AM's '96 Ford Aspire mod thread

[bhazard]

Have you thought about swapping in a festiva transmission for the taller final drive? I believe you only have to swap your mounts onto it. It has a 3.77 final versus your 3.90, I think. Should drop your cruise rpm down a bit, and you can get the festiva trans for $100 or less. Theyre even light enough that the USPS will accept them as mail, lol...

[AeroModder]

I thought about it, but I haven't gone in that deep yet. When I need a new tranny, I just might do that.

[AeroModder]

It's been quite a while since I've done any updates.

Recently I finally got around to installing my rear wheel skirts, and also blocked the upper grille for the winter, and switched over to a warm air intake:










I also had to replace the head after a timing belt break (the head was found to be cracked over the #1 cylinder between the exhaust port and coolant lines). After I got it back, I changed the transmission fluid to Royal Purple, and indexed the spark plugs. It ran smoother after indexing the plugs, but I didn't see any other noticeable effects.

[AeroModder]

Added some extensions on the sides and dropped the angle on the Kammback some after studying wind tunnel footage of slightly steeper angles. Previously, the steepest angle was 8.5*, but now the steepest angle is about 11*. Not yet tested.

[Varn]

Just looked at your mileage log. You sure drive it a lot, can see why you want good mileage. What I noticed is that your mileage seemed pretty flat since about the 4th tank.

How much do you think your modifications have helped?

I would guess that the cylinder head may have been cracked before you bought it. You mentioned that the previous owner mentioned the engine smoking. Hopefully the new head will make it more economical.

[mbrac]

I had an Aspire once and got 47 mpg stock - one time - years before I was an ecomodder - the 1.3l engine is very stingy on fuel right from the factory - good luck with your project.

[Christopher Jordan]

All 3 trikes - gone. EV (City-EL) gone. BUT my Aspire acts like it should. Removed the back seat/bracing and left it alone. Paid too much - I wrongly thought. It has about 89,000 miles so I will probably get my money back when I sell it. In the meantime I enjoy the heat/air, more hauling capability without that back seat, terrific gas mileage; and so far - dependability. 4+ years later - I got every penney back from use! Even the only Aspire.com window sticker in town makes it worth that much more!

[AeroModder]

Varn:
From what I've seen on the Scangauge, it looks like all the combined mods added about 4 MPG on the highway. But as I started driving the car more, I started enjoying it more, and the nut behind the wheel got a little loose, we'll say...

When I got the new head in, the fuel economy actually went down. I'm not sure if that's from the month-old gas in the tank, switching to winter blend fuel, or just the colder, denser air, but the numbers have been less than stellar this chilly season.


Chris:
I've been contemplating removing the backseat in mine, but I don't see everything weighing more than 25 lbs, and the use of the backseat is worth that much weight.

[AeroModder]

Well, the day came that I need a new transmission. The shift gate broke, and I'm down to 2nd and 4th gears after it got stuck in reverse. I ordered a Festiva transmission to swap in. I'll need to figure out how much my speedo is going to be off, though. A cheap GPS may be in order, or recalibrating my speedometer.

[Sven7]

Old post, but I'm loving the side extensions. They'll set you up well for a partial boat tail in the future. Have ya tufted the Kammback yet? It looks great but I think you can reduce the angle another 5* or so. By then it would have to be clear plastic though!

Rock on. Makes me wonder if a Festiva trans could be somehow mated to my 2.2... I'd probably break something. Is it difficult to recalibrate the speedo? I was under the impression you had to swap speedo gears to do that.