Autocrossing a bone-stock Festiva

[Stradbrother]

Hey everyone, just curious here, how realistic do you think it is to autocross a bone-stock 1991 Festiva?

I know Festivas are in the lowest class in street, H. But do you think it could hang with other cars in H such as all of the Carrolas, Accords, and RSXs?

Let me know what you think!

[firebush357]

Pump the tire pressure up and go for it!

TheAstronaut runs his Carbed Festiva all the time. He has changed the suspension, tires and camber but the engine is bone stock and he kills most of the cars out there with only 58 Horse Power. Check out his Build Thread

[mikemounlio]

Stock they dont do the best. Now if you were to put an advanced suspension on it you would be able to kill most of the guys out there. I have a festiva set to do nothing but autocross. My car is far from stock tho. Its hard to drive tho. It happens so fast i dont get much thinking time. Im new and my car is a bit to strong for me but i love it. You will have a blast with yours closer to stock. I bet with the pax time included you will beat me by far! I dont do very good in DM!!!

[ryanprins13]

Theastronot does very well. John glenn on facebook. Here is an old video: https://youtu.be/fZUXkn0xFv8
He has posted newer ones and some photos of what he beat on facebook. Very impressive for a 55hp carbed festiva

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[Stradbrother]

Man... I might give it a shot!

We have an event this weekend on Sunday that gives you about 4-5 good runs in a day.

I haven't been to autocross in years, and when I did, I was just watching my dad do rally cross as a kid.

I think my biggest issue with a stock Festiva is the gearing. With the low power, you really run through the first 2-3 gears very fast. Can't stay in first or second like the Miatas lol.

Also, with stock tires and suspension, how is the tip-over factor? Lol

I'm a little scared about tipping this thing.

[ryanprins13]

You slide before you tip. You do 75km/hr in second and 115 or 120 in 3rd. How fast do you get going on these tracks?
Its worth trying stock for sure. Will be a lot of fun and you wont regret it, lol

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[firebush357]

I would install a Tachometer if you don't have one yet, they are easy to install and should help. I doubt that you will get the stock Festiva out of 3rd gear very often in an autocross track because 3rd red lines around 70mph if I remember correctly. If you up the tire pressure it is supposed to help keep the Sidewall from rolling over so much. If you want a little more power out of the stock engine you can port and polish the head and/or advance the timing a little. I would install the Kia Rio front Strut Mounts to make the steering much lighter. Doing the Core Support mod may help some with Stability, also make sure all of your suspension parts are newish with good bushings and what not.

[mikemounlio]

I can push my car to the very top of 2nd on even the slightest of straights. I almost need to shift at several times but thats gonna be slower then just staying in 2nd.

William with his b6d was almost at the top of 2nd. I think he was getting up to like 55-60 at the end of a large slalom.

With a stock motor on a big track mid to upper 2nd on a tight track low to mid 2nd.

[w4rkry]

I have AutoX'd my Festiva. Fully stock Drivetrain, stock 12" tires. I pumped it up to 40+ PSI in each tire and had at it. I didn't come in expecting to be competitive, but it was a lot of fun!

[mikemounlio]

I have AutoX'd my Festiva. Fully stock Drivetrain, stock 12" tires. I pumped it up to 40+ PSI in each tire and had at it. I didn't come in expecting to be competitive, but it was a lot of fun!

Great video. I love seeing Festivas in action stock or not.

[Stradbrother]

I have AutoX'd my Festiva. Fully stock Drivetrain, stock 12" tires. I pumped it up to 40+ PSI in each tire and had at it. I didn't come in expecting to be competitive, but it was a lot of fun!

Yeah man! I love the JDMSTIVA.

How was it meeting RCR!

[w4rkry]

Yeah man! I love the JDMSTIVA.

Thank you

How was it meeting RCR!

Mr Regular is a pretty regular guy overall (lol).
As you could probably tell from the video, he didn't exactly like my car very much. He is always wary of attention from people as he is trying to film (Because he is filming on public property for profit without a permit technically), so you can see why he would be apprehensive to drive my car. It also had a bad ECT sensor, which caused all sorts of issues for month until I figured it out. So it was an odd experience to say the least. Especially when I was later dubbed "The Worst Car Ever Reviewed" haha. The Roman was very cool though, he is the one that actually asked most of the questions and wrote down answers. I still talk to The Roman fairly often on Facebook.

[Stradbrother]

Thats killer man... I really hope to eventually get as creative on my Festy as you have on yours!

Anyone have any experience installing an aftermarket Tach on a Festy?

I found a good guide on installing a while new instrument panel on a Festiva, but I just want an aftermarket installed on the dash.

Is it really that tough?

[ryanprins13]

Not hard. Power from key on, tach signal from behind cluster or engine bay (i chose engine bay) and screw it to the dash.
I put mine here. Might want a bigger one for racing. Or one with a shift light


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[Stradbrother]

Im pretty terrible with electronics, so I better go through the engine bay.