115 was pretty unstable in mine. I was amazed at the difference from just replacing the idler arm bushings. When your front tires are trying to go two different directions at that speed, it gets a little freaky!

 

The top speed i feel comfortable depends on which way the wind is blowing. Really Im not joking. If i am going into any head wind 80 feels a bit scary. The old 85 se has no problems getting there but floating to the left and right a bit can really get the adrenaline flowing. No wind and I am good to about 110 above that things get a bit out of hand. In southern Illinois there are many great highways that are unpopulated at 2 am. Dont think that i am doing this crap at 5 pm racing home.

 

I though I read a post on here the other day that said Mazda originally wind tunnnel tested the 1st gen to 150 mph, since its theoritical top speed was 145, and it was solid. I agree that old parts make for squishy rides, but I've had my '83 (stock 12A) up to 95 on the country roads near my house and it still felt pretty good. Not like my '99 Miata or my wife's '04 Subaru RS 2.5, but pretty good for an old car.

- David

 

mine used to "float" as you describe, but new suspension bits and a well designed air dam, fixed it. now the car is solid up to ~140(speedo is accurate to +/- 10%)

isaac

 

Mine is solid to about 130 with the stock dam. 15" tires and KYB all around.

 

How do you like the KYB shocks on the 7? I have been looking into those.

 

They're actually quite decent for the price. I went with the adjustable ones that're a little bit more expensive, but I think they're worth it.
I have a friend with Koni Illumina (something like that) on his and though the difference is feelable, it's not as much of a gap as you'd think.

 

i was 500rpms away from beeping 4th in my SA the other day, it felt fine, it is a little floaty, but it does have the factory shocks still.

 

gotta love BMWs...245km/h on the 407 the other day with my uncle`s BMW he imported from germany... forget what model it was though

 

My car was solid up to 140. Not stock though! eibach springs, tokico shocks, and decent tires. 205/50-15H and good poly bushings help more than you could ever imagine. (This was not on any public road)