i want to get new suspensions to lower my car and for better handling while going 50+ sideways. ive been looking through some threads and most of them talk about the Teins but i aint got that kind of money yet. any other cheaper suggestions, but not too cheap?

tired of "floating" around.

 

please explain.

they are probably referring to the Tein coilovers, not the springs.
If you can't afford the Tein Springs, you might well leave the suspension alone because there isn't much cheaper that I would recommend anyone put on our cars.

what model RX-8 do you have? (base, touring, GT, shinka, R3)
even the base shouldn't 'float', the RX-8 suspension is widely recognized as an exceptional OEM setup.

 

You do realize that if you're going sideways your suspension isn't doing much "handling" of anything

 

The stock suspension setup on the RX8 is actually quite good. The reason the car dominates in B-stock classes in SCCA is due to this.

The "floating" that I think the OP is referring to deals with the somewhat softer setup than some people expect and the amount of body roll that occurs in hard cornering.

The difference with this is the car's wheels still stay firmly planted and suspension travel is what you want in situations like that. While it might feel the car isn't planted, it is very much sticking to the ground.

Honestly, the best suspension upgrade is a new set of sticker tires. I would not suggest going with a coilover suspension system unless you have a firm grasp of suspension concepts.

In my honest opinion, coilovers are one of those things where if you have to ask about them you shouldn't be buying them.

If you must upgrade your suspension, stick to a set of lowering springs. That would be the best compromise.

Here's a few simple things to remember.

Lower isn't always better.
Stiffer isn't always better.

 

+1^ on tires.

Sway bars along with those tires will help too.

 

One thing that helps me at least is taking my mods one at a time.

Go to an auto-x and learn the car in its stock form. If you feel that it needs some stickier tires, get tires. After the next auto-x, if the front needs some stiffening, get a sway bar. And so on and so forth. Dont just throw on everything at once, youll never learn what each part ACTUALLY does.

 

I cannot stress how HUGE this advice really is. I made the mistake of thinking that my RX8 wouldn't perform on the track unless I upgraded the suspension system.

So, full coilovers and adjustable sway bard with adjustable endlinks later...I had no idea at all what I was doing.

It's honestly taken about 2 years of tweaks and experience on autocross and road course events and I'm still making adjustments. For a while a stock RX8 could easily out handle my car.

 

Can someone show me how to go 50 MPH sideways?

 

spinning?

 

he might be talking about drifting. --in that case, best to learn weight transfer fundamentals on stock suspension.

50mph entry is pretty slow so i say the best you can do is get a better LSD than the torsen that's probably on your car. on accel is fine with the torsen but transitioning seriously sucks.

kaaz makes an awesome 2way and it's not that expensive <1000$