Suspension (85')

[sarah]

I am beginning to think about doing my first major overhaul of my 85'. Up till now I have fixed a wiper motor, a starter, the oil pressure, belts, cap and rotor, etc... but nothing as in depth as considering improving the suspension.

The car is tilting in the driveway and it looks pretty sad so I have obtained some new rear shocks, which I think will fix the tilt good enough. However, the car is 25 years old and has likely never had any suspension work or improvements, but she only has 60k original miles so I want to fix her up nice.

I kind of butted into a different thread, but I would like to start a new one with a diagram from my manual. My manual is pretty awesome, but seems to lack diagram labeling (in many instances).

I was hoping we could play 'lets lable the suspension'?

*I know the coils, shocks, differential...and I think the strut is what the coil wraps around?

[djmtsu]

On the rear suspension you have the trailing arms, upper and lower. Also the bar that goes from side to side with the pivot in the middle is the Watts linkage (fancy panhard bar). Don't forget about the sway bars and link front and rear (U shaped thin bar).

Ahh, I miss how simple FB's suspension is.

[RX-7 Chris]

Take a look at Re-Speed for bushings: http://mrcmfg.com/catalog/product_in...067ddb6ba4c520

[Kentetsu]

www.re-speed.com will (as previously stated) have the bushings you need, along with anything else performance/suspension related. Good luck with your build.





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[Rogue_Wulff]

Ok, since no one has bothered saying this, I will.
Shocks will make no difference in the "tilting" you describe. The springs are solely responsible for holding the car up, and they can start sagging after all these years.
If the springs are sagging, the only cure is replacement springs. These can be bought in any number of forms, from stock replacements to "sport" springs, all the way to coilover front conversion and adjustable rear springs with fully customizable spring rates.
The vendor mentioned above is one of many that carries these various options in replacement springs, but there are several others. On the other hand, they are the only source I am aware of that offers adjustable ride hieght rear springs for the 79-85 RX7.

[sarah]

ah! so it is the springs, thanks for the help!

I don't know that I need fancy adjustable springs (perhaps), but my manual does have spring specs. Poor tilty car.

What is the difference between getting new springs, coil-overs, and a struct/ spring combo? This might be more infor than I need, but I like learning.

[Kentetsu]

New springs can tighten up the car, but will usually result in a slightly higher ride height, even if they say they lower the car. I used to have Racing Beat springs, and the car was higher up than when I started, so I was kind of disappointed with this. Also, after a few months, I wasn't very happy with their performance either.

So, I replaced those with coilovers. This allowed me to choose a stiffer spring rate, and also to ride height exactly where I wanted it.

Another thing that made a very big difference in the "leaning" of the car was swaybars. Again, I started out with a Racing Beat front swaybar, but later moved up to the Respeed tubular swaybar which I like much more. It is much lighter and stiffer than the RB version.

What you have to decide now is what you want the car to do. Are you interested in all in racing? SCCA Autcross is a lot of fun (check out my videos), cheap at 20 bucks, and a great way to learn how to handle your car in extreme (but very safe) conditions.

[sarah]

Right now I just plan to drive her for everyday, she isn't a turbo or anything. I may one day like to move in the direction of getting on a track, but likely not with this car.

I have a different hobby that is fast and insane.

Thank you for the feedback!
Sarah

[Rogue_Wulff]

If they stock springs have started sagging, causing the car to have a noticable tilt when it's sitting on level ground, and you have no intention of doing much more than just driving the car in a "normal" manner, I'd say got with Suspension Technices (AKA "ST") "sport" springs. They are reasonably priced, and have a nice ride quality.
An added bonus with the ST springs, if you decide to give autocross or track days a try, they will give a little bit better handling than stock, without needing to invest more funds unless you just want that little bit extra.
I had ST springs under my car, and they were pretty good. Unfortunately, they were rather old and had started sagging themselves after some 20 years, so I upgraded to Ground Control front coilovers and custom rear springs. I'm now looking at getting another set of the GC coilovers for another car. That's the pitfalls of having 3 1st gens. Always something you wanna upgrade, on at least one of them....

[Kentetsu]

Here is a link to the springs Rogue is referring to: http://mrcmfg.com/catalog/product_in...roducts_id=149

[mazdadude7]

if u want a gsl se setup I got a nice one thats redone and has new everything and its all powder coated and all. just throwing that out

[Spooln2]

If your not going to race it, put stock shocks on it. My front left shock was blown after 45,000 miles.