I'm planning on replacing the brake hardware of unknown condition next week, so I'm putting together a shopping cart... I know it's usually a good idea to replace the bearings when you have to pull the hubs off and as far as I'm aware all of the replaceable parts in the assembly are as such:


Front: Inner bearing, outer bearing, hub
rear: Bearing, hub

I see an availible part as a "wheel seal." One being listed as required for each wheel... What is that, and why isn't it in my Chilton's?

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Replacing the rear shocks and front strut inserts without replacing the springs, good idea or a bad idea? (Full sag, orig. springs on a '79)

Also: What can I expect to break pulling out the old suspension components?


Thanks,

 

You can not replace the rear hub. It is part of the axle, and won't need it. Unless your getting noise or vibration from the bearings you don't need to replace those either, however it is good insurance. Same with the fronts but again, better safe than sorry.

The front hub is part of the new brake rotor, so it will be replaced anyway. The wheel seals are rubber seals that go in after the bearings to keep dirt out and the grease in.

If your going through the trouble of replacing all the shocks, you might as well do the springs, especially if they are sagging. Sagging springs are worn out and will not properly control the cars ride, height and will contribute to inconsistent handling. Check out www.re-speed.com for lots of nice suspension goodies. If there is any chance your going to upgrade your suspension look there first. You'll quickly outgrow anything else.

Expect to break every bolt on the car. Some will go quietly, most will put up one hell of a fight. Get a few cans of PB Blaster, a decent torch, angle grinder with cutting wheel and enough nuts and bolts of appropriate grade to replace all of the ones on the car. Might as well since your yanking parts off anyway.

 

Noted!

I'm not enjoying the pricing for replacement springs; does anyone have the physical dimensions and spring rates for front and rear? I'm willing to get something that's close enough-- that's more reasonable in price-- (Or if anyone has had success using springs for another vehicle in a SA it'll save me some juice.)


Nevermind, I didn't read the pricing on a RB spring set correctly. Carry on! :P

 

the breaking every bolt thing depends on where you are, an original CA car will be dirty, but clean up to look new underneath, they just don't rust here

 

Second RESPEED suspension. I just did mine. the parts are a work of art and Billy is top notch. the improvement in handling is unreal! I didn't break any parts. but I suggest that you invest in a 14mm goose neck box end wrench for the lower bolt that holds the brake rotor/hub backing plate on. you wont be able to use an impact gun or socket wrench on most of the front, expect to tap on a wrench to loosen bolts. you will need an impact gun to install/uninstall the front strut insert.

 

I'll probably just order the whole kit from the source. I want "red" bushings anyway, it's easier to see when they're getting shaved. PST used to make a whole-car poly bushing kit for SAs and FBs, but... Apparently they do no longer.

 

You can get the red ones from RE-Speed. Billy just needs to order them. Definitely a great upgrade, they really improve the quality of the ride and control.

 

i like the black kit... no noise

 

I remember PST, I bought their bushing kit long before Respeed was around. Now, I go to Respeed for everything I need unless they don't sell it. Great people to work with.

You might want to think very hard about what you want out of the car before you start ordering parts from Racing Beat. There stuff is okay for a decent cruiser, but if you want any sort of real performance out of the car then you really need to look at Respeed. I started out with all Racing Beat products, but quickly outgrew them and became disappointed with the low level of improvement that they provided. The cost of Respeed parts is slightly higher, but the increase in performance is unbelievable. Well worth the difference if you are looking for performance. There are actually quite a few RX7 enthusiasts who started off with RB, then later upgraded to Respeed products.

But really, the best thing about Respeed is the customer service. Start up a dialog with Billy (screen name is re-speed.com), and he will walk you through the process of upgrading your suspension based on what you want out of the car. He helped me with mine, and I couldn't be happier with the results....



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