greetings,

my question is why are most here who are/have upgraded their suspension/handling not so concerned with the rear bar (versus the front).

i know a alot depends on type of driving, and in my case it is strictly for street. the rb package includes springs, front bar and rear bar which seems never to be used by those here who bought the same package (either kept the stock or removed altogether). i'm thinking i can buy the parts separately, skip the rear and spring for new control arms, if it doesn't matter much.

also are there any followups for those who paired polygraphite bushings with the racing beat front bar? i know supposedly they do not fit.

thanks,
norman ng

 

there are mixed oppinions on the rear sway bar. if you take it out you will have a little more front end push when you go into a courner, but it wont be quite as tail happy, and its just a little easier to control. if you have the rear sway bar in then the back end just kinda kicks out on you and you dont have that much feel when its gonna happen. so its up to you, put it in and see how it drives, then see the difference when its out, then decide what you like better

 

much appreciation but i'm more interested in knowing whether it is worthwhile to even consider upgrading rear sway bars (stock vs. racing beat's). in my case, it's either replace or leave the original there. any opinions?

thanks,
n. ng

 

With a 25mm front bar and no rear bar I find that the amount of body roll is minimal, likewise minimal understeer. I am going to try putting the stock rear bar bacl on just 2 ce what happens but i really am happy with the handling without it... but i guess it is a no cost mod to try with and without the stock rear bar

 

This is a question that I'm interested in too.

I'm going to be trying an RB rear bar in the spring (however it is an old one and is apparently non-adjustable), but I don't have the front RB bar... I'll be installing RB springs as well to go with my Tokico HP's ( I have shitty cut springs now).

My feeling to this point is that my car is not neutral enough - when I'm autocrossing, my car initially understeers too much. Furthermore, my open diff keeps the rear end from stepping out easily and just spins the inside wheel. The only time I have the tail-happy problem seems to be when the rear end hits a bumps and binds up. I feel like my rear end is too soft and leans too much.

How the RB springs will affect this I'm not sure - my cut rear springs may be really soft as it is now and affecting my opinion. I'll be trying both the stock rear sway, the RB, and none at all with the RB springs. I'll probably do poly bushings as well in the front. I have a feeling that what I like for autocross/slow speeds may not be what I want for high speed corners, in the rain, etc. I'm thinking I'll be doing some experimenting.

 

hm, the more research i do, it seems that an upgraded rear bar may be an excessive luxury for my streetdriving purposes...

silverrocket, i am located in montreal and i will likely be ordering all my parts soon. if you are interested, i might consider the rb package and sell you the rear bar at cost (save you shipping and it IS adjustable) -courtesy from one rx owner to another.

so finally, is it worthwhile to get new control arms (i.e. will i notice a difference daily driving)?

thanks,
norman

 

Thanks for the offer, but it's cool, I'm actually getting the rear bar from a friend already... apparently it's an old RB bar, and is non-adjustable (I know the new ones are adjustable).

Were you thinking of the RB adjustable camber control arms? Those would be sweet as hell.

 

nchn- what is the RX-7 scene like in Montreal. My son is coming over for a year at McGill and he will want something to get around in.

I added both stronger front and rear bars to my 1985 along with all the ususl shock,coil, and bush upgrades. After driving on rural roads I went back to stock rear as the handling was too harsh unless the road was perfect.
With stock rear I get a fairly neutal respone, with a stiffer rear bar the car becomes twitchy when cornering with a variable road surface or slight corrigations. My experience is on 85kph advisory corners being taken at 100-110kph- typical rural two lane roads resurfaced in small patches rather than a whole section.

 

wot sort of alignment settings are you guys running? and how does the car handle with them?

Ive got 2.5 neg camber (possible as i have extended lower control arms)

6 deg positve castor

0.6mm toe in.

with uprate springs and shocks (still soft in the rear)and the 25mm front bar (no rear bar) i find this to be a nice neutral handler...

the car is an 84 model 12aT with a locked diff

 

I tried removing the rear bar on a stock setup and I did not like it. Found an old ajustable bar and slapped that on at a setting slightly softer than stock.

with my current setup I completely removed the bar.
(stock front bar with poly bushings 350 lbs/inch front and 200 rear)

Point beeing, you must try different setups to figure out what works the best for you and your setup.

Considering you are in the montreal area, and I am not using my ajustable bar, perhaps you would like to put it on your car to get a feel of the different settings.

To be honnest it is very far from beeing a hot spot for rotary vehicules. As far as shops are conserned we are on our own . The closest rotary specialized shops are located in the toronto area ~5-6 hour drive.

We did get a Quebec Rx-7 club (website in sig) stated at the end of last summer. So we are trying to round up ALL the Rx-7 owners in the area..

So ncmn you know what to do.
Pass by the site's forum
We can setup a date to do some swaybar testing.

 

silverrocket: no problem.


montrealer: thanks for offer and quebec club info. i may take you up on in but it will take awhile. my car is in storage right now and my good fun will be trying to install as much of my upgrades as i can myself -springs, shocks,rb front sway, front/rear bushings and maybe new control arms (mazdatrix replacements). also i am choosing tokico hps (again i feel illuminas will be overkill for my driving purposes). i was planning to shop across the border (shox.com) but do you know of any places in montreal with fair/comparable prices?

shinjuku: "camber"..."castor"..."toe in"...whatthehell?!?! sorry you have me confused with a REAL monkeywrench. i'm learning as i go along. i knew my exhaust needed replacing when the cats glowed red; i figured suspension and handling needed to improve when i the car didn't do what i wanted it to around a local curve (the chemin ste. marie overpass on the 40 towards the kirkland theatres -montrealer may know what i'm talking about). seriously though one step at a time for me. mine's an 84 gs.

paul: i can't say i know of any specific rx7 gatherings here in montreal. i have sighted several vehicles this past summer(more 1st gens here than anywhere else i've been in canada so far) but again no drivers. nonetheless i always keep my eyes open.

everyone else: thanks for advice. i'll post as things move along.

regards,
norman

 

Well what do you know I live within 2 km from that bend.
I dont think it is a good reference point because of the "speed bump" in the first 1/4 of the bend tends to unbalance the car.


I got my shocks at www.europarts.qc.ca really nice guy and he is an offcicial tokico dealer. located just noth of of the 40 off L'acadie blvd.

Price for shocks ~130 for hp's and 260 for Illuminas if my memory serves me right.
I must get new rear shocks and that is where I will go.
never really shoped around though due to shock warrenty reasons...

I try as much as possible to order from this side of the border to save alot of hastle and "hidden" costs. your never shure how much the part will cost in the end. Expect at least 2X the price in USD and thats how much it might cost you in CAD.

 

Another site with good prices on the Tokico blues is www.driverfx.ca

I found the fronts for $91 each and the rear were $55 each.

 

ncmn- in answer to your original question I suggest keeping to the stock rear swaybar, for street use its provides good handling and not replacing it is free.

Most aftermarket shocks and coils are adequate for strret use, it really comes down to personal preference.

The stiffness of the springs tends to be the major factor. I drive on rural roads so a bit of softness is good, the RB coi;s are a good compromise at 145/110 lb compared with stock100/95.

I like a little understeer but less than stock, the stiffer front swaybar and coil improves handling to what I preferfor street use. The point is to check your steering, it can get worn and become vague especially on undulating surfaces.

 

ncmn- have just read the next thread - improved steering. I suggest it may be helpful to you