything you need to set your car's steering straight. You can find their site at www.cpracing.ca

My call is that you've probably been spoiled by cars with wonderful power-assisted steering racks and just don't trust yourself enough on a looser car. As the folks above have said, get some good tires and an alignment, and don't be afraid to put stress on it. The rack may have some play, but it is a solid system in that it won't break or put you into the ditch any more than a R&P would.

Have Fun
Jon

85rotarypower

Fast cornering is what the 7 was made for. If your steering was "unsafe" from new you could have a faulty steering box. I know for a fact I would trust this car more than a lot of other cars because I seem to be able to feel what the front wheels are doing more than any other car I have driven. Its a totally different experience from a car with power steering. Those are some pretty strong words to be using. You inadvertantly said the 7 was not a sports car, and many might get mad at that.

tmking66

If your steering is as bad as you claim it to be then you should have taken it back to the dealer when it was still under warrentee. I've got an 85 gsl with no powere steering. It has some play in the steering which is annoying but definately not unsafe. Go to the Mazspeed website (www.mazspeed.com) and look at the FACTS section. There is a detailed write up about how to correct loose steering problems in the first gen cars. Good Luck.

85rotarypower

I would feel that for the steering to be unsafe it would have to be so "vague" feeling that you have to turn the wheel almost an 1/8th to 1/4 turn to make any steering motion.

Feds

Have you had the alignment checked? There is a potential that your vehicle left the factory with not enough caster, or with too much cross alignment.

Is the vehicle nervous (darts from side to side) or does it constantly pull one direction or the other?

How about the roads you drive on? Are they excessively cambered? Rutted? Grooved? All of these may contribute to "dartiness"

You also say that the components are "like new." Is this based on the fact that there are few miles on the vehicle? Has the steering system been checked by a compotent RX-7 mechanic? Cars are built by people, and people make mistakes, so there is a potential that something may have been amiss from the factory.

How about the tires? Are they factory? They should have been replaced at least 3 times by now (6 years MAX for tires). Are they inflated properly, and properly ballanced?

There are only so many components in a steering system. Having a quallified tech. look over the entire system, from steering wheel to tire, should locate any problems.

John Earl Robertson

Thank you Feds. Your information is supurb, & it is the only one to which I reply. Your first sentence is the solution to my problem. Some newer production, newer than 1984 had more caster to "Improve Tracking." Is it possible that you can please tell me which year production had the correct angle caster & was safe to drive ?_____

Your second sentence is a beautiful intelligent question. Thank you for asking. Yes Sir, that is what it does, darts from side to side, has to be steered constantly. Makes me wish I had kept my old 1959 MGA Coupe which had a blower on it & would best all other cars on a skid pad, & race tracks. Tires Pressures: I have experimented with tires pressures up to 10 pounds more than the recommended pressure. Balanced ? Yes because unbalance makes me very sick.

inittab

this is a funny thread to which I will reply no more.

cdrad51

http://www.mazspeed.com/steeringgear.htm

Fuel524

ive never raced competitivly. but dont laugh i was a valet driver for a nice club and use to consistenly taken sports cars for a drive mind you the 7 is no ferrari but i love driving my car and pushing it as hard as it will let me and besides some snapback from the rear which is an easy fix my car does what i tell it. remember its not a porsche but it has beaten them im sure.

JIMMY54

iTrader: (2)

I ajusted my steering gear and it is TIGHT!! You can turn the steering wheel just a hair, and the wheel moves just a hair.

No play what so ever...

It is ajustable, why not adjust it?

MosesX605

English isn't your first language, is it? This isn't a slam against you, but you have some odd word usage. If you want to check the factory settings for caster/camber go to www.wankel.net/~krwright and click on his RX-7 page. He has scanned the '85 Factory manual into PDF format. It will have the factory settings and adjustment procedures.

The dartiness is caused by worn steering components. In my case by a worn idler arm and a bad alignment. After fixing both and doing some tweaks to my strut tops, (I moved them inboard and back, which is supposed to increase both caster and negative camber) my car drives straight and does not display any dartiness whatsoever.

Once again, something is wrong with your car and has been since you bought it. Who knows why you didn't get it checked while it was under warranty, but that's neither here nor there. The front suspension on these cars is very simple and easy to work on. Any competent (Or incompetent in my case) mechanic can diagnose and fix any problems you may have.

purple82

Yeah, no kidding. If you're going to ask a semi-stupid question, at least try not to be a jackass to the people trying to answer it.

Feds

Wow, Lots of helpful posts here... But I'll save that rant for later.

Since it is dartiness, here's my recomended course of action:

Have the steering system checked, and I mean everything. A worn u-joint would mimic a sloppy steering gear. If nothing is found to be bad, have the alignment checked, to make sure it's in spec. If it is in spec, have the shop add more positive caster, and/or add some toe in. This will, as you said, improve tracking. The tradeoff being slower turn in, and increased sensitivity to road slope, meaning the vehicle may tend to pull to one side on a highly cambered road.

Hope this helps you enjoy your 7.

John Earl Robertson

Thank you Feds. I have been doing that for years. No loose nor worn components exist. I will check every component one more time. While trying to find & correct the defect, I frequently read what a wonderfully stable & safe car is the RX7. Your first post wondered why I waited so long to solve this problem. Motorcycles technology became fascinating in 1983 with the production of the Honda VF750F Interceptor. My racing license made it possible to buy one of the first 400 of them. All these years, I have gratified myself by piloting the fastest production crotch rocket m/c,'s while my RX7 sat ignored & unused. Finally, I have decided to perfect my RX7, even if I have to buy an alignment machine. Again I thank you for your diligence & patience & generosity of helping me. Your grateful friend, John Earl Robertson.

Rx7carl

I think Feds has covered what you need to do. Can you tell us what the current alignment settings are? Maybe take it to a reputable shop and get it checked/aligned on all 4 wheels. It's possible the settings were not correctly done at the factory. Then provide us with the specs from the alighment. They'll give you a printout of what you have.

John Earl Robertson

RX7 Carl, PB&J Racing. Thank you. If I ever find an alignment mechanic whom I can trust, I will obtain those measurments & hasten them to you.
<It's possible the settings were not correctly done at the factory. > Thank you for your perception. I have always suspicioned that to be the defect. Respectfully,
jer.

joemkr

i have had my 84 gsl-se for 14 yrs and think the steering feels great. a little hard to steer if moving slow but otherwise the car handles great.
compaired to the handling of my 99 ford extendo van my rx7 drives like a sports car...lol

hammmy

John Earl
"Your information is supurb, & it is the only one to which I reply."

No one gives a rat's *** about your selectivity.

John Earl
"Yes because unbalance makes me very sick."

Hard cornering must give you the runs, then.

John Earl
"Finally, I have decided to perfect my RX7, even if I have to buy an alignment machine."

Odd that you'd be here, asking for free advice, if you have the resources and skill necessary to use that machine. Seems like someone of your obvious blue-blooded heritage could do better than asking the common folk.

Feds
"Wow, Lots of helpful posts here... But I'll save that rant for later."

This dude is a pretentious ***, and deserves far worse flaming than I'm capable of. Oh, and you misspelled "superb".

Tom

Unfortnately I feel your car is toast. The cost to repair such an issue will far outweigh the cars value. The only sensible thing to do is to get rid of it, before you get killed or worse yet- vomit all over yourself (and the car) while driving that 'darting fiend'.
Please use the button designated as PM at the bottom of this post to send me a private message. I'll be happy to come pick up that deathtrap of a vehicle.

And for you friend- I will do this free of charge.