Ceika custom coilovers

[F3BZ]

for what it's worth, if you have some found money in your xmas stocking or cost is no object, i've had back and forth email discussions with the director of this company and he assures me that as claimed on their website that they will build custom COs for any car at no extra charge. they do already have a festiva kit available for "Festiva Mk2 92-95". i am assuming this is the Aspire but i never heard it referenced as such and he assures me that the Festiva isn't a typo for Fiesta.
i'll be sending them some tech specs on the stock components and maybe if needed actual struts to work off of to possibly have a set made. (depends on Santa)
now i have questions but i don't want to appear stupid to him so i'll be stupid in front of the members.
1. what is pillow block mounting?
2. would camber adjustability in the rear be of any use?
3. would you want camber and caster on the front or is just camber enough?
4. whats progressive and digressive valving?
5. how do helper springs give you more droop and how much longer of travel would you want in a festiva shock?
6. what's the advantage of inverted dampers?
7. what would be the ride characteristics between a damper set up for rallye vs racing?

http://ceikaperformance.com/Type-1M-Coilover-Kit-p35.html

http://ceikaperformance.com/Type-2M-Coilover-Kit-p36.html

[Advancedynamix]

1. Spherical bearing style adjustable camber plates.
2. Yes, extremely useful, but that's not done with the shock in the rear of a Festiva.
3. Camber and caster would be useful.
4. Click Here
5. Helper or filler springs are made to fully collapse. They are used when a spring rate is needed which is too stiff for the cars weight to sag properly for the correct ride height. They are not needed if you choose the correct springs.
6. Rigidity and durability in extreme conditions.
7. Rally would have a different valving curve, and more travel than a full tarmac setup. On these cars you won't need a rally setup unless you plan to off road the car at extreme speeds. You can get a street setup that works well in dirt too. The ticket is soft valving and spring rates in the rear for dirt.

[Advancedynamix]

I'm working with the Festiva store to offer a suspension package for these cars. The price will be below what your looking to spend through this company. I like the options they list and it seems to be a good value, but you'll be getting an untested product. The package that will be available through the Festiva store will be a well tested package.

[F3BZ]

thanks advance. i figured you might chime in on this with the usual quick and concise answer. unless i missed a previous post that's the first i heard of the kits being in development for the FS. any hint as to the timeline before these are available? approx price? component brands? i can understand a reluctance to invest in an small niche company like Ceika but i pecked through a lot of forums that featured posts of actual users and couldn't find much negativity and the company rep responds quickly to any concerns and seems more than fair dealing with any problems. still, given your rep i probably will wait a bit to see what you are cobbling up.

[Advancedynamix]

I haven't worked out the final details yet, which is why I haven't mentioned anything. I'm looking to have something avaliable by the end of February. They will be under 1000.

[TominMO]

Rear VW Mk1 shock.................$40
10" x 1 7/8" spring......................40
Threaded sleeve and adjuster....20
Washers for top hat....................05
Total.......................................$105
x 2..........................................$210

I don't see how we can improve on this rear setup, bang-for-buck. I'm sure the fronts can be done for similar pricing, probably a little more. But I think we're looking at no more than $500 for all four corners.

The expensive setups like the Ceikas are probably better, but there are very few people who need 'em. People like Charlie I suppose, altho he seems to be doing quite well on the track with normal off-the-shelf suspension parts.

[Advancedynamix]

The best part about the setup I've been using is it seems to be very trouble free and consistent. Tweaks suspension now has over 100k miles on it. Over half of those miles are on the track, and the few poeple who have ridden with me on the track will vouch that I don't drive easy. Lol. That is amazing reliability.
To put things in perspective, I have KW V3 coilovers on my Cayman. This is a well known German suspension manufacturer. I have already blown 2 shocks in half the time and mileage that I've put on the festiva suspension. The Festiva will also out handle the Cayman in all situations.

[Advancedynamix]

I'm very interested in what Ceika is offering, and it would be nice to work hand in hand to develop an ultimate suspension package. Their price is still very low for what they are offering (especially the remote reservoir monotube shocks with external adjustment and custom tuned valving). Normally that would be well over 10k package from JRZ, Moton, Penske or Bilstein.

[TominMO]

To clarify, it was not my intent to diss the whole expensive-suspension ideas. Just wanted to point out that 95+% of us would be very happy with DIY coilover solutions, since, for example, we don't need to be tuning our shock valving for different tracks. Plus with DIY, you can buy in increments as the budget allows, rather than throw down major $$ all at once, X years from now when/if you manage to save it up. And replacing a component in a DIY setup is very inexpensive, and the parts are readily available pretty much anywhere.