89 festiva wheels

[gokaht]

Hello All,

I have a 1989 festiva .
I finally used up all my 12 inch tire spares and now converted to bigger wheels.
I went to the parts yard today, and got some 14 inch wheels from a 2000 hundai accent. with 175/70/14 tires,
the rims and tires fit great on the front, no rubbing, tires not touching anywhere in wheel wells,
"BUT" ,, on the back the tires hit the strut in the spring saddle/ pad, {don't know the name}.
I was thinking of using a spacer, maybe 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch,
I have read here, that changing the strut to the Aspire strut, works by raising the spring saddle/pad, allowing for bigger tires,
What year Aspire do I need to say to the parts guy at the parts store ?

I need a tech guy to help me out here, looking for the proper / best way of doing this.
I do need to replace the front and rear struts ,so before spending more on the wrong way, would like to know where best to spend money,
any tech help much appreciated .

the car itself is a sweetie, I have had it for 6 years, I love my go kaht, good body, great running engine and trans, would love to keep it going for a few more years.

Thank You in advance
Donny

[william]

Any year of aspire (Monroe) struts 94-97 the kyb strut is the same from festiva and aspire.

But those are pretty tall tires for even aspire struts.

[TominMO]

Any year of aspire (Monroe) struts 94-97 the kyb strut is the same from festiva and aspire.

But those are pretty tall tires for even aspire struts.

The KYB strut is Festiva-spec, i.e. it has the lower spring perch. To get the higher perch, you have to go with Aspire Monroes. You will probably still need a 1/4" spacer on both sides on the rear. I have 175/65x14s, and need a 1/4" on one side, and a 1/4" plus a 1/8" on the other side. Get studs; much easier to deal with spacers if you have studs.

See post #4 in this thread for info about what studs to get.

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?55455-New-wheels-for-my-new-festiva