Cut spring vs fms springs

[Evil D]

Oddly enough only one tire is rubbing...my junkyard tires i got only 2 of them are matching tires, the back 2 are oddballs and the passenger side tire has a narrower tread footprint and doesn't rub while the driver's side has a more flat/broad shoulder to it and is rubbing. I could probably drive it 10 miles and it would wear the tread down enough to fix the problem...lol. It's just barely rubbing.

[GenevaDirt]

you can put Aspire rear struts on it....the perch sits higher on them....should keep them from hitting. Spacers are another option.

[perucho]

I have Accent rims and i think they probably have a tad more back spacing than your wheels do...that's why they're on the perch.

Think it'd be a bad thing to grind the perch a little to clearance it?

I had an 88 with the same problem, the rear tires rubbed on the spring perch. Instead of grinding the perch I got 1/4" spacers and no more rubbing. If you think you can grind enough to clear the tire without compromising the strut, I say go for it. Spacers are just very cheap if you already have longer lug bolts.

[Nerd Racing]

No, thanks for not starting a new one.

The ride is not bad. I also have 175/70/13 and had 2 coils off the front and 1.5 coils off the rear springs. Cutting the coils won't move the perch location, so the rubbing won't get better or worse. Hope that helps.

And if you hit a bridge going 65 on a Festiva, you are dead

I dunno man I hit a median (guard rail with a concrete block behind it for an overhead sign) in canada after spinning out doing 100kph and I walked away without a scratch... but my car was dead!

[Evil D]

I have Accent rims and i think they probably have a tad more back spacing than your wheels do...that's why they're on the perch.

Think it'd be a bad thing to grind the perch a little to clearance it?

[perucho]

^ Yeah, I was just joking about the bridge. My wheels are 5.5" wide (6" overall) and have a 38mm offset. They actually get really close to the fender. On big bumps they would rub the fender but just very lightly. I rolled the fender lips (not flared them) and all is good. Mine however, don't touch the spring perch on the back.

Sounds like you could use new shocks. I have KYB gr2's and they are okay. I think the valving is pretty close to the stock shocks. I rarely have someone in the car though. Here are some pics of my car:

[Evil D]

LOL yeah i mean around here most of the bridges have a kind of ramp effect to them when you go over them. I don't know if it's standard Festiva affair but my car is floaty like a miniature Caddy. I've only drove it around the block with the 13s on it and i can FEEL how much higher up it is and it has a very sketchy feeling in turns..like it's leaning a lot.

Did you have to roll the fenders or anything with the 13s? Do they tuck up in there a lot? How much do you weigh and do you ever have passengers? I'm usually rolling with 100lbs of tools and a passenger from time to time, sometimes 2 kids as well. Where can i find pics?

I got lots of questions

[perucho]

Sorry to dig this up but rather than post another question about this....how is the ride quality aside from being stiff? If you're going 65 down the interstate and you hit a bridge, does it bounce you all over the road?

Also with the cut springs what size rim/tire are you running? I just got some 175/70/13s and they're a bit taller than the stock 12s. The back are rubbing the spring perch a little....will lowering the car make this worse?

No, thanks for not starting a new one.

The ride is not bad. I also have 175/70/13 and had 2 coils off the front and 1.5 coils off the rear springs. Cutting the coils won't move the perch location, so the rubbing won't get better or worse. Hope that helps.

And if you hit a bridge going 65 on a Festiva, you are dead

[Evil D]

Sorry to dig this up but rather than post another question about this....how is the ride quality aside from being stiff? If you're going 65 down the interstate and you hit a bridge, does it bounce you all over the road?

Also with the cut springs what size rim/tire are you running? I just got some 175/70/13s and they're a bit taller than the stock 12s. The back are rubbing the spring perch a little....will lowering the car make this worse?

[ejp2fast]

I took my cut springs out. They were a little to short and way to stiff!

how much did you cut off biff??

[Biff]

I took my cut springs out. They were a little to short and way to stiff!

[Biglay5150]

I have had both and cut springs are stiffer than FMS!!!

[ejp2fast]

check out this thread for more info on mine and how much i cut.

i have a set of fms springs and thought "well, if cutting doesn't work out, i'll just stick in the fms' " well as of yet i still haven't swapped.
i'd like to ride in a car with FMS springs to compare directly, and get a couple more opinions.

[ejp2fast]

The only way that they are comparable is that they both lower the car. The cutting of springs keeps the same spring rate but just lowers it. The FMS springs are a stiffer spring that happens to be lowered. If you have the ash get the FMS gear & new struts

i respectfully disagree - when you cut the springs (like i have) it does make the car stiffer. physics and spring rate equations support this as well, when you remove active coils, the spring rate goes up, that is keeping everything else constant.

i haven't had probs with my shocks and i cut these springs earlier this year and put on 4K miles.

[muscle_Car1]

The only way that they are comparable is that they both lower the car. The cutting of springs keeps the same spring rate but just lowers it. The FMS springs are a stiffer spring that happens to be lowered. If you have the ash get the FMS gear & new struts