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Help: Modifying a suspension to Widebody


DSM-Mark
12-15-2004, 11:00 AM
Hey,

I'm wondering if anyone can offer any insight into modifying a suspension for widebody. The car is a Mazda RX-7 R1 (FD3S) by Tamiya. I've widened the track by about 3-4 mm (3-4 inches) all around. I know quite often people just make the change to deep dish rims, but I think I want to avoid that. I've mocked up the original rims and it looks quite nice.

So what I need to do is find a way to mount the rims 3-4 mm further away from the chassis. How do they do this in real life? I'm thinking of maybe scratchbuilding some longer A-arms for the front, but I don't really like that idea. Or I could extend the 2mm pin on the back of the tire and just put the tire further out, but I don't really like what that does to the brakes.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

proosen
12-15-2004, 11:20 AM
3-4 inches is a lot. Most of it comes from new deeper rims but some of it can be done with spacers. But I don't think more than about an inch or so is to recommend as the steering response can become very akward. Rebuilding the whole suspension is not an easy job to pull through on a full scale car, but it can be done...at a cost! The easiest way on your wide body conversion is to go for the spacers even if it makes the brakes look a bit odd.

Niclas

DSM-Mark
12-15-2004, 11:41 AM
3-4 inches is a lot. Most of it comes from new deeper rims but some of it can be done with spacers. But I don't think more than about an inch or so is to recommend as the steering response can become very akward. Rebuilding the whole suspension is not an easy job to pull through on a full scale car, but it can be done...at a cost! The easiest way on your wide body conversion is to go for the spacers even if it makes the brakes look a bit odd.

Niclas

Thanks!

Actually, you're right. 3-4 is too much. Now that I think about it, it is probably closer 2-2.5 inches. I'll probably do it with just spacers, as you recommend. Or I'll switch to deep dish.

GvEman
12-15-2004, 11:53 AM
On my Shelby i just putted in spacers behind the brakes and in that whay i made it look quite good. but i do not know if you can do in the same way.

nis.k.a.
12-15-2004, 12:00 PM
Spacers. Styrene, whatever works.

Aoshima makes polycap spacers and plastic ring spacers.

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