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e46 M3 to Fiesta ST

AlexM3

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#1
Has anyone come from an e46 M3 to a Fiesta ST?

I am thinking of leasing one as a daily driver and make my M3 a track car/weekend car. For anyone who has owned an e46 M3 how does it compare. Going to test drive a Fiesta ST tonight and if it doesn't blow me away ill just keep DD the M3.


Just curious if anyone has. Please post below.

Thanks,

AlexM3
 


meFiSTo

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#2
It's hard to imagine a Fiesta ST blowing anyone away on a test drive. It's a fun economy car with good scoot and excellent handling dynamics out of the box. It is NOT fast, but it is delightful to drive. When pushed to its handling limits, it remains composed, but can break into a controllable 4-wheel slide. It is a tall car,so it is prone to 3-wheeling when asked to make sudden, sharp maneuvers at speed. It did so at Portland in March even with my coilover setup. It is a very pleasant daily driver for around town. If you live in a hilly area it'll be fun there too.

Coning from an E46 M3, really one of the all time great track-day coupes, it's hard to imagine anything "blowing you away" short of say a Cayman GT4 or maybe something like an Alfa 4C. You really can't have that expectation of an economy compact car with a suspension upgrade and some low-end grunt. If you DO have a chance to push it around, you should have some fun. You should try a Focus ST just for kicks. It's not as nimble, but in stock trim it is faster for sure.
 


airjor13

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#3
I came from a few E36 M3's, FiST was my first proper hot hatch, its apples to oranges, both are nice just something different.
 


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AlexM3

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Thread Starter #4
It's hard to imagine a Fiesta ST blowing anyone away on a test drive. It's a fun economy car with good scoot and excellent handling dynamics out of the box. It is NOT fast, but it is delightful to drive. When pushed to its handling limits, it remains composed, but can break into a controllable 4-wheel slide. It is a tall car,so it is prone to 3-wheeling when asked to make sudden, sharp maneuvers at speed. It did so at Portland in March even with my coilover setup. It is a very pleasant daily driver for around town. If you live in a hilly area it'll be fun there too.

Coning from an E46 M3, really one of the all time great track-day coupes, it's hard to imagine anything "blowing you away" short of a say a Cayman GT4 or maybe something like an Alfa 4C. You really can't have that expectation of an economy compact car with a suspension upgrade and some low-end grunt. If you DO have a chance to push it around, you should have some fun. You should try a Focus ST just for kicks. It's not as nimble, but in stock trim it is faster for sure.
I see you have tracked your car according to your profile pic. How is it at the track? That'll be a big plus.
 


meFiSTo

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#5
I see you have tracked your car according to your profile pic. How is it at the track? That'll be a big plus.
It's fun. I had a Focus SVT with a charge-air cooled super charger before, so this is very similar, with way more low end torque, so it is a little quicker on corner exit. It is NOT fast. Without some added suspension work, it is prone to some oversteer (sounds odd, no?). I learned that at the STOA event in April (I did not go off, but with the stock suspension I could sense the twitch in the seat of my pants). It's perfectly controllable, but is strangely nervous at the corner limit. It does not push. At least, I did not notice it. I'm dialing mine to be a little more neutral (which for me will mean I can drive it a little closer to the handling limit and feel confident that it will 4-wheel slide and not snap oversteer). At the track with my own car, it was very compliant, but I only tracked it the once so far. I also have adjustable coilovers. Circumstances have conspired against me attending other events so far (although the STOA thing kind of counts, but not in my car).

I'm also of the opinion that these cars need some added cooling for track use. That's especially true in the summer. If you track a car, you know the drill on brakes, oil coolers, radiators, fluids, etc. My only event so far was at the of end of March in perfect, cool, dry conditions. The water temp (per the mountune/Cobb AP) hit about 215 tops. On a hot day with stock cooling hardware, that could really spike. i ran water/water wetter which helped manager the temps a little.

Based on my limited car-to-car comparison at STOA, (as I've said elsewhere) it is my opinion that the Focus ST is a better (faster, more stable) track weapon in stock form. It's longer, and wider; it has bigger meats and more power. It is heavier. Not everyone agrees. BUT: You can turn this car into a monster. Ask [MENTION=636]RAAMaudio[/MENTION] and [MENTION=9]rodmoe[/MENTION] to name a couple of the crazies on this board.

YMMV.
 


PhoenixM3

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#6
Has anyone come from an e46 M3 to a Fiesta ST?

I am thinking of leasing one as a daily driver and make my M3 a track car/weekend car. For anyone who has owned an e46 M3 how does it compare. Going to test drive a Fiesta ST tonight and if it doesn't blow me away ill just keep DD the M3.


Just curious if anyone has. Please post below.

Thanks,

AlexM3
I owned a PY/Cinn E46 M3 coupe and it was the best car I've owned. Since then, we've had two Mini Cooper S's, a Shelby GT500, and an E90 M3. I've had my FiST for 2 days now, and am being very gentle on the break in. It doesn't mean that I can't take offramps like a banshee though. I'll report when I can rev the car past 3K and evaluate its fun factor
 


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#7
My buddy has an E46 M3 and seemed to love driving my fiesta just as much as I loved driving his M3. Both really great cars, and reliability-wise my car is at 31k without a hiccup.
 


SICKESSS-ST

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#9
Has anyone come from an e46 M3 to a Fiesta ST?

I am thinking of leasing one as a daily driver and make my M3 a track car/weekend car. For anyone who has owned an e46 M3 how does it compare. Going to test drive a Fiesta ST tonight and if it doesn't blow me away ill just keep DD the M3.


Just curious if anyone has. Please post below.

Thanks,

AlexM3


Updates?
 


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AlexM3

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Thread Starter #10

Okay so I test drove the Fiesta ST and what I really noticed when I floored it was the Torque steer under full throttle. That kinda got annoying but overall it was pretty smooth. Didnt take it around any corners or anything so cant really comment on the handling. I think Ill have to test drive it again.
 


SICKESSS-ST

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#12
Okay so I test drove the Fiesta ST and what I really noticed when I floored it was the Torque steer under full throttle. That kinda got annoying but overall it was pretty smooth. Didnt take it around any corners or anything so cant really comment on the handling. I think Ill have to test drive it again.


Yes, a second test drive, where you push the car, should be planned.
 


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Los Angeles
#13
Okay so I test drove the Fiesta ST and what I really noticed when I floored it was the Torque steer under full throttle. That kinda got annoying but overall it was pretty smooth. Didnt take it around any corners or anything so cant really comment on the handling. I think Ill have to test drive it again.
Try the Focus ST and you'll get torque steer up the wazoo. And then you'll realize the Fiesta has almost none. It rarely comes in and even then, it's so subtle like a small earthquake you barely feel and then have to ask yourself ; was that an earthquake? Oh, how bout that.
 


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#14
I have a 135i that is a weekend / track toy. Just picked up the fist for daily driving duties, traded in my A4. Way more fun.
 


Sourskittle

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#15
I have a 135i that is a weekend / track toy. Just picked up the fist for daily driving duties, traded in my A4. Way more fun.
I'm a huge 135i fan. #1 because the car. #2 bmw fan boys don't like it, which makes me LOVE IT. I have 4 kids ( traded a 6mt G35 coupe for my first ) so a 135i is not an option. But I still love them...
 


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