Djuka

i'm not the type to really limit myself by budget if the best i can get is more $$ then i'll save for a little bit and get them. the reason i was leaning towards the isc set was because it was easy to buy they seemed to say that set was their fav. for the car and no hassle of going through pages and pages mixing and matching something i would have the worst time trying to figure out. so i've heard of
stance
isc
tien
koni
JIC
any others i'm missing?
what is most recommended for serious roadracing. my big thing is handling capability not ride comfort.
i absolutely love the rear steering and it's sweet when you actually take time to learn how to control use it. once you get past the initial uncomfortable HOLY CRAP. it really does make your handling capabilities go through the roof. i've known this for a looong time just never said anything. my old gxl was fun. i'm actually going to be eitherbuying a front S5 clip from www.flashoptions.com
or a engine and trans for www.jdmracingmotors.com or some other engine site on my list. i was leaning towards the front clip cause they include the dash tooand it's about the same price and jus the engine and trans. i just need a full suspension for the track.

ilia

iTrader: (4)

It all depends on the class you're looking to race in.

I'd just get stance and not worry about it. The spring rates they come with have a very neutral feel.

bmwrx7man

iTrader: (2)

meghan racing

jdmsuper7

iTrader: (1)

ohlins
moton
sachs
jrz

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

thats how we dialed in our car, datalogging shock position and speed. we did it after the car was built and mostly dialed, but this helped us figure out that we can run more spring =), oh and the car is easy to drive.

koni FTW btw

Djuka

i looked on kokni's site and searched what distributors sell the koni ftw set. koni is a well know name. it's mostly down to koni and stance.
what about the other brands that were mentioned?
ohlins
moton
sachs
jrz
I've heard of a couple of those
from what i understand they are pretty serious suspension companies.

Sandbagger

If cost is not a problem for you, I would go with a custom setup using a mono-tube, double adjustable race Koni(2800 series). For upper mounts you could use either ground control or TEIN. Instead of Koni's you could also use Bilsteins. Now this would be a killer track setup! The downside is cost, about 2-3 times the cost of an off the shelf coilover kit; but it's custom taylored to your specs.

If you wanted an off the shelf Japanese kit, I would choose the TEIN Mono-Flex(special order) or JIC FLT-A2's (old) / FLT- TAR (new). Both are Mono-tube, rebuildable and revalvable.

I highly doubt that Megan is made in the same factory as TEIN. Since TEIN manufacturers all their coilovers in-house from raw materials; shock bodies, piston rods, brackets, etc. Plus Mr. Fujimoto would never allow this to happy with his products.

jdmsuper7

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, those are real racing suspension companies. Be prepared to pay more than your car is worth PER CORNER.

Honestly, the Koni yellows, or the AWR 2800 series setup if you are really serious, would be an excellent setup.

Evil Aviator

The ISC setup is good enough for real race cars. I have yet to see any of the shiny, over-priced ricer coilovers win anything other than car shows or drifting events.

I have the Konis too. The standard Mazda Comp 400/275 Eibach ERS springs seem to work pretty well for me. I don't need no stinkin' datalogging because after 20 years Scott pretty much knows what I like, lol.

I considered getting some JRZ's from ISC, but decided that I am not nearly hard core enough to warrant that kind of outlay for shocks.

If you join Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development (free), you can get a special deal on a very nice Koni/Eibach coilover package. Your two race results can be local low-budget SCCA autocross events, and there is no criteria for skill, so you can be the slowest driver of all time and still get sponsored, lol.
http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/weba...atalogId=10001

Sandbagger

To my knowledge, none of these companies have an off the shelf kit. This doesn't mean that they couldn't make you a custom setup for the RX7. There are a few shops in Japan, that have Ohlins kits made to their specifications. After figuring EMS airfreight you might just be better off with have a custom set made in the states.

As for the Japanese, many of the big name companies compete in motorsports ranging from Super Taikyu, N1, JGTC and Asia Pacific Rallies; Endless, HKS, TEIN, etc. As for racing outside of Japan, i.e. Europe and US, I believe only the three mentioned above have had any success / recognition.

Ultimately, servicability should be your primary concern when choosing the right kit. There's nothing like missing a race weekend due to waiting for a replacement or return of a serviced piece.

Black91n/a

Some big things for coilovers on a track or race car are servicability in North America, some of the Japanese stuff is only serviced overe there, which will cost a lot more and take a lot longer. Part of this is re-valveability. Some coilover manufacturers will simply sell you a new shock with no options of getting the valving changed. Tein Flex can be re-valved, I do believe Stance will just sell you new ones.

Sport Compact car did a suspension test a little while ago and the Tein Mono Flex was right up there with the best of them and placed 2nd of the non cheater cars. Too bad they're not available over here, so getting them serviced by Tein NA might be an issue.

You really won't see many, if any of the off the shelf coilovers at a race weekend, most will either have big $$$ custom stuff, or something like Bilsteins or Konis and GC's. Keep in mind when looking at Bilstein stuff, that to work properly with your chosen spring rates they WILL need to be re-valved, which will cost extra of course.

TsquardPower

Stance for the win

clandestine

If I were to track/circuit race occasionally and still have the car as a DD (not minding stiff suspensions)

Is 9k/7k the appropriate circuit setup or is that the drift setup? Because what I've been reading that is the most popular and best on the FC.

Thoughts.

blmcquig

iTrader: (15)

no one has mentioned buddy club.

i have the buddy club racing spec on my FC.
it gets autocrossed and sent to track days regularly.
i love the buddy clubs. very stiff, well built, etc.
i payed $1149 shipped for them due to a typo on the website i bought them from.

Djuka

i like the idea of a custom spec setup.

Originally Posted by Sandbagger
i'm thinking koni race inserts or Bilstien inserts, but i want the springs from Stance, but they don't sell just the springs on their website. Everyone goes with tien, so instead i may go with ground control, for the upper mounts.


ideas???

--Stance Coilovers--
GR+3Way
GR+3Way is our top of the line coilover. The GR+ 3 features 3-way adjustability, enabling the driver to fine tune low-speed and high-speed bump separately from rebound. An external reservoir is connected to the damper using specially designed fittings that allow the line to swivel and disconnect for packaging and servicing convenience. An optional tool is also available to adjust the gas pressure to give the driver the ultimate adjustment control.

AL+Pro
AL+ has all the features of the GR+ Pro, but uses an anodized forged aluminum shock body. This increases anti-corrosion properties while reducing unsprung mass, enhancing all aspects of performance without any drawbacks.

GR+Pro [SS-D]
GR+ Pro coilover has all the features of the GR+ but adds the benefit of a helper spring. The helper spring allows the shock piston to be placed in the optimal position within the shock body, increasing rebound stroke, and maximizing articulation on cars with minimum suspension travel.

SS-D The Special Setting Dampers were developed to meet the special demands of the circuit. The SS-D is valved to work in conjunction with race tires to maximize traction. The GR+ Pro SS-D were used to win national titles in both drifting and time attack; setting the highest benchmark for itself - winning.

GR+
The GR+ is our flagship line. It features 15-way damping adjustable monotube shocks, which allows the driver to fine-tune the handling and ride. A separate lower bracket allows the ride height to be adjusted without sacrificing stroke. Spherical bearings are used to give the driver greater feedback. Inverted monotube shocks are utilized on strut types for greater rigidity and heat dissipation. Camber adjustable upper mounts are used on strut types.

i was thinking that i could call up Stance and ask for specific parts and pieces from their coilovers...

fatboy.yoshi

+1 stance is good stuff...we are rocking stance on our z's great spring rates...decent daily driving ride...i would recommend stance for street/track use...

jdmsuper7

iTrader: (1)

You're kidding right? If you are gonna get a real damper setup, use real springs. Hypercoils, ERS, or Swifts are the only ones that belong.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

thats a drift setup....

front is close enough, rear should be in the 4-5k area, 200-275lbs/in

FC is kinda flexy, so super stiff springs arent good.

and BTW 350F/250R springs handles nice and rides better than stock

Sandbagger

As much as i like SCC, I would take that article with a grain of salt. Yes, it was nice that they tested all these kits, but the problem remains that there was not a single controlled element in the test. All cars were prepared differently, tire sizing was not the same across the board, alignments were not consistent, etc.

The Mono-Flex can be re-valved here in the States. The reason the kit for the FC is special order, is due to lack of demand. TEIN didn't think that sales would justify bringing them over.

Another spring company to consider would be suspension spring, they cater mostly to circle track racers but they have a lot of choices in diameter, length and spring rate.

I have been told that if you order shocks directly from Bilstein that you can have them re-valved without an additional fee, prior to them shipping them out. You may want to make a call over there.

I have heard nothing but good things about Stance, but I am a little weary about a company that doesn't publish any history about their company on their website. With the amount of reverse engineering going on in this industry, they could be from China or Taiwan. Now, I am not saying they are! But I would like to be able to research the company and their products more, beyond just their product features. looking at their website it seems they cater to the Tuner crowd, which is not a bad thing either; you gotta start some where.

I just want details about their engineering practices / methods and what types of certifications they have, TUV, DOT, ISO, etc.

Djuka

i think i may just go with the stance they have the serviceability i need and adjustability as well. and i don't want to spend loads of useless hours trying to figure out what parts i want to piece together only to find out that the setup i put together is infact worse than my factory one. so i figure i can get a set that is all one company and if i happen to want something a llittle more custom a little ways down t he road with some more suspension experience and idea undermy belt i'll mix and match correctly. but i do like what stance has to offer

Black91n/a

Yes that SCC test was imperfect, but you can still worthwhile to note that they did so well. They didn't have the most radical car there either, or the biggest tires AFAIK. Their subjective impressions of ride were valuable too for a street user.

As for good spring rates, IMHO most coilover kits are overly stiff, that's one reason why I picked the Tein Flex. Even most racers don't use springs as stiff as many of these coilover kits. The usual starting rates are 400lb/in front and 275lb/in rear, I changed my front springs so that they'll more or less match these rates (7kg/mm front, 5kg/mm rear, is about 390lb/in and 280lb/in) and so far it's worked very well for the track and has been reasonably comfortable on the street. Especially if you're not on race tires, going stiffer shouldn't be an improvement, it may well slow you down.

As for Stance, I say again, AFAIK they do NOT offer rebuilds or re-valves, so for a serious track user, this is a big hit against them. If you seriously want a track setup and want to avoid having to buy a whole new kit if you want to change spring rates much, then you'll want something that can be re-valved.

There'd be lots more options if it weren't for the struts, as there's lots of stuff for circle track and dirt track racing that's really quite good and well priced.

Tyler [S5 FC]

I just think that the TEIN Flex are the best, because they are alot less stiff than most. And I've run alot of setups, and for the most part, the looser I make the springs the better she handles. And since most other coilover setups are so stiff, they'll only be good for drifting. But I hit up mountain passes and I need it loose, cause if it was any stiffer, I know she'd be off a cliff or into a rock by now. The FC handles beautifully with loose springs and semi stiff shocks. TEIN Flex is a perfect setup for the FC IMO.

Sandbagger

Most shops that race RX7( speed source, ISC, Mazdatrix, etc) can give you the basic formula. It's not that difficult, Mazda Motorsports even has a page on their website that gives a general setup for the car, anything beyond that would be to suit your driving style. Which is the same thing you would have to deal with if you bought an off the shelf kit. Your always gonna have to make adjustments to the car, if you are really racing and want to extract the best from your car. Time of day and weather conditions alone, will warrant slight tweaks to the setup; not to mention when you change tires or go to a different track. That's why it's important to keep a log of your race notes.

Djuka

i told my friend that i had decided to go with coilovers and he said that was a bad move, he doesn't like them and he was with racingbeat lowering springs and is really happy with them and the performance he gets out of them. i def. do not want to with stance for the reason of rebuilding. since i know that isc is reputable and their set up looks pretty good for what i was to start off with i may have to look into them some more. they do sell the inserts and spring separately too both are from bilstien. but the Tien flex setup looks good too. i going to head over to the mazdaspeed developments page now to see what they say...

EJayCe996

I've heard Zeals are great quality albeit a little on the pricier side.