I raced a modifed RX-8 and almost lost. The reason why was because we were at high speeds and my car couldnt handle too well, where as his car was hugging the street like a monster! If my car was able to handle better, I would have embarassed that RX-8 and it would have never dared to mess with a G again! I dont track my car. Its a daily driven car, so I dont want to sacrifice all my comfort. I have 20s and a molded front lip, so I want to stay at stock height. I'm going to get Stillen sways, and GT-spec front and rear lower tie bars.

Staying at stock height, should I get Tanabe S-OC coilovers, or should I get Tokico D-spec shocks with OEM S-tuned springs?

 

sorry buddy. I have suggestions but i don't support or encourage street racing.

 

You were playing NFS:Underground right? Hope you weren't on the streets..

 

Regardless of what you support, condone, or even agree with, there is something obvious that we all can agree with... Our cars are decendents of strong bloodline, SKYLINE. And for a Skyline, our cars are a dispointing shadow of what the generations before were. The G35's suspension should be strong enough to handle the full power that the motor can deliver. Otherwise, we're no different from domestic muscle. So back to my original question. To build a setup at stock height, good enough to handle the power and weight of our cars....

Would it be better to have Tanabe S-OC coilovers, or oem S-Tuned springs with Tokico D-spec shocks.

 

Go with Tanabe coilover.

 

Why the Tanabe setup, over the Tokico?

 

Tanabe products are allways good, not to mention since you're going for suspension upgrade coilover is allways a better choice in my opinion. I am actually planning on getting Tananbe TypeII S-OC as well.

 

Did you ever consider that you could present your anti-street-racing sentiment while still offering an answer that would benefit others who look for an answer to the same question (Tokico or Tanabe)?

 

I wouldn't count of better handling being a sheild to ward off future run in's with that RX8. Fact is he has several element's that naturally lend his car to be a better starting point when it comes to shear handling. If he mods in that regard, your goose is cooked no matter how much you mod your own suspension. You'd have to out do him based on power. To understand this, read from the following link, starting at the 3rd paragraph.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=5


So I totally understand why the RX8 would be a difficult vehicle to deal with when it comes to car vs car handling.

We need to know what suspension your actually on, since it's the source of much confusion among coupe owner's I'll ask the following question. What oem wheel size was your car delivered on?

 

+1.

 

Well, I pulled on the straight aways, but he stuck to me on the curves. I could have continued to pull on the curves, but I had to slow down to keep control of my car.

Of course the RX-8 will always have a suspension advantage, but my point to it all was that I want to improve the suspension on my G to handle the weight and power it has. I have the non sport tuned suspension that came with oem 18s.

 

Yeah someone should have posted, "I think the Tanabe's will help you handle better while you accidentally kill a young family at 130 MPH". That would have satisfied everyone I think. Or "The Tanabe's will get you arrested twice as fast".

 

just out of curiosity (not to flame), but if you don't track your car, I'm assuming you've never had any sort of driving instruction and/or racing experience. A superior driver in an inferior car will probably do a lot better than an inferior driver in a superior car. If the guy you were racing understood car dynamics and car control, he may have just out driven you. I've been to the track a few times, driven my self around, and had rides around from instructors. What I can do with my car, even though it should be faster, is nowhere near what the instructors could do with slower cars.

 

Beautifully put. Driving is a learned skill. Idiots who think that being able to turn a key makes them Mario have really ruined things for everyone.

 

Our suspensions are fine, for stock. Go to a local autocross. Our cars(even the sedans) are pretty competitive stock, even with the z's and the m3's. Though I must admit nobody's ever run an rx8 at our local autocross.

The biggest enemy of ours cars is it's weight; period. It's hard to throw 3500 pounds around a corner. It's harder to stop, harder to get going again, and tends to want to pull the car out of a turn.

Suspension mods can help, but the most effective use of dollars to help your car perform better is experience; be it autocrossing, driving school, or what have you.

My two cents.