Hello,

I picked up a 05 RX8 back in April. Love it. was orginally I guess a USA car before it was imported into Canada. Got all outstanding recalls done and I have been doing lots to it but I do know it will need an engine build soon. runs mint except for hot starts and i have had the commpression tested. its low. It will be a winter project.

Ive been creeping on here since there is so much knowledge. I dont have permissions to post in the suspension threads yet because i havent posted really anything since the information can be found mostly my searching or youtube. so I will post my question here.

I have stock wheels (+50) with 245/45r18 tires on them. The tires I already had that were brand new for another project and the tires that came with the rx8 were shot. anyways i have had rubbing in the back on bumps or inclines. I just redid the whole brake system and also added 20mm spacers. the rubbing from time to time is in the rear. I am assuming the shocks are worn as its almost 20 years old.
the fronts dont rub and I can barely get my fingers between the LR tire and fender but have no problems on the RR.

I do have a small amp and 10 inch sub in the trunk but its more on the RR side.

I took measurements and want to know what the stock measurements are?

floor to fender / center hub to fender
LF 27 5/8 / 14 7/8
RF 27 5/8 / 14 7/8

LR 26 5/8 / 13 3/4
RR 27 1/4 / 14 1/4

as you can see the rear is sagging. So I want to know what should the rear measurements be?

I want to get a set of coilovers (ones that have everything like the Tein Flex Z so I can do a swap) but also maintain factory ride height for street driving then I might do some TT racing once I get the engine rebuild. Do some of the coilovers ive looked at give a drop right away? because I want to be able to adjust to factory height until I get some other rims and tires down the road where I can go a little lower.

Cheers

 

Welcome!
For stock alignment and ride height and basic repair/diagnostic procedures you can check here : https://foxed.ca/rx7manual/2003mazdarx8/

I believe the rear should be 14.25 inch center to fender, +/- 1/4 inch and not more than 10mm difference right to left.

Relatively few coilovers are better than the stock suspension overall. Bilstein b14 / PSS are known good, and upwards from there: Ohlins, FatCat, etc. Sure you could get more adjustable cheaper kits like Tein but you sacrifice ride quality and in some cases actual performance, even though they feel firmer and faster. I can't think of any (good) coilovers that force a drop, it's just a question of correctly setting them.

What I would recommend, if Bilstein B14s arent in the cards, is just getting new shocks all around and letting the suspension work as designed. In competent hands in stock form it's very competitive at the track in its class.

 

thanks for the reply and advice. Being in Canada we get screwed. so what you think is a cheap Tein set is about 1500 cdn to me. before shipping and taxes. I know 4 kyb shocks are about 500 ish but then I gotta take everything apart and put it together which i dont mind its just a PITA and a shop is about 120/hr now.

ill look at that link and read up some more. Thanks

 

I'm also in Canada. It's not so much the total cost as the value for money. 1500 for meh vs let's say 1800 for something worthwhile... I know what I'd choose. You could also swap in an R3 suspension, it's a slight upgrade at basically OEM price, but you'll need the shocks and springs for the rear. And you'll also want bump stops since yours are likely dead.

It's not that much more work to replace shocks versus complete coilovers. The hard work is all in getting the complete coilover assembly (stock or aftermarket) installed in its place. Undoing the assembly is 5 minutes.

Where in Ontario are you? If it's near Ottawa, you could try my car with the Meister-Rs, which are a step up from Tein but not quite Bilstein territory, to get an idea of how it feels.

 

I am down in Kemptville. Just moved back to Ontario.