rmoltis build thread 96 aspire

[rmoltis]

It has been about 150 MI of driving put in after suspension rebuild.

So it was enough time for any previously torqued down bolts to come loose.

I broke out my factory shop manual, jacked up the car.
Then proceeded to remove wheels.
And proceeded to re torque check any bolt or nut that I had touched.

Almost all of them were still tight but a few of them had a small amount of rotation.
Which I expected to happen.
better to check and be ok.
Than to not check and not be ok later.

Going in for my camber shims and bolts tomorrow.
I'm really hoping that I won't need to get spacers for the rear.

But it is a possibility.
Anyone know if needed where I could find a reputable set of 4x100 hub centric spacers?
I will have to wait until tomorrow to determine if I need them. And if so how much space needs to be added.

[fastivaca]

Anyone know if needed where I could find a reputable set of 4x100 hub centric spacers?
I will have to wait until tomorrow to determine if I need them. And if so how much space needs to be added.

I purchased mine from Novustech. Photos in posts #12 & #15 in this thread

[rmoltis]

I purchased mine from Novustech. Photos in posts #12 & #15 in this thread

Awesome. And they are a conservative size.
This would do well.
Would be using them on the rear, does it matter?

[fastivaca]

Awesome. And they are a conservative size.
This would do well.
Would be using them on the rear, does it matter?

Should work equally well on the rear. I had no clearance issues on the back so didn't need them.

Ian

[rmoltis]

OMFG!!! the universe has it in for me right now!!!!

I went today to work.
Arrived at customers house it was a shared driveway
up to seperat garages where 2 cars could easily drive past each other.
I had parked down at the end of the driveway far away from the garages.
I used the customers half of the driveway. I was given permission.
This pic shows just how far over I moved towards the grass



I notice the neighbors garage opening up. So courteously I get in and move my car towards the grass, almost on it to give him maximum room.
It must have been intuition because he came flying down his driveway backing up at I'd say 10mph.
10mph isn't fast in reality but a 3000lb vehicle traveling at 10mph carries a lot of force or kinetic energy.



Anyways, he back straight into my car at full speed with no brake useage.
I got out once moved and stood aside for him to pass just watching.



My vehicle was in gear, ebraked on full.
I'm sure my clutch or transmission must have taken a hit from the car wanting to move forward.
Or there is even a possibility my freshly restored and upgraded suspension may have parts I need to look for to make sure they don't need another replacement.

Damage doesn't look bad.
Looks like bumper, and my passenger side 97 aspire brand new tail light was busted too.

My goal out of all this if it doesn't total out my car is.

Get my car appraised by an appropriate appraiser of custom cars.
And bring that value with me into negotiation with insurance company.

I'm going to attempt since rear ended to get them to bring all alignment issues back into spec.

New tail light
New bumper cover.
And if possible convince them that blending in the paint probably will never match and that they should just repay the whole thing lmao (wishful thinking)

Also my transmission now has a whine coming from it while in second gear low rpm.
I wonder if it was damaged from this impact while being in gear and clutch loaded up on a small hill when hit towards downhill.

I'm going to hope the firmer springs and upgraded struts were what helped absorb the impact while wider tires remained planted gripping.
My car didn't even budge lol.

Another note. I'm glad my alignment reconditioning hadn't been done yet.
It looks like I may get it done for free if I play my cards right.

On a side note. the English man said this was the first new car he has owned new too lol.

[gergorian]

Oh man, That sucks. Glad you are ok. It sucks about the car but the damage doesn't seem too bad. It could have been worse I'm sure.

[nitrofarm]

You should get a new alignment and see if it straightened the rear beam... Just kidding but maybe its a mixed blessing if you can get enough money out of it for a new chassis.Looks like there is a skid marks down the drive from where he pushed you? Glad you didn't get hurt-

[Movin]

Wow, thank gosh you were not digging around in the back of the car, no kid is safe around that place! Don't shop around just take it to the place you trust and let then handle it. Usually they know how far to push an adjuster. They may trade something you can do like the tail light and suspension for more paint. Good luck

[rmoltis]

Oh man, That sucks. Glad you are ok. It sucks about the car but the damage doesn't seem too bad. It could have been worse I'm sure.

It definitely could have been worse.
For example if I hadn't have moved my vehicle over he would have hit me square on center in the rear.
Possibly messing up more than just a bumper, taillight, and the foam impact block under the rear bumper.

Wow, thank gosh you were not digging around in the back of the car, no kid is safe around that place! Don't shop around just take it to the place you trust and let then handle it. Usually they know how far to push an adjuster. They may trade something you can do like the tail light and suspension for more paint. Good luck

Yes good thing I wasn't looking for tools when it happenned.
I could have been dead lol.
And I'm hoping I can negotiate something good that would keep my aspire on the road and not totalled out.
Fingers crossed.

You should get a new alignment and see if it straightened the rear beam... Just kidding but maybe its a mixed blessing if you can get enough money out of it for a new chassis.Looks like there is a skid marks down the drive from where he pushed you? Glad you didn't get hurt-

I went and talked to my alignment place.
They suggest I wait until the claims adjusters do their work and inspect the car before I do any repairs.
My front end now has a shake to it above 60mph. I'm really hoping that a tire balance will correct it.

My most main concern is.

Replacing the bumper and foam insert
Replacing the tail light
And getting them to cover my alignment corrections so I don't have to spend $500 on parts and labor

If they offer me extra money I can put into pain... that would be sweet too

[rmoltis]

The person at fault's insurance company finally got a hold of me.
They will coming out Tuesday to look into damages and issue reimbursement for repair.
Then i can hopefully get things rolling again.
I don't like having to wait.
i just want to continue the "tuning" process.

[Flyin4stroke]

My guess is anything over $500 in damages they will want to total it. Either way once it's reported your car has been wrecked. Glad nobody was hurt. His car looks way worse than yours, aspire winning. Insurance company's try not to pay out more than a 1/4 of the cars worth.

[rmoltis]

Insurance companies usually take the total loss amount and subtract scrap value.
Then if your total exceeds that point they total it out.
That way they at least get some of their money back $200-300 from scrapyard.

on a side note, you do not have to accept a totalled claim.
the vehicle does not get totalled until you accept their money and sign off on it.

and a tiny fender bender wont show up on my record as a total loss.
Just because i rejected a claim offer.

it will show up on my vehicles record just like any other fender bender.
but i also have pictures of it incase it comes up later down the road.

i would rather have a vehicle with a small fender bender on my record than a rebuilt title.

They shop around and compare dealership selling prices on aspires.
To come up with a total value.

Usually dealerships sell them in the $1500-$2000 range which is too high for me.
But for an insurance agent looking.
This will bring my cars value up.

I have been screenshotting dealership aspires to use for negotiation if needed.
Incase they try to tell me my total loss value is lower than it should be.
Im thinking the vehicle itself is in the 1500-2k range based on dealer selling prices.
so even if they gave me $1k for repairs or less. That would be great.

[rmoltis]

I got my car in today for a tire rotation and balance.
Due to vibration in the front end after suspension change.

Everything rides smooth and vibration free again.
Now to wait until Tuesday to talk to claims adjuster.

[rmoltis]

Does anyone by chance know where I may go to find the front and rear weights of my vehicle?
I have heard big rig truck scales can be +/- a large margin.
And I would like accuracy.
I would like to see the weight distribution of my vehicles weight on each corner.
That way I can adjust tire pressures accordingly to its Gvwr split between the weight distribution %

If I figure out the weight on my front tires for example.
The tires max load is 10 44lbs at 44psi.
So I take 44÷1044 which equals .0421psi per lb of load capacity.
Then I take the measured weight of the front and rear seperately.
Figure out the weight distribution % from front to rear.

So for example my vehicles Gvwr is 2952
That is curb weight plus 800lbs I think.
So once actual front and rear weights are determined and weight distribution % is known.
You take vehicle Gvwr which would be maximum theoretical weight loading and divide it by the %front and rear.

This will give you maximum theoretical tire loading for each tire based on vehicles maximum weight handling condition.

For example if the vehicle Gvwr 2952 and the weight distribution from front to rear is
Factory is 1638lbs up front which is approx %55.487
And 1314lbs in rear which is approx %44.513

For the front you would split that 1638 by 2 for left right which is 819
Or from here you could weigh both sides and further refine your weight split by %.

Either way once the weight is established for the front l and r.

You would take the .0421 psi per lb and multiply it by the individual tire weight load in question
So .0421psi X 819lbs=34.47psi needed to support said load of 819lbs without tire overinflation.


The main reason behind all of this is due to the fact that I have tires that have a larger volume of air over the factory tire.
And to be honest I have never even entertained the idea of tire pressure tuning.
But yet again I need to see the whole picture of things and this is an area that needs exploring.

And as air volume increases air pressure should also decrease to support the same load correctly.
Without being overinflated.

Same holds true in reverse. Going from a bigger air volume tire to a smaller air volume tire
will subsequently need a boost in psi to increase the spring pressure needed to support said load.

In both situations vehicle weight/load remains the same.

Pressure too stiff tires spring forces will be too stiff to absorb bumps and vibration well.
Pressure too low tire spring forces will be too soft to support defined load leading to possible bottoming out, tire damage, tire wear
and reduced fuel economy due to a high rolling resistance.

This is the basic idea to finding correct tire pressure psi for a given load.
I just need to find some scales to get some hard data for my calculations.

[Movin]

There is still things that will mess with trying to land on a working pressure that is accurate. Just having to change brands of tire, same size but construction is different, they do vary a lot. I load the car and fuel it 1/2 way then drive the tire I want to check until across wet dirt. If the tire is low the contact patch will be deepest at the outside of the tread print, to much and it will be deeper in the middle. Keep tweaking the pressure until that tire is flat ( groan ) lol, the contact area is correct at that pressure. If you have a lot of cornering where you live you may want to favor a hair deeper in the middle.