Coulthard Fan

Last week I "introduced" my Addco front sway bar to one of the District of Columbia's large raised manhole covers at about 5mph. The two did not get along well. Both sway bar mounts were bent back about 10-15 degrees and the sway bar end links ($88 each?) were similarly deformed. The car still drives fine for daily use, but this is prime autocross/DE season and I need to get things back to perfect working condition. Can you all please help me evaluate the current choices for replacing the front sway bar mounts. (I referred to Steve Cirian's site but it may be dated on this topic.) http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/anti-sway_bars.html

As I see it, my current choices are:
Stock - ($44 each?) but why would I do this since the stock ones are prone to cracking.
Mazda Competition - ($202) Not sure how much better than stock these are or if they replace the mounts or just the brackets.
http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/weba...rvlet/CPSearch
M2 - ($279) I don't want to wait 3 months though.
http://www.m2performance.com/
Tripoint - ($?) I don't think this is what I need. It looks like it reinforces the bracket to the existing mount, which is bent in my case.
http://www.tripointengineering.com/C...suspension.htm
Racing Beat - ($76) Again, I think this just reinforces the brackets, not replacing them. (Pettit Racing also seems to sell this same piece)
http://www.racingbeat.com/FRmazda3.htm
SR Motorsports - ($299) How is this different than M2's? It looks the same to me.
http://www.srmotorsports.com/sr93susp.html
Crooked Willow Racing - Are these still being made? They are not on the CWC website anymore.
http://www.crookedwillow.com/products.htm but there is a write up on Chris Reagan's site among others. http://reganrotaryracing.tripod.com/tripoint.htm
FTL Racing - does anyone make these now that Trev has passed away?

For the end links, is there another choice besides the stock links? They are about $88 each - ouch. On Steve's site there is a write up by Spencer Hutchings on a replacement but I've never heard of anyone besides him trying it. He did it with solid joints for about $54 total. http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/a...end_links.html Any thoughts? Spencer?

Thanks.
(Cross posted from the big-list)

DamonB

Mazdatrix has replacement drop links made from Aurora ball ends; closest thing to bullet proof you'll find. I used them before going to the Tripoint bar which has its own (massive) ball ends. You can also buy the ball ends yourself if you're resourceful; you need them with a 10mm bore to fit the stock bar and bolts.

Only aftermarket mounts I would consider are M2 and SRMotorsport. I don't believe you can get the Crooked Willows any longer.

0piston

iTrader: (9)

Actually you can still get the CWR mounts, I bought a pair a while back and the design really is a piece of art

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...ighlight=david

rx7tt95

David Breslau is still making the WIDEFOOT swaybar mounts, which Duane at CWR sold. I have them and frankly, there isn't any other choice. I don't have David's info off hand, so if anyone has his e-mail, please post!
Michel

alwan16

pm me if you want david's e-mail. he is still selling them for $275. i'm going to get them when my stock ones break.

artowar2

Man, you guys just have to look down a couple of topics...

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=98377

See my post for David's email address.

Coulthard Fan

Yeah, I missed that new email address when I first posted. However, when I cross posted to the big list I cc'd David's old MIT address and he quickly responded to the original question and did confirm that he has the mounts in stock and now sells them directly for $285 plus $10 shipping.

Right now the main benefit I see of the Widefoot over the other mounts is that it raises the mounting points by more than an inch over the stock location. And I've already now f'ed up three stock mounts in 4 years of FD ownership from bottoming out. And I don't even have a slammed car or anything, just Koni's, progressive Eibach springs and 235/40/17's. I may end up raising the springs up one notch on their perches - IIRC they were originally set on the middle perch.

DamonB

I agree that this is a good thing, but if you happen to run the Tripoint bar with bronze bushings (as I do) your mounts MUST stay at stock height otherwise the braces won't line up. Again this is a special case for people who use the Tripoint bronze mounts and braces.

WidefootRacing

iTrader: (3)

Hi Scott (and DamonB),

I agree that raising up the bar is one of the main advantages of my
Widefoot mounts, but the function of the built-in brace is (IMHO) the most
important reason to use them. Without some form of lateral bracing, the
stock mount design has a *built in* tendency to rock, eventually leading to
metal fatigue that can cause the stock mounts to fail, or even start cracking
the main frame rail. The Widefoot mount stops the rock, and saves the
weight and cost of additional bracing.

I believe the Tripoint bronze bearing/brace is the only one that my
mounts won't work with, regular Tripoint bars and all others work fine.

Thanks, David Breslau

ronarndt

I just installed the Mazdatrix front sway bar mounts. Heavier steel than stock. No drilled lightening holes to weaken the cross bracing. Approx $98 each. My stock mount *and* the Racing Beat brace completely cracked into pieces on the right side. Hope the new mounts hold up better.
Ron A.

SleepR1

And how did this happen?

ronarndt

SleepR1- Apparently normal, hard cornering. Did not hit anything. The RB reinforcement bar snapped at the weld. The stock mounts had the nuts ripped out (ouch) along with a chunk of the surrounding metal, leaving the bar attached to nothing on the right side except the end link. I'm going to see if I can get RB to repair/replace their brace or give some credit toward a new brace.
Ron A.