What is more desirable 81-83 or 84-85?
 

I plan to do some mods and this car will see plenty of track days, I currently have an integra as a track/weekend car, but I just can't get into the front drive thing. Thanks in advance for your help.

'84-85 has better wheel bearings and rear axleshafts.
'81-82 has a better oil cooler setup and replaceable U-joints.

Conversely, '84-85 have crappy oil coolers and throwaway driveshafts, while '81-82 have the small axleshafts (which are starting to break often in spec racing) and crappy front wheel bearings.

I didn't mention '83 - in a way the '83 is the worst of both worlds - small bearings, small axles, throwaway driveshaft, crappy oil cooler.

Or you could get an '84-85 and retrofit the pre-83 oil cooler setup, which you will want to do if the car will see anything more than drag racing. (Even street use will cause the oil to run hot)

Of course none of this matters if you get a GSL-SE, which not only has ALL the good stuff listed above (except driveshaft) but it also has bigger brakes and the 13B engine (if you're so inclined).

So what's the best? '79-80 - much lighter so it's easier on bearings and axles (but you still need to watch the front bearings close), good oil cooler, did I mention that it's lighter? You could retrofit GSL-SE suspension under the SA22C to make it the Ultimate of All 1st-Gens.

peejay.. what would be necessary to retrofit the gslse suspension on a sa?

Should bolt right in! :D There'd be only two sticky wickets... the hydraulic threads on SA's are different from FB's, and the driveshaft flange on '83-up is different from '82-down.

Mazdatrix sells the special brake hoses that adapt the SA's thread pitch hardlines to the '81-up fittings on the brakes/axle, so that takes care of that. As for the flange, there are two choices - use the '83-up driveshaft (grab the -SE shaft with the rear axle) or swap the pinion flange over. Easiest to use the -SE driveshaft, probably.

And, of course, the -SE uses a different bolt pattern so you'd need different wheels. (Boo hoo) Here's some links to the swap:
http://www.mazspeed.com/axel.htm and http://www.mazspeed.com/brakeupgrades.htm Note that if you are simply swapping the GSL-SE suspension in, without upgrading the strut cartridges, there is no need for the spring compressor - just swap out the whole strut/spring assembly.

oops...
 

I left the 83 out because of all the of problems. However I did mean the GSL-SE. I was most intrested in the benefits of the Injected vs. Carb setup. Is there a compelling reason for on over the other?

Thanks!

matt

i love the 84-85 interior,
but it seems if you go 12a the older ones are more desireable

the big advantage of the SA's are their simplicity, and weight..

the 84-85 definatly does have a nicer, more refined interior, but with that comes weight, and the possibility of more problems

If you plan on competitve racing then get a 12A car, the 13B's are usually weight-penalized and not as competitive.

One nice thing about the EFI is that it's EFI, but on the other hand it's crude EFI (i even think it's an analog ECU) and for the price difference between an -SE and a 12A, you can make more power with the 12A. A good carb is just as bulletproof as EFI.

I second that - the 84-85 do have nicer interiors. The only thing that I don't like about it is that the stereo trim on mine is starting to get nicks in the paint. Does anyone know where to get some touch-up paint for that gray plastic? Thanks! :)

in fact alot of re-egi guys swap out to big carbs:D
go for the 12a,
its like working on a r/c car,very simple