1st Gen IT suspension set up

D

dick

New member
I am trying to gather info for my suspension setup.

Here is what has been suggested to me

-F Springs 350lb/in
-R Springs 175lb/in
-Tockico Non-Adjustables all around
-New bushings all around
-Stock Sway bars f/r
-Slotting/redrilling of Strut mount for more Camber
-205/60R13s on stock wheels (brand?)

Idea being to keep it simple and inexpensive.

Please give me your input. Oh, and let me know if you have anything used forsale...

PS. I have thought about getting 13X7s so I can fit 215/50s on them. Thoughts?

Thanks
 
275-350# springs will be fine depending upon track surface and number/difficulty of corners.. the more bumpy the track and the more difficult the corners the softer you will want to be up front.

175lb rear is OK, I like the 150lb springs myself, but I think Eibach stopped making them.

Tockico non-adjustables ? if I want non-adjustables I would go for Bilstein before Tockico, but the adjustable Tockico are worth the extra money - call MazdaComp - good price - but if you can't find them cheaper, then Bilstein Sport are far better non-adjustable shocks for the money.

New bushings - yes, the ones that MazdaComp has are beautiful parts...

Stock or no rear bar, the front bar is the most critical thing to buy - 27 or 28mm is best (about an inch and a half). You can find them used all over the place!

Slot the front strut and turn the top of the strut mount to get more camber... It'll be OK... But save your money and get the G/C camber plates, they work and are better than they were 6 years ago.

205/60 13's Toyo's on stock 5.5 inch rims would be great for your first 2 or 3 seasons.. They are a good tire, very nice to race one and last and last - they have gone out of favor Central and East, but out West you can see them being raced by the majority of new and old racers alike...

I like them, they last!! and are about 1/2 - 1 second slower than Kumho's, which is OK if you vary your lap-times by about that much..
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Other_K
 
I agree with crunchyfrog, I prefer the rear 150 lb. spring and the 350 lb fr. I have the 1 1/8" sway bar front and I had a 3/4 adjustable rear (Racing Beat). I tryied to keep the rear sway adjusted very soft. But I somewhere along a drift out over the edge of a curb, broke off the link bolt on the sway bar. At that point the car became alot less twitchy in high speed sweepers. I haven't had the chance to install a trilink system or a panhard yet, still running stock watts link.
 
Dick

you need to call me and discuss your setup and I'll run thru the setup I run with you. I just ran at Sebring on the club course and went .5 seconds faster than Gig Smith (one of the top drivers in the SE Div) Mynumber is 813-927-9011

Mike
 
Dick,

Just a clarification. For front springs, you didn't mention it but are you planning on using a coil-over set-up with cylindrical "eibach"-type springs, or are you planning to use the stock perchs with the stock shaped 'cone-shaped' springs? If it's the latter, you may have a clearance issue running 205/60 tires on 5.5 inch rims! My experience (with 205/60/13 Hoosiers) is the 5.5 inch stock rims allow the inside of the tire to contact any spring you use.
As for the rest of your set-up, as others have implied, it will get you on the track, but you'll have a disadvantage. I've been there. But don't worry about it! You'll have a blast and get seat time, and then upgrade when you can. Just have a realistic expectation going in.
Some might say your spring rates are too strong for the shocks you're planning. Might be a good idea to find a used set of slightly softer as a back-up. You can go as high as 400# fronts and 250# rear with a set of custom valved Bilsteins or Konis (big $$$).
As CFrog suggests, you may be better off without the rear sway bar entirely... especially if you encounter even a slightly damp or cold track! Remember the solid rear axle is a very capable anti-sway bar.

As for wheels, look in the archives on this site. There are a couple of sources for rather cheap steel wheel..so you could get 13X7 with out braking your budget (then save up for some PanaSport lights). i bought a set from a company called Fast Wheels, I believe in Oklahoma...maybe even Okl. City. Iuse those for rains now. Again, before you go to a wider tire, be cognizant of clearance against your springs...and of course you can't cahnge the contour of your wheel well for clearance other than to fold over the inner lip (which you definitely will need to do!)
 
Scott, ya got one of those ol books that are called a GCR ?????
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Please turn to page ITCS-15. 17.1.4.D.5.d.1. & 3.

Ya know the ol saying, buy em books & buy em books & they stil don't read.
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Have Fun

David
 
I've read the heck out of that book in the last 5 months... and was under the impression that you can't modify the suspension mounting points. Unfortunately, the GCR (yes, I know what it is) is about 45 miles away so I don't have it handy at work. You can bet I'll be reading it tonight though.
 
Dick,

Sounds like Ground Control's recommendations? I started there and ended up going with:

375#fronts
200#rears
no rear bar! Ground Control panhard
tokico adj. fronts
GC Caster/Camber plates
13x7 wheels with 215/50 or 205/60's

this was their basic pro-7 suspension package.
I felt that the 350/150 spring rates were too soft, but don't know how much more the Tokico's could handle. Bottoming outside rear and lifting inside front looks cool but it ain't the fastest way around. Going to 200# rears allowed me to still run it low without bottoming but I needed to up the front rate and stiffen the front bar to keep it balanced. The car weighed 2085# with me and 40# fuel. Considerably lighter than an IT/Srx7, suggesting you may want to go even stiffer on the springs. Find out how much spring the shock can handle, keep the f/r rates at about 2:1.

Have fun!

Edited to add: used stuff for sale?

a friend of mine got out of "IT". But still has his car (we both bought FF's). It's an open track car, not IT legal...too much gutting and street ported motor. But it has a 4130 cage, and the complete Ground Control suspension set-up (front bar, 375/175's, panhard, C/C plates, etc) I believe he had it for sale on this site some time ago for around $1800??? Maybe he would be willing to sell you his suspension for some cash and your stock set-up? Still giving him an open-track car he could sell.

Contact me at [email protected] if you want his number.

[This message has been edited by Quickshoe (edited April 03, 2002).]
 
Pardon my involvment here, but I thought I'd let you know what worked for those "PRO-7's" that you referred to. In the rear, we used the stock watts link, but were allowed to replace all of the rear suspension nuts with nylocks. tighten them snugly and the rear suspension will not bind, but move freely. If you are using another type of rear geometry, then at least the nylocks will assist you a little there (front lower control arm nuts (2) as well).
I found this site for future info on racing in ITS 2nd Gen. (ex PRO-7 NASA and SCCA Racer). Thanks for the space.

Corey
[email protected]
 
Are we dealing with "Spec-7, Pro-& or IT-7" cars here. There are so many different situations that will be within the rules for one class and will not work within another.
 
ITA Rx7 I use 350 on front, 175 on rear, speedway style front bar from ISC (Mike Vansteenburg) 863-324-2742, no rear bar, third arm from ISC. I had 125 on rear but car wouldn't turn in well. the 175's fixed that problem. Definitely go to 7" rims. Diamond racing wheels in Milwaukee 1-800-937-4407 makes a 13x7 steel wheel, ministock series, that weighs 13 lbs. and cost $60 each when a bought them in '98. I have a set and they seem fine. I just sold an excess set of heavier steel wheels. try <thepartstrader.com> for used parts. Another used parts source is <[email protected]>
 
I have 450/175, kok adj, no rear bar and it felt great.

[This message has been edited by 7'sRracing (edited April 21, 2002).]
 
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