So I'm building a dedicated track rat out of my old RX-7 GSL-SE. I'm hoping some of you 1st gen rx-7 gurus/racers have some advice on alignment specs and ride height (the coilovers on the front are easy, might have to cut a coil to adjust height out back)

Suspensionwise, this is what it has:

Ground Control camber plates (front)

Ground Control coilovers (front)

tokico illumina 5 way adjustable struts all around

Eibach springs all around

Suspension Techniques front swaybar

removed rear swaybar.

I think this is fairly close to what the spec7, PRO7 spec suspensions were although my spring rates are not as high. not positive tho.

The car is basically for track days & HPDE so full race specs are great.

Very interested in the conventional wisdom on the proper ride height and how to achieve it.

any help/tips appreciated.

thanks.

 

Rather than cutting the rear springs, a better option might be the Respeed adjustable rear perches. Just like the coilovers, they will allow you to set the ride height you want and you can select the spring rate you want. www.re-speed.com

They also have a tubular front swaybar. If you go with a very strong front bar like that, then I would advise putting a rear swaybar back on the car.

My car is set up for Autocross, and handles like a dream. Not everything will transfer over to a dedicated track car, but if you have any questions feel free to hit me up. Also, Billy from Respeed has a vast amount of racing experience and will be happy to offer guidance. You can send him a PM on this forum, his user name is Bwaits_.

Best of luck to you with your project.




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pro7 ran a 350F and 175 rear spring with dead coils. mine with uncut rears and 225-45-15's isn't low... the lower you go the more the rear suspension binds and the geometry gets worse in the front, ymmv!

on the street you'd probably want something like 300-150 spring rates, the rear at 175 is a little stiff.

alignment is dictated by the tires.

good place to start is zero toe in the front. camber depends, on the street -1.5 is good, on the track you'll wanna start at -2.5, and the pro7 guys were running up to -6!

in the rear, they were running -1 degree of camber, but that's an advanced move

 

I agree mostly with j9fd3s. My rear springs are cut and I have had no problems with rear suspension binding. The ground control springs (eibach I guess) for Pro7's have dead coils that can be cut without affecting the spring rate. The car is very level with 5-1/2" from the rocker panel pinch weld to the ground at all f 4 corners. -2.5° camber in the front gives even tire wear. Slightly more on the outside, so might want to go -3°. I believe that the -6° was an over-reaction, possibly because they started out on 185-60-13's vs 205's now. Front shocks full hard and rears full soft. The rear swaybar is removed and the front swaybar you describe is the same.

I have found this set-up to be very stable and controllable. A big change from my original Spec7 set-up.

Just my two cents

Carl

 

I agree with Carl . My only question is are you building a track day car or are you building for a specific class. If so you need to check the rule book and build accordingly.

 

Buy GForce Engineering's set up manual. You will end up knowing more than you wanted to know about the car and you'll find there is more than one way to skin a cat.

You will be able to use a lot of what you have for parts but you will end up closer to what the EP national champion car had on it.
http://www.gforceengineering.net

 

I have the manual, I think it is worth the money spent. I also bought the panhard bar and trilink from Jim. he will answer any questions you have about installing or setup,hes a very nice guy.

 

thanks for the input.

I'm not trying for any specific class. It's just a dedicated track toy. Maybe NASA Time Trials at some point but for now just open track fun. I don't need any kind of street/track compromise as far as ride and camber are concerned. I just want a nice neutral platform to go fast in.

 

Check my sig for my setup. the only thing that I change when I go from an autox totrackday setup is that I soften the shocks front and rear and I change to 15" wheels with 205/50-15 Kumho MX tires. the car handles quite neutral . good luck with your setup, and have fun.

 

sweet, mine should make it out sometime this year too... mine will be the loud one with the retarded stickers