Now that I've finished my front suspension work I want to upgrade / replace the springs and shocks front and back. I'm not keen on a coilover conversion due to the price, and wanting to keep the car mostly original. From the research I've done, there isn't much out there. The Eibach springs have been discontinued for awhile it seems, which seemed to have the most aggressive spring rate. As far as I can tell the best setup would be the Racing Beat springs with the Tokico Illuminas? I think I'll probably get the T3 camber plates as well. The Illuminas are pricey, but it seems like most people feel it's worth it, and I'd imagine the adjustability will be nice, in case I ever want to auto-cross the car or something.

Is there any better non-coilover setup out there? Any reasons not to go with this setup? This isn't going to give me that ricer bouncy ride is it? I assume that's from aggressive spring rates and soft shock rates...

Not a really in-depth post, but just wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything before I purchase, since it's a relatively expensive setup.

 

Yep, your on the right track. The RB springs are firm but need a good shock to control them.
I can tell you the GX2 will not be enough, thats what I have and they bounce a bit and more
importantly they porpoise around long sweepers which can unsettled the car if you aren't
aware of it. My next shocks will be the adjustable illuminas for sure now that they are back
in distribution.

 

I use these and thoroughly recommend them. Once you add up decent shocks+springs+camber plates you will find these are a cheaper alternative.
Prices quoted are Australian dollars.
AusRotary.com ? View topic - Ultimate Version Coilovers - All models from$1049!

 

Check out my FS thread. I'm selling 3 way adjustable rear dampers and heavier rear springs (heavier than RB, custom rate).

Considering my car was raced by an engineer (1st owner), and corner balanced as good as it could be back in the day, I'm damn sure he picked a good spring/damper combo.

 

Going to a coilover setup is tempting, but I want to get things setup front and back and it seems like I'll be into things nearly 2k to go with coilovers front and back. I also question whether relocating the spring over the shock eye has any negative effect on the rear roll-center. But what do I know? Regardless I kind of want to keep things simple...

 

My rear coilover setup is easily $1200+. I've personally worked with the T3 and Stance stuff and am not impressed.

A good compromise is rear spring/damper and front coilover. This type of setup gives you the most clearance too.

 

What coilover setup are you running, something custom? Surprised about the T3 stuff, most people seem to like their things.

 

Okay, so T3 told me that their camber plates would not work with the Tokico Illuminas, although the shocks could be modified to work. Sooooooo, I'm wondering do I need the camber adjustability? This car is my "sunny day daily driver" so it doesn't have to be a hardcore racer or anything. Am I going to notice much if any handling change if I get say 1 degree for negative camber on the front wheels? I'm kind of thinking I may just get the Racing Beat springs and Tokico Illuminas and call it a day, I'm entertaining other options, but I kind of just want to "keep it simple".

 

The negative camber is a "nice to have", you can live without it. Otherwise later just get the RB
adjustable LCA if you feel the need.

 

If you are handy you can get a great setup for way less than any kit. For the front struts buy one of the $50 coil over kits on eBay, all you want are the adjusting sleeves which at least the ones I got were of surprisingly high quality, you can do 2 cars with one kit. Don’t worry about the springs that come with the kit, once you have 2.5 inch springs on the car springs are very low cost, $50 or less a spring in almost any length and rate you need, normally on an RX5 strut you will run a 7 or 8 inch long spring. On my car I also converted over to Bilstein HD struts, it was one of the best things I ever did to the car, but that is a little more involved. https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati.../#post11904648



For the rear 5 inch circle track springs fit in the standard spring perches just fine, in the picture I have adjusters on mine but I am giving them up for 2016 to get 20 points back for other mods, I can still corner weight the car with the front adjusters. The one problem with 5 inch springs is finding springs as short as you need in a rate as low as we need, what we have started doing is buying long very low rate springs and cutting them in half to get a pair. Buy a 16 inch long 100lb spring, cut it in half and you have a pair of 8 inch 200lb springs for about $50, and the cut end fits perfect in the lower spring perch. Trim as necessary to get the ride height you want.

correct picture now lol

 

Kyb rear Toyota MR2 1984~86 strut insert fits the front of the s2~3 rx7. the lower part is the stock length, the upper part is shorter (IIRC 1.2") and is 14mm and fits camber plates (5/8") is quit a bit stiffer then the stock rx7 replacement.
KYB Excel-G 363046 Gas Cartridge

 

For the rear: can you run just a 5x8 spring without it being too low? I see summit racing has some 150lb. Landrum Conventional Rear Coil Springs H150 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

 

Those would likely work great. The only thing is that they are closed and ground on both ends and the stock spring seat on the rear end housing is set up for an open spring. I ended up welding new spring seats on my hosing to work with the closed and ground springs but I ran for quite a while with the stock spring seats without problems.