KYB question

[TominMO]

Can KYB GR2 struts for Festys be installed on Aspires (front and rear), with the stock Aspire springs? I know the spring diameters are the same, but how about the placement of the brake line mounts, is this a problem? And does the longer Aspire spring cause any issues, such as maxing out the strut extension??

I am not concerned about the lower spring perch issue on Festy-spec rear struts; I will probably just go to narrower tires to solve this.

[MEXTIVA]

Can KYB GR2 struts for Festys be installed on Aspires (front and rear), with the stock Aspire springs? I know the spring diameters are the same, but how about the placement of the brake line mounts, is this a problem? And does the longer Aspire spring cause any issues, such as maxing out the strut extension??

I am not concerned about the lower spring perch issue on Festy-spec rear struts; I will probably just go to narrower tires to solve this.

I have aspire springs on my festiva,im pretty sure you can..

[TominMO]

I have aspire springs on my festiva,im pretty sure you can..

But you're using Festiva-spec struts, right? Glad to know that you had no issues with the Aspire springs on Festy struts, which was one of my questions. The other was whether you can put Festiva struts on an Aspire, and have the brake line brackets be in the right places on each side. In other words did Ford/Kia/Mazda change how they mounted the brake lines in 1994, with the new body style?

But I answered my own questions. Going out and comparing my front Festy (GR2) and Aspire (Monroe) struts shows that the front brake lines attach to the struts the same way for both cars, i.e. going around in front of the strut, on both driver and passenger side struts. And of course brake line mounting has nothing to do with the rear struts, on either car.

[kartracer46]

Tom, the brake line brackets are different. But they will bolt up if you can get a deal on a pair. If you are ordering, just order them for your application for ease of installation. Otherwise zipties are your friend!

[Safety Guy]

Tom, I'm convinced that the stock rear springs on both Festivas and Aspires are the same thing. As in "interchangeable." The Aspire gets more "support" in the rear simply because the rear strut perch is a tad higher, not because the rear spring is different.

Unless anyone can prove otherwise, I'll go on believing that.

As for the hose bracket on Festiva vs. Aspire front struts, the hose doohickey that fits into them is a slightly different size and thus, the brackets have slightly different sized holes to fit them. Kia Rios are sized just like Aspires. I found this out when I accidentally used Festiva hoses on Aqua's brake swap and had to use the holy zip ties for awhile. Then I got Rio hoses and threw away the ties. It seems Rio hoses are exactly the same as Aspire hoses except for being one or two sixteenths of an inch longer.

As for the rear hoses, they may also be slightly different in "doohickey" sizing as well. I must have used a Festiva left rear hose because I ziptied the heck out of it to fit up on an old rubber bushing I perched on the bracket. I think there's a pic of it in my build thread.

Karl

[Bert]

My understanding of struts (from having done an Aspire/Festy suspension swap) is that KYBs have/are the same part number whether it is for Aspire or Festy application. Namely the spring perch is in same location.
I installed Monroe shocks and struts, for Aspire application, on my Festy. Chose Monroe for no real reason other than that they were local stock items at the time. On Monroes the spring perch is roughly 3/8" higher up than Festy ones and that was the only real visual difference. Monroe brake hose mounts for the fronts are installed separately (ie they bolt on to the strut) so they can be modified at your leisure.
Funny, I had so much fun driving the 'new-improved' car that I never got past temporarily zip-tying the brake hoses on to the struts, but which has now been over a year ago.

Re-routing and/or brake hoses to go through the Aspire mounts at the back is also going to require some cursing and swearing. I think Safety Guy has that part covered. Dremel tool with a carbide bit opened-up the brackets in order to use the Festy hoses when I did it.

[TominMO]

My understanding of struts (from having done an Aspire/Festy suspension swap) is that KYBs have/are the same part number whether it is for Aspire or Festy application. Namely the spring perch is in same location.
I installed Monroe shocks and struts, for Aspire application, on my Festy. Chose Monroe for no real reason other than that they were local stock items at the time. On Monroes the spring perch is roughly 3/8" higher up than Festy ones and that was the only real visual difference. Monroe brake hose mounts for the fronts are installed separately (ie they bolt on to the strut) so they can be modified at your leisure.
Funny, I had so much fun driving the 'new-improved' car that I never got past temporarily zip-tying the brake hoses on to the struts, but which has now been over a year ago.

Re-routing and/or brake hoses to go through the Aspire mounts at the back is also going to require some cursing and swearing. I think Safety Guy has that part covered. Dremel tool with a carbide bit opened-up the brackets in order to use the Festy hoses when I did it.

You are correct about the spring perch location on Festy vs. Aspire; that is the whole issue with them, if you want to run taller and wider tires, like 185/70x13 on my Aspire, or 185/60x14 on my Festy. These tires are almost exactly the same height, but will only work with Aspire rear struts--which means Monroe. The KYBs that are for both cars have the lower Festy spring perch. In my experience, the KYBs feel like they have more compression and rebound damping; they just feel better over bumps, especially washboard. So I'm gonna find a way to make 'em work on both cars, and ditch the Festy's rear Monroes altogether. This means either shorter tires, narrower tires, or wheel spacers.