you must be crazy! the first and only time i drove my FD to the city was way back to do some shopping. but being on stock r1 suspension, damn its a nightmare driving out there. pot holes left and right, railroad tracks, cracks, they got them all. its a very, very harsh ride, on the driver/passenger, and on the car itself!

everytime i go out there, at first i want to bring the FD. but i end up bringing the wrx since it seats 5. after i get there with the wrx, i always think to myself "what the hell were you thinking trying to bring the FD out here". that bad.

all of my rear suspension bushings have been changed last year. i'm wanting to try some koni or tokico shocks and eibach springs, and hopefully with the softest setting, it will be a more pleasant ride. anyone with this setup (i'm sure there's a few) that drive around the city okay? my r1 suspension is this bad/stiff?

chris

 

i kept and still have my car on stock suspension, because i did alot of driving in the city. i dont think its worth taking the fd to the city anymore. unless you know you can find parking quick.

 

i don't mind having a hard time parking. i do mind how uncomfortable the ride is out there tho. it seems that, being on stock suspension (non r1), it doesn't bother you driving out there.... ride quality wise. r1 suspension must be that much more harsh than the tourings.

chris

 

I've driven my FD into the city, with Koni's and now Teins. They both hurt. You just have to learn which streets to take I guess.

 

yea, don't drive on the main streets and you're fine.

 

even with the koni's on the softest setting, it's still that bad? daym.

the thing is I am realll bad with directions. i find myself going whichever way to get to wherever possible. i don't think i can avoid main streets even if i knew where i was going.


ah well, sucks how we can't drive our little FD's up and down the city... comfortably. sounds like aftermarket suspension set to softest is still harsh.

chris

 

dunno, I don't think its that harsh with tein flex on full soft. I do have a high tolerance for discomfort though.

 

stop being a baby Chris, it's just bumps..lol just kidding, with your car's stock suspension it should not be that bad..I rode in your car and it is much softer than aftermarket suspension

 

just dodge all the pot holes, train tracks, bad drivers and you should be ok.

 

i drove my fd around sf once, it wasnt horrible although i wouldnt want to do it every day. there seem to be quite a few fds around down town, i saw 2 that day which is more than average.

 

the real question is...... what RX- car from mazda was ever comfortable to drive on a day to day basis existed..?

 

my car is done and parked in my garage because the roads here are so bad. getting a g35 to drive here while im working. sad that there is no new car that excites me like the fd did all those years ago..and still today. well none under 90k anyway. for the first time my fd is parked for more than a month and IT WORKS! haha.

oh well...someday I will be back where roads dont have eighteen inch holes in them or twenty food cracks. gah..not to mention all the stop signs and hills here.

 

Aside from getting this

I hate driving a lightweight flywheel up the hill on a stop and go situation.

 

in stock form i would tend to say YES.

it's the lowering, and lightweight flywheel that makes it a bitch.

 

i can tolerate bumps. i've gotten used to my car's r1 suspension. but my passengers are like thinking WTF. okay, yea, i didn't buy the car to give a friend a comfortable ride out to the city. but say for example i want to take someone nice out there. i don't want to scare the sh*t out of this person. all i want is to drive my nice car out to the city, with a friend, without having to worry about breaking my passenger's spine. is that so much to ask?

what about tokicos on the softest setting? i'm wishing that my FD rides somewhat like the WRX. the WRX is not on average suspension, its somewhat sporty stiff, but not overkill like the FD.


from http://www.tokicogasshocks.com/car/cf_mazda_rx7.html :

"In most cases, TOKICO Performance and/or Illumina shocks and struts offer more damping force than the original factory parts. However, in a few cases, we feel that the OE valving may be too stiff. The 3rd generation of the RX7 (1993-96) is an example of such a vehicle. For this car we offer only the 5 position Illumina adjustable shocks. Since the stiffest setting is similar to the factory settings for the R-1 model, the driver can go to a softer setting to improve ride and handling. This works especially well for rough surfaces."

i'm about to ask if the tokicos are softer than the konis in the suspension/wheels section.

chris