Advanced Suspension Mods

[nitrofarm]

Mine sits probably a 1/2" lower in the front as compared to stock. I like the look.

Firstly you would need to specify what will you be doing with the car. Dd, track, drag, rally. They all require different settings.

I think it comes down to making sure you're in the right range of shock travel, as well as maintaining the right centre of gravity.

I need to do some r&d to see how mine would suit my driving style. But I would kick off level and start adjusting from there.

I'm sure charlie would have better input here.

Thanks guys its my DD Aspire with KYB VW Cabriolet's in the rear with 2" travel before it hits the Bumpers with 175lb springs. Front is ATX springs,Rio Hats & Rio Monroe struts. I hate the front end right now because it has no damping .With those springs in the back I'm out of adjustment And I'm barely level (the rear is lower actually by just a hair). But like I said I'm out of threads in the rear to raise it up.Once I get coil overs on the front I'll be able to lower it to get the rake angle we are talking about. I'm just wondering how far I'm out of stock spec. Do you think maybe thats why my struts feel so silly because I still dont have enough weight on them? And for a temp fix would you guys recommend that I add thicker bumpers in the front? @ 85 mph the front end starts to lift and the car just starts to feel loose-

[Dragonhealer]

For DD, my rule of thumb is 1/4" positive rake with a full complement of passengers.

[moz]

^^^what about for circuit racing??

[Dragonhealer]

^^^what about for circuit racing??

Too many variables, a well set-up car will usually have 1/2 to 1in pos. static rake.

[nitrofarm]

Too many variables, a well set-up car will usually have 1/2 to 1in pos. static rake.

Thank You, I'm assuming on my daily driver to set it up with my usual 150 lbs of tool in the trunk.

[Dragonhealer]

Quite welcome, Yes, if that is a constant load.
I was surprised to find the rear ride hight of the Festiva drop almost 2 inches on a stock
suspension with 2x 185lb passengers in the rear seat!

[zoom zoom]

I'd like to get some clarification on another aspect of the suspension, lowering vs lifting.

So far everyone has been lowering. How does lifting a festiva effect it's performance, if the valving, springs, and bump stops are set up the same?

I have basically maxed the stock suspension height, the struts are fully extended. Sitting still the front sags 1.5" (175lb springs) and then 2.5" to the bump stops. The rear only sags .5-1", and 1.5" to the bump stops(150lb springs.) When I accelerate hard the weight is almost instantly transferred forward and the front lifts up. I think I need to get rid of some sag up front, and also get some slightly taller bump stops. New struts all the way around for sure, the rear feels great BUT I want room to fit 195/60/14's in there like up front, and I slide a little bit on gravel so I think I want to try a 130ish lb spring next time. I have had multiple hundreds of lbs sitting on the bumper with my trailers' tongue weight and load and I still don't ride on the bump stops.

I'm not trying to go any higher for driveability reasons, but how much of a disadvantage is it for me to be 4-5" taller than other festivas?

Any recommendations for a good performance tire in 14"? I'm not trying to be the fastest car but I would like the best handling car I can make, lifted a little higher than stock.

I'm assuming my 13x7" -20 or 30mm offset(can't remember) wheels would not be good on a festiva at any type of track. Is there any reason why that would be true, or could I use them with some 185/60/13 r888's with -2.5* camber and a little positive caster on the front?

[moz]

Youll need taller shock absorbers for starters. The reason for the abrupt weight transfer is that the valving on your shocks are set up to be active at approx half to 3/4 of the full shock travel. The top 3" on festiva shock is veeeeery sloppy.
I'm not sure which strut I would use, but vw golf could work.

If you raise the centre of gravity, you might want to widen the track. Otherwise its only detrimental to handling.

My 2¢. Not gospel.

[nitrofarm]

OMG, MOZ you just answered my issue without even knowing it! Thanks you so much I didnt know that the top of the stoke is dampened differently! HA HA HA No wonder my front feels like it has no dampening when I push the front bumper. My car is gonna love you MOZ. I'm now certain once I get my rake correct my car is really gonna make me smile when cutting through heavy traffic.Right now I can pass 18 wheelers in the rain and snow at 75 no problem. Bridges and bumps in the rain at 75 no problem. The car is solid it just feels spongy during high speed lane changes when its dry. Like I have the wrong sway bar up front. Gotta get more weight on the front struts and get them in the engineered operating range. Hallelujah, thanks Mate!

[bhazard]

So whats the reason to not use the Raceland rears?

[defprun]

the shock bodies are too long, so you dont get the same amount of travel before you hit the bumpstops if you remove spring length.

[bhazard]

Oh, I see. There's gotta be a better choice than a stock strut though. I have Mitsu Mirage AGX struts in the back of my turbo car but not sure if the length is right.

[bhazard]

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=502434&cc=1081314

Theres the info on the KYB for a 90 Dodge Colt GT

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=502434&cc=1207224

And thats for a 90 Mitsu Mirage.


Edit: Same thing...lol

[defprun]

if you can dump your front hard go with 2005~ nissan maxima rears

[defprun]

need to do my fronts now