gasnmyveins

I'm hoping to get an rx7 soon, but can't really decide between the fb and fc. Can't afford the fd. I like the look of the fb a little better. It looks a little more like a pure sports car to me. On the other hand, I was reading reviews on them, and they supposedly only pulled something like .78g. I know - skinny tires with something less than the stickiest compounds didn't help, but still....... That's what makes me think about getting the fc. Much better technology is available, IRS, abs, things like that.
How well can they handle without breaking the bank? In other words, I can do better shocks, but not the multi hundred dollar ones. Good tires I can do, but not ones that will last 5000 miles. Good wheels, but used. Better springs, used if they are going to cost much.
I won't be racing much at a track, I just want it to handle as well as possible on the street since it will be my daily driver. What I'm looking for is very little body roll, very responsive turning (little to no understeer, with immediate response when I turn the wheel), controllability (no sudden surprises or twitchiness in the middle of something fun), and smoothness. I don't have to have those things at a level that would let me beat race-prepped cars, just something that lets me have a lot of fun during my daily drives, while making me think that it always has more in reserve. I would rarely take it to it's limit, I just like to know that if I decide to do that, the limit would be pretty high.
I'm thinking that with just springs, sway bars, new bushings, wheels and tires, it should handle fairly well. It may not be a race car on my budget, but it should be pretty stinkin' good. What do you all think?
Thanks.

gasnmyveins

Anybody?

sereneseven

I really don't understand what kind of a response you are looking for....neither I or anyone else on here knows what you consider "handling good" read alot and then read somemore and then try to ask more specific questions.

aznpoopy

+1

what do you want us to tell you?

you need to refresh the suspension, at the minimum. that's going to cost 'multi-hundreds' of dollars, easily.

and that's before you've started on basic maintenace and replacing wear items, which will be even more $$$.

Black91n/a

The FIRST thing you should change when looking for performance is shocks. In all likelyhood they'll be OEM, so that's AT LEAST 27 years old now for an FB. Stiff springs on OEM shocks will be TERRIBLE. It'll be bouncy, and difficult to control. Good shocks are the foundation for good handling. Aside from tires, they're THE most important part of the whole handling equation.

I know you mentioned shocks, but you seemed to forget about them in the parts list for good handling.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

one thing seemed pretty clear from the fact that it was a recurring theme. cost. so the first thing you NEED to do is make budget, then research to find the best components that will fit that budget.

NoDOHC

If you are considering an FC, why not go with that? From what I understand, the 86-91 GXL was > .85 skid with the stock 205 60 R15 tires. I think that low profile rims and tires alone can get you over .9 g's. As for price, the FC is really about the same range as the FB (which are getting a little scarce.)

To me it is a no-brainer.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

FC is heavier and IRS is not that big of an advantage if you can do some basic tuning, The FB has a perfect 50/50 weight balance and is so much fun to drive fast through the bends.

Now 1st thing is to replace and tie rods, ball joints, bushings that are bad. Front and rear end.

2nd, replace shocks, you can get Koni reds for $110 off eBay, they work great for the front, rear you are limited to Illuminas.

Springs depend upon your driving useage, check the spring rates, (there is a list in here search)

I remove the rear anti sway bar to give me less push/understeer, It suits my style.

Front bar only needs poly bushings to improve handling, I'm not a fan of huge anti sway bars unless its for race only use.

Tires/tires/tires...did I mention tires.....tirerack has a great tool to search for your size based upon model or wheel size. Research which are being used in SCCA STS these will work great and last a decent while.

Do a race driving course so you can actually take advantage of the car's benefits.

Favorite links for suspension are Respeed (site sponsor), Rockauto (OEM parts) and Gforce engineering ($).

sereneseven

LOL!!! why do people bring up these mysterious skid numbers as if they mean something?? I mean really what do you think that number really tells you about the car?? is the same guy driving all of them on the same pavement with the same tire temps or pressures?....much less even the same tires in the same conditions???? Is there one accelerometer going around to all the magazines and manufacturers that they all use and put in the same place on each car?? **** I can go buy a yugo and put some stickies on is probably pull a g.

Black91n/a

^ What he said. When comparing the magasine test numbers keep in mind that it'll have little bearing on what really happens nowadays. The suspensions are old and worn out or have been replaced with something different, the tires will be different (everythign from crusty old hard tires to high performance rubber) and so on. That will effect the numbers in a large way.

Tire technology has come a long way, it's quite possible to pull 1g on street tires these days, without resorting to Viper sized rubber. Take a Ferrari that does over 1g and put some hard, all-season milage plus tires on it and it'll struggle to break 0.8g in all likelyhood.

Healing

From what reference point are you (topic creator) speaking from? I have tons of fun with my bone stock FC so far, completely untouched. Its got its quirks going through the corners, of which time and the boxes in my garage will soon help remedy, but its been such a great learning experience - learning to preserve tire traction on small, crappy all seasons, learning to control the body roll and how the car pitches etc etc...

My point is, as long as you're not coming from something like an S2000 or something down to an FB or an FC, you'll probaly be very pleased with the handling either way. Unmodded, and especially modded. If you like the FB more, go with the FB. You won't be dissapointed (although I haven't driven it...). Buy the car that you like first, and deal with handling and that sort of stuff later as it comes. They're both good platforms.