Hi,
I have a few question about how to make first gens handle very well, for street driving but also posibly some club racing/ motorkana.

1) What suspension do you guys recomend (considering every one says tokico on this forum when I did a search but I have been told be my mechanic that he can't get them due to the tokyo earthquake a few years ago)?

2) How much does increasing rim size (from 13 to 14 or 15) and going to lower profile tyres help the handeling?

3) What tyres do you recomend?

4) What are poly bushings and how do they help?

5) What do the settings caster, camber and toe do and what are the best settings for a first gen.

Any help would be great,
thanks!

 

I just posted in a thread called "13 inch tires on a budget" recommending some tires. I'd just like to say that I recommend those Yokohama's if you drive the car year-round.

 

I would love the hear the rational for that.

 

1)sure, sounds like bs so just order them online.

2)lower profile tires are crisper and will not roll onto the sidewall as easily, generally offering better grip and feel. however, they will follow the road variances and you will feel everything since there is no flexible sidewall to absorb this. the breakaway characteristics are sharper too. this means that there is a sharp line between grip and sliding. the polepositions are prasied for having better breakaway characteristics so this migh help this problem.

3)bridgestone poleposition so3's are very popular. the sumitomo htr's are relatively cheap and pretty sticky.

4)bushings made from polyurethane. the give less deflection so that your suspension feels tighter and keeps closer to the settings you put into it (camber, toe, etc).

5)camber is the angle of the tire perpendicular to the pavement. you will want negative camber, or the top of the tire leaning into the car. caster is the alignment of the strut perpendicular to the pavement. the strut will always lean with the top toward the back of the car. the more caster the better highspeed stability and outer (load bearing)wheel's negative camber will increase as the wheel is turned. but on the downside, steering becomes heavier at low to moderate speeds. toe is the angle of the wheel to the body. toe out, the front of the wheel sticks out from the body more then the rear. toe in is the opposite. you will want toe out or negative toe at approximately 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch overall. you will need to tell the alignment shop because they might think you mean per side.

 

So Browney,
There is a complete suspension package that is used in the states for Pro7. It is inexpensive and is designed as a package.
The basic kit includes:
Sway bars
Tokico HP shocks
TMC- C400 springs
It is a great place to start and works really well together.

Good luck

 

I don't know but he has said that they haven't been able to order in any early model mazda shocks for a while. They are pretty well know rotary mechanics as wel, (in Adelaide probably the best rotary specialists).

 

funny since we can order them quite easily here in the USA

 

Well, I will go back and question him!
Where on the 'net do you order them from? I guess it's possible they no longer import them in oz, in which case I guess it would be expensive for my to import just one set.

Oh and by the way thanks for your help.

 

www.coximports.com they seem to have good prices

www.shox.com my friend keeps boasting that they were great when he ordered for his z

search in tokico and see what comes up

 

http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/
Go to the Mazda motorsports now called Mazdaspeed site, they have both the " blues" and Illumina's in stock. Ive used both and they are good stuff. The spec/ Pro 7 setup mentioned above is good I have a spec 7, if you go that route loose the rear sway bar for track use.

 

You can buy a full set (4) tokico blues (79-85) on e-bay for $179. Search on RX7 shocks - this is the cheapest I've seen them