Autocrossing a Mazda 626

no you cant strip you interior for Street touring

the ride height still looks off. and back in 87 when these cars were new, they were regarded as handling wonderfully. remember, almost all of the parts are nearing 20 years old. new bushings and struts make a world of difference. Last time i had another mazda out, a mazdaspeed 3, i found my little mx6 infinitely more flingable. albiet with quite a few more modifications done. the rear seats are not removable in st classes btw, nor in SP, but they are in SM, but this car is not competitive there ( i know, i've been trying in that class for 3 years ). Either of Gavin's mx6's are good models to work by, as he has built in his red car probably the absolutely best autox mx6 seen ever.

Yeah I also disagree with the notion that these things handle crappily when stock. Most people dealing with these cars today never have driven a really low mileage one and certainly not a new one. They don't handle poorly, honest.

If you look at the stock suspension geometry, you'll see that once you lower them, even modestly, you actually end up with the front control arms in a position that will give you negative camber gain on bump (bad). So I don't think sitting high is really the problem.

This is mine from back when it was sorta nice. There is a larger gap on the front wheel because the front wheel opening goes up higher into the body. They don't actually sit higher in front when stock, but they may sag in the back with age, although I didn't notice that on mine.

JamesMcD wrote: Yeah I also disagree with the notion that these things handle crappily when stock. Most people dealing with these cars today never have driven a really low mileage one and certainly not a new one. They don't handle poorly, honest.

Even my 200,000 mile '89 Probe GT was an amazing handler, and I doubt the suspension on that had ever been touched. It was easily the best balanced FWD car I've ever raced.

well it is good to see my topic come back up. I purchased the ksport coil overs a couple of months ago. Installed with new lower front control arms and new front sway bar links. The car handles good but the control arms are past level. I need to raise the car about an inch so i will do that this weekend. I also purchased some dunlop direzza tires in a 205/50r16. They are some damn good tires. I would recommend those to anyone who is on a budget. So time for a pic. once i figure out how to post a pic.

for the tires.. i've kinda found i like the 15 inch units.. keep things looking fairly stock and out of the eyes of the law.... cept my 15's are from an rx7 converable and holding 225 50 15's., only available from kuhmo or hoosier... now that's a pain. the care handled great when stock.. and with the proper ( moderate ) modifications, it's started handling like a dream.. for a fwd car thats as heavy as these are

Mine handles like crap.

Of course, that is me comparing it to my Celica.

I suppose it's not bad. Still needs some work. Once i get the camber taken care of, it should be pretty competent, and i should spring for a pair of Illuminas up front.