With 150,000 miles, the car rides, as my grandad would say, like a log-wagon.
Lots of bumps and noises.

I know it's not a Benz, and I've never ridden in another 3rd Gen, so maybe ours is different. But hard to be satisifed with the noise and harshness.

Anyway, has anyone redone the entire suspension and if so at what cost. We did the pillow ball replacements but that was for the clunks.

Just wondering, if we put it all new, control arms etc. if it would make it totally different?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

I do not think the ride quality will improve to a more compliant ride if you switch to pillowballs. If you want the handling to be tighter, by all means, go pillowball.

BUT if you want to have a more comfortable ride, just change everything to OEM, Prices are not bad for OEM stuff, Start with your shocks, you will feel a lot of difference.

 

I'm about to redo my whole suspensions. So far I have done coil overs, sway bars. I'm working on ordering all the bushings but I'm going to use aftermarket ones. After that my whole suspension will be as good or better than new.

 

You need different shocks (or higher profile tyres) if you want a ride thats less rough..
What suspension are you currently running?

 

I recently purchased a 15x,xxx mile FD, too. I intend to replace all the bushings. And, a load of other stuff, too.

I doubt if it will make the ride less harsh. Does the car have aftermarket shocks or springs? You could go back to stock. If not then you may not like the FD. It's a pretty stiff ride from the factory.

 

The type of shock has a lot to do with. Are you using monotube or twin tube? Like someone said the tire is a contributor here too.

 

Thanks,
The low profile 18" wheel/tires are definitely part of it, I'm sure.

But all the clunky harsh noises? We did replace all of the pillowballs and it did help.
The car looks great, performs great, but in normal street driving it's suspension sounds
like the 28 year old it is. That's why I was asking about redoing the arms, ties etc.
Guess I really need to ride in another one just to see if it's our car or the way they are.

Still curious how big of a cost it would be to make the suspension new?

 

That would be 18 years old, just sounds like 28.

 

Go look at my twincharged build thread. It includes a full makeover of the suspension.

All pillow ***** and all bushings (front and rear) are being replaced. I chose powerflex urethane bushings instead od OEM rubber and atomic Rex pillow ***** (in the group buy section). I got a great package deal.

That should run you around $1k. Throw in coilovers (you can get low mileage high end versions used through rx7boutique. Probably Around $1k.

If you just want your car to be smooth on the streets, no need to get new swaybars. Those are ease to upgrade later on if you aren't happy with how the car feels after all the pieces listed above go on.

A press can be had for $150. So if you can do all the work yourself, and your wheel bearings, ball joints,&tie rod ends are in good shape, it can be done for under $2500.

 

I recommend greddy s-types. They are the most civil aftermarket coilovers you can buy. People are always shocked by how my car soaks up the road.

 

Coilovers would be a great place to start, but be careful. Howard Coleman recommends an 8k/6k spring rate (at the high end) and the vast majority of coilovers are significantly more firm than that. If you specify when ordering most shops can usually pair a set of coilovers with an 8k/6k spring rate.

I'd have to also recommend possibly trading in for a 17" wheel/tire combination just to get all of that extra sidewall.

 

Noises are one thing, handling is another.

What has been done to the suspension outside of the pillowballs? Are these the original shocks/springs on the car?

 

Shocks are GR2s and were installed at 110k, at 150k+ now.
No other suspension parts have been changed out that I know of. I think I have all
the repair records from the original owner and ours. Springs are original and tight.

thanks

 

The GR-2's are a less than ideal shock for this car. They are a step up for most cars, but not that good of an alternative for this car, IMO. I would start with the bushings first. That will give you the most bang for your buck. You might also check your wheel bearings while you are looking at the suspension.

 

We did all of the pillowballs -- which bushings are you suggesting to start with?
Sorry, suspension is not my thing, obviously.
wheel bearings are a good idea.
Thanks

 

http://www.rx7store.net/SuperPro_Pol...%20130adjk.htm

 

Your 18" wheels are probably responsible for most of the harshness/noise youre experiencing. Do you have the stock wheels? If you do, put them on the car and go for a drive. Your ride will feel much better due to the taller tire absorbing bumps/noises better. In my experience, 17's are perfect for street driven cars. I noticed a significant decrease in ride quality when I switched to 18" wheels (18x9.5 all around) from 17" wheels. I'm also running coilovers with rubber mounts so my car is a bit harsher than yours. Keep the shock & spring combo, with a better shock, for a nicer ride.

If you get SuperPro bushings, get this part number #SPF-KIT130K. The part number that the RX-7 store sells is the less popular adjustable kit. I'm not sure if they carry the non-adjustable one which is easier to work with. Another option for bushings are Powerflex which I sell. Click on the bushing icon in my signature for pricing. Both SuperPro and Powerflex are good. Powerflex offers a bushing for the rear lower control arm while SuperPro doesnt. I've got bushing kits in stock if you want to go the Powerflex route. Powerflex bushings also come with a lifetime warranty. If they ever fail, you get new ones in exchange for your bad ones.

 

I have a 89 gtus with 67k miles when I got it. I really enjoyed the way it drove stock, but knew the motor and tranny mounts were worn as the car would vibrate a lot when driving at low speeds. I have since installed all new mounts, engine, tranny, rear diff, cross member, y member, front control arm, dtss, sway bar end links, tokico blue, rb springs. As of now, the car is very very stiff, and the car is hardly streetable, it wasn't very streetable in the first place, but now it's even less. I dont daily drive the car, but just driving around the streets of boston have become somewhat of a chore if there is traffic. I have a act s/s clutch too, and that doesn't help much. It's difficult to slip the clutch now as the s/s plate does not like to be slipped.

Because the stock fc does not for allow much camber adjustment up front, I am set at 0 camber up front, -1.5 in the rear. with this setting, the front pushes mid turn and scrubs off a lot of speed. If I knew I would be unable to get -1 to -1.5 negative camber up front, I would have considered coilovers as the aftermarket oem size shock replacements w/ aftermarket springs already make the car stiff enough to rattle the interior trim around.

If I could do it over agin, I would just install everything stock, stock shocks, stock springs, no competition bushings, just stock everything. luckily I have another low miles rx7 that I am keeping stock.