Matt_S3_RX7

Hi guys Im looking for some advice about my suspension setup?

Ive done a fair bit of searching on this forum and found some conflicting feelings towards Polyurathane bushings?

My OEM bushings are perished throughout and the shocks i assume are stuffed also as its like riding in an old wooden wagon (very very bumpy) even little bumps in the road are felt throughout and the rear wheels fail to put power to the road if its uneven.

My car is a 1985 series 3 with lowered after market king springs http://www.kingsprings.com/Default.htm (previous owner) and i assume it still has OEM shocks?

I want to smooth out the ride and i assume this can be done by replacing the suspension bushings with Polyurathane bushings and new gas cartridges?

I read that some people like to mix OEM and Polyurathane?

Any input or DIY jobs would be great.

Cheers Matt.

Kentetsu

Sounds like you just need better shocks/struts to tame those springs. Take a look at Tokico Illuminas. They are adjustable, so you should be able to get a good match for those springs.

Take a look at www.re-speed.com

As far as the bushings go, get the urethane. Complaining about a harsh ride or road noise in a twenty year old sports car is just rediculous. I've got them in mine, and they work great. I did not notice any increase in noise or anything. Changing them out can be a real pain, so if you're going to do it you might as well do it right, eh?

Rogue_Wulff

Check the clearance between the rear axle and the bumpstops. Often times, a lowered car will bottom out very easily due to very little rear travel. I trimmed ~1" off my rear bumpstops, and improved the ride dramaticly.

Matt_S3_RX7

Cheers for that, ill be replacing what i can with the polyurathane, i can get most of the parts here reasonably cheap.

Ive checked the haynes manual and replacing the rear shocks looks easy enough (fingers crossed) but i fear ill need a special tool for the front shocks, correct?

Im looking at replacing the rear shocks this weekend so ill take a few happy snaps and well see how i go?

I dont expect a noise and bump free ride out of a 20 year old car either, but anything would be an improvement, just want to keep the wheels on the ground for better performance.

cheers matt. Australia

MosesX605

You'll need a spring compressor to safely remove the spring from the front strut assembly. At least, you do in theory. My Racing Beat springs are short enough that they are safe to remove without the compressor. The strut is a bitch to get seated again without compressing the spring though.

Matt_S3_RX7

Hey guys i replaced the rear shocks on the weekend its done a world of good. the rear left shock made a scary sound of leaking fluid when depressed by hand after i removed it!

Its the first time ive been able to get under the car since ive had it, i was shocked to see the state of the rear sway bar!! it was missing rubber on one side and has what seems to be a makeshift shaft with a used shock bushing on it? plus the bushings are rooted!

ive posted some pics just so you can see how bad it is! ill be replacing the inferior chassis linking shaft and also putting in new poly bushings once its been cleaned up.

The front is pretty much the same as the rear and its a work in progress.

But the rear shocks went in fine and are working well.

Matt

Kentetsu

Measure the length of the end link, then go to a parts store and pick up an aftermarket one. I don't know if you have Energy Suspension parts down there, but I paid like 8 bucks for a set on my car and they are very heavy duty and include urethane bushings...

Matt_S3_RX7

We have something similar down here but i dont know if they are very "heavy duty" but will look into it cheers mate.

Matt.

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

Those are the correct bushings, however, they aren't installed properly, so basically the bar isnt doing all that much, its just along for the ride. Once you replace those you should notice a significant difference.

jgrewe

iTrader: (1)

You'll notice some oversteer probably with new bushings on the anti-roll bar. Just keep that in mind when you pitch it into a corner when you're done.

Kentetsu

Good point. For that matter, if you still have the stock front swaybar, a lot of people recommend complete removal of the rear bar. I did this until I installed the RB front sway bar, at which time I also reinstalled the stock rear bar...

MosesX605

I tried two sizes of rear bar and didn't like the results, even with a large front bar.

Then again, Kentesu has an '85 so his rear suspension is slightly different than mine and supposedly more compliant.