Rear Discs & Such...

[bmt6387 0]

I just bought a '15 Spark and want to put rear discs on it, as well as lighter-weight shocks, lighter-weight struts, and lighter-weight wheels. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really like what all of you have done with your own Sparks thus far, by the way!

[TheDrip 25]

I've got a project going to fit larger front discs on the car. I'm not expecting any performance gains at all though.

What are your objectives with the disc brake swap? In a car this light with so much front bias, the 9" drums are more than sufficient for anything you can do on the street. You would really only begin to see issues in you're on a track lapping. If the end goal is appearance, then ignore all the performance talk, and start designing your own. I have not seen any straight forward rear disc brake swaps.

As for the lighter weight struts and shocks, you really can't go much lighter without going with coilovers. The performance advantage there has very little to do with decreasing the mass involved. Remember that struts and shocks are only half unsprung weight, so a weight change of 5 lbs in a strut is worth the same improvements as a 2.5 lbs change in wheels.

For lighter wheels, you may find yourself in wheel heaven. Look into 1st gen Miatas and early (02-06) Mini coopers. The same bolt patterns, and much more performance oriented platforms means more performance parts out there. Miata and Cooper guys stay with 15s or 16s for best performance, 17s is really only for looks on those cars.

I'm definitely not saying don't do anything to your car that you want to, I'm saying have a goal in mind, and do the mods that make the most sense for that goal, rather than my approach of "well hell, its cheap enough, why not"

There is a long thread on my front brake project, which goes along with 17" wheels/tires and lowering springs. I have no visions of my Spark as a race car, I just have the ability to do these things, so why not.