5 Lug swap work Log

[FE3-323]

a 45mm drop.......... please elaborate....

i've got a full set of astina bits to toss into my car. id much rather keep all the proper geometry & not try to "make things work"

[CODY004WD]

I didn't catch it until I bolted the spindle to the struts.

The BG spindles attach to the strut above the rest of the components, the probe stuff locates the strut directly behind the disk in comparison. I'll have to take pics tomorrow to show it. I had to raise my struts almost 2" to locate the wheel at the same height as the BG stuff I took off.

[FE3-323]

wow!!! subbin for pics! i gotta see this

[crazycanadian]

Awsome work Cody.. But more pictures detailing all the differences.. I am curious about control arm/tie rod angles and why the change in spindles cause bump steer issues...

Also for caster when moving the spindle forwards, you increase caster... My 323 runs ryans bearings, mx3 control arms, rx7 ball joints and K-sport camber/caster plates that are maxed out... I am up at 5.25 deg caster... This much caster really affects steering effort while driving down the road.. With a 13" grant steering wheel and power steering, you notice the steering effort... This may or may not end up being an issue for you with a manual rack... It will also depend on rim/tire size and what scrub radius you end up with after all the track width changes..

Also more caster can be a good thing to a point... I don't think anyone has pushed really the limits, but at some point you create a pogo effect while turing... If you have kept up at all on my work log, I believe I am starting to push that limit.. I was having some serious tire wear issues at autocross, even though the car felt good and was fast out on course...

[ryan1]

how much does this widen the track width front and rear from the stock bg?

[ryan1]

how much does this widen the track width front and rear from the stock bg?

????

[CODY004WD]

I'd say front is 20mm per side, but that's with rx7 balljoints and mx3 lca's. The spindle is offset roughly 10mm from the BG, further in that is, or 10mm less track width per spindle. The rears appear to be standard width, so 15mm per side w/mx3 ttl's.

[ryan1]

I'd say front is 20mm per side, but that's with rx7 balljoints and mx3 lca's. The spindle is offset roughly 10mm from the BG, further in that is, or 10mm less track width per spindle. The rears appear to be standard width, so 15mm per side w/mx3 ttl's.

thanks, any updated pics of the car?

[FE3-323]

hrmm... good info on the front spindles cody. i didn't ever take the time to measure that- i wonder how things will react once i change out the mx6 front spindles for the astina BHA ones.

[jonoman87]

I love the work, very clean and proper.

With my bg I used a 96 ba 323 v6 front k frame, lcas, everything except 5 studd spindles. I then used kh laser powersteer rack. I had the same issues with rack ends not being long enough. Would have had toe and adjustment issues. So I rang the local steering and suspension shop to get rack ends with same thread on both ends for tie rod and rack just 25mm long both sides to compensate for the wider wheel track. In total I think its about 40mm wider then standard. I used the rear aswell out of a ba 323 v6 and customized a bg astina fuel tank to fit between the subframe and floor of vehicle.

Took a bit of messing around but it handles better then my kh tx3 awd ever did.

[ryan1]

ok im think of possibly doing this to my 91 EGT.
can i just use 88-92 mx-6/probe 2.2 non turbo spindles,rotors,calipers front and back,bg struts and be good to go?
if so will the track width be the same?

[KAinjection]

I have all this stuff, but it's still on the parts car. it's an 88 GT turbo though so you would have to find non turbo hubs. Just in case your interested😀

[ryan1]

possibly, are they new brake parts?
does anyone know if thats all i need?

[CODY004WD]

I think all the 2.2 N/A cars were drum rear, but I'm not positive.

You'll need either 3rd gen escort ball joints, or the RX7 ball joints to fit the spindles. Also, The spindles will lower the vehicle quite a bit, and the fronts will actually narrow the track width a touch, I'd say you'll only gain 5mm per side by using the RX7 balljoints, which are supposed to add 15mm by themselves. I'm not sure what camber and caster will do with stock style BG struts, I had to adjust mine quite a bit to get where I was aiming, but that was also 3.5* negative camber and 6* positive caster that I wanted...

overall, I've put 8K miles on the 5 lug setup and I still love it. The bumpsteer is annoying, but I dialed it out with the positive caster for the most part... everything else has been good. Including the tire wear surprisingly. I am just now replacing the tires, and they've been on 4 of my cars, for a combined 30,000 or so miles now... 7,500 of that with the 5 lug swap... The tire wear was way more even than I expected for being at 3.5*. I'll post pics of the tires later. I did spend some time setting up the scrub radius and I feel that, and zero toe, are responsible for the good tire wear.

[KAinjection]

possibly, are they new brake parts?
does anyone know if thats all i need?

I haven't taken it apart to inspect the condition of it all, but it's been sitting for approx 3 years according to the PO. If the rotors are still thick, I can throw them on the brake lathe at work and clean them up. Idk about the rear rotors though since I think they are pressed on, I would have to figure out how to remove them.