oreo

Hi, I havent seen this yet.

I was wondering for those of us that want to make reliability, durability upgrades as oposed to "go fast now junk it in a couple of years". What suspension/ handeling upgrades would work better?

I was thinking someware along the lines of:
Rear Strut tower brace
Rear Lower tie bar.
MS Springs
Steel Braided Break lines
Front and rear sway bars (not really shure if nessesary)

What else should I add to make my suspension more durable?
And what should I take out?

DPE

iTrader: (1)

Not certain what you're wanting here; are you wanting to improve your vehicle handling, or make sure you can drive it for 20 years? If you just want it to be reliable over the long term, as it sits it'll do that. The chassis isn't short on bracing, and unless you're running off-road rally there's not much you can do to it on the road or track that you'll get significant reliability improvements out of. Of course you'll replace things as the go bad, like shocks, but otherwise not much will require attention for awhile.

Now, if you want to improve handling with parts that are designed to last the life of the car, I can offer more suggestions. You would not want MS springs on OEM shocks, for starters. MS springs are very stiff, at about 80% stiffer in front and 70% stiffer rear. These will handily overpower the OEM shocks, making the car underdamped and wearing out the shocks in short order. A better choice on OEM shocks would be something like the Tein H-Tech or Tanabe GF210 springs, which are more like 15-20% stiffer than OEM and still give you a lower center of gravity, reduce body roll, etc. As far as longevity, pretty much any spring from a reputable company is going to last a VERY long time.

The best way to go with springs is to get Koni adustable shocks to go with them. And Konis definitely will last the life of the car. I've had them on multiple cars; one for 50k, one for 90k and another for 30k. There was never any perceptible degradation in performance, and all were run very hard and with sport springs. They significantly improve damping, especially with aftermarket springs such as those listed above. If you were set on MS springs, a set of those with Konis would be an excellent combination too. Contact us directly and we can help you with the proper settings for your Konis based on what springs you buy.

The OEM swaybars aren't ever going to fail, and neither would any aftermarket ones. We're partial to Whiteline, because we know they work and of course we sell them . Some are concerned about the swaybar endlinks failing with aftermarket swaybars, and I believe it has happened to a couple folks, but I haven't seen it yet. And there appear to be some endlink options in the pipeline to cure that issue if it is one. Swaybars really improve the feel of the chassis, and the Whiteline models do a good job of keeping the balance nice and neutral.

OEM brake lines will also last the life of the car. Steel braided ones give you a touch quicker response and better feel in extreme situations, but the RX-8 has pretty good brakes from the factory. We have Goodridge on one car and OEM on the other, and there's a definite difference but it's not dramatic.

Otherwise, and some will probably flame me on this, but I'd say avoid aftermarket coilovers. Reason being, many will last a long time, but they have exposed metal surfaces that will eventually corrode. Even if they do have some sort of coating on them. And there's just more movable parts to start clunking with age as well. Not saying all should avoid coilovers, but if you're the type of person who wants to drive their car in all weather for 10+ years, a set of Konis with springs is probably a more durable choice for suspension parts.

Anyway, hope that helps a bit. Feel free to PM or email us if you're wanting to discuss it further, or if you'd like to see what kind of package deals we could do on various suspension parts.

cLLcLe

Roll cage. This will give you the most stiffest chassis reinforcement for any single modification available.
Man DPE... you typed so much... My eyes got tired after reading it :p

Spin9k

As far as duribility, whether you stay stock or mod it, weight is an important durability factor for any suspension.

More suspension weight - more forces - more work to do by the suspension to control it. Less unsprung weight - the opposite and things go tharwump not kabang over bumps and ruts.

So lightweight wheels, possibly calipers and rotors, tires as much as reasonable will help.

And overal stiffness is already good, but I think gains can lead to less flex in critical areas, increasing longevity and chassis durability. 4 point Strut tower braces, underbracing, etc. may be hard to quantify, but do add to the handling personality the car exibits.

rotarenvy

I reckon the suspension bushes are what will cause the handling to degrade the most over time. I doubt any bush would last indefinitely. you might as well decide that the suspension bushes will need to be replaced in a few years time. stiffer springs, roll bars, and bracing are only going to accelerate the bushes wear rate. aftermarket bushes might slow the wear down but require more maintenance to function.