Now, to tackle the sloppy suspension that came stock on this car. First I added a strut tower bar for reinforcement (seen in the pictures below left side), a set of Intrax lowering springs (not shown), and a Whiteline Racing Rear sway bar (can be seen in the pic below right side, just below, and mounted to the rear axle). This setup stiffened the car and made the ride more sporty.
Since the car was performing better I had to get it to stop better. The stock braking system on the Rio just no longer cut it. Heck, it barely cut it for the car as stock! So, as you can see in this next pic, I installed a set of cross drilled, zinc plated front rotors. I complimented that with a set of ceramic pads, and stainless steel braided brake lines front and rear. They are a wonderful addition to the stopping power my car has. Brake fade is all in the past now.
I painted the calipers/drums to match the color scheme. Not an easy color to find in an epoxy resin. None the less, you search long enough and you can usually find what your looking for.
As we all know, acceleration is key. With the help of a friend, I obtained a second stock flywheel and had it lightened. The factory original weight was 18 lbs. Working with the machine shop directly, we got that flywheel down to 12.5 lbs. I also obtained a feramic clutch to go with the newly lightened flywheel to keep the wheels grabbing. This clutch and flywheel combination is AWESOME!!!! It grabbs HARD and doesn't let up. The much harder clamping force can be felt and heard from the screaching tires going into each gear as I accelerate with my foot on the floor!
Polyeurethane (2) piece bushing for the transmission, and a SOLID hard rubber bushing for under the selector arm. The factory ones were so soft you could squish them with your fingers. Can't do that with these babies.
Just installed the rear, fully adjustable, pan hard bar (no more bushings for the pan hard bar. went with sperical rod ends.). You can see it mounted on the car below.
Installed a new set of KYB GR2 shocks and struts! Man were the old shocks and struts BAD! 101k miles on stock garbage shocks = one crappy ride...lol. These make it much better of a ride. They are actually a better shock/strut than the factory original ones.
10/4/09 - I upgraded the factory suspension front swing arm assembly. I decided to upgrade to the 03 - 05 swing arms since they eliminate one of the bushings used on the 01 - 02 Rios. You can see the difference in the photos below. Upgrading to these swing arms stiffens the front suspension up and makes for a much smoother feel, and better response in the suspension. For those of you not willing to do this swap, there ARE poly bushings (the blue ones in the pictures below) sold for our cars, BUT you have to get them by looking under a 1996 FORD ASPIRE. They are a "MOOG" brand suspension component.
Page 1) Introduction
Page 2) Engine Performance
Page 3) Suspension/Drivetrain
Page 4) Interior Mods
Page 5) Exterior Mods
Page 6) Shows Attended/Awards
Page 7) Current Projects Page 8) Products/Parts For Sale
