Advanced Suspension Mods

[leapin]

X2 this has got to be stickied! Great write up for sure! Glad to see my alignment set up is similar to yours!

[zoom zoom]

^ EXACTLY what I was hoping you would say. Thanks, I'll give it a shot then! I have one set of 150# and one set of 200# springs, I'll probably use the 150 first and see how it feels.

[Advancedynamix]

^ EXACTLY what I was hoping you would say. Thanks, I'll give it a shot then! I have one set of 150# and one set of 200# springs, I'll probably use the 150 first and see how it feels.

That sounds like a good range for the aspire since it's a little heavier than the festiva. You should get body roll before slide in a good neutral curve. When you notice traction problems exiting the apex ( with smooth rolling throttle input) then it's time for more spring in the rear. I'm not sure what my rake is at because I don't have a baseline to go off of, but the front seems to be a couple inches lower than the back, this helps put the cars weight on the important wheels.

[gergorian]

How much did all the parts cost you?

[r31andy]

WOW very nice man! look's like fun !

[kumalaba]

charlie you are a sick man

[Bert]

Most of this performance stuff is gobble-dee-gook to me. But seeing pictures of narrowed-down springs is curious. Would allow Aspire/Rio swappers to take advantage of wheel well space when moving on to modern tires.
13s/14s and 15s are achievable, provided there is room, and in most cases, escaping from the old 145/12s is not that simple.
It's the diameter of the springs (and location of the spring perch) that are holding most of us back.
Keep up the good work. And keep us DD and other ordinary folks in mind.

[Advancedynamix]

Thanks, it is a ton fun.

How much did all the parts cost you?

I'll post a parts list with prices and where to get things if I get some time tonight. I don't know off the top of my head what it all cost. It's pricey for what a Festiva was designed to do, but extremely cheap for the performance of the car. This car can dance with cars that use 2 grand worth of tires in a weekend.

[Damkid]

So far I've read the first post, I NEED to find time to finish reading all that great info

Once I get more time, I'll sticky this thread or move it to the article section

[Advancedynamix]

Most of this performance stuff is gobble-dee-gook to me. But seeing pictures of narrowed-down springs is curious. Would allow Aspire/Rio swappers to take advantage of wheel well space when moving on to modern tires.
13s/14s and 15s are achievable, provided there is room, and in most cases, escaping from the old 145/12s is not that simple.
It's the diameter of the springs (and location of the spring perch) that are holding most of us back.
Keep up the good work. And keep us DD and other ordinary folks in mind.

Will do. After all, Tweak gets driven to work almost daily. I also have 2 bone stock festivas, so I can relate. Lol. This setup works great with 185mm tires that are around 21" outer diameter. I have 38mm of offset on 5.5" wide wheels and I use 1/4" spacers on the rear. My tire size is 185/60/13 but these R888 tires have a very wide contact patch for a 185mm tire, it's wider than most 195mm tires.

[Advancedynamix]

So far I've read the first post, I NEED to find time to finish reading all that great info

Once I get more time, I'll sticky this thread or move it to the article section

Thanks Chris, I'm glad to share this stuff with everyone. I apologize for being long winded, but I believe there is more to a car than the sum of it's parts. Glad you enjoy the thread.

[blkfordsedan]

Just so I got this straight....

A Festy pulling 1.5 g's with the only mods being home-made (albeit well engineered) shock/spring assemblies, good tires and alignment tweeks? Almost makes you feel guilty doesn't it? When the high dollar car owners ask what you did, do you feel sorry for them and lie?

[neanderpaul]

:thumbright:

[Advancedynamix]

Just so I got this straight....

A Festy pulling 1.5 g's with the only mods being home-made (albeit well engineered) shock/spring assemblies, good tires and alignment tweeks? Almost makes you feel guilty doesn't it? When the high dollar car owners ask what you did, do you feel sorry for them and lie?

Lol, I tell them how little is done to the chassis and they just think that I'm a driving phenomenon. Lol. I'm not at all, this car makes it easy.

[zoom zoom]

So if I put lowering springs on, should I lenghten or shorten my bump stops? I need new ones anyway, they fell out in pieces when I removed the cover on the shocks.