[DIY writeup] Dirt cheap festy coilovers done properly

[PhoenixSHO]

Disclaimer : This was not tested on a front engine festy with normal wheels. Its installed on my shogun - no front engine - on 16" rims 215/45/16. This writeup is only for the fronts. This has yet to be tested on a real festy.

The goal : lower the front and change the spring rate. And the ability to play with the height. Without paying to the nose.

Why: Im was running Monroes (festy) with cut stock festy coils . The problem was that I think it was too soft , plus when jacked , the coils were loose to the point they would land crooked when the car was dropped on the ground again.

Whats kept stock : The struts (in this case brand new festy Monroes sensatraks) , the top hat (the one that has studs to bolt to the car) , the little bearing under the top hat.

Whats ditched : The springs , the lower top hat (the one that touches the spring). The rubber dust shield but not the cap.

What needs to be bought (ebay):

-A Honda coilover kit (usually fits civics CRX del sol etc.) @ 50$ shipped you get everything. But the coils are useless for us - they are 350-400lbs/in. We buy this for the wardware.
-A nice set of 2.5" ID coils -these are universal and are plentiful on ebay , choose the stiffness you like (stock is around 100lbs/in) but dont go too harsh because the struts wont last very long. In my case I went 175lbs. And 10" long (important) , QA1 and Hypercoil are good and cheap to buy.
-Some hardware store washers

What needs to be modified:

-The new Honda top hat hole needs to be drilled bigger to accomodate the shaft.
-The lower strut base needs to be cut to free up some space. (Before cutting , mock up your parts to know where to cut (so that you dont go too close to the strut body.) I dont think this is a 100% necessary step.
-The top bearing needs to be grinded flush.

Finished


Stock cut springs BEFORE


The spring (bought from summit)


Ebay honda kit (make sure your kit has long sleeves like this , some are shorter)


Useless honda coils (resell maybe?)


Assembled


Bottom ring plus 2 rubber o-rings provided with honda kit.



2 washers per strut plus the modified bearing.


Bigger honda top hat hole


Sleeve installed , capped with the stock monroe rubber cap


The stuff needs to be installed in that order , nevermind the tophat next to the sander pad - its garbage.

[gergorian]

Nice writeup. I assume your getting good clearence with the 16's?

[PhoenixSHO]

yup , im running +15mm offset wheels too to help me getting the wheel outwards. im not sure if im gonna be able to max turn in a parking lot without rubbing. it might rub a little.

[tripod808]

In my case I went 175lbs. And 10" long (important)

Did you go 175lbs front and rear? Why was 10" springs important? (I'm guessing to clear your tire and wheel setup, right?)

[PhoenixSHO]

Yes , 10" for my setup is important , if you go with 8" , you will have to put the perches higher which requires more fabbing. The 175 is for the front , and I got 425 for the rear (heavy SHO engine in the back plus all the stuff (turbo/exhaust/piping /etc.))

[Team Lightning]

Did you use the plastic tophats?

[PhoenixSHO]

yup , I had to make the center hole a little bit bigger though.

[Team Lightning]

I used the plastic ones on my setup, and broke the right one when I power shifted from first to second with a BP. I'm replacing mine with metal ones and would advising doing so, especially in your case with the SHO motor setup. The plastic isn't very strong it seems.

[PhoenixSHO]

Good call I will look into that , thank you.

[joshua1706]

I want to do this to my aspire, think I might go and get some struts from my local wreckers just incase I stuff it up

[joshua1706]

Will this work with the rio 02 struts?

[Team Lightning]

I used Rio struts on the front of mine. Use the tops too. They have bearings in them as opposed to the non bearing ones from the Festiva

[needragr]

The part Im unclear on is the original lower perch.
Isnt that welded to the body of the strut both front & back?
The way most of these kits work the threaded tube slides over the body of the shox resting on a circlip or ring boss allowing for the spring collar to be adjusted lower thus lowering the ride height while retaining full suspension travel.
It sounds like you are cutting or grinding off that perch to some dimension?
Can you clarify or perhaps have a pic to explain?

[Team Lightning]

On mine, I left the original bottom perch and just slid the threaded tube down as far as it would go. I'm running 10" spring length and the car sat at a good stance to me.

[needragr]

Is 10" shorter than the OE springs?