sodara

iTrader: (1)

I'm still a novice and have been auto crossing for 3 seasons now. I drive a 87 TII and it is completely stock. I like the way it currently handles but after some experience I'd like to tune the handling slightly.

I have some idea of what I may want (like larger sway bars) but at the same time I don't want to overkill and drastically change how it currently handles and relearn how to drive/modulate my input.

I'd like it to have just a bit less body roll and to be a bit sharper during turn in.
What minor/major modifications would you guys recommend? Any suggestions would be appreciated.



Thank you,
Sodara

aznpoopy

depends if you care about staying within a particular autocross class. check the rule book. a good tire comes first. but that's not what you're asking, is it?

for scca stock category i believe you are allowed fairly liberal modification to the front sway bar only (no modification to the rear) and replacement of the oem shock. if you want to get more out of it and stay within the rules, new oem bushings, balljoints, etc. all around would probably help alot on a 20 year old car.

if you don't mind moving up to street touring, then i'd suggest a conservative spring/shock setup based on what you're saying. refurnishing the wear components is still a good idea as above, but you in touring you can go poly bushings instead of oem rubber.

YaNi

iTrader: (2)

There is no Street Touring class for turbo RX-7's. Your options are B Stock or B Street Prepared. Get a copy of the rulebook and decide on what class to aim for. I would suggest staying in stock class until your skill level and budget can afford to move to BSP.

jdmsuper7

iTrader: (1)

Alignment with as much camber as they can legally coax out of the front.
Koni yellows.
New (stock) springs.
Don't go crazy on the front bar since you want to keep the inside wheel on the ground still.
Enjoy getting killed in BS.
Hope the FC somehow becomes a class killer when they re-align the stock classes.
Profit?

Black91n/a

Yellows are good, but Bilsteins are better. For stock class, since you'd need stock springs anyway, Bilsteins will be great. New stock springs is a good suggestion; DamonB found that his old, used stock FD springs has saged and were softer than new stock springs. As for the front camber, those "crash bolts" are legal, but will limit the amount of tire you can run. Running some good lightweight 16x7 34mm offset wheels would be advisable to give you that little bit more clearance to take maximum advantage of the rules and the stock wheels are pretty heavy to start with anyway. Replacing all the bushings, engine, transmission, differential, subframe mounts and such will make a difference.

Kentetsu

The one item that made the biggest difference in overall handling on my car (other than tires) was the Respeed front swaybar. Eliminates damn near all body roll, without altering the other characteristics of the car. I highly recommend it, especially since the fc is so much heavier than a fb and more prone to body roll.

I had a Racing Beat swaybar on before, but it really doesn't compare to the Respeed unit. Good luck...


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dpf22

Either class Bstock or B-street prepared will allow race tires. You might as well plan on a set of nice light wheels (something like enkei rpf1's) with some sticky tires to back them up. You could even go with a tire with a lower profile on the stock diameter and width and make your acceleration a little faster out of low speed corners. Basically, a slightly larger sway bar, better struts, and some good rubber would be a large jump in handling. Anything beyond that will depend on if you want to change classes or not. This is mostly because everything else like bushings and springs will depend on classing. If you go into BSP, a set of camber plates will be a good addition to the setup.
Believe it or not, taking some tips from what bmw guys run actually fits well with our cars because of the front suspension. The rear differs, but the front is relatively the same style. Everything must be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to modifying suspension because everyone drives differently, and not every car is the same.
Once you start to use race tires, the handling characteristics change drastically because of the added grip. Turn in will be much sharper, but sustained front grip may falter because it causes the vehicle to roll more; subsequently causing more positive camber in the front because there is BARELY any gain in negative camber with a macpherson (sp?) strut suspension. The rear on the other hand, has a good bit of negative gain under compression.
Heh, guess I managed a good ramble there. Basically everything must be taken into consideration. Ask some of your local auto-x buddies if they have any suggestions for cheap handling. That is always a good place to start . Some of those old dogs have some neat tricks

pistones

iTrader: (5)

i just went auto-xing today, but not in my FC. i agree with what most of these guys say. lots of negative front camber and good sticky tires will make the most difference. i have coilovers and was running stock rims with some crappy kumho tires and it was nice but when i went with some bridgestone RE-01R's it was a huge improvement. i am running stock sway bars until i feel they need to be upgraded, the coilovers are stiff enough. also in the BS tires they performed better with more pressure front than rear.