Here a new one for you guys.I know I know.I sure ask a lot of questions.Anyways.Who here has wider tires in the rear and how does that affect the rx 7's handling.Ive talked to some friends and they say that the car will not handle as well.Is this true?
I know look wise the rx looks better with wider tires in the rear but im looking for practicality not necessarily looks.

 

Providing more traction in the rear will tend to make the car understeer more, or oversteer less. That may not be an improvement depending on lots of other factors

 

sounds to me like the engineers at mazda put the same size rollers on all corners for a reason.I guess ill make my final decision once i get the c west bodykit.Ill see then what would work best with that bodykit.I have a friend that got a bodykit for a cavalier and man he should have gotten wider tires in the back.It looks so funny in the rear.This big bodykit and skiny 6 inch wide rims.

 

If u do a setup like mines it really balances the car out.

Here are my susp mods:

Addco front 1 1/8"and rear 7/8" sway bars
Koni adj
ground control coil overs 450ft/350rr
255/40/17 front
275/40/17 rear
suspension set on soft

Alignment front camber is -1.5
Rear is -2

I am just doing this off the top of my head on the alignment specs since it's been a while since I checked it out.

This way the handling is very neutral.

i went with a more aggressive negative camber than the one that Pettit uses which gave me more understeer and seemed to be set for stock sway bars.

 

There are so many other variable you can't possibly say that the car needs to have the same size tires front/rear to handle well.

Thje mazda engineers likely made them the same size for cost considerations, and because the the car only made 255 hp. You'll note that later models had staggered sizes.

Saying that the car will universally understeer with a staggered setup isn't really right. On what corner? At what speed? With what other mods?

Generally a larger rear will help with throttle-on oversteer, which if your car is making good power, may concern you alot more than a little push here or there in low-speed corners.

 

i think the efini rx-7's have wider rims for the rears. i would guess the setup would give handling on pars to 93's, if not better. anyone know how different the efinis handle from the US spec rx-7's? now that someone mentioned camber, wonder what efini cambers are set at....

 

they may have left the camber intact since the 225 all around sizing tends to lend itself to oversteer at the limits.

 

Looks like Batman has spent a lot of time on his setup, and probably has a very good handling car. One other thing to consider is ride comfort. How stiff do you want your car to be? Do you want to feel every little bump in the road?

You should ride in a couple of FD's (with different suspensions) on bumpy roads. Then make an informed decision.

 

Actually, I took ride comfort in a daily driven FD into account.

that is why i did not go with 550ft and 450rr coil overs.

Also, I have the konis set to the softest setting for added comfort and to give enough lean for a more predictable handling at the extremes.........

 

oops, the Pettit gave me more oversteer....... sorry about that.

 

My car understeered too much with 1-inch wider wheels/tires in back, with all other suspension components left unchanged.

 

yep....... that would be the case.

going staggered right seem to require the full monty in susp mods to have a balanced setup.........

 

The more roll you have the more static negative camber you'll need. Stiffer springs and/or bars will allow the car to run less negative camber.

 

Ok call me dumb but i dont know the difference between oversteer and understeer.What exactly does the car do in either condition.
Oh and yeah I hate my suspension right now.Is the rx 7's suspension supposed to let you feel every bump on the road or do i just need new shocks?

 

Oversteer is when you don't see what you crash into.

Understeer is when you do see what you crash into.



Oversteer is the rear end losing traction first and the tail coming around. Understeer is the front losing traction first and thus the car not turning as tightly as expected.

 

thanx for the easy explanation.Well my stock setup seems to oversteer.Especially when the turbos kick in.

 

hmm i wonder could bad shocks be causing the car to oversteer? or does the fd just do that naturally.If its a natural thing then maybe 1 inch tires in the back would even out the said oversteer.

 

Why not just go with 285's all around? Handle alot better than stock.

 

naw........ the FD has more of a oversteer with stiffer rear sway bars, so my setup balanced things out and leaves it to throttle induced oversteer when I want it.

 

That may be the best explanation I have ever heard.

 

I can't credit where I originally read it because I don't remember

 

I have some 15x7 Diamond Racing wheels for the front (4" backspacing) and 15x8 in the rear (5" backspacing), but was planning on putting on Kumho Ecsta V700's in 225/45-15 size all around. I am thinking the car will stay pretty balanced with the same width tires, but with wider wheels in the back it might flatten the tread width a little more for a better look, and a little more grip.

Any opinions?

 

I don't think you should base your wheels off of your body kit. You should base your body kit off of your wheels. You are kinda being ricey with that comment.

 

I wanna put the c west kit on my car.A friend of mine bought rims for his car and then a bodykit.And guess what the bodykit ended up being about an inch wider.So his rims were completely dwarfed and it made the entire car look like ****.So dont tell me im being ricey.
Im being carefull not to screw up like he did.Whats wrong with wanting to have a nice looking car.Nothing.

 

U should always do exterior mods in this order:

lower car
get bigger wheels and tires
then u do the body kit.