kali_rx7

so im new to the rx7 world.... but not to tuning! im sure if i looked harder i can find what i want to know but im a lazy stoner in california where everything but smog is easyer!


so im really not into the drifting of my fc! its an 87 na and im looking for an aggressive mountain driving setup...

* front and rear strut bar
* front and rear LOWER strut bar (does any one know about these braces?)
* new struts and shocks
* new bushing kit
* rear upgraded sway bar
* toyo 215/45 r17s


so the questions are.

1. has anyone used the ebay LOWER strut bars? are they worth even messing with?

2. is there a bushing kit that is a MUST have?

3. should i upgrade both sway bars?

4. should i run smaller tires up front?

*** i will not lower the car considering some the F*%#ed up roads around here and the fact that i live in the snow....

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Seems to me that BRAKES would be at the top of your list.
Not big brakes or anything, just renewing the very good stock system (pads, rotors, fluid) would do.

For someone "new" to the 7, you seem to have assumed a great number of deficiencies in the platform...how did you decide that all this extra bracing was necessary?
Does "aggressive mountain driving" mean the Pike's Peak Hillclimb or screwing around in canyons on the weekend and driving to work on Monday?

SpikeDerailed

iTrader: (7)

If you're only running the single piston front brakes do the tii/vert brake setup front and rear, proper brake booster should be considered also. Good pads, new fluid, braided brake lines.
Dont do the rear sway without doing the front also, makes the car more tail happy, understeer is safer and recommended until you know the platform well.
A front triangle strut tow bar would be a nice thing to have.
I dont know of any "lower strut tower bars", although you could make a piece of of channel that ties the front lower control arms at the horseshoe mounts to help combat their desire to go inward during heavy braking.
An energy suspension full poly bushing kit is a great place to start out. While you're at it replace the diff mounts and rear subframe mounts.
Dont run smaller front tires, get as much meat under the front and rear as possible(think 225 wide or more).
If youre going out of your way to firm up the chassis replace the ball joints and tierod ends...both are easy to do and prolly haven't been done in the cars life.
ALIGNMENT...it helps a whole hell of a lot.

REAmemiya_fan

@clokker: listen to his advice. I'v been waiting for somebody to find interest in my extra front 4-piston calipers before I buy a rebuild kit. If needed, I can sell them to you rebuilt and painted for $100 each. You wont find them cheaper unless you send in your cores to a reman facility from where you purchased the 'new' calipers to begin with.

LargeOrangeFont

iTrader: (7)

Allow me to fix your list -

Get new brake pads, SS lines and a fluid flush. You can upgrade to the 4 pot fronts and vented rears if you like, but you don't have to.
New struts
Bigger front sway bar AND bigger rear sway bar with upgraded endlinks
New tires
New bushings where needed.

Dont waste your money on strut bars.
Run a square tire setup. An NA car will push if you run a wider rear tire.

kali_rx7

what i mean by "aggressive mountain driving" is (if you know the area) from south lake tahoe to sacramento in less then an hour. meaning 65-70 around a 35 mph turn, 5%-7% grade on hill climbs and still pull, try my best to not slid at all. and yes i will be driving this car in the summer to work mon-fri. winter she is locked up in a toasty garage.

so yes i have made an assumption that i need to brace the car... because i live on the border of navada and cali i haven't registered the car cuz i want it in navada! so i haven't really truly taken the car to the limits yet!! but thats what this post is for finding out what i need to do. so now i realize after everyones in put that yes i need to do something about the brakes!! completely agreed!

so is this a better list??

tII brake swap
struts and shocks
tires
sway bar upgrade on both front and rear
with the sway comes the bushing and tie rods.

*now really no strut bars at all??

jerd_hambone

It is unwise to announce the fact that you are putting COUNTLESS lives in danger.

LargeOrangeFont

iTrader: (7)

If you are keeping stock springs and stock ride height don't even bother with the strut bars. They do very little anyway.

If you aren't going to drive the car in the winter, lower it slightly and get better springs. After all of that then think about getting strut bars.

kali_rx7

who said anything about actually doing this. if you must know the car is parked non opd. the car is a project. there is no evidence in internet "hear say" till there are pics!

jerd_hambone

You did admit to driving an unregistered car aggressively. Haha