Aspire brake swap? - advice for a dummy :)

[Click_It]

Hi guys, I have a few dummy questions so please bare with me

I'm a bit of a dummy when it comes to this stuff, I'll do the little jobs myself (oil change, spark plugs, leads, bulbs etc) but am not confident enough to do the larger jobs, preferring to have an expert take over...

Exactly which parts do I need to remove and how much space will they occupy to leave and get someone more handy than I to install it all? Ie: would I need a trailer to carry it all away? Or could the lot fit in the back wrapped in a tarpaulin?

Can a guy like myself pull all the required parts off or am I best to take someone a bit more experienced with such things?

Then once all is installed is that it? Do you just run with the donor brakes, perhaps just replace the pads if they are worn etc? Or do a lot of you then upgrade the discs & rotors even further? I'm thinking just a factory aspire setup will be fine for me provided there is some life in the brakes of course.

Any key points I should look out for (and avoid?) when looking for my aspire donor?

Ultimately I do plan on jamming bigger wheels on the festie, perhaps even 16" (coz I can) but in the short - medium term I'll be happy with whatever comes off the aspire.

[wybnrml]

Have you read this yet? http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/aspirebrakes.htm

[Festiva_Fred]

It's a easy swap, swap the front knuckles, change the tie rod ends to the correct ones, and swap out the rear beam, then bleed the brakes. I'd pull them off the least rusty, and lowest mileage aspire you can find. The autos have thicker front rotors, so they are heavier than manual ones. I'd also recommend swapping in a aspire front sway bar while you're at it, helps the car out alot.

[JPT]

Bring the heavy duty wrenches and a can of PB Blaster when you go. Also a long pipe to use for leverage (some of the bolts will be tight).

For the rear axle, you might want to bring a friend. You can do it yourself, but an extra set of hands makes it easier.

[Click_It]

Have you read this yet? http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/aspirebrakes.htm

Oops no I never saw that, thanks that looks to be everything I need in 1 handy place.

It's a easy swap, swap the front knuckles, change the tie rod ends to the correct ones, and swap out the rear beam, then bleed the brakes. I'd pull them off the least rusty, and lowest mileage aspire you can find. The autos have thicker front rotors, so they are heavier than manual ones. I'd also recommend swapping in a aspire front sway bar while you're at it, helps the car out alot.

Cool I wasn't sure if the aspire sway bay fitted our model. Bonus! Good thinking. Hmmm Festiva Fred eh? I have a friend in Sydney who's festiva is called Fred also

Bring the heavy duty wrenches and a can of PB Blaster when you go. Also a long pipe to use for leverage (some of the bolts will be tight).

For the rear axle, you might want to bring a friend. You can do it yourself, but an extra set of hands makes it easier.

Thanks for the advice, taken onboard! So now I'll do some hunting around. Think I'll still bring someone who's a bit more confident with all this in case I get stuck somewhere.

[Click_It]

The autos have thicker front rotors, so they are heavier than manual ones.

Does this mean I'm best looking for rotors off an auto or are they too heavy / put things out of balance?

[lanemeyer14]

You can use either

[Festiva_Fred]

Here's a write up I did about installing the aspire sway bar. http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=25023

[Click_It]

Rather than start separate threads I'll try to contain my related questions to here...

Tie Rods... I've been digging through the forums and I hear the Escort tie rods are better (cheaper) than Aspire. In Australia the Escort = Laser, could someone confirm if these are the ones I would need? Is that a fair price? Remember all car parts tend to cost more over here.

[Damkid]

^^Those are the inner tie rods, so NOT the ones you want, you want the OUTER tie rods

[Arnie]

I prefer using the automatic aspire stuff. Its all larger than the manual. Thicker rotors = more heat capacity, less fade. Larger front swaybar = less roll. All good stuff. I suggest you check out the various threads on using the Aspire front swaybar so you are aware of the "issues". Nice thing about the Aspire upgrade is you can use "real" front pads. I'm using Axxis Ultimates, EBC Reds are also available and also good. I think they have EBC Yellows too for the hot track days.

Automatic Aspire front calipers and rotors



With wheel studs:

[timmay89]

What size exactly are those studs? (width/length). I am going to do an aspire brake swap soon and having studs would be really nice!
Also nice struts, what are they off of?

[Arnie]

Struts are TEIN Basics off of the Demio platform, IIRC.

i can't recall the size off the top of my head of the bolts. but do a search here, there is a thread about bolt kits and all the specs and links are there.

[FB71]

M12x1.50, any length you want. Most run 1.75 inch.

[muscle_Car1]

I have ebc green stuff pads