aspire vs festiva beam brackets

[F3BZ]

maybe this info is in the bowels of the search disfunction. but maybe i can get a qwicker answer with a new post. this aspire (avella) bracket (left) is identical to the festiva except height. the hole for the bushing bolt in the aspire bracket is 7/8" further from the flat part of the bracket that is bolted to the body. if the aspire bracket is used on the festiva will the suspension geometry be changed enough to notice? would the rear of the car sit a little higher? any chance it would contribute to better handling?

[Hot_Wheels]

Hmm I can't remember if I put festiva or aspire one when I put my aspire beam on. I think I used aspire? I would like to know if there is a benefit over one?

[fastivaca]

Never noticed that before! I used the Aspire brackets when I did mine. I'm with Hot_Wheels... what, if any, are the benefits of one over the other. With the height difference you mentioned it theoretically would push the axle assembly rearwards about 3/4" which would mean, unless the 'arms' of the Aspire axle are that much shorter, the wheelbase would be increased by the same amount. Perhaps this is a question for Charlie.

F3BZ, do you have a part number on the Festiva bracket?

[joeboomer999]

When i did my swap i originally tried to use festiva brackets but they did not work. The stop on the beam and the cutout area on the bracket did not work together. Switched the brackets to aspire and all went well

[Gomez]

Sounds like a question for the man with all the experience in that department. Charlie where are you???

[yelo festiva]

Same here, I had to put the aspire mount on to work

[TorqueEffect]

Yeah, I only used the Aspire mounts as well.

[scitzz]

I used Aspire, natch.

[Advancedynamix]

I prefer the stock Festiva beam.

[Chobobulous]

Hey Charlie, did you drill the 4x100 bolt pattern on the rear drums or did you have someone do it for you. No one here will do something like that for me.

[Advancedynamix]

I did it myself. You have to use ad delco powerstop drums without the ribs and recesses in them. They are getting hard to find. A more simple solution would be to use aspire brakes on a Festiva beam. It requires a little work with a die grinder or dremel, but it's not that bad. The aspire drums are heavier, but you won't notice on a street car.
Also, unless you are running short rear shocks, the aspire beam is better for a street car. It has an extra little sway bar that helps keep weight on the inside front when cornering. I prefer the Festiva beam and brakes because they are lighter and more flexible. I run shorter rear shocks on all of my cars though. Shortening the rear shocks makes a huge difference in handling.

[TominMO]

Also, unless you are running short rear shocks, the aspire beam is better for a street car. It has an extra little sway bar that helps keep weight on the inside front when cornering. I prefer the Festiva beam and brakes because they are lighter and more flexible. I run shorter rear shocks on all of my cars though. Shortening the rear shocks makes a huge difference in handling.

Charlie, what is the practical handling difference between shortening the rear struts and just cutting the rear spring by one coil? Would that give you say 75% of the same effect? I.e. the poor man's/unskilled man's/insufficient cool tools man's way of trying to get there?

[william]

Tom less spring will make more body role . Its kinda like lengthening the shock .

[TominMO]

Tom less spring will make more body role . Its kinda like lengthening the shock .

Really? Not doubting those who know more, just that it seems counter-intuitive. Seems like a cut-shorter spring would have less opportunity to roll; and be effectively stiffer.

[Advancedynamix]

Really? Not doubting those who know more, just that it seems counter-intuitive. Seems like a cut-shorter spring would have less opportunity to roll; and be effectively stiffer.

Yeah. By shortening the springs, you increase the sag. It's the sag that I'm reducing when I shorten the shocks.
When cornering hard, the weight of the car works with the springs on the inside to tip the car to the outside. This wouldn't be a problem except it pulls weight off the front inside wheel and this is a big problem on a FWD car because you need to use throttle to exit your apex. If the inside front wheel is light, your just going to spin that tire. You don't want to control the body roll with the front suspension because you want it to follow the road surface without interruption. The rear suspension is where body roll must be controlled on a FWD vehicle.
By shortening the shocks, I reduce the amount of sag, therefore reducing the amount of available spring force and travel there is to push the body over. the body only rolls so far and then it has to pick up the wheel in order to roll more. It's much more practical to have a light inside rear wheel than it is to have a light inside front wheel. The rear wheels aren't supporting much weight or inertia on a festiva and they aren't providing any driving traction.
If the bump stops in the rear are tuned perfectly with the amount of sag (preferably 1-2" of sag on a street car) the inside rear wheel will not leave the ground unless you hit uneven surfaces while cornering hard.
You don't need a full service fabrication facility to enjoy the benefits of shorter rear shocks. There are hundreds of options that often times come with better valving than a stock festiva shock. I have used MK1 VW cabriolet rear shocks, and I really like them. They don't need shortening, but the bottom mount needs to be cut a little, which could be done with a hack saw and a steady hand. The KYB shocks for the MK1 VW come ready to accept the coil over sleeves that I use which are sold by southwest speed. It's a pretty simple mod.