Brake upgrade or Suspension upgrade...
 

hey guys, sorry it's been so long since i've stopped by. the military has kept me really busy. anyway, i've got a little spending cash and was thinking of getting either the racing beat springs, sways and endlinks or the rx7 store brake upgrade kit. does anyone have any experience with the brake upgrade kit? and if so what are your impressions? also which do you think will enhance driving experience most? thanx for your input.

suspension will enhance driving experience the most

Depends on what you're doing with the car and what you prioritize.

Yeah.

I did an RB 'brake upgrade.' I bought the Power Slot Rotors, Hawk pads, and Brake Lines, and they all work really really well.

Food for thought.

Also, I have some sways on the way, and the end links. Gonna see how that goes.

-Cody

What mods do you have? Unless you have some major upgrades, or are in he process of getting major upgrades, I say stock brakes are fine. But if you only have basic bolt-ons and a heavy foot, maybe just some high-performance pads would do.

Personally, I would go with the suspension. It gives the car a better stance, and makes taking corners O'so much funner

Go with some suspension first some off the shelf (OTS) Koni Yellows with some RB springs would probably be ideal for you.

koni shocks, mazdaspeed spring, and racing beat sway is the way to go...

If your the occasional weekend warrior i aggree, but doesn't sound like he tracks his car so the extra stiff OE sytle springs probably are overkill.

if that is the case, then racing beat spring is the way to go...

so far i have the 2nd mazdaspeed exhaust, OZ ultraleggra wheels and BFG G-force tires. i want to track the car and go to a racing school but whenever i think i have time something work related always comes up :crying: ...well, it seems like the consensus is the RB sways and springs. it seems like you guys track your cars all the time. if any of you live near SD, CA i'd love to meet up one day and go to the track. thanx again for the info, you guys are great...

I'm probably in the same position. This car begs for a suspension upgrade but the OE brakes (w/ better pads) work fine.

I'm impressed by the long distance driving comfort of the stock set up. But the only way to keep the car 'planted' (i.e eliminate body roll, keep individual corners from acting independently, etc.) is to drive the car hard all the time. I'd like to feel that same 'car on rails' exhileration throughout the powerband and minimize wheel well gap without sacrificing too much highway comfort. I don't track (yet) so adjustablity isn't a priority.

I've read most of the posts. Tell me if I'm wrong but it seems like the options are as follows:

1. Complete MS setup - springs, coilovers, bars - from the dealer
2. Tein H coilovers and RB swaybars
3. Koni's and RB springs, RB sway bars

Any thoughts?

Depends on your needs, but i hope you didn't rank those in pirority.
I'm currently going with buying the best coilover set up made for the 8 as per the group buy in my signature, but if i were to do a traditional OE style spring i would do in this order:

1. Konis with MS springs and Progressive Auto Sway bars RB endlinks(these sways are stiffer/better then RBs). Also I believe that MS springs are progressive in the rear so while this set up would be harsher then all RB I don't know by how much.
2. Konis with RB springs and RB sway bars and endlinks, definatly a more streetable option but again I don't know by how much.

I don't know if i could feel like I spent my money wisely with any other choice, teins are not great, and MS bars are a waste of money. Coilovers are a great choice if you want to be able to adjust your ride height, for me i'm going to love being able to put the car down to a setting I would never street just for weekend auto-x's or road races.

The 8 has excellent brakes. Consumer reports have them rated #3 in the dry braking category just under the viper srt10 and the 911 carrera at 117 feet. Personally i would just get new, sweet lookin rotors and get the suspension beefed up. Either way you choose you got a dam good upgrade.

I'm not familiar with the Varient brand but this may be overkill for me anyway. Swaybars and lower springs may be all I need and the most bang for the buck. As long as the suspension is disassembled, I don't mind replacing the shocks; if coilovers make more sense than shocks/springs for near the same money, fine.

The rotors/calipers are a different story. Ugly all around. The Racing Brake setup is nice for the front....(and this may be a dumb question) butwhat do people do about the rear?

if you track your car and want a soft ride home, I will get the racing beat full set up with tokico shocks, because of easy adjustment on shocks settings.
if you want a better track car and your back could take a few pounding, them koni and mazdaspeed springs with racing beat sway.
if you want a track worrior and your back is in great shape, then get some coilovers.

First off, do you have any track experience yet. If you do, and it's not full race experience, than upgrade to racing pads for track event only and than go back to street pads afterwards will give you plenty of brakes.

Racing beat sways are a must and better springs and shocks also. I agree with Winning 8's answer. If a true track junkie and you want to be real serious than consider Tein Flex with the electronic control unit. Great for track and easy to adjust.

Shame you just posted. I sold in the last few weeks all the parts you need at 1/2 or more off purchase price. Still have racing wheels and MS backing plates for brake ducting.

Most important thing is save money for seat time.

Jay Goldfarb
Instructor and Racer with NASA, PBOC and BMWCCA

Thanks, Winning8 - good perspective.

agreed, good perspective, just for the love of god not tein flexs, I would wager that you could do better on a track with Koni+MS than with Flexs.
As for the back comment coilovers made with progressive springs and valved correctly can offer a ride that would be as or more comfortable then a Koni+MS setup.

Mshea coilovers won't be in the same $ ballpark.

Edit: my mistake I was confusing Tein Basics with Tein Flexs, flexs would be a better on a track and if you have the extra $ go for it.

I've never found my hypermax II's and RB sways to cause any back problems.

Agreed, not sure about the RB sway though I don't have experience with that. Did you find that you had unwanted oversteer with just the koni/MS springs? Also what are your koni settings and alignment specs?

I want to officially thank everyone for their input and helping me to make an informed decision on my upgrade for my 8. after much thought and reading forum memebers posts and reviews, i've decided to go with RB sways, springs and endlinks. i decided to hold off on the koni's to see if this would be satisfying enough for me (thanx for the great offer though PoLaK). i should receive them next week and have them installed shortly after. thanx again, you guys are great. LONG LIVE THE RX8!!!... :rock: