moliver

iTrader: (1)

I have an 04 Sport with 115k miles on it...going to take it to the track this year just playing around, doing DE. The shocks are shot....I don't want or need coilovers, I don't want to drop it so low I cannot use the car.

What shocks and springs should I buy?

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

i have koni yellows and tien s techs. paired together its about 2" f and 1.5" rear iirc. if you dont want it that low or want a softer ride get h techs

moliver

iTrader: (1)

How do they handle on the track?

I am more wanting something stiff rather than low....I don't want to tear the car up going off track.

JeffH

Bilstein's are a reliable option along with Eibach springs. Can't go wrong with either or both. Sway bars would then be your next best upgrade if you already have a good set of tires.

TANKERG

Going off the track is up to you. Stay in control.

moliver

iTrader: (1)

I agree.

Steve Dallas

Racing Beat springs pair well with either Bilstein Sport or HD shocks. You should see about 1/2" drop. The springs are about 20% stiffer than stock. If you want to go a little lower, Eibach springs pair well with Bilstein Sport shocks. The spring rates are roughly the same as Racing Beat springs, with the caveat that the rears are progressive.

These setups are decent hybrid street/track combinations. Keep in mind that hybrid setups excel at neither application.

For a little more money, you can get Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, which is also a good hybrid option that is a little better on the track than on the street. With these, you get Bilstein quality in the shocks, stiffer springs, adjustable ride height, and adjustable rebound. I have some of these coming today...

etzilon

I used a set of Tokico DSpec and springs (DSK519). They do really well on track.

Bonabhan

thoughts on adjustable suspension?? Plus or minus

Nathan Atkins

plus for adjustable ride height: enables corner balancing

minus for damping adjustment: once you've found a good damping setting you just end up staying there unless it's wet and most, yes most damping adjusters dont work very well, they have lots of crosstalk, or sometimes do nothing at all, the PSS9 is notoriously bad(interms of adjustbility). you're better off getting a set of revalvable shocks(simple to covert Bilsteins to revalvable) and install a shimstack that gets you ~65% critical damping for that corner. Thats a function of the corner weight and the spring rate. There lots of calculators out there if youre interested.

Bottom line is, a well damped stiff spring is more capable AND more comfortable than an improperly damped softer spring.

If you just want shocks and springs and are not making the jump to custom coilovers, the racing beats or the taller eibachs should serve well with the bilstein shocks, but to my butt they are not a significant enough difference and they bring the natural frequency to ~1Hz (which is the car sickness frequency)

Basically im saying if you want more performance without sacrificing comfort get custom coilovers, otherwise stick with stock, it's surprisingly capable.

Steve Dallas

Initial impressions on the PSS9 are that it is a very capable setup, but the adjustability of the rebound is limited. I have mine set full soft for the street, and will start in the middle for the track. There is a noticeable difference in something with each click, but I'm not sure it is actual rebound. For the money, I think I will be happy with this setup for the short term. I have an AutoX this Sunday and a track day the 10th of next month, so I will soon see how they really perform very soon.

I did not have much choice in suspension options since I have a series 2 car and I went this route, because I need adjustable ride height. The adjustable height is a very handy feature. I have my car sitting right where I think I want it, with nothing left to chance. After a few more weeks of letting things settle, I will have it corner balanced and aligned for the track.

If you really want the best setup for your car, custom is the only way to go. Everyone I talk to that has a Fat Cat setup absolutely raves about it, but it costs about $1000 more to go that route over the PSS9.

erikv

I've got a YouTube channel with some track video. Setup in next message.

https://www.youtube.com/user/erikvandermey

erikv

I've got the Racing Beat springs with Koni single adjustable shocks (yellow). These work well on the track and aren't overly harsh on the street. Upgrade the sway bars if you want it to really handle well at the track. I've got the Mazdaspeed front bar and the Progress Tech rear bar from Goodwin Racing.

Now I just need another 100hp...

Nathan Atkins

I got the RB springs to just to play around with until my custom springs arrive, they feel great, they're combined with bilstein HD shocks and fat cat bumpstops, it's an awesome street setup. They get their first autocross this Sunday so I'll follow up with information about that.

tpdrx8

Goodies here:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-s...-konis-253593/

Steve Dallas

Sunday is about to pass. How do you like your setup? I spent the day at Eagles Canyon yesterday and managed to keep up with much higher horsepower cars, so I am still feeling good about what I have done with my grip mods. Although Bilstein PSS9s are largely panned, they are working well for me for now.

I really liked the setup I had that is almost identical to yours except for my slammed problem stemming from my car being an S2. On the street, I felt like the car rode how a sports car should.

Nathan Atkins

The car really continued to impress me all weekend. It performed very well at the autocross:

Live Results - Generated:Sun 06-22-2014 16:58:33

4th in stx and 43rd in pax

Here's video of my third quickest run:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHvY7w...ature=youtu.be

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

I'm still really impressed with my fatcat coilovers for both street and track use - if you have the budget these are well worth it.

cretinx

If you've never done anything before, go with Koni Yellows on stock springs - once you can safely get your car around then you can consider a decent coilover setup - Ohlins, Motion Control, Koni 30-series, etc . . . . you can easily swap out coilover springs to get the rates right once you have a nice coilover setup with adjustable damping.

I am not a fan of aftermarket spring kits - they're typically way too soft, and they usually are set up for understeer to keep people from killing themselves.

Stray

People have noted spring binding issues using the stock springs and Koni Yellows. Just FYI.

IHitCones

Who are these people? That would mean that on stock shocks you would have the binding issues too.

ajrrx8

I agree with ihitcones. I ran koni yollows with stock springs and progress tech springs with no binding.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

They should also note fail posts like those ... apparently you don't know that almost all of the national level Stock Class autocross competitors run this combination without issue. Like for 9+ years. Just FYI.


Now you might be thinking of people using Koni shocks with smaller diameter coilover springs on the rear with the fubar makeshift upper rear shock perch seat that Goodwin Racing et al sells. That's what happens when you don't do it right


.

Stray

I had wrote a damn book, but it auto logged out and I lost the post. I had seen it discussed on this board a few years ago but it's probably buried in some shock/spring thread.


Edit: Here is the thread: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-whe...ck-wtf-131498/



Cliffs: Rear springs were binding using the konis. At the time I had 80k on the chassis. No binding issues with OEM shocks @80k. Rear springs had ~2-3 of the coils touching each other with only a few "free" to travel. Swapped to eibach springs and had no issues. Could just be worn out springs, who knows. I just found it odd that they sagged/bound on the koni's and not on the oem suspension. Other autocrossers in the Orlando area had mentioned having similar issues with their 8's. I even tried the "preload" method that Team suggested in the above linked thread.


Sorry if the post is misleading, but I just thought I'd throw my .02 in, to keep anyone else from having the same issues. Now that we are discussing it though I am intrigued and tempted to try this setup again using a newer set of OEM springs.


Why would the springs bind on the koni's and not on the OEM shocks? Not trying to sound like an ***, genuinely curious. I'm thinking now that perhaps the rears were worn enough to not show binding problems on the stock shock, but when paired with the lower pressure koni and it's half inch ride height change..?


Edit: Not that I would expect it to change much, but I had the same issues across the board on the rear rebound adjustment. Front end was fine. Great, even. I wound up selling the koni's and eibachs in hopes of going with a FatCat setup in the near future. First time ever running into this issue on a car, previous 3 cars have had Yellows with no issues. Big fan of the shock, but always chalked it up to the long OEM spring having issues with them.


P.S. Thanks for checking me. It's good to learn.

twistedwankel

iTrader: (6)

I think I can address this issue. I was getting a sharp bump with stock good shocks and springs with 74K miles on 2004 Touring 6spd. Had all bushings and parts checked no solution. Replaced shocks with Koni yellows and new tires. Noticably better meaning fewer knocks on little bumps just driving around.

Finally after several months when I could only get the rear alignment to -2* camber it indicated either the shocks were the wrong ones or the springs being factory progressive were weak. Reseached and found my old shock boxes and determined my shocks are for the 2004-08 years. The 2009 on years are 1/2" spring perch lower so that might have been your issue there? Check the part number.

I finally just ordered new rear factory springs and bumpstops/bushings and replaced it all. The original bumpstops were "gone" in only 3 months. The free length of the original tired springs was identical to the new ones. YET when the new spring assembly was installed it raised the rear by about 1.5" so I could get the camber down to -1.3* (-.3* less than the front) for the first time ever. Car is level now. No noise whatsoever. Handling is fantastic. Only the rear springs are progressive which explains why there is no issue with the fronts which are not I suppose. I've never had sagging springs on any of the dozens of old cars I've owned before but life is a learning experience. I got the springs from MazdaSpeed for about $54 each. The koni yellows are even more awesome now. Car is SCCA bone stock and autocrossed year round.

Hope this info helps someone else.