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How I stopped the rub...tire rub that is.

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  • How I stopped the rub...tire rub that is.

    The exciting part of an Aspire brake swap is using bigger wheels. At least that was my experience. The unexciting part was the tire rub. I am using 14" Mercury Tracer aluminum wheels. The set my brother got for me had 185/60's on them. These tires would occasionally rub on the rear fender, bumper support mount thingy. You know, that little brace that angles to the fender behind the tire. Fortunately the tires I had were already shot so I didn't care so much about the little cuts and rub marks. But what was I going to do to fix that with new tires. I found a set of 185/55 R14's and thought that would be worth the chance. :wink: They were a little shorter in diameter. Maybe they wouldn't rub. But alas...when my daughter and two of her friends (total of 150 lbs.) rode in the back we rubbed on every bump. It wasn't bad enough to cut the tire or even really scuff it. It just left some smudges only seen by the well trained eye. :wink: Well, I remembered a post about putting some of those rubber lift kit spacer thingys to make the springs stiffer by essentially reducing the amount of movement the spring could have. So off to the auto store I went. Once there I quickly came to the bitter dissappointment that the rubber kits they had were for a three inch lift. This would certainly take care of the rubbing. It would also make it possible for me to change my oil using a creeper and not even have to jack it up. Back to the subject. Right beside the rubber kits were some bolt kits. They looked like they might work. Right beside that were some aluminum looking block type kits. I bought one of each just to be safe. A total of $13.00. After fiddling around with the two kits seperately I decided to put them to use together. The block style was the right heighth. They pretty much were the same as stock. This meant that upon extension of the springs they would fall out. I used the bolt type kits to squeeze the spring around the aluminum block and WOW.


  • #2
    Careful, the bolt style can and will cause your springs to break.. been there done that (on a full size vehicle)

    Autozone has the rubber blocks for 8 bucks a pack of 4
    Have had 6 Festys... and counting...

    My Website:
    http://www.StanfordMotorSports.com

    Car Domain:
    http://www.cardomain.com/id/Quaddawg
    My Garage Page:
    http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/vb...o=view&id=6724

    Comment


    • #3
      Are these rubber ones smaller? I really wanted the rubber ones originally. The ones I came across were like 2.5 to 3 inches long. Way more than what a festiva can use. The nearest autozone to me is a 3 hour drive. However, I'll make a note to check next time I drive by one. I can't remember what store I was at. I was out of state visiting family at the time and my cousin ran me by the store.

      Originally posted by quaddawg
      .. been there done that (on a full size vehicle)
      Are you saying the Festiva isn't a full size vehicle. :lol:

      Comment


      • #4
        lol... YEP~ festys are hugeantic!!


        Yeah, check auto zone for these:

        Part Number: 18-1601

        Pricing:
        $7.99

        I think you can mail order them too, it's worth not having to drive 6 hours for them... Wyoming is a whole lot of empty....




        They are x shaped , you lay them down, slip them between the coils, and then turn them, either to the narrow side (front coils) or wide side (rears) at least on my FMS springs, the narrow works on the front, and the wide side on the rears.

        I put one on each side, at least, to try to keep the spring in line.. ACTUALLY, I just went to the ZONE an hour ago, got two more packs of four.. I now have 5 in the front, and 3 in the rear, on each side... LOL... that is for Autocross, on slicks though. I was rubbing badly, even with tiny little 20" tall Hoosier RR slicks... lol.. a couple of weeks ago, I added the spacers, as I can't afford coil overs or stiffer springs until a few more paychecks..... It helped TREMENDOUSLY and the Festy was finally picking up a rear wheel into each hard corner, in other words it was sticking MUCH better. I still rubbed a tiny bit, so I decided to load up the springs big time this week, just to see what happens, it might end up being TOO bouncy for the damping of the KYB GR2's I have on there (Def not a great autox strut) The rubber spacers are much much more gentle on your coils than the hard bolt style spacers, and if your car spits a steel spacer, it could do some damage to your car, or someone else on the road. The rubber spacers have a little give to them, much better in my opinion. Get a couple of packs of them, and space them out evenly, so the spring compresses straight.

        I will get some coilover sleeves and decent rate springs soon, as I don't care for this solution on the autocross course, I have squished a couple of spacers already, and had to replace them, but I am really punishing my suspenion, pulling over a g for sure, I beat the hell out of the car on the track..

        It looks like a lot of body roll, but you should have seen it before the spacers, I was actually smoking my front tires on the fenders... lol..

        Should be flatter tomorrow.. I will post some pics.


        Have had 6 Festys... and counting...

        My Website:
        http://www.StanfordMotorSports.com

        Car Domain:
        http://www.cardomain.com/id/Quaddawg
        My Garage Page:
        http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/vb...o=view&id=6724

        Comment


        • #5
          That's pretty cool. Yeah those rubber ones are exactly what I need. Thanks for the info. If I can't order them online then I'll just have to remember to stop by next time I'm in the big city. LOL. I don't auto cross my festy, I just need the stiffer suspension for driving in town. My town is 90% above ground drainage. That makes for some big dips at intersections :!: :!: :!:

          Wyoming is a whole lot of empty....
          It has its' disadvantages, like a 3 hour one way trip to Auto Zone. But the empty is probably why I like living here so much.

          Comment


          • #6
            those rubber ones are the same thing i had in my car, they work but after about 6 months to a year they start falling out from wear

            1988 323 Station Wagon - KLG4 swapped
            1988 323 GT - B6T Powered
            2008 Ford Escape - Rollover Survivor

            1990 Festiva - First Ever Completed KLZE swap (SOLD)

            If no one from the future stops you from doing it, how bad of a decision can it really be?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Damkid
              those rubber ones are the same thing i had in my car, they work but after about 6 months to a year they start falling out from wear
              heh heh... they last me about 2 races....

              I am DEF going to get springs/coilovers when I take the car apart this winter...

              I was a tad bouncy today, but it stayed WAY flatter.

              Check this pic out.. that cone wobbled a good bit, but it didn't fall, so no penalty.. that is cutting it close, but notice almost no body lean...

              Have had 6 Festys... and counting...

              My Website:
              http://www.StanfordMotorSports.com

              Car Domain:
              http://www.cardomain.com/id/Quaddawg
              My Garage Page:
              http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/vb...o=view&id=6724

              Comment

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