Aspire heater box swap into a Festiva?

[TominMO]

Has anyone done this? Is it physically possible? This would give us much better heat, and heat from the center dash ducts as well.

[Bert]

Festy box is quite the convoluted contraption. I stared at the spare one I had for years. Seems to me if you can somehow fit a finer-finned or larger heat exchanger in there and increase the in/out coolant flow (larger hoses/ more efficient redirection of warm coolant from the engine) you might have something. Never got around to inspecting an Aspire box but did drive one (my first Aspire parts car) from Montreal to Ottawa during a January cold spell, enough to notice a significant difference in cabin heat.

[clphipps79]

I would like to know their reasoning behind not allowing heat to be had out of the front dash vents?

[Advancedynamix]

I would like to know their reasoning behind not allowing heat to be had out of the front dash vents?

This is a common concern, and the topic of many "new festy owner" help threads over the years.

[Movin]

Center Vent...If it was hooked up like other cars we would have to have a heater hose shut off valve. We would have to wait for the heater core to cool down to get the coldest air in the summer..air doors are not leak proof. If we have AC. same thing, it wouldn't work as good. Heater hose valves always leak a little hot water through the core even when off. Our systems are small and efficient as is, everything would have to get a little bigger and heavier to have all ducts work as one and work as well as it does now.

Some of you may recall that I put a big chevy heater core in my red car. When pulling snowmobiles it does put out way more heat. But all adjustments have been made to get the most efficiency out of the engine. Timing..emission controls etc. When the car is unloaded the heater really doesn't work that much better and the cooling system does not warm up enough to open the thermostat, in fact the injection is adding more fuel thinking the car is cold. Without the emission stuff to pull more fuel, the little b block does not make that much more heat to give.

In the summer the ac worked the same but the heater box cooks your throttle foot. In the oregon desert, endless sandy and dirt trails, gravel roads my honda rincon 650 id really fun to drive. BUT it gets worse MPG than the festy. These little engines when just loafing around like that do not make enough heat to put out like a bigger car or one with all emissions to spec. You have to burn fuel to make heat.

[TominMO]

I would like to know their reasoning behind not allowing heat to be had out of the front dash vents?

Most likely some cost-cutting measure. These are low-end economy cars after all, and the heaters may have been designed more with warmer climates in mind. But I think saving money is the most likely reason.

[TominMO]

Specs from Rock Auto:
Festiva heater core dimensions...5.5" x 6.25" x 1.25"
Aspire heater core dimensions.....5.5" x 5.63" x 2.00"

The extra thickness of the Aspire core might be why it gives off better heat, with the same engine block. More heat transfer via longer fins. Same reason a dual-core Festy radiator cools better than a single-core. Yesterday it was about 10 degrees F, and I drove around in my Aspire perfectly comfortable; actually a little too warm, given that I was dressed for cold weather.

I'll bet an Aspire box could be put in there, using a combination of pieces; maybe the Aspire heater controls and a combination of Festy and Aspire tubing. Sounds like a good summer project for someone motivated to do this (Canadians, Minnesotans, etc.)

Alternatively, maybe the Aspire heater core could be put into the Festy box. Wouldn't help with dash heat, but might improve overall heating to floor and defrost.

Plus the usual solutions like covering all bumper and grill openings, and a partial bellypan, and even putting cardboard directly on the front of the radiator. And a 192 or 195 degree thermostat.

[Bert]

Interesting that the exterior core dimensions are almost the same except for the 'head exchange' passages which are nearly double the length (2 inch vs 1 1/4). The longer a period of time that air passes over a set of heated pipes and fins the more warm that air picks up, you'd think.

[Bert]

Curious (boy do I like using RockAuto's site for comparing things) that most cars use 5/8 inch input/output tubing and hose for heaters. I happen to own an old F150 that blows real warm air so I looked at those core dimensions (7 x 7 1/4 x 2"); only to discover that 'cold climate' heater core dimension is same size as for 'standard' heater core but fin count/density and tube spacing is much higher. The Echo I'm driving (with lovely heater) has a 5 1/4 x 8 7/16 x 1 inch core. This is not radically different from that of a Festy (5 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 1 1/4") and yet heat output is significantly better.
Obviously there is more to this racket than meets the eye.

[william]

I think it is a insulation problem more than the heater core.
My heater blows pretty warm air but cant keep up with the drafts and just plan no insulation.
I lined the inside of the doors with this.

http://www.duckbrand.com/products/weatherization/insulation

And its a night and day difference! No joke its like if you were heating your house with the windows open before now it gets pretty dang warm although it could be better
Im going to be doing the doors and quarters on my other car.

[TominMO]

I think it is a insulation problem more than the heater core.
My heater blows pretty warm air but cant keep up with the drafts and just plan no insulation.
I lined the inside of the doors with this.

http://www.duckbrand.com/products/weatherization/insulation

And its a night and day difference! No joke its like if you were heating your house with the windows open before now it gets pretty dang warm although it could be better
Im going to be doing the doors and quarters on my other car.

Good tip. I clicked on Where to Buy and it came up with Wal-mart. So basically everywhere. Maybe big-box hardware stores too.

[william]

Yep got mine at Walmart. Its almost too thick comes close to the window. I just used spray adhesive it hold it

[TominMO]

Yep got mine at Walmart. Its almost too thick comes close to the window. I just used spray adhesive it hold it

Probably muffles that tin-can sound when you close the door too.

[william]

A little bit. To combat that you really need some sort of cld tile.
Like dynomat or something like it. Sound deadner show down .com has great information on sound deadeners and how to use each type. Before I was informed I thought that what I was doing was going to help sound and I got a shock at how much nicer the heat was.

[old yellow]

I think the type of material the heater core is, is also a factor.... copper vs steel.... just replaced the copper heater core in our truck with a different type of metal and it gives off ice cold air now, couldn't stay in the truck when the copper one was in