Stock springs and shocks?

[shawnw]

Kind of an odd question but I was wondering what th ride and handling is like on a Festiva is like with stock springs and shock in good condition?

I ask this because our Festiva has had worn spring and shocks since we've owned it. Right now it rides pretty softly but does tend to bounce after large bumps and roll quite a bit in the corners. I haven't fixed anything yet because the ride is somewhat comfortable for such a short wheelbase car and its nice to have the extra bit of softness on the poor gravel/logging roads around here.

I'm thinking of replacing the springs and shocks this upcoming spring but I'm not too sure if I want to if the car is going to ride alot rougher.

Any information/comments would be much appreciated.

[muscle_Car1]

I surely wouldn't call the stock setup sporty by any means.
It just should ride much nicer.

[elcamino1]

If you want to keep the same ride just replace your struts and shocks!

[bobstad]

Take this to heart, some excellent advice!

I have installed the Festiva Motor Sports.com race/lowering springs with KYB struts and for about ten thousand miles only had that set up in the back.

Once I installed the stiffer springs in the front I regretted it and highly recommend to anyone not planning to race, to try just installing the rear FMS.com springs.(and new struts in back; which the crappy rear springs seem to make wear out badly compared to the front struts)

I think that for whatever reasons the rear springs were duds to begin with, that must've been cheap ones the factory used to save money though with the motor weight up front this wasn't feasible there.(?)

You'll be surprised is my guess at how excellent this makes the car handle just using the FMS.com springs and new struts in the rear in combination with 13" rims*; and yet still a good ride.(when I got my car used with only 85,000 miles the rear springs had those little metal spacers which are supposed to stiffen the springs, and the ride was still sloppy, wallowing so badly on the freeway at speed with the 12" rims I was terrified since every time I'd glance at the speedometer I'd be in another lane when I looked up again if I wasn't careful, or that was the sensation at least!)

The front FMS springs are admittedly a little better cornering on a flat entirely smooth surface, but suck if you have to drive over anything else, including cement expansion strips on the freeway, abrupt angle changes or undulations going into parking lots, etc.

With the FMS.com springs in the rear I don't think the car lost any ground clearance height, though the ones on the front certainly dropped it a lot. With the 13" rims instead of the stock 12" ones using just the custom springs on the rear I think the overall clearance improved greatly.(yet the improvement with the rear FMS.com springs in stability greatly trumped any deficiency in cornering from the car being a little higher, which was never noticeable if an effect at all since the better rear springs and 13" wheels improved the cornering so much)

With the stock springs in front, the handling with the custom springs and new struts in back was excellent and the ride was if anything more comfortable than before since a good deal of bounce in the back got eliminated.(thats a heavy hidabed on the roof rack in the second photo, and a heavy over-stuffed chair on the rear bumper with the car fully loaded inside moving the 675 miles from California to here is why the back end looks a little low)

Changing the rear springs and struts is less work than the same job on the front too!(and half the expense)

The one disadvantage of the Festiva on back roads is that the front end alignment seems to go out of adjustment if driven hard over bumps; though if you are careful mine has stayed proper for tens of thousands of miles now, through a couple of sets of tires.

*There are several cars with 13" rims which will work, but watch out since more have the same size bolt pattern without the right angle to the chamfer against the bolt, which could allow it to work free. Mine, the pink ones in front, are from an '87 Mazda 323 which cost $10 each at a Mazda wrecking yard near Sacramento.(best looking of many I saw in a catalogue devoted to used wheels, arranged by interchangeability)

[ejp2fast]

ok, we'll let you graduate now that you did your thesis...

[bobstad]

Okay, I just brushed up my "thesis" so I hope the publisher is happy?

What an agonizing education cars always seem to be, given the obvious once all the work is done which reveals such better alternatives.(DIY as an anti-social recluse is a hard life folks...well, there are women, but I guess they don't count or at least seem to avoid automotive hassels; often enough by abstinence due to poverty in my typical society of such associates, friend and/or nemesis)

I'd wonder if anyone else has noticed what a great improvement using the FMS springs only on the rear makes?

[getnpsi]

Ive never driven a running festiva with the swap, but I've read that with the aspire's rear beam installed, the handling improves. If you can budget the springs and shocks i would -spring- for the brake swap at the same time. However on a low low budget you can probably pick up some factory low miles aspire shocks and see how they work. With lowering springs the every day ride is going to suffer a lot. I dont know how important this aspect is to you.

[bobstad]

I'm awaiting a private message response from one of the site's experts; about using the FMS.com springs on the back with stock springs in the front.

Unless there is a reason my car is unique, a '91 Festiva 5-speed; I think this is the best set-up for everyday driving, Aspire swap or not. The handling is really decent and the ride as good as stock; without the exceptional rigidity and harshness of the front FMS.com springs.(hey anyone, will the stock Festiva front springs fit once I've done the front half of the Aspire swap I'm now half way through?)