Dawnoffatex

Apologies if this should be in the suspension / brakes / tires section but it's 3rd gen specific so I posted here.

Basically i'm going to be picking up a vehicle that has almost 100k miles on the original suspension - it needs to be redone the owner said as much.

My question is, what should I go with? The vehicle will see 0 track time and mostly just daily driving with some spirited cruises at best - but I don't mind sacrificing some ride quality / comfort for improved handling within reason. I'd also like a mild drop as well, nothing slammed.

The car needs all new bushings including pillow *****. Should I get OEM all around? Or get the mazda pillow ***** with an after market bushing kit? It's almost $1200 for full bushing replacement from the mazda dealer =O

Sway bars? Should I change anything while i'm under there?

The most controversial - springs and shocks or coilovers? After doing some research Koni yellows with Eibach sports seem to be an excellent combination, but I figured some of you guys might be able to chime in. I don't mind going for a coilover setup, but I really don't see it neccesary - i'm open minded however.

I'd like to stay under $2000-2500 for everything. Anything else I should look into while i'm doing all this?

n rider89

First I would establish what I want out of the car. Coilovers are great but for a daily driver that might be overkill. I posted a thread similar to this. Here it is:

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/upgrading-suspension-anything-else-i-should-do-same-time-755570/

Im sure others will chime in too.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Ah, its so refreshing to see a new member that actually searched/researched before posting.

Stock bushings are great. They work well and the FD chassis really doesn't need stiffer bushings. Especially for a mostly street driven vehicle. I assume you have seen Ray Crowe's number at Malloy Mazda in the FAQ. That is where you want to source the bushings for the best price, service and advice (unless you have a Mazda Motorsports account but you don't get his level of service and info).

In some cases, you'll want to buy the complete arm instead of the individual bushings. There comes a point where the cost of the bushings individually can be more than the full arm (especially if you add in labor). You can sometimes find low mileage suspension arms from Japan2LA or Rotary Experiment Seven. That might be an option for some depending on your overall goals and budget.

Konis and Eibachs or H&R springs is a great setup. Don't forget to do the rubber spring perches and the upper shock mounts. Remember that the Konis have adjustable 3 position spring perches. So you could technically get some lowering by using the middle or bottom perch with the stock spring. That might work depending on how you drive your car and how aggressive your wheel package is.

Skip sway bars until you have driven the car with a freshened suspension. Then decide if you want to get them.

moconnor

iTrader: (14)

Buying complete control arm sets is a good idea.

Have you got a quote on labour from your Mazda dealer? It could come close to the price of the bushings. There are 8 front control arm rubber bushings, 6 rubber + 6 pillowballs in the rear, and while you are there you should do the differential mount bushings, the trailing arms, the toe links, and the shock mount bushings.

odelay3

iTrader: (3)

I bought my car in December with 124k on it and original suspension - similar situation as you except that I only drive my car once or twice a week.

I installed RSR Down springs, Tokico Illuminas, new pillow *****, and spring seats (upper and lower). I'm very happy with the setup.

Everything else seemed pretty tight and after getting the quote on the complete bushing set - my mind was made up that I wasn't replacing anything else without some proof that it needed.

My car is much tighter (I replaced my steering rack & tie rod ends as well), a bit lower, and the adjustable shocks are really interesting to play with. After test drives with 1 and 5 - I settled on 3 and that seems a bit more"cushy" than my factory setup. I had 93 touring springs/shocks.

Like a dummy, I didn't measure the initial ride height but I think the RSR downs lowered it ~3/4" as advertised.

By the way - if you intend to do this stuff yourself, I recommend this guide for the pillow *****. Very straight forward and only took 4 hours or so.

http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/...lls/index.html

Good luck with your decisions!

Japan2LA

iTrader: (256)

I have full sets of low mile Jspec take off (less than 30,000 mile) front LCA's, Front UCA's, Rear UCA's, Rear LCA's, Rear Trailing links, and toe links too..

If you need a nice low mile set with perfect bushings PM me..

Supernaut

iTrader: (83)

If your driving in NYC, stay with stock non-R1 suspension. I made a thread about this as well. You need more clearance on the bottom. Im running tokicos with GC coilovers. They are GREAT but when conditions on city roads are bad, your car could scrape. I scraped once on this pot hole in brooklyn. It was scary.

MOBEONER

iTrader: (18)

+1 my FD takes a beating in these streets i need to go back to stock suspension.I have just have adjustible shocks and lowering springs

Uncle Hungry

iTrader: (2)

While we're talking about this, is there any difference between the left and right lca's? I can't see any.

maxcooper

I assume you are speaking about the rear suspension, in which case I think they are the same. (Are they the same part number? If yes, it is certain they are the same.)

-Max

gtusfc3s

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