My new ST! Oxford White 2015 content

kevinatfms

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I have upgraded brake lines to install too. Think they really make much of a difference?

From past experiences the pedal modulation is much more direct. Less expansion under medium to heavy braking. Didnt really feel anything at the initial bite but i was also running some pretty extreme pads on the car at the time(my 05 GT).

On the Fiesta i havent really had an issue with the stock lines even with the Hawk HPS pads(which bite significantly less than the OE performance pads). The Hawk pads are great once warm but dont offer that instant bite that the factory pads offer. I will probably swap back to the factory pads with the new lines when the time comes. No rush since the factory lines havent shown any issues.
 

kevinatfms

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On another note, recently found that the Eibach springs i was running felt ridiculously soft on initial turn in compared to the factory springs. Drove my car and a stock ST at the last event and found that I had more body roll than a factory car and that the car pushed through the corners terribly. Had the other driver run my car once and he instantly found the springs to be an issue.

I looked up the rates of the Pro-Kit and found that they are much softer to start with increasing rate of 109lb/in until it gets to the stock rate of 172 lb/in. While it may be beneficial for a street car for ride comfort it was impacting my times by .5 second or more against a stock ST. I really want stock rates or higher and the odd soft then instantly hard feeling of the pro-kit makes the car want to push very badly. Even with 42-48lbs of rear pressure the nose will grip, the rear with slide a bit then the nose firms up and pushes to the outside of the corner. I will say it does transition nicely through the slaloms and i could pick up a good bit of time in those areas but lost a ton of time on the long sweeper.

So I removed the springs and am currently looking for a set of track oriented springs with a higher spring rate. I dont want to go full coilovers yet. So the options are Swift, ST suspensions and H&R. Swift are linear rate, H&R are progressive rear and ST are linear front / progressive rear . So Swift is first on my list with ST a close second. H&R would be third and still in the running as their rates are much higher than the Swift/ST springs.
 
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kevinatfms

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Back to stock ride height for now!

Also some more pictures from the last autocross event.
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kevinatfms

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Some of the other cars in attendance. The hot rod with the Coyote motor didn’t run but was a treat to see.
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miata with 275 Hoosiers!

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mariusvt

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Regarding springs and auto x and track, definitely go with the linear. It will make everything the suspension does very predictable. Only downside is you give up a little ride comfort on the street.

Looks like the Harry Grove stadium parking lot? I used to run there about 8-10 years ago with a Mazda6.
 

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From past experiences the pedal modulation is much more direct. Less expansion under medium to heavy braking. Didnt really feel anything at the initial bite but i was also running some pretty extreme pads on the car at the time(my 05 GT).

On the Fiesta i havent really had an issue with the stock lines even with the Hawk HPS pads(which bite significantly less than the OE performance pads). The Hawk pads are great once warm but dont offer that instant bite that the factory pads offer. I will probably swap back to the factory pads with the new lines when the time comes. No rush since the factory lines havent shown any issues.

That's one of the things that surprised me about the FiST, the factory brakes are pretty damn good.
 

kevinatfms

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Regarding springs and auto x and track, definitely go with the linear. It will make everything the suspension does very predictable. Only downside is you give up a little ride comfort on the street.

Looks like the Harry Grove stadium parking lot? I used to run there about 8-10 years ago with a Mazda6.

With Capital Driving Club? Harry Grove is one of the places we run. Another in the attached photos is James Woods High School in Winchester VA. Its a much bigger course and they really have a great course setup.

I figured linear would be the way to go, either stock or if i could find some that are linear and lowered an acceptable amount. Swift looks to be the only company out there that makes linear rate springs oriented to track days and auto-x.
 

kevinatfms

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Swift springs came in on Saturday evening. Looking to start the install later this week.
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kevinatfms

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Swapped the Swift springs into the car.
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Some pics of the difference between the Swift, Eibach and OE springs.
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And now the car after a short drive to see how much stiffer these are compared to the Eibach and OE springs. They feel great. Great feedback and body roll feels all but eliminated. We will see at the next autocross event.

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kevinatfms

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Welp, with work, my son being born on June 28th and the constant rain this past week, I have not really had any time to drive the Fiesta. I took it for a short spin here or there to grab some food for my wife but nothing much more than around the block.

I am hoping that ill be able to hit the next CDC auto-x event on the 18th of August. Look forward to getting back out there. Been couped up in the house the past 3 weeks and im getting a little cabin fever.

On the list of maintenance before then:
-oil change
- tire rotation and check initial pressures
- check brakes(should be fine but nice to know)
-clean k&n drop in filter
-install brake lines & bleed with new motul rbf600
-wash & wax(car needs this BADLY)

I also found that one of my front sway bar end links has started to make noise. Found while the right front strut was off replacing the springs. Feels like the ball end is loose. A new set of Ford endlinks is only $30 so ill grab them off Rockauto.com and install them when doing the other maintenance.
 

kevinatfms

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Autocross tomorrow so a wash tonight. Get the car packed for tomorrow. Hope for some time improvements with the new springs. Pictures and hopefully some video to come. Got the go-pro charged and ready to go.
 

kevinatfms

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Welp, labor day sales got me. I ordered 15x7 Sparco Terras for the Fiesta. Tires in the 15 inch sizes are more available and in better compounds. $450 shipped isnt bad for 4 wheels, hubs and lug nuts.

Ill be on the look out for an R compound tire during the winter months to install on the 15's. Thinking the R888's in 205/50R15 as they are still somewhat streetable for an R comp tire. Or i could go back with some 200tw tires like the RT615k+ or the RE71R which is the hot tickets these days in autocross.
 

kevinatfms

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When's the new turbo go on?

Going to start soon. Last autocross of the season is November 3rd. Ill start on it after that and get tuned over the winter. Going to get an E30/93 tune for the car with the hybrid turbo on and go from there.

By the beginning of next year the Fiesta should have 15's with some REALLY sticky rubber, a C39 turbo, high flow downpipe, charge pipes and the braided brake lines.
 

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Nice ride! One of the coolest ST's I've seen. Can't wait to see more updates.
 

kevinatfms

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Last autocross of the season tomorrow for me(not going to hit the November one due to family plans). Reinstalled the rear sway bar and set pressures to 36F/40R on the RT615k's. Looks like it is going to be chilly in the morning on Saturday so it will be interesting to see how the 615's react to such cold temps.

Big plans to start after that...turbo, downpipe, charge pipe. All the goodies sitting in my garage.

Also just installed a symposer delete. The noise was getting on my nerves and this quieted the cabin down a bit. Ill grab pics and post after the autocross tomorrow.
 

kevinatfms

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Placed 42 out of 78 and the 3rd fastest FWD car. Got beat by a stock class Fiesta ST with 16's and some RE71R's. Those tires are insanely sticky for what they are.

FTD was a "to the law" STS prepped 2017 Miata. It was 5 seconds faster than me. Crazy.

Time to start the build this winter. Ill post updates as we start pulling it apart.
 

kevinatfms

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New shoes came in and tires mounted. This setup is 5lbs lighter per corner than the current wheel/tire setup.

15" Sparco Terra in Bronze with 205/50R15 Federal 595 RS-RR's. The wheels are hub centric and tick the scales at 15.6lbs. I plan on putting them on this weekend to run around and get a feel for them. They are a 200tw tire so grip should be about the same as the RT615k's i have on the FRPP wheels. More sidewall will introduce more flex so it will be interesting to see if the steering loses some precision.

The tire is also shorter than the current Falken by .4. So i will use my Cobb AP to change the rotations per mile to match. I hope the gearing isnt too short for a higher speed autocross course. On our short course it should really help though and that is mainly where i run my car. We do run at one venue that is quite bigger and i might have to swap back to the 17's to get the speed in 2nd gear. We will see.
 

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SID297

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New shoes came in and tires mounted. This setup is 5lbs lighter per corner than the current wheel/tire setup.

15" Sparco Terra in Bronze with 205/50R15 Federal 595 RS-RR's. The wheels are hub centric and tick the scales at 15.6lbs. I plan on putting them on this weekend to run around and get a feel for them. They are a 200tw tire so grip should be about the same as the RT615k's i have on the FRPP wheels. More sidewall will introduce more flex so it will be interesting to see if the steering loses some precision.

The tire is also shorter than the current Falken by .4. So i will use my Cobb AP to change the rotations per mile to match. I hope the gearing isnt too short for a higher speed autocross course. On our short course it should really help though and that is mainly where i run my car. We do run at one venue that is quite bigger and i might have to swap back to the 17's to get the speed in 2nd gear. We will see.

Nice. They look like motorcycle tires.
 

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