Help anyone know whats up with this?
my car driver front side is really low you can see it dramatically if standing in front of the car. Also the from the rear of the car you can see the passenger side higher. The car shocks and springs recoil back normal like all corners of the car and i have checked for damage in front but cant find any...What suspension component is it that would cause this? I think i might have a bad driver side Inner Tie-Rod would this cause that? ALSO, since the whole car brake dives due to the uneven ride height and brakes squeak and stuff, I would really like to correct these problems asap, Can anyone help, thank you

 

Mine does this too. And I replaced the springs and shocks last year with Eibach springs and Tokico shocks. It is about .5 to 1 inch difference in ride height between the driver side and the passenger side.

Steve

 

Corgi Steve so you changed your springs and shocks and its still uneven? Did you inspect to see if your strut tower was bent or anything? Im beginning also to notice that i think my driver side tire is tilted i.e. top part is pointing towards passenger and the lower part that touches pavement is leaning out the driver side...the alignment is good though still...real weird

 

This is a common problem with FB's front end. one side is higher than the other so cutting teh springs aint gonna do it. call mazdatrix-they used to sell the shim kit for it.

 

Everything is fine and I have a 4 point strut tower brace that ensures that the towers don't flex inward. Alignment is fine as well.

Steve

 

I have this also and recently replaced the shocks and springs with no affect. I think its a balance difference from removing the old stock exhaust and replacing it with the much lighter headers and tuned exhaust. I've had my 80 GS since 84 and noticed this when I did the exhaust swap but thought it was a bad spring. Now that the new springs are in there, I thinks its a balance issue. If someone could grab the complete OEM exhaust system,including the heat exchanger and weigh it and see what the difference is with one of the aftermarket header/tunded exhaust setups that would be interesting.

 

If I understand it correctly, difference in height should not matter if your car is evenly corner balanced. Check out "Mazda RX-7 Performance Handbook" by Mike Ancas. Available at www.RacingBeat.com

 

I fully agree that the exhaust weight and weight distribution of the battery could through off my ride height except that I purchased a (1) shim a few months ago and it almost fully corrected my front end problem and Mazda trix says use (3) shims max....Well while on the freeway i was MAJORLY cut off and i smashed into/up the center divider and the whole uneven stuff came back. From what i noticed i busted a outer wheel bearing on the driver side and since replaced it, as well i might have a bad inner Tie Rod...would this cause the problem? If the Tie-Rod really makes no difference then i think i may know where to go from there...

 

My '85 has had the same issue since I got it 5 years ago. So have 4 others that I've had over the years - with stock and aftermarket exhausts, BTW.

The rear DS seems to be the worst, even after pulling the RR spring rubber out and adding it to the LR. Nothing's bent, deformed, or broken. New shocks and springs, same issue.

There must be an identifiable root cause. Has anyone seen this issue go away after installing new links or bushings? Any help is appreciated.

 

I think the Mazda engineers designed this into the car to make it easier for short people to get in and out. Mine's always done this and I've come to accept that it's just part of the car. If it ain't broke, why fix it?

Ray

 

Its not a correct look Ray Green...I personally really like how my car looks when it sits correctly and actually i definately feel a difference in handling now. Im going to do some HARD CORE RESEARCH and Im helping us out guys cause seems we are all having this problem...So if you have any ideas let me know otherwise stay tuned!!! Hopefully i find the result of this horrible de-value of my vehicle.

 

You're definately right, they lean to the left. But that's how they're SUPPOSED to look, the Mazda engineers meant it that way, leaning into the turn. The lean adds VALUE to your 7, let it make you feel good. What's exactly wrong with a 21 year old suspension system that's still working? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Unless you want your 7 to be perfectly level.

Ray

 

Might want to make sure that none of the suspension components have been bent. Between your accident, and the other years of unknowns, who can tell? These parts are made of lightweight stamped steel. Cheap to make, cheap to replace, not very durable.

The previous owner of my car ran off the road into a ditch to avoid a dog. He said that it was all very smooth, and he thought the car was fine. Ended up having to replace some of the passenger side front suspension pieces though, because they were bent up. It doesn't take much...

Good luck.

 

my fb sat all wopper-jawed before and after I replaced the shocks and struts, sometimes worse than others.

 

I thought i would add my 2 cents to this. my car never sat like that but i put in new BnG Progressive rate springs and tokio HP Shocks, lowered the car about 2-3 inches. After the suspension settled, it started to lean. well i was thinking about it. i unbolted the stearing and the sway bars, and it still leaned. i replaced a lower control arm on the passanger side i knew was bent and that helped a little, i'm going to replace the driver side as well, get new poly bushings, and new sway bars, i'll take it one step at a time when i do it this winter with pictoral goodness. hopfully i can find why it leans. But i think i already know. if anyone has ever been under a FB when it's on a lift, you probably notice that theres more weight on the driver side. i'm starting to wonder if the driver side was suppose to have a stiffer spring or something idiotic like that. Before you flame me, on my friends celica we put 5 way adjustables on. the passanger side we had to set softer than the driver side to get the handeling even. don't know why. All his suspension has been replaced, ALL OF IT. that car was stripped of everything, down to the shell and the shell wasn't bent or anything so who knows. I'm thinking it's a wheight distrobution problem on our cars.

 

it would also be interesting to see if the people who swapped a FC subframe in or even jsut the suspension, if they have the lean problems as well.

 

I've had 6 fb's and they have all leaned to the left a little........not a big deal

 

So who here is willing to pay to have there car sit right again? I know a spot that does what they call a Re-Strut Adjust...They say it works and they charge $150 per side? Before i spend the money does anyone else have any other suggestions?

 

I have front coil overs that corrected the lean. My left collar is adjusted 1" higher than the right!

 

What do they look like what brand?

 

Swap the front springs. The left is always taking more load. Driver, car is left side biased so the left wears more than the right. Also you can shim the left to prop it up to make it even. Its all in the springs, nothing to do with the struts. That "re srtut adjust" is gonna be nothing more than rubber spring perches to prop up the left side. Mr gasket sells them (thru NAPA). 1" rubber perches. Youll have to cut a section out to make it fit our springs.

 

Well lift my butt, thank you Carl!

Ray

 

Thanks Carl...Ill try the spring swap

 

alright, i just looked at the mazdatrix website but it doesn't say whether it's available on which side. i'm assuming it's for either side though..? i'll give them a call to make sure. hopefully, this solves the uneven ride height.

 

Stock springs will sag over the years so swapping springs can make a difference but if you're running HP such as RB, it wont. Unless you cut one side shorter than the other.