Oh no! another wheel question!

[JPT]

Festiva rear struts have a lower spring perch than the Aspire ones. Clearance will be worse with those.

Escort steelies will have the same offset (+45mm) as the other rims (there's that common offset again).

[91blufestiva]

ugh i hate all this confusing stuff lol. Ok, i'm going to stick with aspire rear struts with festiva springs. I believe this should be ok.

[drddan]

FYI, not to confuse you even more, but the Festiva springs are soft, you will hit the tires on bumps. Aspire springs for a little more stiffness will work better.
If you dont want it higher just cut one coil out of the aspire springs. Voila!
Stock height, no rubbing.

Just to help with the confusion:

Offset is:
+ offset moves the tire in towards the car (the bigger the number, the more "in" they are)
.................................................. .......(the smaller the number, the more "out" they are)
- offset moves the tire away from the car body and is what you see on drag cars with "deep dish" rims.

So a +45 offset rim sets closer towards body, will clear the fenders better, but may have clearance issues on the inner side of tire (struts and stuff)
+20 offset (like mine) hits the fenders, but I have no clearance issues with struts and stuff as they sit a little further "out" than +45 offset. (by 25mm)

For reference: With "0" offset, where the hub bolts to, is in center of the width of the rim.
+ or - offset is established from this point and is in MM.

[91blufestiva]

^ thanks for that. Well, i got one escort steelie from the junkyard today and I'm going to see if it will hit or not, if it doesn't, which i dont think it will since i'm using aspire struts, i'll bring it back, but most likely, i'll go get the other 3.

[JPT]

It's not the rim that will hit, it's the tire.

Just looked at the specs for Escort rims. I made a mistake. '91 to '99 Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer rims are +36mm offset (steel and aluminum). You may be able to get away without spacers.

Depending on the tire you use, you might have fender clearance issues.

[91blufestiva]

I'll most likely go with 185/60/14, but if i could get a 55 or even 50, that would be great, but not likely.

[Safety Guy]

Check these out Blu:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=135&sowigan=&Breite=165&Quer=60&Felge=14&Speed=&kategorie=6&LoadRange=&Marke=&ranzahl=4&suchen=View+tires

Either of those two Federals in 165/60-14 should do. H rated and 420-A-A or better.

They also have 165/55-14 in a V rated tire, but I think that's a little too low and it's pricier.

Karl

[FestYboy]

go with the 165/60s you'll be happy with those.

[Safety Guy]

The 165/60s would be perfect for a 14 X 5" rim like the Honda HX. I think those rims weigh only 11 pounds each, too. I'd just check the load rating on the tire to make sure they'll be okay. (I'm paranoid, that's all.)

Karl

[JPT]

...I'd just check the load rating on the tire to make sure they'll be okay. (I'm paranoid, that's all.)

Karl

Really? You think Festivas are that heavy? :razz:

BTW, Civic HX rims are 5.5" wide. Those tires will look slightly stretched on those. They are also +45mm, but with a 6.5" wide tire (165mm), spacers may not be needed.

I'm liking this idea. Anyone want to buy some 13" Honda prelude rims?

[Safety Guy]

Just sayin' I'd check, that's all. After all, read my screen name.

Okay, 5.5" wide. Didn't know that. Thought they were the same width as a VX rim. Hmmm...

Karl

[91blufestiva]

I wish I could afford a set of new tires! Maybe this summer once I get a good job! I'm going to try and find either those 165's at a junkyard, or a set of 185/60's at a junkyard. I know of a yard that sells a lot of tires.