suspension lift on an aspire?

[dustinp]

Ive got a '94 aspire i use as a go anywhere do anything car.
Im wanting to stuff some 14" all terrains under it but im wanting
a 4" lift for clearance but i have no idea where to start. Any suggestions or ideas will be greatly appreciated

[TominMO]

Front: fabricate a plate to bolt the two lower strut bolts to, and bolting that plate to the knuckle. Make sure to take into account the angle difference, so you don't have caster/camber issues; or use camber bolts to adjust. Then use longer bolts and 4" aluminum plates, for example, to drop the transaxle crossmember (so your axles aren't at an extreme downward angle and pop out).

Alternatively, instead of fabricating that plate, you could just use longer springs, perhaps as a DIY coilover setup. Still need to drop the crossmember tho.

Rear: either longer springs, or a steel cube or aluminum block to bolt the bottom of the strut to, raising it 4".

[dustinp]

Whats the most you could go without dropping the cross member, and without having issues with popping cv axles out of the transmission

[dustinp]

I ask because if i have to lower down the bottom of the car i really dont gain anything by going to bigger tires. Any ground clearance i would have gained it offset by the lower hanging crossmember so im back to square one

[william]

I think you could do 4 without axle issues.
I would put the spacer in the top of the struts instead of on the bottom. Like a price of large pipe and long bolts. For the rear user a spacer that screws on the top of the rear strut then a bolt or stud to go through the rear strut tower .
Or you could go with coil overs. I would ask movin he could point you in the right direction

[Bert]

Quite simple; get another, and altogether different, car. If off-roading is your aim Movin(on this forum) has had great luck and oodles of experience with fielding a bush-buggy Festiva. I cringe at the thought of a delicate plastic fronted Aspire merely kissing a tree or a post and then the airbags going off. Instant write-off.

[Damkid]

Instant write-off.

Ya, If you tell the insurance company.... "Hey I got a scratch on my car from touching a tree! Am I covered? Oh and the airbag went off"... Pull the airbag... Swap the steering wheel.... Problem solved

[bhazard]

Movin Marvin can chime in on this

[dustinp]

Well the previous owner of the car t boned another car at 35 mph totaled the other
Car, barely hurt the spire airbags didn't deploy i think they have been disconnected lol

[Advancedynamix]

Don't kia rio front struts lift these things a bit? VW MK3 rear coil overs work to lift the back. I have a spare set of rear coil overs I would sell for 150 plus shipping (basically what I paid for them.)

[Movin]

As you raise the car the inner cv compresses, the left more than the right. You want to stop lifting just before the cv starts knocking - touching.

Dont drop the trans axle. Lower the rear mount of the crossmember about 3 - 4 inches. It will not hang down below the trans or lower the bellhousing. It rotates the diff part down. Everything moves, but in a better way for ground clearance.

When you do this by rotating rather than dropping it takes more of the angle out of the left cv than the right. This needed because the left axle is shorter and angles quicker. The compression of the left side is relieved by the trans - diff being pulled toward the right side of the car. This needed because the left axle wants to compress.

Stretching inner tie rods and lower control arms , rio bearing plates, extra shims in the strut mounts. trimming spring seats, long springs, rear travel stops removed, rear beam mounts shimmed.