I'm planning on ordering some shocks & springs for my FD and am wondering what the best place for deals is.

Anyone have good experiences they's like to share?

The best I've found so far is at shox.com, but I imagine you guys know somewhere better, right?

 

anyone?

 

rx7store sold me coilovers and was quick shipping and helped me choose the right ones for my driving needs.. i havent installed them yet but i know i will like them much more than the oem stuff.

 

Why not buy used if your going with OEM? Myself as well as others on this forum have stock suspension we'd be willing to sell you for cheap. If you're interested in going this route, PM me.


Otherwise, why not look in to coilovers. Much better bang for your buck, especially if you're going to purchase new OEM suspension. Something to consider...

 

are you planning on getting OEM or aftermaket beefier?

 

I'm planning on getting either Koni's or Tokico Illuminas with the Eibach Pro-kit.

The website above has the best price that I've found so far, maybe you guys have experience with other shops?

I definitely don't want stock, & coilovers are just overkill for me, but thanks for the input.

 

sounds like aftermarket. howard has a good thread in the suspension section re: suspension setup that might help people out.

 

If you're looking for a shop that has the parts in stock and ready to ship, talk to mary, chris or ari over at www.rx7.com. In my experience they stock more parts than any other rx7 shop in the country.

 

listen to goodfella!

 

I've purchased Konis from www.shox.com various times over the last 20 years. They've also worked with me when I had to do warranty work on blown Bilsteins I once had. I've been very happy with them.

Remember that the Konis for the FD have height adjustable spring perches which I think is a great feature on top of the already great valving and performance of the Koni adjustable shock. I briefly ran stock springs with the Koni shocks with the spring perch at the middle for slight lowering and aggressive street driving. Now that I run larger rims and autox and track the car, I use a stiffer spring set. The Eibach springs are a good spring for the FD.

 

If i just got the konis and retained my stock springs, could I adjust the konis enough to lower the car an inch & save a little cash by not buying new springs?

 

Yes, but the increased spring rate of some of the aftermarket springs also add to the performance of the car as well. If you are only after visuals, then yes that will work.

 

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I picked my Megan Coilovers up on ebay. Fully adjustable damping and ride heightfor under $900. For my purposes they should be more than adequate.

 

Thanks Mahjik... I do want better performance, as my car gets pretty squirelly at very high speeds, but I don't want a rough ride around town (y'know, driving around with fiance and others). What do you think would be more worth the money:

1. Tokicos with Eibach pro-kit
or
2. Konis with stock springs, with konis set to lowest for appearances.

Both setups would cost about the same, so I'm a little torn between the two. I'm not one to adjust setting once there on the car....the car may see the autocross 5-6 times a year, but mostly it's for spirited driving around town and on the highway.

 

I wouldn't set the Konis to the lowest perch but the middle was fine. I had it on the lowest for a while and it drove OK but was just too low that I'd rub on driveways and such. I drove that car very hard on the street and never rubbed the liners or fenders. I was running stock rims with 245 width tires.

It provided good performance, a nicer slightly lowered look and was more comfortable than with the H&R springs that I am running now. I did a 500 mile road trip in that car with no complaints from the fiance now wife. She complains about the current car as its stiff and a bit louder.

 

interesting....thanks for that info. I assume you're still using the Koni's with the H&R's, right? How's the difference in the handling now vs. before? Why'd you end up switching & how different is the hight from the Konis on the middle perch to the H&R's now?

Also, do the stock springs get "worn", do they need to be replaced after some time, or is it ok to use them for a very long time without changing them? Do they get too soft or unstable at all (could they be causing my squrreliness at high speeds, or definitely just the shocks?)

Thanks,

Ian

 

Yes, I've been exclusively on Konis with H&R springs for about 2 years now. Back around 2004 or 2005, I experimented with a bunch of different setups back to back:

-Full Stock
-Stock with H&R springs
-Konis w/ stock springs middle perch
-Konis with PFS comfort springs
-Konis with H&R springs
-RSR coilovers

I listed the above in terms of softest to hardest. I was pretty happy with the Konis and stock springs on the street. The performance and ride quality were great. I don't remember the ride height but it was good enough. I'm more of a "form follows function" kinda guy. Performance first and looks second.

When set at full soft or half a turn from soft, the Konis feel almost identical to stock shocks when paired with the stock springs. Unless you are really in tune with the way the shocks feel, you might not notice the difference. Stiffen them up and you feel a difference in the response of the shocks.

When paired with the H&Rs, you feel an immediate difference. The ~20% stiffer rates are hard to not notice after the first corner. The H&Rs are stiffer than stock springs and ride quality suffers a bit as a result but that extra stiffness pays dividends when I autocross or track the car.

For the sake of reference, I'm in my late-30s now and have been modding and tracking cars since 1988. I'm no Senna but I do OK. My tastes have changed over the years. My tolerance for an overly stiffly suspended car on the street has decreased as I've gotten older and life has gotten busier. I also have more driving experience and can make the most out of the suspension I run. That was a different story when I was younger and more impressionable.

The hard part about picking a suspension is that a lot of it depends on preference or opinion. You know everyone has at least one opinion.

Maybe try to find a local FD owner who can take you for a ride and try and form your own opinion before spending the money.

 

Wow..thanks for the VERY detailed response! Much appreciated indeed.

One last question: how do the H&R's compare in stiffness to the Eibach pro-kit? ANyone have good experience with the two?

 

I suspect they'll be pretty close

If I were buying new, I'd get the Eibachs due to Howard Coleman's comments on them. If I were buying used, I'd get whichever one I saw that met my price and availability requirements.

 

H&R are very low. My issue with the H&R's is that you cannot find spring rate information on them which leads me (and a lot of other people) to believe they are progressive rate springs. That may not be a bad thing depending on your use.

Eibachs are nice, but most people don't like them because they don't lower the rear of the car as much as they lower the front.

If I were buying a new suspension right now, here's what I would look at:

1. Tokico HTS Shocks paired with either Tein S-Tech or RSR Down Springs
2. Tokico HTS Shocks paired with Ground Control Coilvers

 

Thanks Mahjik....how's the ride on the RSR downs compared to the Eibachs? Also, how much do they lower the front & rear?

 

I replied to your PM, but most of that info is in your older thread:

https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes-20/eibach-racing-beat-springs-fd-737754/

 

Thanks Mahjik. After a little more researching I found the following spring rates for the two sets:

Eibach: 366 Front, 274 Rear (Linear)
RSR: 349 Front, 261 Rear (Linear)

So I imagine that they'll ride just about the same. The only thing that is confusing me is the drop amount. The Eibachs say they drop 1" front and rear, whereas the RSR's say the drop 0.8 in the front & 0.6 in the rear, but everyone's comments here is that the RSR's lower the car more, especially in the rear.

For about the same money, I'm just not sure which to go with! Eibach is definitely the brand leader, but RSR's look tempting!

 

A few years ago, I was recommending Eibach. However, times change and IMO there are better options today.

 

Ian have you read the great write up by Howard in the suspension section? The Tein SS with the right springs sounds good to me.