That_One_Guy

(I write this as a disclaimer before you read anything else here. I am new to car customization, and this is my first rx-7, so please forgive me if I ask any obvious or stupid questions...)

I just got my tires aligned at a local shop and I was hoping that would fix a problem I've had with my ride quality on my car, but it didn't. The only thing they fixed with my alignment was the toe on all four wheels.

I've recently noticed that my car has pretty poor ride quality in general, and it gets worse when I take the top down. It seems that the rear end of the car has lateral vibration when I hit bumps as I go down the road (ie. rocks side to side). What could be causing this, and why does it worsen when my top is down on the car?

The shop actually told me that the camber is off on both of my front and rear tires, and that I need to apply a camber kit to my car. They have the front kit in stock, but are unable to find a rear camber kit for my vert. Any ideas where I could find one specifically for my convertible?

Could the camber being off cause the lateral movement I refer to above? The only other thing that I could think of is the struts or springs being old. Idk. This is beyond my expertise.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

littlebit421

Is the car lowered any, what mods r done to the car suspension wise. Dont buy any camber kits yet, there may be other issues thay need to be taken care of first.

That_One_Guy

Sorry... I forgot to mention that my car is totally stock. Nothing aftermarket about it besides a cone filter for the air intake.

littlebit421

If your car is completly stock factory ride heigth. U do not need a camber kit. From my understanding u should be able to adjust the camber on the front, I dont think the rear has and adjustment but that might be just the s5 because the have rear stearing when u corner hard enough. Also what kind of shape r ur tie rods, ball joints, controll arms fittings In, and last but not least wheel bearings, jack ur car up, grab the tire while still on the car and try to move it, not steering it but looking for play. If ur wheel bearings are bad that could be most of your problem. One more thing do u have new tires and r they balanced

That_One_Guy

I just had my alignment redone yesterday. They checked out all of my steering system for problems and found everything to be working okay. I just replaced my front wheel bearings on my own, checked the rear bearings but they were fine. There is no play in the tires when I try to move them while the car is jacked up.

So there is no adjustment for the rear camber? So my left rear tires with -1.9 camber and right rear with -2.0 camber are okay? They are visibly off on the camber angle.

littlebit421

I think the 86 - 88 have camber adjustment in the rear but the 89-91 dont because of the active rear steering they did on the s5. Technically when the car corners hard enough the rear tires will toe in. 2 degrees is alot of camber for stock ride height, are u sure your springs arent cut or anything. Its really weird nobody else has chimmed in on this. A little help here would be nice!

littlebit421

I got this from another thread on here.

After lowering each car, the only alignment that changes is the camber. Unfortunately, FCs don't have rear camber adjustment in stock form, but Big O Tires says that rear negative camber on the FCs (at least on my 87's, though I don't see why it wouldn't apply to all FCs) is ok between negative .5 and 1.5 degrees. With the GF210s and RB springs, the negative camber was still within this range and therefore stayed within recommended alignment.

^ I'm running the stock 205/60/15 on both my vert wheels and my GXL wheels. So that being said what air pressure are you running because that could be your problem and as you can see lowering your car 1 inch still leaves it in spec so there is deffinatly somethin goin on here.

littlebit421

I wrote the last part about the tire pressure stuff and 1 inch thing.

That_One_Guy

Oh okay.... the tire pressure I'm running is 40 psi all around on Kumho Ecsta Asx 205 60 R15s. I believe that I am still running on the original struts and springs... would that be the cause?

littlebit421

That could be the problem, if they r worn out your car would bounce real bad when you go over a bump.

littlebit421

Oh yeah lets start at the ground how bad r the roads where your at, and what exactly happens when you hit a bump in the road. What do you mean by lateral, u mean side to side, because it could be the road not the suspension, and if your tires dont wear funny I wouldnt worry about the camber. Good luck bc thats all ive got. I still cant believe no one else has said anything on this.

That_One_Guy

The roads are terrible where I live. Tuolomne county, CA is known for having some of the worst maintained roads in the US. Potholes on the highways are commonplace, and all the roads are cracked and worn except where they've paved in the last six months (not many places). My car has a sharp up and down movement, coupled with a movement from side to side, producing a feeling like the rear end is wobbling in a diagonal direction when I hit even small bumps in the road.

As for no one else helping out here... poo on you guys. Thanks for the help littlebit. :-)

southsidecox

iTrader: (52)

if the shocks are blown then you will get that skittering around when you hit bumps,especially the rear,push down quickly on all 4 corners of the car,it should quickly return to original position without alot of up and down movement,also look at the shock cylinders for signs of leaking,my guess is theyre worn out and need replacing,when you do replace them get a stock type of shock and not the racing or track type cause they will be valved for performance and not soaking up bumps

That_One_Guy

What would be a good brand to go with for OEM struts / springs?

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

If the car is stock that means the suspension components are either a little worn out or really worn out.

Do yourself a favor and replace them asap

Good aftermarket suspension for FCs are:

Tokico Blue shocks
http://www.tokicoperformanceshocks.com/hp_details.aspx

with Racing Beat Springs
http://www.racingbeat.com/RX7-1986-1...ets/14082.html

This combo will offer a huge improvement in ride quality while giving you a 20% or so improvement in stiffness with a slightly lower ride height ~.5"-.75"

Perfect for an OEM replacement setup that isn't very aggressive at all. If you want aggressive there are far better setups than this but I don't think that is what you are going for.

That_One_Guy

So those aren't very aggressive suspension options? That means they will still offer good ride quality? I had looked at those previously but I was worried my ride quality would be even worse than it is now if I didn't look for a direct OEM replacement.

I definitely am more worried about ride quality. Handling is important, but this is my DD right now. I'm not taking it to the track anytime soon, just some occasional spirited highway driving. :-P

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

^ With that setup you will not be disappointed.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

If you look into the KYB AGX shocks,they are adjustable and would allow you to make your ride whatever your *** desires!.I got them on my Coupe and the ride is great.
My Vert is still stock but I know the Vert is heavier so I just "go with it".
FunkJaw is giving you Good advice with the Tokico's though,as they are made as a replacement for the Fc anyways.

joe88convertable

the only ajusting that can be done in the rear on s4's is the toe. it has a factory set 1.5degrees camber

southsidecox

iTrader: (52)

i must have serious brain fade,i was in the garage today and spotted new in the box rear shocks,forgot i had bought them few years ago,you can pm me for details,these are stock type and not high performance so they will be good for what you need

ncaudio

iTrader: (14)

As other posters havenoted,your stock shocks are probably worn out, and need replacement. the '88 verts donthave the active rear steering so that shoudl not be an issue, but if your rear shocks are gone then the rear end will feel kind of loose after going over bumps and around corners too, hope that helps,maybe youcanifndsomeone else with a '88 vert and compare. i'd let you drive mine, but I'm in NC

joe88convertable

i have the same problem. ik for a fact my rear shocks r bad, when i hit a bump i dont know where the car will go. kinda sucks. just upgrade