1st gen suspension 90/10
06-22-07, 12:07 AM
#1
1st gen suspension 90/10
so i was wondering if any1 makes a strut for the 1st gen? or if im going to have to fab something up.. some1 was tellin me once about taking apart a stock strut and drilling the vavle to make it soft going up.. but i dont really remember and they said you needed some new stock factory struts to do it... any help would be gr8 if you guys have some tricks or other struts that you have done mods to
thanks PaTricK
thanks PaTricK
06-22-07, 01:07 PM
#2
Suspension
You can spend a lot of money on struts, coil-overs, springs and still have crappy launches. I would start with the basics if your talking about a stock RX7 1st Gen. The first things that come to mind are a good rear-end, line lock, big fat slick, minimum of at least a Turbo II Trans preferably newer if available, and a good solid clutch setup. As for rear-end upgrades and after market trannies I would say a rear-end is probably a must have because once the slicks hook there goes your differential and your axles. The stock Mazda Turbo II tranny is good for low 1.3 60' times, but you just can't shift at high RPM's.
Leaving your stock suspension alone works just fine, but you need to mess with the ride height of your vehicle once you put on some big slicks. I have stock old crappy front/rear shocks nothing special. I like to have at least 1" of travel from ride height. This worked well for my 1st with no problems and produced 1.3 60' times turbocharged. Forgot to mention I cut the rubber block that bolts to the body in the middle of the rear-end springs to adjust when the car bottomed out. The rear-end springs were also cut to drop the car since it looked like a 4X4 after I installed the slicks.
Note: I left the front suspension completely stock with no changes to struts or springs and it worked just fine.
Leaving your stock suspension alone works just fine, but you need to mess with the ride height of your vehicle once you put on some big slicks. I have stock old crappy front/rear shocks nothing special. I like to have at least 1" of travel from ride height. This worked well for my 1st with no problems and produced 1.3 60' times turbocharged. Forgot to mention I cut the rubber block that bolts to the body in the middle of the rear-end springs to adjust when the car bottomed out. The rear-end springs were also cut to drop the car since it looked like a 4X4 after I installed the slicks.
Note: I left the front suspension completely stock with no changes to struts or springs and it worked just fine.
06-23-07, 04:14 PM
#6
well right now i have a adj. pan hard and adj. 4 link.. in the rear... have a 4 speed trans.. good clutch... 85 gsl rear end with a 4.77 gear and a spool also a air bag in the spring...26-10.5-15 et streets... and i have a hurst line loc..i more or less have the car set up. i guess im going to be buying some 90/10 lakewood struts for a mustang and doing some mods to them..
as for needing a stronger rear end i think i should be good i preload on the launch..and the trans is a sweet old skool 4 speed that works gr8... preload is the way to go from keeping for blowing things up
as for needing a stronger rear end i think i should be good i preload on the launch..and the trans is a sweet old skool 4 speed that works gr8... preload is the way to go from keeping for blowing things up
06-24-07, 12:48 AM
#7
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well right now i have a adj. pan hard and adj. 4 link.. in the rear... have a 4 speed trans.. good clutch... 85 gsl rear end with a 4.77 gear and a spool also a air bag in the spring...26-10.5-15 et streets... and i have a hurst line loc..i more or less have the car set up. i guess im going to be buying some 90/10 lakewood struts for a mustang and doing some mods to them..
as for needing a stronger rear end i think i should be good i preload on the launch..and the trans is a sweet old skool 4 speed that works gr8... preload is the way to go from keeping for blowing things up
as for needing a stronger rear end i think i should be good i preload on the launch..and the trans is a sweet old skool 4 speed that works gr8... preload is the way to go from keeping for blowing things up
26x10.5x 15 tires how do you fit them bad boys in there , you must have @ least 1.5 inch of tire coming out the fender unless you have a wide body in any case if you dont have a wide body car and that car was to hook up which it wont but if it did and you launch it @ 10500 rpm it would only bog out the hole and my bet is it would turn of then after that you would have to pry the fender from the center of the tire cause more than likelly it will channel itself in2it..... on the other hand if you baby the car out the hole meaning 8000 to 8500 rpm wit that old school 4 speed that u have and those gears in the rear you will pass the 1320 feet in third gear with your rpm @ about 7500 rpm ...... no bueno my friend , no bueno
go with a smaller tire 24 x 8 x15 cause your 26x10.5 are over kill try some tokiko illuminas in the front set the rebound at the softest settings and tokiko blues in the rear that should do the trick good luck 
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06-24-07, 02:04 AM
#8
26x10.5x 15 tires how do you fit them bad boys in there , you must have @ least 1.5 inch of tire coming out the fender unless you have a wide body in any case if you dont have a wide body car and that car was to hook up which it wont but if it did and you launch it @ 10500 rpm it would only bog out the hole and my bet is it would turn of then after that you would have to pry the fender from the center of the tire cause more than likelly it will channel itself in2it..... on the other hand if you baby the car out the hole meaning 8000 to 8500 rpm wit that old school 4 speed that u have and those gears in the rear you will pass the 1320 feet in third gear with your rpm @ about 7500 rpm ...... no bueno my friend , no bueno go with a smaller tire 24 x 8 x15 cause your 26x10.5 are over kill try some tokiko illuminas in the front set the rebound at the softest settings and tokiko blues in the rear that should do the trick good luck
go with a smaller tire 24 x 8 x15 cause your 26x10.5 are over kill try some tokiko illuminas in the front set the rebound at the softest settings and tokiko blues in the rear that should do the trick good luck there is a pic of the car in my sig... the tires fit fine they just fit inside the wheel wells.... why do you say the car wont hook up? and it would bog?
thanks for the replys
06-24-07, 12:03 PM
#9
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and i am gonna be the first to congratulate you cause you are the first person that i have ever known of to be able to fit 26x10.50 x15 in the rear of a first gen , because on all the ones that i have done i can never fit a 10.50 in there with out rubbing or mini tubing and that includes having a narowed 9 "
06-24-07, 12:55 PM
#10
here are some quick pics...
edit: sorry for got to resize the pics
the tire is close but it fits as you can see i have not rolled the fenders yet.. im going to tho just to make sure the side walls dont hit
its close but they do fit with out rubbing
just put a rear sump in and relocating my fule pump to the back. i was having fule psi problems
edit: sorry for got to resize the pics
the tire is close but it fits as you can see i have not rolled the fenders yet.. im going to tho just to make sure the side walls dont hit
its close but they do fit with out rubbing
just put a rear sump in and relocating my fule pump to the back. i was having fule psi problems
06-26-07, 10:46 PM
#11
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10.5 e.t.street tread width is under 9'' wide! 10'' e.t. drag slick tread width is a true 10''. just look up the specs in a summit or jegs catalog. you can however fit a 10'' slick because i have done it on my 85 w/8.8 rear,no tub,no flare.
06-27-07, 11:12 AM
#12
Cheap recommendation
81GSL12A,
Why don't you save yourself some money and play with what you have? The rear end travel has alot to do with how the car launches. I failed to mention in my first reply that I have all 5 adjustable links including the pan hard bar. But, everything has retained the stock dimension. I am not a suspension guy I only tried what made sense to me and it worked really well for my application. Sounds like your car is turbocharged so you should be in good shape because your car makes more torque with a turbocharger. On a side note I would not recommend launching your car @10,500 RPM unless you have deep pockets and lots of spare parts and cash.
Basically what you do not want is for the car to unload the tires between shifts and minimizing the ride height to travel measurement to 1" worked for me. A Mazda standard trans usually unloads the tires between shifts so an automatic would be more appropriate for a small tire car. Load would be constant and very little shock to the tires would keep them planted on the ground.
Question for you what size rim and tire do you have in the front of your 7? It looks like your signature has one picture, but the pictures you posted look different. Maybe it is the angle you took the pictures from.
Good Luck
Why don't you save yourself some money and play with what you have? The rear end travel has alot to do with how the car launches. I failed to mention in my first reply that I have all 5 adjustable links including the pan hard bar. But, everything has retained the stock dimension. I am not a suspension guy I only tried what made sense to me and it worked really well for my application. Sounds like your car is turbocharged so you should be in good shape because your car makes more torque with a turbocharger. On a side note I would not recommend launching your car @10,500 RPM unless you have deep pockets and lots of spare parts and cash.
Basically what you do not want is for the car to unload the tires between shifts and minimizing the ride height to travel measurement to 1" worked for me. A Mazda standard trans usually unloads the tires between shifts so an automatic would be more appropriate for a small tire car. Load would be constant and very little shock to the tires would keep them planted on the ground.
Question for you what size rim and tire do you have in the front of your 7? It looks like your signature has one picture, but the pictures you posted look different. Maybe it is the angle you took the pictures from.
Good Luck
06-27-07, 03:31 PM
#13
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81GSL12A,
Basically what you do not want is for the car to unload the tires between shifts and minimizing the ride height to travel measurement to 1" worked for me. A Mazda standard trans usually unloads the tires between shifts so an automatic would be more appropriate for a small tire car. Load would be constant and very little shock to the tires would keep them planted on the ground.
Good Luck
Basically what you do not want is for the car to unload the tires between shifts and minimizing the ride height to travel measurement to 1" worked for me. A Mazda standard trans usually unloads the tires between shifts so an automatic would be more appropriate for a small tire car. Load would be constant and very little shock to the tires would keep them planted on the ground.
Good Luck
VERY VERY TRUE
06-27-07, 05:49 PM
#14
81GSL12A,
Why don't you save yourself some money and play with what you have? The rear end travel has alot to do with how the car launches. I failed to mention in my first reply that I have all 5 adjustable links including the pan hard bar. But, everything has retained the stock dimension. I am not a suspension guy I only tried what made sense to me and it worked really well for my application. Sounds like your car is turbocharged so you should be in good shape because your car makes more torque with a turbocharger. On a side note I would not recommend launching your car @10,500 RPM unless you have deep pockets and lots of spare parts and cash.
Basically what you do not want is for the car to unload the tires between shifts and minimizing the ride height to travel measurement to 1" worked for me. A Mazda standard trans usually unloads the tires between shifts so an automatic would be more appropriate for a small tire car. Load would be constant and very little shock to the tires would keep them planted on the ground.
Question for you what size rim and tire do you have in the front of your 7? It looks like your signature has one picture, but the pictures you posted look different. Maybe it is the angle you took the pictures from.
Good Luck
Why don't you save yourself some money and play with what you have? The rear end travel has alot to do with how the car launches. I failed to mention in my first reply that I have all 5 adjustable links including the pan hard bar. But, everything has retained the stock dimension. I am not a suspension guy I only tried what made sense to me and it worked really well for my application. Sounds like your car is turbocharged so you should be in good shape because your car makes more torque with a turbocharger. On a side note I would not recommend launching your car @10,500 RPM unless you have deep pockets and lots of spare parts and cash.
Basically what you do not want is for the car to unload the tires between shifts and minimizing the ride height to travel measurement to 1" worked for me. A Mazda standard trans usually unloads the tires between shifts so an automatic would be more appropriate for a small tire car. Load would be constant and very little shock to the tires would keep them planted on the ground.
Question for you what size rim and tire do you have in the front of your 7? It looks like your signature has one picture, but the pictures you posted look different. Maybe it is the angle you took the pictures from.
Good Luck
it is a Nitrous car
the front is the stock gsl 13's i do have the bbs 15's that match for up front
like i said b4 the rear of my car is set up good.. the only thing ive been wanting to imporve was the front and was wondering if any1 had 90/10 struts... im going ot be making some out of a lakewood 90/10 strut i guess
my car has been plasma cut/gutted 1 seat and an 8 point cage
cheers PaTricK
06-27-07, 06:51 PM
#15
Boost in bottle
I here what your saying, but I have seen lots of people spend money on those types of bolt-on items only to find it helped a little bit. Hey if you can turn a new leaf over and find some better traction good for you. These Mazda Rotaries have a hard type hooking up.
Can you post some information about your results after you buy the new shocks/struts? I am just curious to see if anyone else on this Forum has input on suspension configurations for 1st Gen. I looked for many years and just went with what made sense to me. My buddy builds dragsters and one day I was at his shop and I was amazed those dragster rails don't have any shocks or struts. So I figured solid stiff suspension with a little bit of rebound should work.
The other thing I did with my car was we welded the entire under carriage of the car together. Every seam was cleaned and welded and this really helped because it made the entire car stiff. The car already had a 12 point cage in it which really helps, but you need to tie in the strut towers to keep the car from flexing.
Good Luck
Albert
Can you post some information about your results after you buy the new shocks/struts? I am just curious to see if anyone else on this Forum has input on suspension configurations for 1st Gen. I looked for many years and just went with what made sense to me. My buddy builds dragsters and one day I was at his shop and I was amazed those dragster rails don't have any shocks or struts. So I figured solid stiff suspension with a little bit of rebound should work.
The other thing I did with my car was we welded the entire under carriage of the car together. Every seam was cleaned and welded and this really helped because it made the entire car stiff. The car already had a 12 point cage in it which really helps, but you need to tie in the strut towers to keep the car from flexing.
Good Luck
Albert
06-27-07, 08:52 PM
#16
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I here what your saying, but I have seen lots of people spend money on those types of bolt-on items only to find it helped a little bit. Hey if you can turn a new leaf over and find some better traction good for you. These Mazda Rotaries have a hard type hooking up.
Can you post some information about your results after you buy the new shocks/struts? I am just curious to see if anyone else on this Forum has input on suspension configurations for 1st Gen. I looked for many years and just went with what made sense to me. My buddy builds dragsters and one day I was at his shop and I was amazed those dragster rails don't have any shocks or struts. So I figured solid stiff suspension with a little bit of rebound should work.
The other thing I did with my car was we welded the entire under carriage of the car together. Every seam was cleaned and welded and this really helped because it made the entire car stiff. The car already had a 12 point cage in it which really helps, but you need to tie in the strut towers to keep the car from flexing.
Good Luck
Albert
Can you post some information about your results after you buy the new shocks/struts? I am just curious to see if anyone else on this Forum has input on suspension configurations for 1st Gen. I looked for many years and just went with what made sense to me. My buddy builds dragsters and one day I was at his shop and I was amazed those dragster rails don't have any shocks or struts. So I figured solid stiff suspension with a little bit of rebound should work.
The other thing I did with my car was we welded the entire under carriage of the car together. Every seam was cleaned and welded and this really helped because it made the entire car stiff. The car already had a 12 point cage in it which really helps, but you need to tie in the strut towers to keep the car from flexing.
Good Luck
Albert
06-27-07, 10:24 PM
#17
I here what your saying, but I have seen lots of people spend money on those types of bolt-on items only to find it helped a little bit. Hey if you can turn a new leaf over and find some better traction good for you. These Mazda Rotaries have a hard type hooking up.
Can you post some information about your results after you buy the new shocks/struts? I am just curious to see if anyone else on this Forum has input on suspension configurations for 1st Gen. I looked for many years and just went with what made sense to me. My buddy builds dragsters and one day I was at his shop and I was amazed those dragster rails don't have any shocks or struts. So I figured solid stiff suspension with a little bit of rebound should work.
The other thing I did with my car was we welded the entire under carriage of the car together. Every seam was cleaned and welded and this really helped because it made the entire car stiff. The car already had a 12 point cage in it which really helps, but you need to tie in the strut towers to keep the car from flexing.
Good Luck
Albert
Can you post some information about your results after you buy the new shocks/struts? I am just curious to see if anyone else on this Forum has input on suspension configurations for 1st Gen. I looked for many years and just went with what made sense to me. My buddy builds dragsters and one day I was at his shop and I was amazed those dragster rails don't have any shocks or struts. So I figured solid stiff suspension with a little bit of rebound should work.
The other thing I did with my car was we welded the entire under carriage of the car together. Every seam was cleaned and welded and this really helped because it made the entire car stiff. The car already had a 12 point cage in it which really helps, but you need to tie in the strut towers to keep the car from flexing.
Good Luck
Albert
you can also put 2 part foam in the sub frame
i have been building cars and working on them my whole life.... i use to build jeeps with lifts the suspension is more or less all the same got to have TRACTION the Suspension on a 1st gen is alot like a 88-93 mustang witch i dont know if you know or not is the fastest stock suspension car in the world... a fast car is not so much about power it about suspension... i will post up about my suspension and probley do a how to/write up or i will just make the kit for ppl if it works out well
06-28-07, 11:19 AM
#18
Suspension kits
When you get all your stuff working let me know so I can forward my customers to you. Like I said before I am no suspension guru just trying to make things work for me. If you come up with something that works well try marketing it. I am not aware of anyone on this Forum that does Drag Racing suspension stuff mostly Road Racing stuff.
Thanks
Albert
Thanks
Albert
