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Where to start?

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Port Orange
#1
Hi there, Im new here and after much deliberation about what car to get to be inexpensive and fast, and handle well, I believe I have found that in a Fiesta ST =] Ive done a little research and I noticed some videos of the ATP turbo'ed one going mid 12's I believe with their big turbo on it. Ive also checked out COBB tuning and their stage packages. Id like to start modifying quickly and right away but honestly Ive never owned a turbo'ed car before and Id like to know what would be the fastest/best way to get to 300whp if possible? Hell Id probably settle for 300 at the crank at first =P But Id like to know where to spend my money. Would getting one of ATP's bigger turbos be the way to go initially? Which turbo would you recommend? They seem to hover around 3k for it and other necessary items like upgraded intercooler etc. Which is acceptable, as Ive saved up a bit to spend on this car, but initially id like to keep it around 3-4k and possibly another 2k or so down the road. So what path would you guys suggest? I definitely want to go hard initially, this is by no means my first performance car, just my first 4 cylinder and turbo. Im used to having to purchase a vortech supercharger and have it slapped on a v8 and call it a day. So I really need guidance in getting to my HP goals eventually. Thank you in advance for any info, and its very much appreciated!
 


rodmoe

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#2
Good choices and you may want look at Deadhook Motorsports work in Progress on a turbo upgrade path with header turbo of choice Garrett or BorgWarner EFR and downpipe and all needed lines. heck They may even offer tuning options for them by the time is is to market but that is Only a GUESS on my part. Once you get that much power you may want to think about a LSD to get more of the power to both wheels and perhaps some other parts like a RMM and lighter wheel and sticky tires. You will need a bigger FMIC (intercooler) to help keep the motor happy after adding more power/heat.
Have fun shopping and ask lots of questions and expect lots of different answers.. lol
Glad to have ya here btw..
 


CanadianST

Active member
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#3
Welcome!

My take on the whole thing would be to skip the big turbo at first and go for a COBB stage package or at least some COBB parts. I wanted to initially go big turbo but after having a stage 3 COBB I'm not sure i would have bothered with the turbo if i hadn't lost the car. The bigger turbo will change around your powerband and you'll end up losing that snap right off idle the factory turbo can give.

Also as mentioned above you'll need most of the parts from the stage packs anyway, you can't simply bolt on a big turbo to run 12s and leave it at that.

The stock RMM is garbage and on a bone stock motor it can't handle the power and torque let alone a modded one, you'd eventually end up with the engine sitting on your lap Or atleast something broken after it bashed off the firewall dozens of times. This imo is a REQUIRED mod if you're going to drive the car even the slightest bit hard.

You'd also want a bigger intercooler and better flowing downpipe/exhaust, an Accessport (or something similar) to load the tune, and at that point might as well get an intake. If not for performance at least for the wooshing sound haha.

The stock turbo modded up and tuned is no slouch even though it's only running 220whp and 290ft-lbs. It's where that torque hits and that you're in such a light car that makes it so fun.
 


OP
C
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Thread Starter #4
Thanks for the replies guys! Ill take a look at deadhook. And I definitely plan on lightening the wheels and getting grippier tires. I was mostly concerned with turbo upgrades/replacement. Im alright with the power band shifting around a bit, as long as its usable in a deag race/qtr mile. To be honest, the lightness of the car is what initially drew me to it. I hate to say it but im a bit of an avid desolate area stoplight to stoplight enthusiast. Owning a '12 R/T Challenger(4400lbs/375HP at crank) and getting beat by anything and everything lighter was wearing on me and after getting absolutely destroyed by a Golf GTI I had had enough. So Id genuinely like to pursue all the necessities such as that RMM everyone says absolutely needs replacing. But in addition, my main focus will be a definitive power increase and I feel that a turbo/tune will be the way to go. The cobb stuff looks great. I absolutely love the sound that exhaust makes. What are the most common turbos some on here have gone to? Will the bigger intercooler/exhaust that comes with the cobb stuff play nice with the new turbos? Or if Im planning to get a bigger turbo would I have to get a specific/custom intercooler/exhaust system ? One thing I definitely dont want to do is have to buy the same parts twice ( intercooler/exhaust), once I feel its still not enough HP , so Id like to know the compatibility/ proven setups some have on here.


In short If I have a bit too much HP at first, Id much rather have that, and look into an LSD a bit later to help it hookup. And the raising the power band to improve E.T.s is worth it for me =]

EDIT:

Also, whats up with this accessport stuff? I thought a turner plugged in by an OBDII port on a car?
 


rodmoe

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#5
Most parts are mix and match they seem to all play well.. as for exhaust if you are going big turbo get a 2.5 or 3 inch cat back exhaust so you have room to breath. Pic the one you like best but if I am correct after I upgraded to my EFR my car has gotten noticably louder so keep that in mind if it matters I have not driven my car much since it is away being tuned at the moment I only drove it a few mile and loaded it up on the dolly for transport.. I understand the 2012 Chally as I had the R/T classic also and we called it Two tons of fun when trying to autoX it .. loved the car just not the physics ..
 


CanadianST

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#6
The accessport is a tuner that plugs into the port as you said but can also be used as a gauge pack. You just load the files onto the accessport, plug it into the car, and then load the tune. After you're done you switch back to gauge mode and you're golden. i know ATP uses it to load their big turbo tunes not sure of the others.

One thing to be weary about after coming from a v8 car with lots of torque and going into your first i4 turbo car is the turbo lag. As it sits now (and if you don't go too big of aftermarket turbo) there's basically none, but if you start getting into ATP's GTX kits (the one that runs 12s) it will become an issue. Not trying to insult your intelligence but not sure how up on the whole turbo world your are. Just incase you didn't know generally the bigger the turbo the more lag, meaning your power band (hp & tq) will rise considerably. It's not like a V8 where you still have plenty of torque down low, you have (essentially) no power till that turbo spools. With the GTX kits they don't make peak power and torque till around 4500 - 5000rpm which makes for a pretty poor street car, even a pretty poor stoplight to stoplight one.
 


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#7
A BT won't just shift the powerband a little, it's going to completely change the character. The car will be a complete dog until you get enough pressure to spool the turbo, which likely won't come until 4k RPM from the little 1.6. Freer flowing intake and exhaust will exacerbate the issue as they both do the same thing; they allow higher volume at lower velocity, which negatively impacts low end response in favor of top end.

None of that may matter if all you want is a drag car.

As noted, regardless of everything else you simply CANNOT just strap a turbo to it and call it good. If you are going BT, at a minimum, you need bigger exhaust, a bigger intake, and a tune.

additionally, You'll be better off getting the LSD sooner rather than later. It's not just a matter of getting the power to the ground, you also need to consider the strength of the unit. If you cheap out now, strap a bunch of power to it, you run a high risk of grenading your trans/clutch. There is nowhere near enough history on these to know just how strong they are.

I hate to be the one to say it, but I'm not sure the FiST was your best choice for a straight line racer... Don't take that the wrong way, it'll be good, but these cars are balance and handling machines first and foremost. You'll always be fighting against the limited displacement of the little 1.6l engine for raw power.
 


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