85_305

Well, out of curiousity, what would it take to outhandle an '87 or so RX7 Turbo? Strut tower brace, sub frames conn.'s, better struts, etc..
THanx all,
Matt

RS Dragster

The most important part about handling is TIRES. Get yourself a good set of tires. After that, shocks are very important as well. You might even want to go as far as upgrading your springs too. After that, get subframe connectors and a strut brace.

Once you're done with all that, you'll have a handling BEAST. Oh, and lightweight materials are always better, because weight plays a factor in everything.

z28marine

sway bars too.... basically all suspension upgrades, lower the weight, tires

RS Dragster

Thanks, man. Forgot that one

85_305

Arn't the stock sized sway bars excellently sized? What kind of shock/strut and springs will I want? Any links?

RS Dragster

As far as shock/spring combo, it's best to stay with one manufacturer and get a kit. A lot of sponsors have good deals on lowering kits.

As far as sway bars, I'm not really sure. It's been a while since I've looked at 3rd gen stuff. But I'm sure it's NOT a priority. Priority is Tires-> Shocks/Springs-> SFCs-> STB

85_305

What brand and Model of struts/springs do you recommend? Can you help me in locating a kit possibly? What is "STB"?

Kataklysm

STB is strut tower brace. The tires, SFCs and shocks will do the most. Almost forgot the sway bars too, get some beefy ones. Bilstein makes very good shocks.

85_305

Figured out that STB is strut tower brace, lol; I have heard that they are damn near IMPOSSIBLE to find for a carbureted 305.. any suggestions? But after I do these things, will I be near RX7 handling?

85_305

BTW.. does my '85 have a rear frame rail?

Buttercup

The question is way too broad. How do you make the best engine?

What is your definition of "handling"? If all you want is higher lateral acceleration, a good set of tires is all you need. There's a lot more to driving dynamics than just that however. How much oversteer/understeer? How do you want the car to transition?

The best suspension depends on how much power the car makes, what type of driving you'll be doing, what the driver prefers, etc. Do you want autocross, short road race, high speed road racing, top speed runs, drag racing, street driving?

What happens before and after a corner can be just as important and also affects what happens in the corner. Brakes are a big help, as is power.

There are a lot of ways to improve handling but there isn't one formula that works for everyone and every car. It must all act as a balanced system with the rest of the car.

Shock absorbers, springs, and sway bars are the most important suspension components (assuming good tires). They must all work together! If you need plenty of suspension travel you will want looser springs, the shock dampening than must be less agressive. The stabilizer bars also act on the tires so if you aren't overloading them with spring/shock you can go a little bigger. How much roll resistance from front to rear depends on your driving style and also how much power you make.

The best way to improve your suspension is to learn about it and make your own decisions. Another option would be to talk to a professional and let him try to give you what you want. Just throwing parts at the car can end up good or bad, depending on who you listen to and what you want.

Last but not least, the nut behind the wheel is the ultimate component

85_305

By handle better, I mean turn faster and more accuratly, taking major corners and not skidding; but I want, err, NEED traction. 300 horse and 350 lb/s are NOT a good combo w/out traction So ya, that is what I am hoping for. What is the skidpad? Why will I do good in that, but not in the slalom? Isn't the skidpad lateral g's?

Buttercup

Yeah, the skidpad measures sustained lateral g's. The problem isn't sustaining a lateral g, it's getting to it and out of it. If a race was just one big circle, we'd focus on that. We have to go from a straight line, into a turn, and then back out of it AND you want to be able to brake late and get on the gas as early as possible. This all has to be done on a road surface, which usually isn't perfectly flat.

Suppose you can hold a sustained high lateral g on the skidpad because of some nice sticky tires. Now suppose the turn in on the car is too sharp or not sharp enough, there's too much roll resistance in the front or back (or side to side), or the suspension can't maintain tire to road contact because of high rate springs and/or shocks on a bumpy surface. What good is the possible high lateral g if you can't get to it or it takes you too long to get to it?

Kind of like if I had 1000hp but I was running on some cheap, skinny, winter tires. If you can't use it, who cares? It's good for bragging but not for actual performance in the real world.

newby

Is the RX7 stock? You're at a disadvantage in a couple ways when it comes to comparing handling (i.e. auto-x, canyon carving, road racing). The RX7 is lighter, lower (stock), has a better brake setup (comparable to a C5's), and has an independent rear suspension.

If he's stock, you can make up for most of that stuff by doing what is stated above. RX7's have pretty darn skinny tires stock, so that's a disadvantage for him. Also, if he doesn't know how to drive the car, he might not know how to keep the car in it's powerband etc.

As was said above, one of the biggest upgrades you can make to a car as far as handling goes is what's behind the wheel

Adam

Biggest things to modify, in order.

Tires
Shocks
Swaybars

The 2ndgen RX7s are nothing special. A stock 4thgen would smoke one on a roadcourse like they were standing still. Nevermind a modded one.

Dope