FC understeer

[TokyoDrifterxo7]

Still tryin to get my feel on my FC, but i noticed it grips a lot and i get a little understeer. Could this be from the front tires? im runnin on stock suspension, no PS and still rollin on the stock 14" alloys with all weather tires. Is it just me? i get it sideways just fine, but i get some understeer entering the apex. eventually im gonna upgrade the suspension and wheels. Maybe it's just me, i tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and gotta execute the perfect drift everytime or i feel like a failure. Seriously everytime i make a mistake i gotta go and hit that turn again until i nail it perfect. I really wanna go big so im gonna start drifting everyday. Some day i hope to earn respect from the streets even tho my car is eh... low budjet lol. But back to the understeer...just me or the equipment?? Im still tryin to learn how i want my car setup...not really but i should. just dont wanna blow all my money on my car and then be broke...i need some serious cash flow to get the parts i need.

[Kenjithelonely1]

My hachi was doin that 2, but cuz i was runnin my SR5 13's up front with bald toyo's, and new 205/55/R14 in back. My FC has no problems like that, and Im runnin the stock "phone dials." Im assuming yours is N/A if you have 14's, so im going to respond based on my knowledge of mine, my brothers,and my dad's. How are you initiating the oversteer? Downshifting abruptly for the corner, clutch kicking, handbrake? Cuz if U R just powering through the corner until it breaks loose, that could be your problem, cuz that would make it tend to "plow" with the front end, and understeer. Since the N/A FC's have minimal power/torque, especially at low RPM's, you should be using a method that incorperates higher RPM's to induce oversteer, and maintain power throughout the drift. I would suggest trying this, for example entering a corner in 3rd gear, and quickly shifting to 2nd without matching the RPM's, this will most likely cause a rear end "shudder" or wheel hop to break the rear tires loose, and you will then be at much higher RPM's, to use the rotary's full potential. If you still are understeering, maybe you need to upgrade to some stickier rubber up front.

[D1 DRIFTER]

ummm ull get understeer if ur going to slow and trying to initiate yeah stock suspenion doesnt help just take it step by step man dont rush it otherwise ull be crashing but ur best bet is to go to a track day as everyone says but its true

[TokyoDrifterxo7]

just came back from a drift run. had a nice session i would say, even tho im sick. Still have a little understeer. Im thinkin its my camber, or should i say, lack of camber. Im not satisfied with my angle, i wanna be able to get all the way sideways and bring it back. once i get a LSD, suspension and adjust my camber i should be able to get more angle. i wish i had more power so i can hold the drifts longer. Anyone know the differences of a AE86 and a FC3s. I remember when i had my 86 it was so simple to get it to break loose. But now i have a FC its harder to break the rear end loose. Perhaps its the weight? or maybe the power steering, made it easier to whip the steerin wheel around with little effort.

[TokyoDrifterxo7]

i notice i've been drifting around 40-50MPH. sometimes i kick it up some but i dont wanna push it too much. How fast do you guys pull drifts at?

[TokyoDrifterxo7]

i noticed my tranny gets really hot when i drive it hard for a long time. im lookin for a trans oil cooler kit but cant seem to find one anywhere. Does anyone know of a site that has them? Are they even available for a rx7? never had one and im not quite sure how it would install.

[FC3slider88]

I had a stock fc with chopped springs and could drift just fine at about 40mph and slower, never went any faster. All I did was initiate with the e-brake and then never let off the gas. And my tranny has always gotten hot, even just from regular driving. I had a rip in my shift boot and it was like a freakin heater.

[TokyoDrifterxo7]

my shift boot is fun but i still can feel the heat common off it. the knob gets warm too, sometimes it gets loose. i gotta find a way to cool the tranny down. i kno that cant be good for it. sucks not having the money to do what i want.

[D1 DRIFTER]

drifting speeds vary for each corner mostly 45-55mph initation but if its a long corner a lil faster but speed dropps dramaticlly when u start to slide and ur not getting the correct speed on the speedo anyways due to the rear wheels spinning faster then the fronts in order to drift

[CrazyHawaiian]

I'm no pro but this is how I break it up when I try to prevent understeer on my car, its either the tires, the suspension, or the driver. In my case its usually the driver (me! haha), but there have been times either the tires or suspension caused me to understeer. What size tires do you use on the front and what brand? Do you have wear on the outer edges and sidewall? Some tires are just plain crappy design and grip, they will cause you to understeer. I know not everyone can afford new rears (I know I cant) but I always go for new fronts. Always, and good quality too. The size should be matched to your cars weight and whatever size(s) you use in the rear. Check your tire wear after drifting and you can learn alot. Also check your psi frequently and experiment. I remember I used to have a problem with the front tires rolling causing me to understeer, by looking at the tire I could see wear on the edges and sidewalls. This was telling me that the sidewalls of my tires were too weak, probably because they were too big of a sidewall. That could be another possibility for you. As for the suspension I either broke it down into just plain crappy suspension with too much body roll and weight transfer, or a bad suspension tune. You can't really help the first one without replacing stuff. Mushy suspension with too much weight transfer is bad, especially if your front end dips down when you brake, this can cause understeer. Or it could be the suspension tune itself, you would have to change your tune to compensate and see if it goes away. Like for me changing swaybars and playing with tire psi made differences, helped me determine if I was understeering because the car was tuned to understeer or if it was me or the tires. Hope this helps ...

[D1 DRIFTER]

this hawaii guy knows nothing! you making me look dumb hahaha j/k

[Drift Brick]

toe eliminators. go for it.

[TokyoDrifterxo7]

toe eliminators? what exactly do those do?

[driftersil80]

I believe they present rear wheel steer on FC's. Someone correct me if im wrong.

[teamINERTIA]

FC's we're built with the ability for rear steer ( think super hicas) when your driving the car and you turn hard, the car's rear suspension geometry "steers" by allowing the rear control arms to change their geometry. i believe its only around 2-3mm's of movement but it's enough to affect the feeling of the car and the ability to drift. Rear steer eliminators are just a hard bushing with a metal sleeve that you install into the rear suspension to eliminate the flex present in the current setup. It allows a much more precise feel of the car while corning and makes the car much safer to drift. the FC's Dynamic toe steer has been the reason for many FC's being wrecked by inexperienced drivers.

You can get the bushings from Mazdatrix
(part # 14050)
racing beat
(also part #14050

The bushing are fairly cheap ,easy to install and very usefull.

you can also get a steering angle kit from Mazda trix that allows more angle out of your front wheels equaling deeper drift angle and alot better handling while sideways. I use both parts on my fc and it has helped the feel of the car quite a bit. ( it's part # 04_3020)

Matt ( i edited in the part #'s for you)