Critoris

Now that I'm swapping on -SE bits to my GSL I have some decisions to make and want some input. The car rubs just a little from the 13s on there (wide offset), though the SE 14s should fit fine for now. The previous owner thew on Tockico springs from RB and dropped it a little over an inch. I'm considering swapping on the SE springs, keeping the Illumina shocks/struts, keeping the sway bars, and rolling on SE wheels until I can hook up some Panasport 15s. Can you drop an SE on original rims by an inch or so and not rub? Can someone put up a pic of a slightly lowered SE? Finally, can I reuse the shocks/struts, put SE springs on them, and swap the suspension without too much trouble? I"ve never broken down this stuff and don't know how much trouble it it. I'm just hitting decision time and am unsure how I want to proceed. Anyone have pics with stock springs and Panasport 15s?

Thanks.

LongDuck

Well, you're asking for a lot of information, but I can tell you this; the SE in my signature line (click pictures for full spread) has RB springs (RB, not Tokico), Tokico blues all around, and Koni front and adjustable rear stabilizer bars. The wheels are 15x6.5", running 215/55ZR15 tires (Yokohama cantilever). This setup is supposed to drop the car 1" in the front and 3/4" in the rear, but it sits pretty flat since I've replaced the front strut tower mounts recently (the new rubber donuts don't sag as much as the older ones, resulting in higher front ride height).

As you can see from the pictures, the tires clear the wheel wells very well, and the SE stock wheels are 14x6 which allows for 205/60VR14 tires with only slightly less total circumference than the tires I purchased. Total difference was 1/8" in rolling diameter, longer for the 215/55/15's than 14's, which is negligible for speedo calibration.

Lowering the car by up to an inch in the front should not pose problems for stock SE 14's, and the rear is obviously not a factor. I did notice that with the sagging strut mounts, the SE 14's would occasionally rub in odd combinations of turning and bumping, which is not unusual in this car, IMO.

Moving to 15" Panasports in the correct offset should not negatively affect suspension geometry or performance since this was a very popular combination in SCCA Solo II back when I was into that. The Panasports should be easily available in the correct bolt pattern and offset - but be sure that whatever wheels you get, don't get beyond 40mm offset, as this can increase spindle bearing wear, make manual steering difficult, and increase steering gear wear due to the additional forces at play in the 'extended' tire centerline compared to stock. Additionally, offsets far from what was intended can cause fender/tire contact issues which are not worth the look - the tires will get cut to pieces and you will be squinting and wincing everytime you see a speedbump or pothole...

I believe that 38mm offset is standard for SE wheels, and that is what I was aiming for in my wheel choice - I don't want to have to replace steering components just to get the wheels that I want. This seems to be a very common wheel offset in 4x114.3 bolt pattern - luckily for SE owners.

gamble302

remember folks, offset depends on wheel width
so a 7" wheel with a 40mm offset will fit different than a 6" wheel with 40mm offset
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/offset.htm

jimtesla

Hey Longduck.....

How much for the front strut tower mounts.......?

I put Eibach springs on and the tires almost hit the fenders in the front.......almost too low.......I think this could be the answer for me.......As far as the eibach springs go........really hard ride.......great cornering......

want to go to ST springs.....

Jim

LongDuck

The front mount plates for 81-85 cars are the same, but I am lead to believe that the SE plates were different, and here's why;

The SE plates that I removed when mine front driver-side corner went out, when compared to the replacement, are reduced in height by about 1/4-1/2" or so. In other words, when you put the replacement mount (listed at VB at $40 each, for RX-7, GLC and 626), next to the 'stock' SE mount, the replacement extends downward by about 1/2" more than the original SE plates. This has the effect of raising the front of the car, relative to the SE mounts with lowered springs.

What you end up with is that the 'stock' SE plates and RB springs resulted in a ride height as you've described - almost too low, as there's only about 1/4" between tire and fender, which is not enough unless you only drive freeway miles. Once I added the VB mounts (for RX-7, GLC and 626), I gained an additional 1/4 to 1/2" of distance between the tire and the fender, which is about right.

If you're using lowered springs, using the stock replacement mounts will put it back to a ride height that will prevent you from damaging tires or bodywork when you drive. For me, it was a good trade that I wasn't expecting, since I figured the standard SE mounts would be replaced with same. In the signature line, you can see that the front sits about level, if not slightly lower than the rear. With my old mounts, the front was significantly lower than the rear, and the front airdam was about a full inch lower to the ground, if not more (more pronounced since it lowers farther based on the front tire height as a fulcrum).

I am very happy with the RB springs and would recommend them to anyone. I used to race these springs on my 80LS SCCA car, and for ride comfort and handling, they are hard to beat. They are also full linear, and not that much stiffer than the stock SE springs.

If anybody can confirm that there are different front strut tower mounts for SE's, I'd appreciate it...