Ok I want to put this together like the best bang for the buck first.

Lets get some good replies on this one please.

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98 ESi
95 GS

well, first stage is honestly tires.

In fact, there should be a Stage 0 for those of you with those plastic 14" RS doughnuts. A 16"-17" setup with somewhat decent tires will give you the single biggest increase in handling. Wheel weight is not as absolutely important as getting a wider contact patch with a properly compliant sidewall.

Upgraded suspension needs to start at the contact patch and work its way up from there, more or less. You can have the trickest coil-over setup in the world, but it doesn't matter once the tires let go...


juan

Yup rims and tires gotta be first. Next would be springs or coilovers plus camber kits if needed. Then struts (which can and should be bought at the same time as springs but I understand allot of people don't have the money, shit I myself still ride on stock struts with skunk coilovers) Don't forget all the shit like strut tower bars and polyurathane bushings.

1999 Eclipse RS (all show)
1990 Turbo Eclipse (race)

How do you guys like the GST or RMDSM sway bars? I know I sold a pair of GST sways to Ryan.

DeanoD if you are here please contribute

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98 ESi
95 GS

I think suspension mods should start off with better Z-rated tires (or V). Z-rated have a softer compound so they stick harder but wear out quicker. A strut tower bar seems to be also a cheap upgrade ~ $50 - performs and looks good. Springs and shocks can easily cost over $400. A beginner's setup would involve getting used springs, but new shocks in my opinion. Shocks can go bad, but springs rarely do. Assume Pro-kits or other springs for about $125, then you should also get shocks. Cheapest would be KYB GR-2 or Tokiko Illuminas, both sets of four would be under $240. Or I guess if they went with Pro-kits and had no money, stock shocks may be able to withstand the 1.3" drop for a while at least. To me, a camber kit is optional on drops up to 1.75". Sure, your camber will be off and wear out the insides of your tires. But if you're an aggressive driver, you will wear out your tires anyways. I wore mine down past the tread bars (insides were worn significantly more), but the center of the tire was worn out too, so it made no difference if I had camber kits or not. I would still get the same life out of those tires. But an alignment is a must since toe may be off, and bad toe wears out tires way quicker than negative camber.

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2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

Umm ... where do you get illuminas for under $240?? That's $60 a strut! I want in on that deal. Or did you mean tokiko blues?

-"Easy Mac"
05 Mazda RX-8 (RR8 #88)
99 Eclipse RS 398whp & 372lb-ft

Well I dont have all of these so its hard to put "sway bars" ahead of "springs" or vice versa so we should just make a list and average out the general opinion on what goes where.
High performance Z-Rated tires
Adjustable or High Performance Struts
Front or Rear Upper Strut Bars
Lowering Springs
Sway Bars
Light weight wheels
Lower Strut tie bars
Camber Kit

add to this list and I will post and try to get an idea on where to place them. Also I will get some prices and pictures for each and installation instructions.

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98 ESi
95 GS

Cheaper and easier items should probably go in the beginning stages, with touger and more expensive (generally speaking) items later on. But, the bias should be for easier stuff to be in the easier stages.

Let's not forget brakes too!

Also, when it comes to shocks and springs, if you can get ONLY one or the other, we should point out that you MUST get the shocks, not the springs! I have AGXs on stock springs, and the car handles much better. If you run stock shocks on aftermarket springs, you will eventually kill the shocks, and it isn't good for handling anyway.

We should also try and get some info from any 2G turbo guys who autocross, since when it comes to suspension, the mods are exactly the same (I gues because we ARE DSMs, go figure )

Easy stuff: rim/tires (easy to put on car, and no one mounts tires themselves, they can be cheap or expensive but they are defenitely one of the first steps), upper strut bars, brake pads

moderate stuff: shocks, springs, lower strut bars, stock sized new rotors (although I think they are VERY easy to change)

hard stuff: swaybars, camber kit, suspension bushings, big brake upgrades, rear drum to disc conversion.

And, here are a few budget mods:

3rd generation mazda RX-7 rims, 16 by 8 inches, very light (13.8 lbs-16 lbs, depending on the year), should be able to buy for less than $450 now ($500 would be too much unless they were chromed), usually $500 with a set of 4 used (50% tread left) Z rated rubber

New tires, bridgestone potenza RE72s, they are Z rated, good tires, an old tire design so it is cheaper than most other high performance tires, but still effective, don't remember the cost.

GS-T shocks, better than stock, dirt cheap (I don't think GSX shocks fit, but I don't know for sure), I doubt a set of 4 should cost you more than $60, but that is a wild guess when it comes to what they should cost and is not based on any solid info

GS-T rear sway bar for either the RS or GS (cheaper than aftermarket, so it counts as 'budget') The GS bar is smaller than the GS-T, so the GS-T bar is an upgrade for the GS as well.

that $15 camber kit we've heard about

hope that helps out

"Tutto fa brodo."

Todd Scungio
98 RS
15.173 @ 90.70 MPH

And also a 2011 Ralliart

>Umm ... where do you get illuminas for under $240?? That's
>$60 a strut! I want in on that deal. Or did you mean
>tokiko blues?

Oops, I meant tokiko premium performance blue shocks.

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2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

stage 1- rims and tires
stage 2-lowering, struts, strut bars, and maybe lower tie bar,camber kit.
stage 3-stainless steel braided brake lines, rear disc conversion(RS), cross drilled/slotted powerstops
stage 3(alternate)-Big brake kit with stainless steel braided lines
Stage 4-Motor mounts, and bushings replaced with polyurethane bushings.
Stage 5-weight reduction.
Sound good?

I agree with VX100 on his write up. I'd almost just cut and paste the entire thing. I'll throw in my $.02 anyways....

stage 1: replace any worn or loose components(i.e. ball joints, bushings, brake pads, etc..) wheels >16" and a GOOD set of tires are a must.

stage 2: springs + struts, stainless brake lines, energy suspension motor mounts + shock bushings, F/R camber kits, 4 wheel alignment.

stage 3: larger swaybars, energy suspension control arm bushings, strut bars(fu/fl/ru/rl), x drilled/slotted gsx rotors&calipers up front with high performance brake pad set(also drum to disc conversion for RS).

stage 4: big brake upgrade all around, lightweight 17" wheels, and a trip to the corner weights.

stage 5: removal of everything that adds weight, 6 pt roll cage, another trip to the corner weights.

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My $.02
95 GS