Hi,

My 94 FD R2 needs to have new shocks and springs. The suspension and wheels are completely stock and I'm happy with the ride and handling. The only thing I might change is to lower the ride slightly (less than 1").

It's a daily driver (unless there's snow on the ground) and I don't autocross or track, about the only thing I do is spirited drives when the weather permits.

I would get all OEM parts but someone I know mentioned that R2 suspensions parts are not available from Mazda (haven't called Ray yet to confirm, will have to wait until Monday).

So if OEM parts are not available or are much more expensive then equivalent aftermarket parts, what aftermarket parts would most closely mimic the R2 ride (in your opinion). I can look up spring rates, but I can't find specs for the OEM shocks to compare to aftermarket ones. I'll be keeping my stock wheels.

Thanks for any info.

DTN

 

Check out Tokico's new HTS shock/spring combo:

https://www.raceinspired.com/ps-6719...1993-1996.aspx

 

Thanks Mahjik.

I just got a call from Tokico, and they said that the RX-7 kits aren't actually available yet, sometime this summer was the best estimate they could give me.

Any other suggestions? What are your thoughts on Tokico Illuminas / RB Springs combo?

I've been reading Howard Coleman's FD Chassis/Setup thread and his suggested spring rate for track/street seems high for my street only car (432/378).

 

go gc and koni... you get to specify with ground control the spring rates you want..

 

Here are some other options for you to consider.

1. Konis w/ stock springs
Get a set of Koni Sport Adjustables. They have a 3 position spring perch. Highest perch is stock ride height. Middle perch is 1/2" lower. Lowest perch is about 1" lower.
Reuse you stock springs and get new upper shock mounts and spring pads from our buddy Ray at Malloy.
Excellent ride quality and a little bit of lowering. The Konis at full soft are just a touch softer than stock used shocks and ride quality will be similar to what you have. I ran this for a while on the street and was satisfied. Lots of stock class autocrossers also run this setup.

2. Konis w/ lowering springs
Same as above on the Konis. Set at highest spring perch with fresh factory rubber parts. Use Eibach, H&R, RSR maybe Tein springs. Do some research and pick what you think better fit your needs.

I was very happy with Konis and H&R springs for spirited street driving and on track as well. Much better ride quality than Konis w/ Ground Controls in 450/350 rates. I also briefly tried the RSR coilovers howard uses and felt the ride quality was worse than the Koni/GC combo. The Koni/GC setup does offer up more performance for track use once you become a faster driver. They are actually pretty good on the street until you start driving on broken up, older roads. Then you will feel the increased spring rate affect on ride quality as the irregularities don't get soaked up as with softer springs and factory shock mounts. Stiffer suspensions particularly in the form of increased spring rates also results in less traction in wet weather.

Search on old posts of mine on this topic as I've posted on this before. As a point of reference, I'm in my late 30s and picky on ride quality. Different ages and people will have different tolerances for 'ride quality' since it is very subjective. So will the quality of roads you have to drive on.