Stock S13 Gear For RX7 Suspension

So you want to upgrade that 1st gen Rx7 suspension to the S13 gear an affordable, almost bolt on option. This is the Economy Version so lets keep it affordable! i would note that you maybe able to use complete FC coilovers and fcknuckles and brakes for this mod, but i have not confirmed the s13 ball joint fitting the FC knuckles, they would have to be flipped sides for the difference of front steer vs rear steer , but I did see a few things that would suggest that they fit.... and maybe overall simpler as the top hats should not have to be replaced.


I would note, s13,s14,s15, and skyline gear will work as long as they are interchangeable pieces. I suggest s13 as it plentiful and affordable. As well as lending itself to tons of brake upgrades and aftermarket support. If you'd like to read more on the brake options check out this link

Brake Upgrades for S13 Gear






First thing is first, what you will need to get started.






S13 LCAs (note - s14/skyline LCAS are 10mm wider than s13, This means wider track width)


S13 Complete Knuckles/hubs/brakes


S13 Coilovers


All s13 related hardware to mount knuckles to coilovers


FC Camber Caster plate (optional as you could use the stock bearing plate although not recommended)


QTY 2 M14 Grade 10.1 Bolts and matching lock nut (9/16th grade 8 bolts would work as well)

Roughly 80mm long


QTY 2 M14 Grade 10.1 Bolts for rear Coilover lower mounts

9.8103R energy suspension bushing kit

9.8117R energy suspension end link kit






Im gunna start by saying i got as many pic of the stock gear as i could, but i never did the conversion with stock gear, so i have substituted some of the needed pics with my setup that utilized Fully adjustable gear, but same premise is there. IM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU FUCK UP YOUR SHIT, THIS IS ALL AT YOUR OWN RISK, KNOW YOU SKILL LEVEL, AND THIS ASSUMES YOU HAVE SOUND AUTOMOTIVE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING TO COMPLETE THIS SAFELY.






First remove factory RX7 LCAs struts and brakes, they can be removed as 1 assembly.just disconnect; Tie-rod end, LCA bolt, brake hose( at caliper),tension rod bolts, and sway-bar link. If you cant do this you shouldnt be attemping this.








Starting on the S13 LCA you will need to Modify the bushings on the new S13 LCAs shaving the sides off of them to slip into the mounts on the rx7, it is roughly .20 inch off of each side.






You then will need to drill out the factory RX7 LCA mount holes on the sub-frame from 10mm to 14mm(9/16th)






M14 bolt Vs Stock M10











You should be able to slip the arm in now and as well as the new M14 bolt.






Both of the tension rod holes will not align unless you flip them 180 degrees, you will have to adjust them to the proper caster though. Reinstall the Tension rod bolts in the s13 LCA and now you LCA should be mounted.










As you can see factory position Doesn't align







Flip this 180* bolt holes will line up with the s13 LCA























































































































































The top hats on the s13 suspension are three bolt , and the rx7 are 4 bolt so you will have to remove them and reuse the factory rx7 bearing plates, or upgrade to a set of FC plates and swap those over onto the coil overs. IF USING FC CAMBER PLATES you will have to open up the holes on your strut tower for them to fit, less than a 1/4 inch in each direction away from center.






3 bolt s13 mount







4 bolt FC mount































































































It should be looking something like this once you stuff the strut into place.



























Note the bolt holes are sloted just a tad to fit the FC camber Plates









Slip the strut into the tower and bolt down, slip the bottom coil-overs into the knuckle and the attach knuckle to the ball joint.










the tie-rod end will need to be adjusted out to align with the tie-rod mount on the knuckle. you will have to rotate the tie-rod end a bit to align it with the s13 knuckle, or alternatively you could bend down the knuckle tie rod mount. But its really unnecessary












The Factory rx7 sway-bar end-link should line up as well to the s13 lca hole. if not long enough you could use a fox body mustang front end link to replace it. (As well as numuous others but fox body stuff is cheap and plentiful)






Then the factory rx7 brake line will screw right into s13 calipers, make sure to use a copper washer in the connection. bleed brakes and your done. I know in the pic here we have the tube arm i did, but look at the brake caliper and hose , that how it will turn in.






Note Brake hose, and M14 bolt in the stock subframe




slap the wheel on and get to alignment





Now you need to do an alignment. The caster/camber/and toe need to be dialed into your settings. You should have a bit extra camber just from the S13 LCA being a longer LCA, as well as all that extra camber adjustment up top. And the front is done. track width has increased about 2 inches total in the front as the s13 LCAs are longer than the factor RX7 LCAs. Simple.Simple.











Now for the rear suspension








So now if you have nonadjustable dampeners, you will break them down. Removing the top bearing plates, and use a washers and nut and should look like the set below




If you are using adjustables, its a tad more work, start by remkving bearing plate .you need a top hat made and a stud mount to screw into dampener rod, then i added bushings to each side and washers, then used a lock nut. They should look like something below




Below is what your car probablly looks like in the rear wheel wells, we are going to need to trim the body to fit the coilovers.

Just this small section has to be removed.



Here is what it looks like with the rears slipped in.



Coilover slipped right in the top perfectly , the bottom however the bolts where much smaller than the s13 mounts , so I pressed out the factory dampener bushings and machined them down and pressed them into the coilovers so I could reuse my factory bolts. Dampener Drop brackets would be a great idea at this point but at not needed.


But you should get some m14 bolts and drill the lower damper hole up to 14mm and you will have to just barely bend the tab a tad wider apart and the lower bushing should slip in, or you will have to grind a tad off the coilover bushings.

here is what the top of the mount looks like using the washer and bushing on the extension stud.






Teaser of Z32 brakes on Car










With that done the rear is pretty much done. you will need to add a 1" spacer or adaptor, or adjust wheel offset to match front track width and bolt pattern.



Overall General Notes And other important info

This will make the front 4x114.3 unless you use a 5 lug setup, if you are a GSLSE you will have 4X114.3 lug pattern in the rear but you will need a 1" spacer to bring rear to same track width as front , but if you are 4x110 like most of us, a set of 1" adapters will be able to bring the rear to a 4X114.3 bolt pattern and bring to correct track width.

If using s14 coilovers you will have to mod the coilover mounts on the bottom rear to work

if you decied to go 5 lug you could easily swap a ford 8.8 5 lug without adaptors and have close to the same track width, and swap the front to 5 lug S-chassis gear, then welcome the world of 5 Lug wheels.






S14 coils Modded to fit ( Not the most recommended way.)







S14 coils Modded to fit ( Not the most recommended way.)







Big Thanks to Simon LeBlanc for the help with the stock photos, and steps involved using the stock gear. Also he completed a 1jz swap on his 7. Check him out on instagram @1jzfb






Feel Free to Message me in the comments section if you have any information to add or need help figuring something out. Or hit me up on my instagram @sakisteve