I've seen this done a few times on the eariler mustangs and havent seen any one do it to the rx7 so.... a couple hours in the machine ship and i whipped these up.

First i welded up the holes in the strut rod bracket and drilled them for a 5/8" bolt


Then I cut down the Stock strut rods, and threaded them.



A couple of parts later from summit, and herrs what i got.




I need a coat of paint to finsh them off, but the should help the suspension move freely. Also Im going to match these with a set of re-speed spherical lca bearings

 

WOW!! I give you mad props! Thats is a awesome convertion.

 

Nicely done. A different approach than the Mazdacomp ones.

 

+1, i got to peek under the green SA car, and you're right!

 

All finished...

 

Nice job! Now you just need to change those ball joints!

 

Noob question here. I'm trying to learn more about suspension components and my current knowledge is practically non-existent.
What would those do?

 

Very nice work! I like this a lot

 

very nice work there!

 

Max power like this!!

 

Control caster!

 

Also removes the added spring rate produced by the tension rod bushings (a basically unknown value since you can't really calculate the amound of "spring" added like you can with an actual spring) from the whole setup and would allow more precise fine tuning using just the springs and struts.
Thats the theory anyway haha

Cyipher, would you be willing to provide a list of what you bought at summit so others could do this as well?

Also forgive the stupid question but I don't have much experience with machining, how did you rethread the rods after cutting them down? Did you use a lathe or is there a die that big you used?

 

Nice. Did it add much vibration or noise due to the loss of the resilient bushings?

 

The rod itself keeps the tire located front to rear - which adjusts the caster (forward tilt of the strut)
The fact that they are now a sturdy adjustable rods makes it reduce the effect on the spring rate, since the originals are mounted in a rubber bushing.

Good job on getting the parts doen up nicely, must be nice not having to worry about that tension rod nut loostening up, mine did that all the time, made me worry.

I'm curious about vibration / road noise as well - as the previous post asked.

 

And what's up with the alternator placement?

 

I thought stock tension rod allowed for caster adjustment all the same? How much effect does it have on the spring rate? Even if it's not minimal, seems it'd be a constant, so not too big a deal.

 

Heres the parts list of stuff I used:

2x Sum-xmaxl8t
2x Cee-3422
2x Afc-36179
2x Aaf-all18570
1x Sum-sr5818

After the rod end were turned to size, they were cut by hand with a standard 5/8-18 die

 

Also heres a rough pic i drew up...

 

I havent road tested yet, but the rod ends are a teflon lined so they shouldnt rattle too badly. The car needs to be re-aligned before i go blasting down the street.

 

Thats where they go when you convert to the darkside, lol.

 

Thats what I said?? Maybe I didn't word it clearly enough

Anyway, thanks for the parts list Cyipher!

 

this is the best summation, from the 1986 training manual

 

Ok, that makes more sense. Althought I feel like even the A-arm style would still want to rotate back a bit, rather than just purely slide, and if bushings are soft enough they'd allow the rotation to occur. It just wouldn't be as drastic as I-arm. Perhaps A-arm bushings have a metal rib inside to keep the rubber from compressing from side to side.

 

The image j9fd3s put up makes sense and was my interpretation of it all. However; I was confused about the phrase "spring rate" in the earlier posts. I believe it meant the spring rate of the rubber bushing; not the spring rate of the actual strut springs. I think others were confused as well.

Just looking for clarification.

 

Correct, I was referring to the added resistance or "spring" (I'm sure there is a better term than what i'm using) that is added by using bushings on the stock tension rods. Getting rid of those bushings allows you adjust the spring rate using just the springs. This might be most beneficial for the guys who race and want to really fine tune their setup...
Although I'm sure I've just opened myself up to a huge argument about theoretical numbers etc