I have a 93 Touring with a LS1 swap with 1000 or so miles on the car since conversion.

I've been looking for a while at suspension setups and toying with the idea of coilovers, but seeing how I can get a set of new GAB super Rs for $450 cash, I am seriously considering that.

The question is how different will the ride be with the GABs vs the stock touring shocks? Some people say that it is really really stiff, to the point of unplesant on the street.

I would probably go to eibach or H&R springs to get a bit lower with the shocks.

Also, for a new, unskilled driver, what difference will I see between GABs with regular springs vs GABs with a Ground Control kit.

Lastly, will the GABs help or hurt with wheel hop?

Best,

-Jason

 

The GABs are fairly close to the touring damping curves on their softest setting, only a little stiffer. They get seriously stiffer as the settings go to hard, as you would expect.

If you are an unskilled driver, I would learn how to drive on the stock suspension first. Stiffer = easier to spin. This is especially true with your LS-1....

 

You could always pick them up Jason and hold on to them...... and try pushing your car with the current setup like Rynberg said... if you don't think you need the GAB's you could flip them later. They are very nice shocks especially for that price.

Coilovers really allow you to dial in the ride height and choose spring rates.

Buying standard 4" springs does limit you to ride height and chosen spring rate.... it will limit what size rims/tires you can run (coilover springs are 2.5") if you really want to race with the widest rubber possible. But you could always sell those down the line anyway if you wanted coilovers later on.

I have the GAB Super R's and like them a bunch.

 

It's all pretty subjective, so this is entirely IMHO. My GAB Super R's (rest of the car is all stock-R2) on their softest settings are quite a bit stiffer than THE (singular) stock touring I've been in. For slow transitions, it tends to be pretty soft though. Hard transitions are another story.

The ubiquitous Scuderia Ciriani link with some nice damping curves:
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/suspension.html

 

from the Scuderia link:

">Okay, this is good, George can you help us out on this: You aparently have
>used the GAB Super R, and Koni (model???) on your car (???). Which ones do
>you like better and why? Which do you think are easier to get dialed in
>correctly, etc..????


PLEASE, I do not intend the following to be the last word on shocks, just what has happened to me.

I have run GAB Super, GAB Super-R, and KONI on the car. IMHO I get the best highway ride,(I drive to events in LosAngeles, SanDiego, Phoenix, LasVegas, and SanFrancisco) best feel of control, and best lap times (SOLO II) with the KONIs.

When I got the car I changed every thing at one time or another, not to make it better than what John gave me, but to understand how the car works. In Nov.'96 I put the car back to Johns setup and have been going faster. I now know what does not work!

I got the car with GAB Super-R on. John told me to run them at 7 front and 5 rear. I tryed other settings, but John was Right. Next I tryed the GAB Super (non-R). John told me to run these at 8 front and 6 rear. Testing other settings proved John was right again. Settings other than Johns made the car worst, never better. I got the same performance from both sets of shocks. "

 

If you wanna play it safe, koni yellows w/ gc coilovers will give you a good bang for the buck.

Good ride quality, good feel for the road. I honestly think it is actually easier for me(maybe not for the car) to spin out with stock suspension. I can't get the feel for it at all. Maybe it's b/c it's old and worn out, or maybe it's other parts of the car, but it's not too pleasant to have your car wiggle out of corners....along with some creaking over bumps.