Kia Rio front strut mounts on Festys

[Bert]

Rio strut mounts are not a direct substitute since the bore diameter of the mount is about 9/16 inch in and Monroe shock rods are 1/2 inch. You need to make a sleeve (I used sheet copper wound around the shock rod) and you also need to install a flat washer in order for the shock to ride on the inner bearing race and not touch anywhere else. However once they're in place they do make turning the steering wheel a bit easier than before.
Stock Festy and Aspire strut mount dust caps are made of rigid plastic and ill-fitting on Rio parts which makes for lousy protection of an exposed bearing, and new-purchase Rio mounts don't come with caps. At the JY the other day I retrieved some dust caps off an 01 Rio. In fact they are similar to Festy stuff and also made of rigid plastic. So I went around pulling caps off various cars to compare and ultimately found perfect fit soft rubber caps on a Hyundai (I think). Pressed in place I'm quite confident these covers will keep water and dirt out of the bearings. See for yourself. The last thing you want is dirt and rust-seized bearings on steering parts.

[Safety Guy]

Good work, Bert!

Since I bought my Rio struts used I hadn't encountered this problem. Also, I still haven't taken apart my '04 Rio struts to see how much can be used and if the other than the three bolt mounts are the same.

Mixing and matching will still be exploration for a little while until we "learn" what there is to know.

Karl

[KingFish]

I installed 01 rio upper mount yesterday and encountered the same thing burt did, needing to add diameter to the fest strut rod to fit the rio mount, did the same thing.

[Bert]

There is a 'flat' on Festy and Aspire shocks to keep the shock absorber rod from turning when inserted through the strut mounts. The Rio mounts don't have that feature and are entirely round. This means the central nut is essentially 'free spinning' and requires an impact wrench to loosen or tighten. Also regular Festy and Aspire shock caps don't ride high enough where it counts to contact the bearing so a 1/8 thick washer is useful/essential. Wrapping the 1/2 inch rod with sheet material seemed to me a quick way of sleeving to 9/16. Otherwise there is slop in the rod at the bearing (mandrel for want of a better word).
I noticed that Festy/Aspire strut mounts are not symmetrical with regard to mounting bolts. You can install them 180 degrees off but they will visibly not be centered in the hole. Rio mounts are not as asymmetrical in that regard. I don't know just yet how much that affects castor/camber.

[FB71]

didn't affect camber at all on mine. Camber is spot-on center of spec.

[Safety Guy]

Festiva and Aspire mounts were designed to be moved back and forth to adjust camber, whereas Rio mounts are not. Thus, Rio mounts should be symmetrical.

My used Rio struts with their mounts were apparently aligned properly by the shop. My tires seem to be wearing pretty evenly. (Used 175/70-13s from the junkyard with really good tread and all less than 2 to 3 years old.)

I just went out and checked tread depth with a gauge. RF tire seems to be wearing a bit more on the inside than on the outside tread. 6/32 compared with 4/32.

LF is not as bad but has same pattern. Middle tread is also better, at around 6/32.

Rear tires are both around 4/32 on outer edges, with middle tread around 6/32.

John noticed this on someone else's car (or his car?) recently. Our tires might be wearing more on the outer edges due to car's low weight. People who run pressures at 35 and under may experience this more.

I've run these tires at mostly 33 to 35 psi. This last trip to Madness I upped all of them to 38 psi. Total mileage on these tires should be over 8 or 9000 miles, I would guess (three trips over 1K miles and about 1K miles per month).

In other words, I think my tread wear is due more to our lightweight cars and lower tire pressures wearing the outside edges more, but some of this on my fronts could be due to a bit of camber unbalance with my Rio strut mounts.

I will probably run my new Falken 175/60-13s on my Estrellas (when I finish painting them!) for a couple months then I will swap some new snow tires onto my VW rims for winter fun.

Gotta watch the tire wear closer from now on!

Karl

[Bert]

One day I'll invest in expensive tires now that I've managed to escape from the 12 inch take-it-or-leave-it trailer tire choices. Drove my dad's Toyota Echo last weekend (Toyo tires) and boy are they ever smooth and roll nice compared to $35 Motomaster AWs from Canadian Tire.

[FestYboy]

outer edge wear is a sign of too much toe-in Karl, may want to have your alignment checked.

[Bert]

One day I will divulge/expound on my backyard method for doing 'no cost' wheel alignments. There is almost SFA (most of you will know what this means) other than toe-in/toe-out that can readily be done on Festys and making sure the front wheels have slight toe-in and similarly line up with the backs in order to maintain horizontal steering wheel spokes is about all there is to it. You cannot move an outer tie rod +/-1/2 turn like you'd wish and the inner tie rods are fixed.

[FestYboy]

inners aren't fixed.... please explain the last part.

and i'm with you on the back-yard alignments: just need a string, 2 posts, 4 jackstands and a ruler.

[Bert]

You cannot adjust the length of the inner tie rods. The outers though you can turn in or out on the shaft of the inners, but only one full turn at a time.
I don't use string although that is a bona fide carpentry technique (I'm carpentry licensed). I use a 4 foot straightedge across the wheels to exaggerate toe-in/toe out and chalk mark the floor. Works good for me.

[Safety Guy]

Bert wrote:

"The outers though you can turn in or out on the shaft of the inners, but only one full turn at a time."

Why not? The inner tie rods have a ball joint inside the rack bellows so they can turn any amount, which would let you turn the outer tie rod end as much or as little as you wished. Just put a wrench/vice grips on the inner rod to adjust it how you want as you turn the outer rod end. Then clamp it with the jam nut.

Karl

[bhazard]

You cannot adjust the length of the inner tie rods. The outers though you can turn in or out on the shaft of the inners, but only one full turn at a time.
I don't use string although that is a bona fide carpentry technique (I'm carpentry licensed). I use a 4 foot straightedge across the wheels to exaggerate toe-in/toe out and chalk mark the floor. Works good for me.

How do you think the shops adjust your toe?

Loosen the nut on the inner, put wrench on the hex part of the rod, and turn.

[KingFish]

outer edge wear is a sign of too much toe-in Karl, may want to have your alignment checked.

Toe in or out will give feathered tire wear, excessive positive camber will wear outer edges.

And you are not making the inner tie longer exactly, you are just moving the outer tie along the threads of the inner to make the link longer or shorter. Clear as mud.