Will these coilivers fit??

[Potta]

TEIN does or did make a direct fitment adjustable ( spring preload) setup that bolts up to the 121/Festiva however this setup is a bad choice for performance. The TEIN setup is under valved and poorly sprung for any serious driving.

Thank you very much for your help. I'm very similar in the way I like my setup. Do you have a link to the VW struts that you have used?
I'm more than capable to modify the coilovers to suit but I don't want to buy a shock that's far too short or too long for the car.

[jawbraeka]

TEIN does or did make a direct fitment adjustable ( spring preload) setup that bolts up to the 121/Festiva however this setup is a bad choice for performance. The TEIN setup is under valved and poorly sprung for any serious driving.

Do you happen to know what the model number for those tein's at all?

[jawbraeka]

Hey guys has anyone tried these coilovers in there 121/festiva ?

http://justjap.com/store/product.php?productid=19390

I keep reading all these conflicting stories of what does and doesn't work. I'd live for someone to just say what will fit . Thanks guys I've spent a lot of time reading stuff but still cannot get a confirmation of what will actually work.

If you're able to find some two bolt pillowtops that you swap over that have the camber adjustment, the fronts are done.

The rears i'm not too sure how many bolts they are, but i'm assuming they might have additional coilover plates you you buy to fit the festiva?? The bottom section i was a little concerned about as i have seen that the festiva/aspire rear axle only seems to support the 'O' ring at the bottom and they look nothing like it, unless that is just a bad angle for that photo, but i can say that i don't see that fit without some adaptor or find a set that suit what the festiva natively supports, otherwise, you're up for a little fabrication for this to support the festivian beast.

let's put it this way, i wouldn't go sacrificing safety of the vehicle over style.. no sirree bob.

one other point to mention that might be of benefit, i hear the VW Golf is also something to consider (i think it was either MK2,3 or 4, not 100% but then again i haven't tried) but i believe someone did minor suspension mods from a vw coilover suspension kit that worked just fine too.

Another thing to consider, the closest chassis that is to the Festiva/Mazda 121 is the DA, DAJPH,D2*, D3*, 121 DB and the DEMIO/Festiva Miniwagon which is DW3W (i believe that is for engine size of 1.3) and DW5W is for a 1.5L, so even then there is a choice, but only if any suspension company supports any of these chassis or are close, like the vw golf, but how far our it is, is a total personal choice.

translate this to english and this will give you a little more about festiva's bretheren http://www.goo-net.com/car/FORD_JAPA...IVA.html#grade

another thing you may want to try is search japan by using google translate, enter your term and use the japanese characters to find another world of mazda festiva related information.

one last, and what i consider to be an important part in your coilover selection would be that the festiva suspension setup is the front suspension is Macpherson struts and the rear are torsion beam.


i hope at least some of this information has helped you

[jawbraeka]

just had a quick look at the range and saw these and thought "these look more ideal"... could be wrong, but it wouldn't be the first time either

http://justjap.com/store/product.php?productid=19952&cat=426&page=1

Note, these both have rubbertop mounts at the top with the fronts having, from what i can see a 2 bolt setup and the rears having a three.

if there is a pillowtop camber option that's more suited to the festiva there for these, then maybe they might just simply fit with a changeover of mounting plate.

another thought, if the rear suspension have the camber options (the "O" ring looking ones, with the "two bolt" option), switch that over to the front suspension (the macpherson "axe looking" type) and for the back, if they are a right fit, you may have a winner.

Found this for you,

http://www.option1garage.com.au/BCRacing.htm

more information about the types of tops you can get for BC racing.

also seen this,

http://www.option1garage.com.au/HSD.htm

in the top picture there, on the right-hand side,

the round "two bolt" tops are what you're looking for, but for the BC racing ones.. it's just the rear's i'm not too sure about is all.

Happy trails.

[zoom zoom]

I made another arena thread with your name on it jaw, and again I failed to post it because I'm a nice guy. Good day sir.

[navdoc101]

hmmmmmm::nono::highly_amused:

[Advancedynamix]

Thank you very much for your help. I'm very similar in the way I like my setup. Do you have a link to the VW struts that you have used?
I'm more than capable to modify the coilovers to suit but I don't want to buy a shock that's far too short or too long for the car.

Just search VW MK3 coilovers on eBay. I have used both Raceland and JOM shocks. They both have their advantages and disadvantages, but the strut inserts are the same in both so the JOM style is a better bargain.
These struts are about 2" shorter than stock, which puts them in the perfect working range for a Tarmac race car. They also allow you to adjust for over 3 degrees of negative camber in the front (very important).
If you want a good look at this suspension in action, search "chasing stupid fast Festiva" on YouTube. That is a Z06 corvette on R- compound rubber being driven by a professional driver. My tires were worn to the cords in that session, and I tried to let him pass me, but he still couldn't hold the corner speeds I was holding even though I slowed down.

[Advancedynamix]

Also, just to clarify. The VW mk2/3 coilovers only work on the front of a Festiva, unless you are lifting the car. Look over the "Advanced Suspension Mods" thread for solutions to rear adjustable shocks since the VW coilovers are so cheap (318 shipped) I never considered this a problem. Most suspension setups that transform a car like this setup does will cost around 2 grand or more, so I consider this a huge bargain. Also, you need to consider that this setup makes out cornering everything from Miatas to Ferraris easy, so spending twice what the car is worth on shocks is not a bad decision. A set of tires on a Corvette cost more than my entire suspension setup when put in perspective, the Festiva leaves a lot of headroom in a tuning budget, and it responds better to proper setup than anything I have ever tuned.

[Potta]

I need a like button on here. So I've found the racelands setup and am currently going through your thread again just to clarify a few small details.

[Advancedynamix]

Also, MK1 VW rear KYB gas adjust shocks work great on the back. They are almost 3" shorter than stock, with more compression dampening and they hold the 1 7/8" adjuster sleeves perfectly without having to cut the perch off (it's removable on those shocks). I haven't put them on the track or skid pad yet to confirm that they are superior to the Festiva KYB setup I have detailed in the write up, but I'm pretty sure that they will be an improvement, especially on long sweeping corners and reducing radius corners.
The bottom mounts on the MK1 VW shocks will need to be narrowed on one side about .200".

Also, I would plan on doing an engine swap in your race car if you don't already have one. With a heavier engine and a G-series transmission the weight bias will move drastically further towards the front. This does wonders for the cars stability and turn in. With more pressure on the front tires the car handles much better. You'll want to reinforce the front lower radiator support as well. This is the most stressed area on the car, due to the driving force being applied through the sway bar to the front of the car. I cut my original piece out and built a removable support out of 1/4" thick steel. I also gusseted the area where the support mounts. I have put over 20K hard track miles on my car with 160 ft.lbs of TQ and R-compounds or racing slicks with no signs of chassis fatigue. With the car setup like this it's almost boring to drive with 160hp, it handles the power like it came off the assembly line with this engine. Very easy to drive, very forgiving and extremely fast. On a 1.2 mile coarse I can lap a Mazdaspeed Miata (turbo 1.8 ), with R-compund rubber and a good driver, in about 6 laps. The Festiva looks like a cute little toy car, but people stop laughing and their jaws drop when the coarse goes hot. You've chosen wisely by going this direction.

[Advancedynamix]

Also, here is a fun video of what happens when a 160hp Festiva (with a Passenger in the car) encounters a Ferrari F430 on the race track. This was my first session ever on this coarse and by the end of the weekend I had shaved 10 seconds off the lap times in this video.

CLICK HERE

[Advancedynamix]

So I had a chance (and I believe It's yours) to watch a YouTube video today of a festiva on a track taking out a camaro (and a few others). Do you know the suspension used in that? Is it your bilstien setup?

-James

If the video was posted by PerformanceFestiva then yeah, that's me. The suspension on that car is exactly what you see in my "Advanced Suspension Mods" thread, with the only difference being that my rear shock shafts have also been shortened. It isn't the bilstein setup that I recently posted. I haven't tested the bisteins out on the track yet. Check out these videos for more examples of what a decent suspension setup, a little HP and some sticky tires can do for a Festiva.

Click Here for Festiva VS. Ferrari
Click Here for Festiva VS. Porsche 997 twin turbo/Z06 Vette

This is proof, that money spent properly modifying a Festiva is never money wasted, no matter what the blue book is on these cars. Not many cars can perform like this with so little invested.

[drddan]

Not many cars can perform like this with so little invested.

^ Awesomeness......

[frankenfester]

If the video was posted by PerformanceFestiva then yeah, that's me. The suspension on that car is exactly what you see in my "Advanced Suspension Mods" thread, with the only difference being that my rear shock shafts have also been shortened. It isn't the bilstein setup that I recently posted. I haven't tested the bisteins out on the track yet. Check out these videos for more examples of what a decent suspension setup, a little HP and some sticky tires can do for a Festiva.

Click Here for Festiva VS. Ferrari
Click Here for Festiva VS. Porsche 997 twin turbo/Z06 Vette

This is proof, that money spent properly modifying a Festiva is never money wasted, no matter what the blue book is on these cars. Not many cars can perform like this with so little invested.

I watched all of those the other day, and actually talked you up to a guy on instagram claiming a festiva couldn't rundown the aforementioned vehicles. You. Are. Amazing. Dude .

-James

[Advancedynamix]

Thanks, but it's the Festiva that is amazing. It's not hard at all to beat those cars in a well set up Festiva. And it's funny how many people come over to my pit and understand the concept after seeing it in action. FWD has been conceived as a handicap in this country for a long time. It's actually a huge advantage on a lightweight car. I can get on the gas way earlier and brake way later than a similarly spec'd RWD car (I use Miatas as a comparison because I drive them almost as much as my festiva on the track and they are in every run group, so it's an easy comparison car). The biggest mistake that the tuning world has been making with FWD is applying ancient RWD chassis setup guidelines to modern FWD cars. Things like 50/50 weight distribution and rigid suspension are the worst things you can focus on. The rear of the car needs to be as light as possible (just heavy enough to keep the front bumper off the ground) and the suspension should absorb imperfections with ease, while still allowing controlled attitude changes. These are the two major aspects I have addressed differently than 90% of the other FWD builds on the track, and it has been very successful. What is amazing, is that Mazda was thinking along those lines when they designed this car. The chassis is very rigid (according to SAE documents, the Festiva is on par with Supercars for structural rigidity/weight) and the suspension geometry is near ideal. This is one of the most well designed chassis ever offered to the general public in this country, and it's a shame that more of them aren't out tearing up the race tracks around the world. I wish I would have bought one a decade earlier than I did. If Ford had offered a sport tuned version of the car, with properly tuned shocks and 120hp or more then the automotive world would be a different place today. My b6t car drives smoother and more comfortably than my stock Festivas. You don't even notice that your going 4 times the posted speed limit. lol. This is probably why Ford didn't offer something like this to the public.
This kind of car is worth dumping a lot of time and money into, because you can't buy sub 2000 lb street cars anymore (okay, you can get a lotus, but that's about it). It would cost around 50-60 thousand dollars in tooling and materials to build a (street legal in all 50 states) chassis as light and rigid as the Festiva chassis. 1000 bucks for a rust free and solid chassis is a huge bargain. Plus, if I was driving some custom tube chassis or carbon fibre monocoque exotic, people would EXPECT me to be fast on the track. Nobody expects a Festiva to be fast. Priceless.

ccasion5: to the Festiva!