Trailer park fresh, white trash Festiva

[Icedawg]

Hey Julian, you caught me out there, for a moment. When you said racing I thought you meant wheel to wheel, not rally cross, and I wondered where the roll cage was. I hope it was enough fun you decide to through a cage in and rejoin the NASCC ice races!

[festyfreak39]

Looks like fun! Time for a quicker steering rack!

bahahah noticed how busy i was in there?

[festyfreak39]

Hey Julian, you caught me out there, for a moment. When you said racing I thought you meant wheel to wheel, not rally cross, and I wondered where the roll cage was. I hope it was enough fun you decide to through a cage in and rejoin the NASCC ice races!

I need a new job and a house before I can go racing again, I did reverse priorities. Got in a fair bit of racing done while i lived at home!

[Advancedynamix]

bahahah noticed how busy i was in there?

Oh yeah. I know the feeling. Stock seats and stock manual steering rack make for a sore body 2 days after a good track session. Lol.

[festyfreak39]

Oh yeah. I know the feeling. Stock seats and stock manual steering rack make for a sore body 2 days after a good track session. Lol.

there was recently that article on grass roots motorsports on the show spec neon, from one year to another, no change the cars picked up 1.5 seconds a lap on one of the courses simply because they were able to add a racing seat. Drivers were more comfortable and able to feel more through their seat and focus more on steering inputs rather then trying to hold themselves in!

[festyfreak39]

Thought i would share a video of the car ripping on ice, damn I have lots of fun in this thing

https://youtu.be/ML-FH-lnKG0

[Festiver]

Wow that seems fun and a handful lol

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[festyfreak39]

thought id share an update with everyone, got the opportunity to ride in pedro and meet charlie while i was in Phoenix for a vacation with my girl, within 2 minutes of my ride in Pedro, I decided i needed to mimic his coilover setup.

Since I'm in Canada, Shipping and the USD Exchange rate amplifies costs. Example: 200$ USD hot tuning coilovers plus shipping and brokerage and exchange rate would mean id pay close to $400.00 CAD by the time i got a set of coils in. I actually priced out the parts for a full coilover setup (everything new) and it was a little over $1,400CAD including shipping !!!

Thanks to Charlies threads, I figured I could get a set of blown coilovers, rebuild them with new inserts. The inserts I can get locally for cheap. So I posted on the local VW forum and someone was very happy to give me a set of blown coilovers for free! The plan is to hot tank them, zinc plate them and mill the bolt holes to fit the ford aspire hub.

Here is the strut taken apart, off to the hot tank and zinc plate guy



I need to confirm with a couple users here who have rebuild their coilovers that I buy the correct inserts. These are the dimensions of the ones i pulled out the blown vmaxx




I actually also have to ask opinions here: I have a set of helper springs and all the hardware to use them. Haven't totally decided yet. Will have to consult with Charlie.



So this should be the cheapest coilover build of all time, staying true to the original build "white trash". In typical accountant style, I pulled these out of another project,they have easily under 500kms on them so they are practically new. Should work decent for the rear coilover setup. They aren't the G-Excel but I figure i'd give them a try because they are free and I have them. Pretty sure they are discontinued.



Decided to sand them down and paint them a coat of black. It's still a bit cold out so i decided to pre heat them before I gave them the tremclad treatment.




So list of things to buy/cash outlay:
- KYB MK1 Inserts if anyone can Confirm the dimensions, my cost I can get them for $35 CAD a piece
- Coilovers were free
- Strut mounts are $28 a piece here
- Black magic front and rear springs.

If i have it my way, I should be spending less then $400 CAD for the entire setup including machining, hot tanking, and zinc plating costs.

[ryanprins13]

Sweet.
Can you elaborate on the helper springs and how you would use them?

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

[festyfreak39]

Sweet.
Can you elaborate on the helper springs and how you would use them?

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

smaller coilover springs and use the helper springs to improve ride quality

[Advancedynamix]

I have put those Gas A justs on 2 Festivas. They are a bit firmer than the excel G or gr2 shocks. They might not be optimal for ice, but work good on asphalt.
You won't need the helper springs if your spring rate and length is correct. The reason they use those is because the spring rate is too heavy to allow for sag. Too heavy a spring rate is a big reason why the VWs handle like crap with those cheap coilovers.
When the spring rate and rate rise are matched to the vehicle weight and shock valving, the vehicle will have enough sag without helper springs. This is very important for both driving traction and for a consistent and predictable roll and rebound. With heavy springs and helper springs, the body roll will feel abrupt and the car will bounce when the chasis has been upset.

[festyfreak39]

I have put those Gas A justs on 2 Festivas. They are a bit firmer than the excel G or gr2 shocks. They might not be optimal for ice, but work good on asphalt.
You won't need the helper springs if your spring rate and length is correct. The reason they use those is because the spring rate is too heavy to allow for sag. Too heavy a spring rate is a big reason why the VWs handle like crap with those cheap coilovers.
When the spring rate and rate rise are matched to the vehicle weight and shock valving, the vehicle will have enough sag without helper springs. This is very important for both driving traction and for a consistent and predictable roll and rebound. With heavy springs and helper springs, the body roll will feel abrupt and the car will bounce when the chasis has been upset.

I figured as much. The car will never see ice racing any more. I thought about building coilovers one day for an ice race car but honestly they would need to be wayyyyyyyyyyyy sofffffttttttt. I saw a pair that you built with the koni inserts and I was just curious They look cool with helper springs, but that was just the inner mugen spoon carbon fiber cooling plate bro flat brimmed hat fanboy in me

What do you figure about spring rates and lengths? I've seen like a bunch of combinations now and im pretty confused. The cars going to have a b6t/g series. Track only car with a set of toyo ra1's. and hoosiers for autocross.

front: 150lbs 12" rear 120lbs 10"? (using the skinnier sleeves) I saw that you used 105lbs in the rear aswell in pedro and that thing just felt perfect.

But im also going to be removing some serious weight from the rear such as the hatch glass and side glass (replace with lexan) do some more gutting and ditch the bumpers. But then thats offset by the fact that im going to do some serious racing with this car and intend on driving it like I do my miata with no mercy.

[Advancedynamix]

I would recommend the 150×12 for a G series swapped car (engine over 2" further forward). The rear springs are going to depend on preference. 120 will give you more confidence, 105 will give you more grip. I haven't had a chance to try the 120Lb rears with 4+ degrees of negative camber yet.
Keep in mind, when you move the engine forward, the rear of the car gets lighter. Also, Pedro is pretty heavy in the rear, when compared to a stripped down track car. I'd start with 105lb and if you want it to rotate quicker than get the 120s later. I wish you could have come down to the track while you were here so you could feel what this setup is like at full tilt on race rubber.

[festyfreak39]

I would recommend the 150×12 for a G series swapped car (engine over 2" further forward). The rear springs are going to depend on preference. 120 will give you more confidence, 105 will give you more grip. I haven't had a chance to try the 120Lb rears with 4+ degrees of negative camber yet.
Keep in mind, when you move the engine forward, the rear of the car gets lighter. Also, Pedro is pretty heavy in the rear, when compared to a stripped down track car. I'd start with 105lb and if you want it to rotate quicker than get the 120s later. I wish you could have come down to the track while you were here so you could feel what this setup is like at full tilt on race rubber.

If everything goes according to plan I will be able to give it a shot in May at the first lapping event
There is one guy that I have my eyes on. I beat him with my turbo Miata hoping I can beat him with the festiva His car got a whole lot more serious though.

so 10" rear 105lbs springs it is! Based on what you're saying. Thanks a whole bunch for the help.

[Advancedynamix]

Will this be with the b6t in the car?