My new ST! Oxford White 2015 content

kevinatfms

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Been driving the ST daily since my truck is once again broken. Chevrolet cannot figure it out and at this point has me looking for another truck. Due to the chip shortage, the crazy used prices and lack of available on lot trucks im stuck until i get my Colorado back.

But this time period(nearly 3 weeks without my Colorado) has me reflecting back on the ST as a whole.

Its still just as fun and playful as the day i bought it. Nothing has been lost over the time and miles(some very hard miles). It still has that playful feel yet easily slots into a daily routine when needed. A simple car with just the right amount of tech to assist you in the daily tasks running to and from work. Gas mileage is still 30+ even after the constant beatings on track. The suspension, while taut, still offers a compliant enough ride for day to day use. It has plenty of space for the items i lug to work every day along with my sons' car seat. Its dead reliable with basic gas, oil and tires along the way(6 sets of wheels...i may have a problem).

So, 6 years and 60,000ish miles later its still number 1 of all the cars ive ever owned. Its a shame Ford saw fit to get rid of the ST cars here in the United States. They are exactly what the enthusiast is about.

Car is due for some new suspension items - tie rods, front control arms, wheel bearings and finally some HSD MonoPro coilovers with 6k front spring/5k rear spring. The final piece to this round will be the brand new set of 15x8 Dekagrams and 225/45R15 Hankook RS4's. They get mounted and balanced at the end of the week. Ill post up some photos once they are bolted on the car.
 

PhoenixM3

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Been driving the ST daily since my truck is once again broken. Chevrolet cannot figure it out and at this point has me looking for another truck. Due to the chip shortage, the crazy used prices and lack of available on lot trucks im stuck until i get my Colorado back.

But this time period(nearly 3 weeks without my Colorado) has me reflecting back on the ST as a whole.

Its still just as fun and playful as the day i bought it. Nothing has been lost over the time and miles(some very hard miles). It still has that playful feel yet easily slots into a daily routine when needed. A simple car with just the right amount of tech to assist you in the daily tasks running to and from work. Gas mileage is still 30+ even after the constant beatings on track. The suspension, while taut, still offers a compliant enough ride for day to day use. It has plenty of space for the items i lug to work every day along with my sons' car seat. Its dead reliable with basic gas, oil and tires along the way(6 sets of wheels...i may have a problem).

So, 6 years and 60,000ish miles later its still number 1 of all the cars ive ever owned. Its a shame Ford saw fit to get rid of the ST cars here in the United States. They are exactly what the enthusiast is about.

Car is due for some new suspension items - tie rods, front control arms, wheel bearings and finally some HSD MonoPro coilovers with 6k front spring/5k rear spring. The final piece to this round will be the brand new set of 15x8 Dekagrams and 225/45R15 Hankook RS4's. They get mounted and balanced at the end of the week. Ill post up some photos once they are bolted on the car.
I daily mine and still love it. On your recommendation, I purchased shifter bushings, but haven’t installed them yet. This is my third ST (first 2 totaled) and I have a big turbo and a new spare long block in case I window the stock engine. I really want an LSD, but haven’t got around to thinking about it. Agreed, that this little car is one of Ford’s best.
 

kevinatfms

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I daily mine and still love it. On your recommendation, I purchased shifter bushings, but haven’t installed them yet. This is my third ST (first 2 totaled) and I have a big turbo and a new spare long block in case I window the stock engine. I really want an LSD, but haven’t got around to thinking about it. Agreed, that this little car is one of Ford’s best.

LSD is the best mod for the car to date. Nothing else comes close to being the most effective way to put power down. It should have been at least an option from the factory let alone a standard feature for a car like this. I did the Mfactory and have been beating on it quite alot without a single issue. Its quiet, effective and lifetime warranty in case anything goes wrong.

It also saves the brakes on track by pushing the torque vectoring threshold farther back. I didnt have an issue with torque vectoring intrusion until just recently on the wider 215 Azenis. Now im wondering my next step once the 225's go on and probably make it worse. It just heats the brakes up trying to help rotate the car and nothing we can do to turn it off.
 

WutApex

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Did you pay to get it installed? If so, what’s the approximate cost?

It was never on my radar since I thought install costs were a lot
 

kevinatfms

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Did you pay to get it installed? If so, what’s the approximate cost?

It was never on my radar since I thought install costs were a lot

I did. PTuning in Manassas Va did it for right under $600. I also had them replace the clutch at the same time with a new OEM clutch, dual mass flywheel and pressure plate for an extra $100.

Worth every penny. Car picked up traction everywhere. Reduced the mid corner understeer and pushed the torque vectoring threshold back which helps keep the brakes alive at the track.


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PhoenixM3

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Yep. My next mod. Appreciate the insight on the LSD. There are some folks on the Fiesta ST website that seem to think a limited slip won’t improve traction......they’re dumb.
 

PhoenixM3

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You can get the shifter out without taking the console out. Side panels need to come out, cables unhooked and then just remove the two bolts. It will snake its way out by pulling it forward, then pull up on the back once its out of the two retaining nubs, then lift the whole thing out.

I can already feel a difference. Its surprising how spongy the rubber bushings were.
Ok, I installed the shifter bushings first and noticed a little change. It seems to take a little more effort, but it “gates” better. This morning I swapped the cable bracket bushings which is about an hour job. Between the two upgrades, the shifter is more like a bolt action rifle, perhaps on par with a shifter in a Miata.
 

kevinatfms

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Yep. My next mod. Appreciate the insight on the LSD. There are some folks on the Fiesta ST website that seem to think a limited slip won’t improve traction......they’re dumb.

Beyond dumb. There is a reason why it was standard on the Mk8 ST's and nearly every single performance FWD car ever built.

Ok, I installed the shifter bushings first and noticed a little change. It seems to take a little more effort, but it “gates” better. This morning I swapped the cable bracket bushings which is about an hour job. Between the two upgrades, the shifter is more like a bolt action rifle, perhaps on par with a shifter in a Miata.
Exactly how i felt. Just slots into place where needed without any fuss.
 

kevinatfms

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Mountune has an good deal on the CSF radiator for $475 shipped. So plopped the money down now since its about the cheapest its going to ever be.
 

kevinatfms

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Threw the 15x8/225 combo onto the car. Bonkers how wide they are even compared to the 16x8/215 setup. Drove around 50 miles and you can feel the difference in turn in but the grip is unreal.

The black also works with the car a bit better than the bronze.
IMG_9350.JPG
IMG_9351.JPG



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WutApex

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Looks great! Any rubbing? Or a better question, do you think they’ll rub at the track?

I still haven’t gotten mine on yet…can’t find 949 Racing lug nuts anywhere. Also still deciding if I want to add TPMS or just roll without it.
 

kevinatfms

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Looks great! Any rubbing? Or a better question, do you think they’ll rub at the track?

I still haven’t gotten mine on yet…can’t find 949 Racing lug nuts anywhere. Also still deciding if I want to add TPMS or just roll without it.

No rub but have to wait until July for track time. Did throw it around some mountain roads here in MD and didnt feel anything.

I went with the Muteki SR48 lug nut set when i bought my 16x8 Dekagrams. They work great with both wheels. I also deleted my TPMS system using ForScan since it was a royal pain on track and breaking off sensors.
 

kevinatfms

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Trackcross this weekend at Summit Point on Shenandoah. Should be a great day. Temps in the low 80's and no moisture. Hoping for top 20 out of 100+ cars.
 

kevinatfms

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Zero rub this past weekend. Car did good but i had some issues in the afternoon.

Morning i placed 22/85 in raw times. Great results.

Afternoon i placed 33/75 and had some pretty bad issues with the transmission locking me out of gear while downshifting. One certain section of the course involved a 90 degree turn from a short straight. Going from high RPM in 3rd gear to downshifting to 2nd to pull through the corner. Car would lock out downshifting into 2nd. Trying to get the car back into 3rd then cost a few seconds. Tried a few ways to see what was going on by changing RPM and entry speed to see if it was actually the car or my driving and found that the car would lock out the 2nd gear downshift no matter what i did.

Drove home perfectly fine afterward so it has something to do with the heat/rpm at that one specific spot on track.

Going to rip into it and replace the fluid, remove the shift extension and check the driver side transmission mount for damage/misalignment.
 

kevinatfms

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Found at least one of the culprits. Photo below shows the poly filled transmission mount completely torn apart.
IMG_9507.JPG

So i ordered the Turbo Tech Racing transmission mount. I wanted the AWR mount to match my passenger side and lower mount but they dont make one for the driver side. Either way this one should compliment the others.

Found the driver side Hankook RS4 seems to be chunking the outside edge. Have never had issues before today with chunking the tread like this. Glad it wasnt sustained laps at an HPDE cause it would have probably delaminated. Going to look into the coilover install before the next event and dial in some more camber.
passenger side front
IMG_9509.JPG

driver side front
IMG_9508.JPG


I also ordered Ravenol MTF-2 transmission fluid. Alot of Fiesta owners are running this fluid and speak highly of the shift feel and ease of gear engagement. Expensive stuff so i hope it helps smooth the shifting within the transmission.

Some pictures from this past weekend:
Sitting in the staging lane. Buddies 2005 Focus ZX4 ST w/ 2.5 swap, LSD, 16x8 Dekagrams and suspension behind me.
IMG_9490.JPG

IMG_9500.JPG

IMG_9503.JPG
IMG_9505.JPG
 

kevinatfms

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Replaced transmission mount for a TTR mount. Huge difference from my test drive. The DIY poly mount had collapsed and pushed a lot of the poly out the back of the mount.

Also changed the transmission fluid from the DCT style fluid to a Ravenol MTF-2. So far it feels like it has made the 2-3 change much smoother. Still a little notchy but getting it into gear is much easier than before. Old fluid didn’t look terrible but the smell was really bad. Pretty sure it was toasted.


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