Front shock/strut spring---shock/spring combo?

[Timothy]

Hmm, might have to do with your clutching technique
Those tires are slightly tall so you should have a little less power and their new so that shouldnt be the issue. Stock engine so thats not the problem... my rears got so bad that the back end of the car would swing over when i went over rumble strips on pavement. When i took em off the rod didnt even stay up on their own power, they were completely done. I replaced my fronts when i started bouncing more than once over bumps on the freeway, they were also pretty done. Do you know if you have stock suspension or has the PO perhaps put something else on there?

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

I don't know if I have stock suspension or not. I'll have to get a photo to show you.

[TominMO]

Timothy, where in MO are you?

[WmWatt]

I learned shocks are double action. When I jumped up and down on the bumper they bounced back as they should, but if I jiggled the bumper up and down a bit the struts knocked. They were fine going over big bumps but noisy over small ones. It was time to replace them. Mine were the originals from 1989.

[TominMO]

I learned shocks are double action. When I jumped up and down on the bumper they bounced back as they should, but if I jiggled the bumper up and down a bit the struts knocked. They were fine going over big bumps but noisy over small ones. It was time to replace them. Mine were the originals from 1989.

Good tip, thanks.

[Timothy]

Ok, I just got back from dinner. I am sorry for the delay. I live in Wentzville Missouri, so Herman is only a 45 minute drive for me. What time is the meet up at? I have to be at a saturday dinner with the fam at 4pm. So if it is earlier in the afternoon there is a good chance I would be able to make it.

I have enclosed photos of my front and rear struts, as well as the front and rear tires. Since I did not know if they were stock I thought the photos would help. The rear look like they have been replaced before, but that is just a guess. You will notice that there is less room between the top of the tire top of the wheel well on the front of the car than the rear. I do not know if that is normal or not. The strut with the torn boot is in the rear.

I've been reading about rock auto but I have been scared away by some bad reviews, but it sounds like they have been good to people on this forum.

sc72 & TominMO, thank you so much for your offers to bring the parts with you. I certainly won't turn down your offer.

1990new, the car has 139,500 miles. I do not know if the control arms are original, I will have to try and upload more photographs.I have yet to replace a sway bar bushing. I tried some tight turning at speed and the car seemed to handle fine. I was expecting the car to slide during the turns but it seemed ok, but I didn't try it on bumpy pavement.

The pictures are front strut, rear strut, rear wheel well, front wheel well.
IMG_0006.jpgIMG_0007.jpgIMG_0008.jpgIMG_0009.jpg

[TominMO]

Typically we meet up on the waterfront at a little parking lot at 11ish; hang around for a couple hours talking and looking at cars, and then go eat. People come and go as their plans dictate.

I've had good experiences overall with Rock Auto, and definitely recommend them. When something is wrong (rarely), customer service is very responsive.

I'll bring the rear strut and a couple of rear springs, freshly painted. I have plenty. I also have a set of four 13" Geo Metro rims, three with decent 155/80-13 tires and one a bit more worn. I have no need for them and will sell 'em for $60. The rims are in nice shape. I'll try to find a pic. You can use your best 12" tire/rim as your spare instead of the donut. Let me know if you want them, so I will know whether to bring them. Upgrading to 13" rims gives you lots of options for better-quality tires, and you can still use your Festiva lug bolts with these rims.

The four rims


Worst rim

[WmWatt]

If you're doing the rear struts people have found the lower bolts challening. I wasn't able to get mine to turn. If your's have been replaced you might be okay. The garage had to use a torch to get mine off. Rusted threads, I think.

[Team Lightning]

Timothy, what type driving will you be doing with your car? Performance, just cruising around town? I'd recommend Kyb rio struts for the fronts and Kyb struts for the rear just for daily driving. Kyb rears are Festiva, if you look at the Kyb catalog, there is NO listing for Aspire struts. Only mounts, boots. They do have a listing for Festiva's struts.

[TominMO]

Timothy, what type driving will you be doing with your car? Performance, just cruising around town? I'd recommend Kyb rio struts for the fronts and Kyb struts for the rear just for daily driving. Kyb rears are Festiva, if you look at the Kyb catalog, there is NO listing for Aspire struts. Only mounts, boots. They do have a listing for Festiva's struts.

Correct, I misremembered whether they were Festiva or Aspire. There used to be two separate ones, but KYB blended them into Festiva only. Too bad; the Aspire ones had a higher-up lower spring perch, for better clearance with some tires, since stock on an Aspire was 175/70-13.

So front = 2001-2002 Rio KYB struts (you will need the Rio two-stud top hats for the same year). If you're on a budget for now and just want to get it done more cheaply, then the Festiva front KYBs are fine.

Rear = Festiva KYBs

This is a good basic DD setup. If you want to make it handle really well, you will want to go with coilovers and different wheels/tires at some point. I think the front Rio KYBs can be turned into coilovers; I'm planning on doing that next year, since I already have them on, with front Festy springs.

If you buy my 13" steelies, here is an upgrade for the tires currently on them: Achilles 122 165/60-13, H-rated. Achilles is a decent Chinese tire maker. These won't be the best tires, but on a budget you will definitely notice a handling improvement over the 155/80s.

This tire being shorter, you will see a slight decrease in highway gas mileage, but to me that's easily worth the tradeoff for better handling and slightly better acceleration (due to the shorter tire affecting overall gearing).

[Team Lightning]

Kyb rears can be converted to coilovers also. I have a set of kyb coilovers using Rio fronts and Festiva rears.

[Timothy]

I'll bring the rear strut and a couple of rear springs, freshly painted. I have plenty. I also have a set of four 13" Geo Metro rims, three with decent 155/80-13 tires and one a bit more worn. I have no need for them and will sell 'em for $60. The rims are in nice shape. I'll try to find a pic. You can use your best 12" tire/rim as your spare instead of the donut. Let me know if you want them, so I will know whether to bring them. Upgrading to 13" rims gives you lots of options for better-quality tires, and you can still use your Festiva lug bolts with these rims.

T

Thank you for the offer, but I won't be able to purchase the wheels tomorrow. Maybe some time in the future though because I do know that my two rear wheels are bent. I went in to get them balanced at Dobbs and that is what they told me.

[Timothy]

Timothy, what type driving will you be doing with your car? Performance, just cruising around town? I'd recommend Kyb rio struts for the fronts and Kyb struts for the rear just for daily driving. Kyb rears are Festiva, if you look at the Kyb catalog, there is NO listing for Aspire struts. Only mounts, boots. They do have a listing for Festiva's struts.

I plan to do mainly cruising around town. Mostly highway miles. I have no need for performance. Thank you for the suggestions for the front struts.

[TominMO]

Thank you for the offer, but I won't be able to purchase the wheels tomorrow. Maybe some time in the future though because I do know that my two rear wheels are bent. I went in to get them balanced at Dobbs and that is what they told me.

OK, they're not going anywhere.

[Timothy]

It was nice meeting everyone in Saturday. It was a lot to try and remember. So I still have some questions.

With the Kia Rio strut mounts. What year should I buy and can you use those mounts with any chosen strut? If I remember correctly everyone was saying it will make steering alot easier.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Timothy]

So front = 2001-2002 Rio KYB struts (you will need the Rio two-stud top hats for the same year). If you're on a budget for now and just want to get it done more cheaply, then the Festiva front KYBs are .

So I should I buy 2001-2 Kia Rio mounts and use them on any stock strut?