Alright, so I don't even know where to begin, I want to upgrade almost everything, and I've got a few questions.

First of all, do you think RB's springs, and sway bars would be a good upgrade, if not, what would you recommend? I'm not looking to drift ever, perhaps one day I'll have some serious HP, and would like to make this car a demon and tear up Road America and autocross tracks, but right now, just an improvement, you know? Do you think better springs and sways would be enough?

Next up, struts, I don't even know where to begin, what do you guys use? What would you recommend? Koni, Tein, what?

Third, bushings, who makes a good bushing kit that covers all bases, I mean every bushing and joint and little stupid thing on this car is just gone. Who makes kits, even?

Also, steering. Where do I begin, I know there is at least one kit out there for it, any others?

Thanks in advance for the comments, my checkbook is eager.

 

I like the racing beat springs, decently hard but not rediculous.

Many people go with Tociko Illuminas or Blues (HP i think)
The illuminas are 5 way adjustable which is super nice, the blues not but they ride decently for non adjustable.

I know RB has bushings, not sure if anyone has a kit, someone else may know

let us know what you decide and how it works out.

 

It'll be awhile before I install anything, as I have to do some fuel tank work and get a new radiator, yet. It's also winter.

 

I would go with the coilover setup from ReSpeed and they also have a complete bushing kit... And if you want to go all out, they have a full blown bolt in and go rack and pinion kit

 

How is the ease of install of all those kits, you think?

 

Get the racingbeat suspension package, then the poly bushings and HP shocks from respeed

 

Since there are so many upgraded parts options these days, one needs to determine what the car is going to be used for the most and what compromises one is willing to make on comfort. Once that's determined, then a serious look at the budget and how much adjustability is in order. Personally, if I were to start from the beginning on mods for the widebody, I'd sit down with ReSpeeds catalogue and order most everything from there.

Now, to qualify the comfort comment, that comes down to spring rates and shock/strut choice. 400 lb front springs and Illuminas set on the stiffest setting is not street friendly. 250-200 lb springs and the middle setting are. If I were to start again, I'd go with ReSpeeds race coilovers and springs, and his adjustable front sway bar. I already have his front big brake kit and camber plates.

What I have on the widebody so far is:

Illumina 4/8way adjustable shocks/struts
Eibach Pro springs
Full set of black Suspension Techniques poly bushings. The blacks are better than the red since they have graphite in the mix for lubrication and don't bind like the reds can
ReSpeeds camber plates
ReSpeeds 4-pot big brake kit for the front
Suspension Techniques sway bars Rear bar is adjustable, nice feature for adjusting over/understeer (with heim joints)
MazdaComp adjustable lower control arms, (with heim joints)
MazdaComp adjustable tension rods and brackets (with heim joints)
Replaced all 4 sway bar links with upgraded poly bushed ones
Tierods, ball joints and idler arm replaced Moog has the best idler arm with it's brass bushing insert
15X9" tires and wheels front 15X10 tires and wheels rear
GSL rear diff

Things left to add:

ReSpeeds big brake kit and Moser axles for the rearend

Things under consideration:

ReSpeeds race coilover set up.

Realisticly, the only parts left that I can change besides what's listed is to go to a panhard bar and 3-link and I just happen to have a panhard bar sitting in the shop. This would the the last and only upgrade that I can add, have most everything else.

Keep in mind, the widebody is my play toy and I have no intentions of putting it on the track or getting into racing, road race or drag strip. I may look into doing some local SCCA events and once the TII swap is completed, it will make an ocasional visit to the drag strip. Other than that, I'll go get groceries in it and make a car show every now and then.

Now, the next question is cost. Well, I do all of my own work and the last set of tires/wheels, MazdaComp parts and the camber plate were bought used. So far I've spent 2500+. That also includes new calipers, drilled/slotted rotors, pads and SS brake lines. If one looks hard enough for deals, goes with the Illunimas and ReSpeeds coilovers, the entire suspension and brake system can be redone for around 1100 bucks. Is that worth it ine the long, oh hell yes.

 

$1100?! Oh my! That is... hot. And way less than I expected.

My build budget for the car from top to bottom, after purchasing it and getting the small bugs worked out is $8,000, across four years. I want to swap a 13BT in, 13BRE, if possible, but definitely a big ported turbo, and that's going to eat a lot of the budget up quickly.

 

Okay, I know this sounds stupid, but what is the suspension setup in the FB, versus the FC?

Like what are they called? I know the FB's is totally different than the FC, but I don't know what it is called.

 

What do you want to know about them? Other than both have MacPhearson struts, they are totaly different. If you have a Black Dragon catalogue handy, it makes a great reference to see the differences between the 2 gens. If not, download the 87 FSM. In a nutshell, the 2nd gen has a fully independent rear suspension, the front uses a modified trailing arm instead of our straight lower control arm.

Depending on skill level and what you can do yourself, the TII will take 1/2 of your budget or more.

 

I disagree that 400 lb front is not streetable. I run 375/175 with konis and it works just fine, what made my car non streetable the inability to pass smog. I did daily drive it with those rates and it was no big deal for me, it's totally based on personal preference.

In fact, I'd probably leave the bushings as is if you want to streetdrive the car, those are the parts that made the ride really harsh, as every little vibration goes into the cabin.

 

I think I'd rather have a stiffer ride, it's just what I like. And the car barely has bushings, everything needs to be replaced.

 

I'll grant the poly bushings transfer much more vibration than even the worn, rock hard rubber bushing. The thing with going to the very high spring rates is they tend to be a bit to hard on the Illuminas. Some say they accellerate thier wear/failure rate. That I don't know nor can I confirm. How stiff of a spring one ends up with is a matter of personal choice, that's why I strongly recommend ReSpeeds coilovers since Billy has a wide choice of spring rates at a reasonable price. Tire choice/size and profile can make as much of a difference as spring rates can when it come to ride harshness/softness. I really need to get away from the 50 series profile and drop down to a 35/40 series simply to bring my speedo reading back to being somewhat accurate. That short of a profile will definitly increase the harshness of the ride.

 

Get coilovers, if you bring your car to auto-x or track with just aftermarket springs, you will be disappointed

 

+1 for respeed's coilover kit

 

Go with Respeed, especially if you are considering any type of competition in the future. You just can't go wrong with that decision.... If you start off with Racing Beat products (like I did), then you will later have to ditch all of that money spent and start over again to do it right (like I did). Do it once, do it right...

www.re-speed.com

 

Many of the RX-7 performance suspension items were designed to conform to some set or another of sanctioning body regulations. Thus the type of competition you plan to get into is very important. There are implications on what class you would end up in, but if you want the best handling RX-7 race, track, or street car for that matter, upgrade the entire front and rear suspensions.

McPherson struts are not the greatest design to begin with. Ideally it's better to replace them with double wishbones and may as well do the rear at the same time. Consider adding the attachment points to mount a >=S6 13B while you're at it.

There are several kits/packages (not designed specifically for an RX-7 but commonly used for race cars, kit cars, etc.) available from various suppliers. Not terribly expensive but of course you will need to do some custom subframe work to mount them up. Result is you get front and rear double wishbones (complete IRS), rack and pinion to replace the worm gear steering, ability to add larger brakes and wheels, etc. etc.

 

If your being honest with yourself, and are only going to use this car for mostly street, than you don't need to go overboard with the suspension. I'm running RB springs, RB front and rear anti-roll bars, Tokico Blues, and Sumitomo HTR 200 tires. A really good street setup and was about $1500 new, after shipping, duties etc. This is a great place to start, and well worth the money. If you want to address the steering, the RE-Speed rack and pinion conversion is the only way to go. It's at a great price point and the quality is second to none. It's next up on the list once I spend my Christmas money on the parts to compliment my new carb. Along with the aforementioned suspension parts it will make your 7 an entirely new monster. Good luck.