AE86 coilovers in 83 GSL
 

Is this possible? I have looked at the front struts and they are near identical to AE86.
As for rear i know the AE86 springs have a larger diameter, so i was thinking something like an actual coilover(k-sport style).

Thoughts? comments? ...concerns?

something like this..
http://i42.tinypic.com/694ays.jpg

Is there a specific reason you want those? I guess my question is, why re-create the wheel when somebody else has already figured everything out?

http://mrcmfg.com/catalog/product_in...roducts_id=234


Also, you can't run a true coilover in the rear without major reinforcement of the top shock mount. That area is only designed to hold the shock, not the weight of the car. An easier option is this: http://mrcmfg.com/catalog/product_in...roducts_id=367

Happy upgrading. :)



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well once you toss out the stuff that wont fit, you'd be holding a pair of springs...

the hatchi has a different upper mount pattern, the struts even short stroke ones are WAY longer, the rear stuff is totally wrong, the toyoters run WAY more spring than we can get away with...

oh and its probably valved poorly anyways.

K-Sports suck big time to boot.

~T.J.

im not saying ill run ksports. Just that style of rear coilover..

no point, Re speed has the spring/height adjusters, and you can buy GOOD shocks (koni/bilstein) that easily fit, and its probably less money.

Looking at suspension upgrades makes me crazy because my current suspension feels like jelly and I can't afford the good stuff yet....

Re speed is stupid cheap and as good as you're going to get. Good suspension is in the dampers, so get some nice ones and have them valved if you want to see a real improvement.

Otherwise, springs are dumb, a 400lb spring is a 400lb spring, and an adjustable collar is an adjustable collar. They don't know what brands they are. Lucky for us RE-speed makes springs and collars that fit and are dirt cheap.

The real trick with FB suspension is finding dampers that don't suck. If you can get your mits on some bilsteins and get a quality valve job to your specs, that's about as good a setup as you can hope for. I may try that with my Koni reds down the road. I think Bilsteins tend to be a better shock generally, but koni's are ok, and you can have their internals worked out if you talk to the right people.

On my turbo miata a revalve made my bilsteins go from nauseatingly harsh and over-damped, to swallowing up 450F-300R springs with wife-pleasing ease. SHE DD's the car and loves the ride. If that don't convince you to look into custom valving, I don't know what to tell you.

sparknotes: WTF are you doing trying to adapt another car's coil-overs? what will you gain? There is no voodoo is suspension.

any idea what the parts numbers are for the koni and bilstein shocks. They don't list the FB on their sites.

[QUOTE=tasty danish;10612962]
The real trick with FB suspension is finding dampers that don't suck. If you can get your mits on some bilsteins and get a quality valve job to your specs, that's about as good a setup as you can hope for. I may try that with my Koni reds down the road. I think Bilsteins tend to be a better shock generally, but koni's are ok, and you can have their internals worked out if you talk to the right people.

On my turbo miata a revalve made my bilsteins go from nauseatingly harsh and over-damped, to swallowing up 450F-300R springs with wife-pleasing ease. SHE DD's the car and loves the ride. If that don't convince you to look into custom valving, I don't know what to tell you.

/QUOTE]

my friend built an FC with 450/250 springs an koni yellows, and it rides better than my stock 76,000mile FC..... its amazing.

it handles great too

Respeed has the specs on the Bilsteins that I am running in the back. I'm not sure how high on the list a solution for this is, but I do believe that it is on the list. :)

Based on what I am running, there is a whole world of options for us all over the price range. The circle track guys have some pretty impressive stuff, and most of that I think could be useful to us.

I'm sure that Sam will be hooking you guys up with something awesome before too long...




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Only reason i ask about AE86 coilovers is because I know where a bunch are.. im a toyota guy with a mazda.. and the the two cars (ae86 and FB) have strikingly similar suspension design. Adapting suspension parts is easy. It's a McPherson style front, so i could just bolt in a LCA from a S13 and run wide ass S13 stuff if i wanted with minimal work. You guys are going to hate me.. I drift this car, i need suspension that, if it breaks, can be replaced no problem. At the track kinda thing, and I dont see any other FB's drifting in western Canada..

No hate on drifters, just the attitudes some of them have. :)

I'm not sure what kind of suspension stresses are involved in Drifting, but I can't imagine that it could be much worse than racing in rough parking lots. I've been running Respeed gear for a few years, and have never had even a single failure.

Also, like I mentioned earlier, the fb chassis is not set up to handle the weight of the car on the rear shock mounts. A cage or further reinforcement of that area would be needed to run a true coilover on the rear. The adjustable perches get the same results without the added labor and weight of modifying the chassis.

Respeed has also assisted in the setup of some drifters (recommending spring rates, swaybars, etc.) and as far as I know they have been very happy with the results...

well.. ill look into FB stuff more.

Shoot Sam from Respeed a PM (dj55b) and just tell him what you are after as far as performance, reliability, etc. He'll find a way to get you there. That's exactly what I did when I wanted to build my autocrosser, and I am pleased as can be with the results.

drifting the FB is easy! really all you need is an LSD and a little power... its not like the s13 where you need to change everything on the car to stop making it floppy

adapting from other cars isn't a bad idea, but the FB is already like an AE86 with super short stroke shocks, so those don't work. the tension rods and LCA's might though.

i don't really know about the S13 enough to say.

the real difference between the AE86 and the Rx7 is the REAR, the hatchi has different geometry, so it needs a different spring rate even though its 4 link, and the car is about the same weight.

well.. all you need for an S13 really is a locked diff and coils..But i know what you mean.

Right now i have cut springs and the stock LSD and it is pretty happy when it comes to sliding and gripping...but it just feels stupid. So once i have the coin, ill be getting some coils.. Just wanted to see what people had to say, and what others used etc.. thanks for the feed back!

I've drifted mine for a while now and honestly I like bare boning it. Tokiko illuminas with eibach springs and the front and rear sway bars was my fave setup. At first it feels clumsy but with less power and more weight transfers it really brightens up.

I understand where you're coming on adapting suspension pieces and having spares, the thing of it is, all the REspeed pieces in question aren't exactly pit repair items. Sure swapping a tension rod here or there is cake but are you seriously going to be changing a busted shock at the track? I'm assuming you aren't a pro with a trailer and crew, but some kid (like me) that drove to the event and will be driving home.

Honestly man if you were going to get serious about drifting I'd adapt the FC front subframe into your FB. Use RE-speed rear suspension stuff, and using the FC subframe the sky is the limit on coil-over options, plus you get rack and pinion steering.

Look up the swap in the 1st gen section. It's gaining popularity and isn't reinventing the wheel as far as difficulty. I finally decided to suck it up and do it. It'll be a LONG while before it's done however.

I just put the Re-Speed rack kit in my car with coil overs front and rear, and still haven;t driven it yet... BUT just turning the steering wheel on jack stands is a night and day difference. plus the added stiffness and adjust-ability of the sub-frame is INCREDIBLE!

The Respeed Rear Coilovers are the same style as the 86 rears just installed some on my friends coupe

its just an adjustable spring perch with an adjustable shock

The fronts are ground control style with then you add an adjustable shock

they do the same thing as K2s or Tien coils

the problem with drifting an FB is lack of steering angle but an S13 front suspension swap should fix that if your up to fabbing up the necessary mounts

Have you bought the thearded collars from Respeed?

If so, how long did you wait for them?

I though I read on G-force engineering, sorry they are gone, that SN 95 mustang rear shocks fit in the back of a first gen. Being from a heavy car they are going to be able to deal with higher spring rates. There are also many coil over kits available for those if you chose that route.

Yes I have a long time ago. I don't remember how long, but it was a pretty standard wait. a week or so.

I have always been in the group of people that figured the shock top area couldn't hold the cars weight, but there have been several cars pop up lately that have been running one piece coilovers in the rear for some time, and even on the track regularly. This discussion was just had a few weeks ago with some great pics as well.

Isaac