So in May my car club is having a big meet at Hallett Racyway in Oklahoma. I'll be racing the RX-7. It has 105K miles on the clock and the suspension is stock. When I take a hard corner the car seems to have very little body roll. However with this high mileage I'm sure I need to replace something. I don't have the money for a totally new suspension. I'm thinking just replacing the springs with eibachs.

What would you guys suggest. I'm not racing until May, but I have rent and other bills so I wont be saving much, probably just a few hundred. Would my stock struts be ok if I just upgraded the springs? What else should I replace. As far as HP building mods, my car is fine for now. The midrange and top end is outstanding for a n/a. I'm just worried about suspension.

 

The package from Racingbeat for $390 looks great, but would my struts handle the drop?

 

When you upgrade the suspension, replacing only the shocks or only the springs is like - a romantic dinner for one. Why? There's no problem with doing this, but you wouldn't attain the maximum value of replacing both at the same time.

If everything is currently what the car came with, you're probably due for some new shocks and struts. KYB AGXs seem to be a really good shock and a set of four should only run around $400.

I know it's more money, and I understand your predicament, but you'll have much more fun if you do both at the same time.

 

Hey thanks! I'll look into those. But before I get those I need new tires. My front tires have almost no grip when cornering. I guess being bald doesn't help much

But would the struts be ok?

 

the biggest increase i got at the track was from changing tires. i raced autocross last season in stock class, and for the first half of the season i was using michelins and finishing in the lower half of my feild. i got a set of kuhmo v700s and started winning my class. even beat a few prepped miatas. tires are definitely the first place to invest. IF you are going racing on a regular basis. a set of rims from a junkyard, and a set of v700s should run you about 700 to 800 it is well worth the price.

 

Talk to Mike at www.coximports.com I paid $370 at the beginning of the year. They're super for autocross. You can easily change your set-up between runs depending on the conditions of the course.

 

Also a good point that rotorhead made. You alluded to it yourself supergoat. You'll need a good set of tires that can give you some good grip. Then you will be able to fully utilize whatever suspension set-up you choose.

 

actually on DRY asphault, bald tires have more grip than tires with tread. racing "slicks".

 

You'll be real happy with the Racing Beat springs and sway bars. I had an N/A with them. Now I have a TII and went w/coilovers but I still run RB bars.

When you can afford it get the RB rear-steer (DTSS) toe-eliminator bushings this has to be the BEST $40 part mod for an FC there is (unfortunately it will cost about $200 to put them in)

The Eibach Pro-kits are progressive rate so you may not like the unpredictability of that sort of spring design (I have not used them but have read this on other posts) .

I've heard/read good things about the KYB AGX shocks - they seem like they would be a good upgrade - especially considering their cost. I believe they're less than Tokico Illuminas (adjustables).

If you're not installing this stuff yourself - install the springs AND shocks at the same time or you're going to get double-dipped on labor. If you can't afford the springs and shocks together, I would suggest you save, because the grin factor it will give you when the whole pkg. is combined is worth the wait.

As far as tires - you get what you pay for. If Kuhmos and Nittos were that great for their cheaper price we'd see them on Porsches and Jags to reduce cost. But they don't do that because they know that they aren't as good. P-Zeros wear way too fast. (obviously due to the softer compound) Michelin Pilot MXX3's (now replaced by Pilot Sport) suck in the wet and the sidewall tread wore fast. Yokohama AVS Intermediates weren't much better than BF Goodrich Comp T/A's. The Pirellis and Michelin were both a cut above the other two.

My current tire is the best I've driven. (In my sig) I will get these again because they don't appear to wear fast, the sidewall tread holds up well to cornering scrub, they stick as well as the P-Zeros in the dry but are better than any of my previous tires in the wet. Considering I have 18" wheels this tire still gives me enough understeer/slip angle warning. (Of course all the components come in to play during this balancing act) The only other tire on the market in this class that I could speculate comparing it to would be Bridgestone SO-3's or SO-2's. Both of which cost more.

By the way my '91 N/A was a cornering bat with the following:
RB springs
RB sway bars
RB toe-eliminator bushings
Tokico "standard" (non-adjustable shocks)
17X7.5 35mm offset with 215/45's

This was a good bang for the buck - no hassles/no rubbing pkg.

 

Forgot my sig. The tire I was referring to is Toyo Proxes T1-S. A set of 225/40/18's mounted and balanced with tax was $821.

 

Just going with stiffer springs is going run the risk of drastically reducing the life of your shocks. Stock shocks were not meant to manage for forces created by stiffer spirngs.

For handling, you'd be better off going with adjustable shocks first. You can stiffen the ride of the car and vary settings to get it to handle in best possible manner for the course design.

Of course, of you have zero seat time, nothing short of a rocket shoved up your *** will really help you go faster. In autocrossing, there a big learning curve for your first few events. You're biggest concern for your first few events is what YOU are doing and not the car.

If you can find an autocross to attend in the meantime, I'd highly recommend it. Anyone who's done it always says "I don't know why I didn't do this sooner."

Have fun & go fast!