Hey guys -

I've noticed a few parts for the FD that are sorely lacking - biggie being aftermarket AST's. I've installed a few Pettit AST's, and while they work, the nipple size isn't right for the hoses and it doesn't fit right on the IC bracket. Not to mention it's pretty pricey, and this is the first mod everyone recommends to the FD owner.

So, I started talking with a good buddy of mine (Jimmy, ex-FB owner) who owns a local performance shop. I mentioned the AST problem to him, and he figured he could make one. We used my car to design it to my specifications - had to fit right, look good, and work properly, as well as being reasonably priced.

That done, he started making other parts - an FD intake (which I'm running on my car) that comes with my Anti-Moo cap and a nice air pump hookup, as well as thick bead-rolled hardpipes (beads on the ends so the cones/pipes don't fall off) . He also made a mini battery kit as well.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you guys know about it. He's been making parts for Evo's, SRT-4's and other cars, such as intercooler pipes and intakes, and has really turned out some quality parts for a fair price. I'm glad I talked him into making some sorely-needed FD parts .

Here's the pics/info/what have you -

http://www.fighters-garage.com/rx7.html

Enjoy!
Dale

 

sweet!!, good price for the intakes

 

Thanks for the info Dale. The toe/trailing arms look nice. Do you know if the cap comes with the AST?
Thanks again.

 

Yep, it comes with the polished chrome cap in the picture. It's not compatible with the stock caps, but the cap it comes with is heavy duty and is rated at the right pressure. I have it on my car right now .

Dale

 

The problem I have with the pettit AST one is the quality control of it. Some AST's don't seal properly while others do. That is why I went back to stock.

I hope that your buddies is better than pettits. As we all know the stock AST has it's problems so if there is something better out there I will go for it..

 

Mine's been great - it's thick-wall aluminum, and it's TIG welded by a pro welder. The other nice thing is the nipples for the hoses are all brass fittings screwed into 1/8" NPT ports - it looks cool, the nipples fit the stock hoses VERY tight and properly, and if you wanted to do something wacky with braided AN lines and fittings, it would be easy to do with the NPT ports.

My other biggie was fit - it has the peg on the bottom that fits into the stock rubber grommet, and the tab at the top lines up properly with the mounting tab on the intercooler. The Pettit AST hovers over the rubber grommet at the bottom and doesn't sit on it. Minor thing, but bugs me to no end.

Dale

 

cool stuff

 

Dale referred me to Fighters Garage when I was looking for a mini battery tray for an Odyssey PC680. I just got the tray and it's great.

Thanks Dale!

 

Great info! Thanks! and props to someone out there still making new things for our cars!

 

Dale,

thanks for sharing . How suitable are the toe links/trailing arms for a street-driven, stockish FD? I have the no-longer available RE versions on my car (complete with dust boots for the heim joints). My dad is looking for suitable replacements for his tired stock pieces on his FD, but I'd like to avoid spending an arm and a leg for the stock replacements......

 

I'm running the prototype trailing arms and toe links on the passenger side of my car. They are good and solid, but I have had a little bit of noise - pretty minor, much less than worn pillowball bushings. I think you're going to have some noise regardless when you get rid of a rubber bushing.

I know he used top-quality heim joints for the parts, and the spacers are CNC machined.

Anyhow, I think they're fine for a street car - a little compromise, but they aren't bone-jarring or super noisy. They should hold up well.

Dale

 

will that intake work with greddy FMIC?

 

I'd be surprised if it didn't - the heat shield might need some modification, but the cones are well over to the side of the car and out of the way.

Dale

 

I'm guessing that it's your car with the stuff on it? If so, it looks like that strutbar might be rubbing on the intake tubing. Is this the case or just a bad camera angle?

 

It's definitely not rubbing - there's a good amount of clearance underneath, fits quite well. I don't put hokey ill-fitting parts on my car .

Dale

 

Keep up the good work, props!

 

IIRC this is fixed by flipping the bracket on the intercooler upside down or perhaps I just dropped it down a hole. This sits the Pettit AST completely into the lower bracket. I still don't care for the too small nipples on the Pettit though.

 

Good stuff. Glad to see someone else making new quality parts (read non-eBay junk) for our cars! I'm very interested in a number of items including the AST and toe/trailing arms. The page adequately describes why one needs the new toe arms: "When one is driving the car hard, the rear toe arms will flex and toe-out which can cause the car to oversteer. This condition can cause the rear of the car to swing around unexpectedly which is obviously a bad thing." I believe this may have been one of the contributing factors to my crash at the track a few months ago and I will definitely be getting a set. However, there's no such description for the rear trailing arms offered. Just to eliminate the original flexible rubber bushings? Keep up the good work and you definitely have a new customer just as soon as this Christmas season is over

 

Getting rid of rubber slop in the rear helps out a lot, and the big reason is to reduce wheel hop when drag racing. The trailing arm's giant rubber bushing isn't good for cornering, either.

That's weird on Pettit's AST about flipping the bracket - it wasn't in the instructions. It should just fit, it's a simple case of where you weld the tab on.

Dale

 

The toe-links and trailing arms look nice, but they will still wear out quickly (like any other aftermarket piece except for the RE) due to lack of dust boots.

 

yeah seen a few of those too. ive seen a few that failed too

 

wow nice work! i will be in the market for some trailing arms and such this winter!

 

Yes - I have the discontinued RE toe-links and they have a nice dust boot integrated into the design. I'll try to get some pictures.

 

interesting. i'd like to know more about this wear/ dust boot thing...

 

^ Dust seals discussed:

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/your-aftermarket-toe-links-worn-heres-help-161591/

No advantage in aftermarket toe links:

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...6&postcount=21

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/ditch-yr-oem-toe-links-205591/

I've been there done this years ago. There's absolutely no reason to move away from the stock toe links. If they're worn out, press new bushings in. No matter what type of solid rodend with dust seal or boot it will wear out faster and start clanking around much faster than the stock parts. I daily drive my car along with running it at autox and track days far more often than most anyone here. There's is no performance advantage to aftermarket toe links unless the entire rear suspension has solid bushings and even this is ludicrous for anything but a pure racecar.