7 days, 4 friends, 1 festiva, 5000 miles

[sasquatch]

man that thing is going to be riding low lol... i hope you trip goes well, have a good time

[ejp2fast]

while you're in there nate, add some heavier rear springs for the trip, you'll be glad you did.

what about putting those spring separators between the coil springs to put it up another 1.5 inches, then with the added weight it would be close to normal..?? for that long of a trip, and ease of install may be a good idea.

[Pu241]

Ok, I was saving this but I think you need this!
This is my extended range Festiva modification:

[sasquatch]

i wonder how many miles you could go on that amount of gas....

[Pu241]

275 gallon tank, plus the axillary tank in the festiva of 9.9 gallons

Unfortunately the 275 gallon primary fuel tank fully fueled weights about 1650 lbs.
Plus tank and trailer.
Don't think you'll be getting 40 MPG with this set up!
Even at 20 MPG, you have a round trip range of 5500 miles.
Just think no wasted time at gas stations and "Bio breaks" only when absolutely "I'm going soil your car" have too!
I have this all setup for you Skeeter, just add gas!

[yelo festiva]

Yea but you better have a relief tube on board, if you know what I mean LOL

[FestYboy]

what about putting those spring separators between the coil springs to put it up another 1.5 inches, then with the added weight it would be close to normal..?? for that long of a trip, and ease of install may be a good idea.

not a good idea, they don't work. all they do is unevenly spread the load between coils when used as shown on the pictures on the package. IF you're bent on using them, place them at the extreme top and botom coils of the spring so that they're working against the spring perch and upper mount and not against other coils.

other than using heavier springs, the only other real option is to add secondary springs like i did on Scrappy, a smaller dia spring that slides between the factory spring and strut body.

[freshtiva]

Cherry looks cherry !! Ill meet up with you if you want when you go through Kansas City Missouri. Or if you need any help while you are in the area let me know.

[TominMO]

Nate and Cherry's excellent adventure! Keep us posted.

[easywind]

Flagstaff, az is snowed in right now and the grand canyon temps are well below freezing now. Amarillo had 6 inches of snow the other day. Bring heavy clothes and blanket and keep emergency food in the car. You're a brave brave man, good luck.

[bhazard]

Print off the FIT spreadsheet?

[CharlieZ]

Don't forget rear wheel bearings, seals & nuts.
Good luck. Help is available in the greater St. Louis area.

Take a laptop or Smartphone to keep an eye on the weather and to stay in touch with the forum. Report your position coordinates so we can track your adventure.

[htchbck]

Sounds like fun, be safe! And don't forget the spares! If the weather is bad on the northern route and you end up taking I40 back home then you should holler at me when your headed through Nashville. I'll be up there Wed evening through Friday at my aunt's house for Thanksgiving on my Mom's side of the family. Its a big house with plenty of room and food, ya'll would be more than welcome to eat, probably even stay the night if you wanted.

[skeeters_keeper]

Thanks for the offer, htch! Depending on how things work out we may be coming back that way.

Arty, I wanted to put in some heavier springs but I didn't have any... can you believe that? lol. Anyway... I'm just hoping it'll be alright as is. I put those new wheels/tires on it w/ some 3mm spacers and wheel studs and now the brakes are pumping badly in the rear... started suddenly last night. I'm about to go pull them apart to see whats going on... its kinda close to departure time for problems! lol. I'll probably pull a drum w/ bearings off the parts car just to have as a spare.

I'll have my laptop w/ me and will probably update from time to time, if not on here I will on FB at least.

[hamburglar]

since you are right there...
check out the national parks in utah. I went to all of them a few weeks ago
then you can take I70 from there
it was amazing