I'm still debating which generation I want to get. it's gunna be FB or FC, because FDs are too expensive and I think they're ugly as sin. I know the FB is lighter, but the FC has more advanced suspension and handling components. How hard is it to make an FB handle better than an FC? Cause I like the FB body style the best.

 

FC is pig fat.

 

In autocross, it has been a few years since I've been beaten by an FC, and that was had a corvette engine and the course was wide open.

The fb is a much better handling chassis, in any state of preparation....


.

 

the FC has better steering and you can fit much bigger tires on it.

the FB is lighter and has a live rear axle (if you find that a good thing or a bad thing, that's up to you)

There is an FB around here that has a little more power than me and we're about even and he's been autocrossing his car a lot longer than me. He thinks when I get my car dialed in I'll take him.

in the end it's all about personal preference. Go drive a few of each and see which one you like better.

 

Real men don't need independent rear suspension, or rear disk brakes... the sheer mass of their cajones holds their cars to the road.

(grin)

 

EXACTLY!!!

 

Its harder to corner weight that way though. Can't move those around since they're attached...

 

Fb's handle way better

 

FC will own on high speed corners. SA and FBs are better to toss around at lower speed.

If you want handling get a 1st gen Miata. Best handling car I've ever owned.

 

than a Miata

 

Alright, I'm definitely getting an FB then, I was reading things about how the FC handling was like night and day compared to the FB.

 

The FC is heavier in general and that will hurt your maximum lateral grip. The FB can be made to handle great but you have to fix a bunch of stuff for it to be right. The FC will give you better ride quality because of the independent suspension, the FB can be made to put power down better with the live axle.

The FB just feels faster because it is a little harsher doing it. Classic example of it being more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

Final verdict: get a rotary powered Miata.

 

I don't think I've ever heard FD and ugly used in the same sentence. Automotive design experts still use that car as a study in good taste and purity. I have an FB because it was my first love . . . but I have no illusion that my girl is Miss Universe.

 

It also depends on what FC you get. I have an '88 SE which is the base model with four lug hubs. I have KYB AGX struts with Eibach springs. My FB is setup for autox with a few more modifications and less weight. Right now the FB handles better. If you get a GTU or TII with the better brakes, and LSD and do suspension upgrades I think the FC could handle just as well if not better.

+1 for the rotary Miata. That might be my next project.

 

a big point is that if instead of an FC but other first gens is the difference between manual steering and r&p steering. i LOVE the combination of my lightweight '79 manual steering, so much feel and feedback. i really have never driven a car that gives me as much feel as this car. it's very confidence inspiring once you get a feel for the weight shifts of the car. Like stated above, personal preference is gonna be the biggest issue. Go drive some cars dude!

my mom has a 91 S5 GTU and my 79 stock felt much quicker and was much more fun to drive through the canyon where i live where there are lots of slower 50 and 60 mile an hour corners. somewhere with the sweepers would be tough for my car to have kept up, BUT now i'm swapped so i murder that thing. but i drove both in pure stock form, only my car was 12 years older.

 

My suggestion is to shop around for both and see which one you can find in better shape for a better price. To me the FC is a lot more sophisticated. You can whip it around the corners and it stays put. The SA feels like it wants to break loose when put to extremes.

My next project is to swap a 79 transmission into my 90. With the extra 40-45 horsepower it makes and the 4.10 rear the thing should haul.

Deciding factor me is that the FC is much more balanced, better steering, smoother, MUCH better brakes, and more comfortable inside. That's why it is my every day car, and the SA is my toy.

 

me too!

my stock 79 is a hoot to drive around the mountains, 100% stock. the stock fc is WAY faster on the same roads

 

So I guess it comes down to what's more inportant to you - - speed, or enjoyment...

 

If it was blue with a hatch-mounted fuel cell, most of that car's old engine is in my FB

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say "ugly", myself (350z? That's one ugly m...) but the car could stand to have some actual creases here and there. The half-dissolved soap bar look is really bland.

From a technical standpoint, they're great cars. From an aesthetic standpoint, they don't do much for me. But, aesthetics are something that people universally will disagree on.

(dear diary: on May 8th 2010, Pete said something nice about the FD)

Regarding FB handling. Holy smokes. Panhard and 3-link. Do it. Even with rear springs close to double stock rate, the car understeers even under power, except for very tight corners where the limited slip causes the inside tire to spin. (Only fix for THAT is an open diff) I already have one camber bolt in each front strut(*) for more negative camber, I'm going to install the rest, and possibly relocate the forward control arm pivot up and out for a higher roll center and still more negative camber and track width. Spring rates are 250 front, 175 rear, and no sway bars. I can't take away any more front rate because the suspension still bottoms and I can't add any more rear because, really, I need LESS rear for more forward bite. So I'll just play with alignment.

* FC front suspension

 

Them's fightin' wurds, pahdner... I love the look of my 03 Z.

 

Um, widebody, 5-lug TII swap, and Re-Speed steering rack kit--problem solved (along with a t04 and a TII engine).

I would like to see the FC that can take me on

 

come down to a DC region auto-x sometime

if I'm not mistakin there is supposed to be a decently fast SSM FC up at phili auto-crosses

 

Lets go! I will be at NJMP for two days the weekend of the 29th-30th. I don't autocross anymore as I get bored standing around all day. Come to the track, I race HPDE (for now).

These are the guys I run with, but we need some more rotary representation: https://www.pdadrivingschool.com/index.php

 

I'm a racer and have never owned an FB or FC on the street. I have driven them from time to time and I would probably lean to an FC - especially a Turbo II. As far as the FD, back when they when they were new I didn't care for them. Now I really like them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Technically speaking an FD is the cat's ***. I also run hot and cold on the RX8...not a looker from every angle but when you pull the skin back....oh baby what a chassis.

In SCCA Club racing I would say that the FC is a better car. This is rules dependent but over all in all the FC has allot going for it that the FB doesn't. Specifically, aero, IRS rear suspension, bigger brakes, wider track and the ability to fit wider rubber without messing with the body too much. Weight isn't a huge difference maker on race track if the HP difference is significant and a car slips through the air better is faster.

Where the FB and the FC are classed together in Improved Touring S (ITS) the FC wins hands down everytime. Partly because with the FC's 13B makes more power than the GSL/SE 13B in ITS trim but also for all of the other reasons I stated. This is the case even though the FC is classed around 200lbs heavier. In fact the FC is one of the best cars to have in ITS period.

I race an FB and I love it. If I were starting from scratch.....I would be a tough call. FC's are neat cars but they are expensive to build.

In Solo II it seems like the FB was a better stock class car. Championships were won in C and B Stock in the 80's with the FB. The FC on the other hand seems to have had more success in the Street Prepared (ASP) and Prepared classes (FP and BP). Go to www.SCCA.com and down load a copy of the solo rules. In the back they list the champions and the cars they drove.