Rally Suspension

[Banzai94Pro]

I was wondering what the best rally suspension would be?

I'm might be way off,maybe not but I was thinking of ZX2 struts with Ground Controls cranked up?

Please inform me of the suspension ways, oh wonderfull suspension gods

[charles]

That's probably the best, we don't have too many 1st gen rallyers though. The other option would be a true coilover system, but those are pricey and hard to come by. There was another thread like this before where MazdaRacer knew of some options.

[mikelmr]

other than coilovers there isn't much of an option. I am running stock springs on ZX2 struts (pain to fit on but it increases the pre-load) I am however using UK spec gti springs which are probably miles stiffer than anything supplied in the US.

DMS make some really nice suspension for the GTX which should fit fwd cars too.

[MazdaRacer]

depending on how serious you want the car to be, you will probably have to go with a custom setup. The ZX2 struts are good, but i don't think they'll be able to handle that kind of abuse for very long. Also, keep in mind the ZX2 struts are stroked shorter to accomidate the 1" drop of the Eibach springs, so they may not be the best choice afterall.

A custom coilover kit (even with external canisters) will be your diamond in the ruff. Ideally, i would think you'll need 2-3" more travel than any regular strut can provide. Along with that, adjustability will be needed to set the car up right and tune it for each course. Springs will need to be longer too, 10-12" minimum.

If your just going out for fun here and there, then the ZX2 may be ok, they still may come out to be the cheapest route, even though they are not really the ideal strut.

Check out Road Race Engineering, contact them and get some advise from them. They know rally racing, they make parts for the 88-89 323 GTX, so they are familiar with Mazda's.

[Banzai94Pro]

Thanks Guys

Thanks for the help guys, I'll go with GC's but is there any other strut besides the ZX2 with more rebound, so I can keep the wheels contacted (most of the time ) I know the Mazdaspeeds are adjustable but there set for a drop too right? It won't be anything tooo serious. I can't afford custom stuff, need the best alternative.

[mikelmr]

might be worth talking to Leda or Bilstein and seeing if you can have the struts modified to take a standard insert and then convert them to 2-1/4" ID springs with adjustable platforms so you can take your pick from thousands of cheap universal springs.

I am bound by the rules in my class that now say I cannot run anything suspension wise that is adjustable during the event so I'm pretty much stuck with what I have for now

[MazdaRacer]

IIRC, the Mazdaspeeds are showroom stock struts, and i beleive they use a stock spring, or atleast a stock height spring. Now the Tokico HP blues also are designed around the stock spring, so they are not shorter.

I also think the blues have a tad more rebound.

[Banzai94Pro]

I'll probibly do mostly rallycross and some rallys

[90LXRally]

Aye

youll be spending around 5 grand to rally prep your car

I can vouch for that. My protege still isn't complete yet and I'm sure I'm closer to 5k than 3. I'm too afraid to add up everything I've spent to get it to the "nearly prepped" stage. Though, it did get through 2 days of rally and about 100 stage miles at OFPR (3 stages got canceled ).

[Banzai94Pro]

Ok......... so what's the best all-around setup for: rallycross 60%, autocross 35%, Drag 5%


Rallycross is pretty much autocross in dirt and gravel right? I like Autocross and I love gravel and dirt roads around here.Sometimes I go to the drag stip, but not too often.

I've changed my mind about the full on rally after the 5k warning (Ouch)

I'm getting sick of my stock suspension (BODY ROLL)

[MazdaRacer]

autox and rallyx use pretty different setups. Hard to say what would work well for both and be competitive. To do it right, you'd almost have to have 2 setups and swap parts for each race.

[JesseSays]

agreed with darryl...


one thing that would work is to use some large aftermarket swaybars for autocross, and ditch them for rallycrosses. That would take out a lot of bodyroll for autocross, but give a better, more independent suspension for rallycross.

[Banzai94Pro]

This is awsome guys thanks for all of the help I think I'll definately get some sway bars and go from there. I'll give u an update when I get the bars.