My Lowered 97 Aspire Project (going for boost +high mpgs)

[ruppenduro]

Here are some pics of my new project. its a 97 aspire 4 door base package. no a/c or p/s. i picked it up last week for $400, lowered it yesterday by cutting 2 coils out of the front springs and 2 1/4 coils out of the back. the plan is to make this a boosted 1.3 that pulls ~45mpg on 87 octane. i have a festiva tranny ready to go in which should lower the highway rpms (its a 5spd). i also already have a small vj13 turbo ready to go in, just have to weld the flange onto the factory exhaust manifold and fabricate a downpipe. it will be a blow through, non-intercooled setup and only running 5-6 psi. 2 inch side exit exhaust. i think the longer gearing along with a little boost for the hills will be a winning combination for mileage. i am not building this car to be driven hard, just a fun little project to see what kind of mpgs a 4 door aspire can pull. i will update this as the project progresses.

[Festiva_Fred]

Nice, I like how that looks! I want to build up a 2 door aspire sometime..

[batstiva]

The man with the plan!! Where'd you find a green Aspire that clean and dent free?? Around here, it seems like all the green ones have an imprint of a deer's butt right in the middle of the hood.:roll:

[eurotiva]

^^ haha rofl. Man that's the cleanest aspire! Keep us posted with progress and pics.

[ruppenduro]

thanks guys :-)

this one popped up for sale by the original female owner, i was surprised how dent free it is. the roof has a couple dents but i can live with them. a 2 door would have been nice, but they are tough to find especially in decent shape.

[thered56]

Sweet deal! Sounds similar to my plan, except that I'll be doing it in a Festiva. Very interested in seeing your progress and your downpipe. Good stuff!

[JPT]

Aspires look good when lowered.

[freshtiva]

That is clean ! Looks like it was garage kept.

[ruppenduro]

thanks Festivafan and Freshtiva!

Sweet deal! Sounds similar to my plan, except that I'll be doing it in a Festiva. Very interested in seeing your progress and your downpipe. Good stuff!

Cool! post up some pics of your festy when you have a chance. i hope to have this setup done pretty soon.

[JPT]

Waiting for updates.

[V8Festiva]

Great looking Aspire you have there!

Have a few Aspire owners in the Raleigh area.

Will have to tell them to check out your car.

Looks like we will have more than six Aspires at the meet in Oct.

I have a 94 Aspire project along with a parts car.

Saving a BP to install in the 94.


Dean
Raleigh, NC

[FestYboy]

Jon, some advice: use 91 or better, limit the boost to 4Lbs, add a chin spoiler and block off the upper grill port, add a small pan between the chin spoiler and the cat, add 2" piping from the cat back, and shed weight from the car like it's going out of style.

the reason i say 91 or better is once you're into boost, there's no active timing retard built into the ECU (you'll see compression knock, which is bad).

[TominMO]

Nice looking Aspire; looking forward to see what MPG numbers you come up with.

[thered56]

Cool! post up some pics of your festy when you have a chance. i hope to have this setup done pretty soon.

I haven't got the car I'll be doing this on yet, just the engine (getting rebuilt), VJ-13 turbo, and a bunch of parts. The two cars I got are my DD and future B6T car. I'll be looking to find a black Festi with a good body come spring time. Besides, I gotta see how these other turbo'd B3's do first! ;-) heheh

[Festiva_tunner]

the aspire looks sharp I love the wheels