Another Strut Choice

[sketchman]

Had some old ones lying around from when I did GR2s on my old Neon years ago, and my old stock Festy knuckles are loose in my parts shell, soooooo, pics.

As you can see, the holes line up so closely, you could easily make it work with a few seconds and a dremel and burr.

It gets better. Rio strut on top is longer than the Neon unit. I didn't have a spare Festiva unit to compare, but of the two the Neon wins for lowering your ride height "safely".

And the best part. Look at all that room behind the the lower mount hole. Now look again at the close up of the bolt holes. Instant negative camber. As a bonus, replacement Neon struts have slotted holes already there to give you adjustable camber. These are factory units and it's set in round holes, but (at least KYBs and IIRC all others) aftermarket replacements are slotted.

Also, Neon struts are STIFF for an OEM spec strut. I was running 200lb springs on KYBs on my old Neon, and it felt like a good match.

So there ya go. Cheap option that will offer good performance if you're doing DIY coilovers.

EDIT: One other thing. These are 1st generation(95-99) Neon parts. If you want to go even stiffer, you could use 2nd gen units, and as a side bonus the 2nd gens use a thicker knuckle to clevis mounting "ear?" so it would fit the Festiva knuckle even better. The one pictured is a tight fit. Nothing requiring machining, but it takes some persuasion.

[zoom zoom]

Did you stick a Festy hat on that neon strut? Wondering if custom top mounts would be necessary?

[sketchman]

Didn't think about that. I'll mic the diameter of the rod that goes through the mount. One sec.

EDIT: Rio 14.9mm vs Neon 14.2mm at the widest points that stick through the strut mount hole.

[zoom zoom]

+ the Rio has that flat spot, a little spacer whim would fix the slop..wish I had a lathe! If I think about it ill Mic the Festy struts I have.

[sketchman]

Would that little bit matter once the nut is torqued? IDK. I wish I'd test fitted them before I bought the Rios. But oh well.

[Advancedynamix]

Are they also shorter, or is that strut just compressed? Good find by the way!

EDIT: just reread your captions, you cover the shorter part. Lol. Can you throw a tape on that neon strut and get us an overall? I have a stock strut here, I'll get a length measurement from it for comparison

[sketchman]

Yeah, I'll get an exact measurement tomorrow if I can remember. I'm glad it's of use.

[sketchman]

Neon - bottom to top = 20" - bottom to beginning of threads on strut rod = 18.5"
Rio - bottom to top = 21.5" - bottom to beginning of threads on strut rod = 20"

So not as big of a difference in length as it looked, but still, overall a better choice.

[Aaronbrook37]

Call him the postman, because sketchman always delivers! Great find, my friend. I'll wait for some Charlie input and analysis before I pull the trigger on anything though.

[sketchman]

Glad to help.

Hopefully this is a viable low buck alternative to the Golf coilovers. Hope.

[Safety Guy]

Nice idea, Sketch! Fingers and toes crossed...

If these will work well, weren't Konis made for the Neon ACR?

Karl

[sketchman]

Yep, but they're rare as frog hair. IF you can find them they will be beat to death and need rebuilt and they'll still be expensive.

But, yes, technically they are available.

[Advancedynamix]

Neon - bottom to top = 20" - bottom to beginning of threads on strut rod = 18.5"
Rio - bottom to top = 21.5" - bottom to beginning of threads on strut rod = 20"

So not as big of a difference in length as it looked, but still, overall a better choice.

I measured a stock festiva shock today. 19.5" from bottom to where the threads begin on the strut rod. For comparison, my Golf coilovers are 18" from the bottom of the flange (actual strut hangs lower, but the flange is the lowest part of the festiva unit). That means the Neon unit is 1" shorter than stock, which is good news for those looking for a drop. What is the compressed length of the Neon strut? This will tell us what kind of drop we can get with these.
My VW coilovers have a 12.25" compressed length, and the stockers have a 14.25" compressed length.

[Advancedynamix]

Nice idea, Sketch! Fingers and toes crossed...

If these will work well, weren't Konis made for the Neon ACR?

Karl

There are several models of Koni inserts that fit inside the raceland and raceland style VW coilovers. I Have had Koni double adjustables in my racelands, but at 300 bucks an insert they are not worth the money. I have always preferred Bilstein over Koni on my cars anyway.

[Bert]

Nice of you to report on possible alternatives for shocks. This stuff is a little over my head but certainly looks do able. Adapting Aspire struts to Rio top hats was already an eye-opener for me; had to put a washer under the hat so the strut would ride on the bearing, sleeve the shock rod (Rio hat has a larger hole than Aspire rod diameter) and had to use an air impact to tighten the nut because there is no flat or other means of purchase on a Rio hat. Festy and Aspire hats have a flat inside that keeps the shock rod from turning as the nut is tightened, Rios don't.