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Ryephile's "Astro" 2016 Fiesta ST thread

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210
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59
Location
Metro Detroit
#1
Hello! [raceflag]

This is where I'll post stuff about my Kona Blue FiST. I took delivery just over a week ago, and the modding/tinkering bug has already hit me hard. This car is so much fun, it reminds me of what would happen if you mixed a Mazdaspeed3 with an Abarth and an R53 MINI Cooper S. Great steering feel, fun engine, fantastic handling, and an overall boisterous character that keeps me smiling. I haven't been this geeked about a daily driver in quite some time.

I've already starting doing some fun bits:

*Cobb Accessport OTS Stage 1 tune, AccessTuner Race software on its way
*Sound Symposer hose removed, haven't yet removed the resonator itself
*Shorty antenna I had laying around, it's actually a MINI accessory antenna.
*Shaved the 2 warning stickers from the driver's door jamb. Seriously, I check my tire pressures and don't need stickers to remind me.
*Implemented a first draft boost leak venturi evaporative emissions line rework. I necro'd another thread to go into detail about this.

Enough yappin. Here are pictures!

IMG_7886.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

IMG_7918.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

Here's a picture that shows my shorty antenna:
IMG_7970.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

mmmm Fun. Great tune right out of the box. Love the lively throttle mapping, it's sporting without being over-zealous
IMG_7960.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

IMG_7894.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr



I have some plans for the car.
*Audio system; new component set up front and a subwoofer under the floor in back. I'll make space by swapping the spare tire for a mobility kit.
*Mountune catted downpipe, to improve the spool-up, maybe a full exhaust if it's not too loud. Don't want to really compete with the audio system
*Coil-overs. I already like the handling but want to hunker down the ride height a smidge and also get a better matched spring/damper setup. Currently eyeing the ST XTA's, or maybe the KW V3's.
*Wheels and tires. I'm going the keep the stock wheels for winter tires, and then get something hot for summer. This won't play out right away though. I have the stock summers on the car now, and then I'll swap them to winters, so it won't be until next spring that I get new summer wheels. No rush there.




Had my first Fiesta ST meet with a couple locals:
IMG_7952.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


Cheers!
Ryan
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
210
Likes
59
Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #5
Do you think you'll install an OCC?
It doesn't appear to be terribly necessary at this point....unless I see some good evidence the factory oil vapor collection system is inadequate for street use. I'm not the kind of modder that changes things "just because", or "just in-case". I've run catch cans on other engines that actually benefitted from it, so anything is possible.

Nice looking rig :)

Thank you! [twothumb]
 


KKaWing

Active member
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702
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206
Location
Somewhere
#6
It doesn't appear to be terribly necessary at this point....unless I see some good evidence the factory oil vapor collection system is inadequate for street use. I'm not the kind of modder that changes things "just because", or "just in-case". I've run catch cans on other engines that actually benefitted from it, so anything is possible.




Thank you! [twothumb]

I caught an ounce and a half, maybe 2 in 5000km of big city rush hour driving. Don't think can is really necessary. I originally got it for catching water vapor because I do short trips for errands and had foamy oil for my last 2 cars... yet with this turbo things heat up so quickly I caught little to none.
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
210
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59
Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #9
Just a quickie update:

*Finally removed the full Sound Symposer, and plugged the cold-side boost tube with a Dorman Expand Tite 02600. The only advice I'd give someone is to put some anti-seize on the tightening nut so you can actually compress the rubber enough to form a solid seal.

*I finally got my Cobb AccessTuner Race software! There was a tiny snag where the first compile had an error so they had to redo it, but now it's working perfect. Now I can deep dive into the ECU strategy. Just off the top, it's significantly different and more complicated than the Megasquirt 3 I have in the Miata, which is no surprise.

*MAP and Mountune are both having sales, so I bit the bullet and ordered a cat-back exhaust and an engine mount roll restrictor. Goodies! I'll post pics and feedback when they arrive and are installed.
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
210
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59
Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #10
The MAP cat-back exhaust arrived today! It's very pretty. The TIG welds are tidy, the tubing is excellent quality, and the packaging was good. The staggered twin-wall tips are classy and should match the bumper shape nicer than stock.

IMG_8047.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

IMG_8049.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

IMG_8050.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


I have to take some more datalogs of the stock exhaust before installing this to try to get a solid before/after. I also got a set of Cobb exhaust hangers to go with this. If I remember I'll do some RTA screencaps of the car at preset speeds to show the acoustic pattern change.
 


Messages
209
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123
Location
Easton
#11
The MAP cat-back exhaust arrived today! It's very pretty. The TIG welds are tidy, the tubing is excellent quality, and the packaging was good. The staggered twin-wall tips are classy and should match the bumper shape nicer than stock.

IMG_8047.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

IMG_8049.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr

IMG_8050.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


I have to take some more datalogs of the stock exhaust before installing this to try to get a solid before/after. I also got a set of Cobb exhaust hangers to go with this. If I remember I'll do some RTA screencaps of the car at preset speeds to show the acoustic pattern change.
What size pipes? Looks great! How's the sound?
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
210
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59
Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #12
2.5", which is fine for this power level. The sound is quiet when I hum into the muffler section. [party] How it sounds when installed and the engine running, I'm not sure yet. I'll post more when it's installed.
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
210
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59
Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #13
Because I'm super lazy, I'm just going to copy most of my post from the MAP CBE review thread!

I finally got around to installing my MAP CBE this past weekend along with some Cobb exhaust hangers. Overall I'm impressed and enjoy it.

-->The build quality and fitment is excellent, without a doubt. I love how the staggered and twin-wall tips look, so much classier yet proud than stock. The stainless tubing quality is first rate, the hangers and front flange all lined up nicely. During initial loose fitment I was concerned there wouldn't be enough clearance between the mid-pipe and the center tunnel brace, but when I tightened up the clamps it all came together and increased the clearance out of the worry-zone. All good once it's buttoned up.

-->The sound is very good; there's some subtle burbles on throttle lift and engine braking, but it's kind of background and never in-your-face, and I like it that way. It's almost the same as stock in loudness while cruising at any speed below 80, however at mid throttle loads and higher RPM it's noticeably more aggressive, but without being droning or headache inducing. At full throttle it's only a bit louder than stock, which I'm good with. The tone is more growly than stock of course, but admittedly it doesn't have the "sex appeal" of the 500 Abarth's admittedly amazing exhaust note. It's classy without being boring, and aggressive without being ricey. It's a good balance that's mostly adult. I could take my mother to dinner by keeping the revs down and pedal reasonable, but on the flipside it sounds great revving it up and bouncing the sound off tunnel and overpass walls.


Any negatives? I do wish the mid-throttle and mid-RPM loudness was a bit less intrusive. I have no other FiST exhaust reference other than stock, which I also found to be slightly boomy under the same circumstances, so perhaps it's an inherent character of the vehicle more than this specific exhaust. Admittedly I'm nitpicking, because it's definitely staying on the car! [like]

Here are some pictures. Two RTA iPhone screen-caps. The first being all-stock with a 70 MPH cruise control, the second with the MAP CBE on the same section of road also with a 70 MPH cruise control. The main difference is more energy around 250 Hz, which comes through as interesting character and not a detriment whatsoever.

Stock @ 70:
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

MAP CBE @ 70:
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr


..and pics of the actual exhaust. So embarrassed at the dirty car, but we did have a random April snow-storm.
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

In conclusion: I definitely recommend if you're looking to add some aural character to your FiST with very high quality goods.
Cheers,
Ryan
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
210
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Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #14
While I was installing the exhaust, I also installed a Mountune lower roll restrictor engine mount. I chose the Mountune because it's believed to be the softest/least NVH of all the aftermarket mounts, and as a cherry on top Mountune was having a Grand Opening sale. I had it delivered to my door for $122. Sweet.

The mount is well packaged and well built. The CNC aluminum looks and feels very quality, as do the two polyurethane bushings.
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

It included instructions, woah! Amusingly it tells you to use a big countersink bit on the factory bracket. This is totally unnecessary. The factory LRR is lightly pressed into the steel bracket. A quick flick of a pry-bar and it comes out. No need to get the drill out.
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr


How does it feel? It's --> <-- this close to feeling like a perfect OEM solution. Only at hot idle is there a very tiny vibration. It's not felt in the seat bottom, but you can feel it slightly in the seat back. Again, only at warmed-up idle. The transition into driving doesn't add a harmonic or resonance, the tiny seat back vibration just goes away. If you're fidgeting in your seat you can't even feel it. It's so slight that my passenger didn't even realize I did anything to the car [other than the exhaust], and even when I told him about the upper back vibration he didn't necessarily agree....he's about 40 pounds heavier than me so perhaps the weight difference is all it takes for it to not be there. Super subtle.

Shift crispness, oh boy, what a huge improvement. It actually feels like I'm shifting the transmission myself versus putting in a PO request via corporate purchasing. Big, Big improvement. Less obvious is how the car puts down power. It feels more connected and resolute but it's fairly subtle. I'd say the big improvement here is shift quality and eschewing an aura of solidity to the car in general. I'd say this part was worth it. Almost zero downside and some notable pluses. For sure Ford HQ wouldn't allow the minor idle vibe to get to showrooms, but ironically the idle vibration is about on par with how my MINI JCW idled, where you could feel it ever so slightly into the cabin.
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
210
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Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #15
Also, I did some initial measurements on the stock stereo system. Ughk, it's terrible. The tweeter location is truly awful for soundstaging, and on top of that not only is the frequency response bad, but the intermodulation distortion is clearly audible when doing sine wave testing. It's mainly in the tweeter, which makes sense given it's a hyper cheap mylar balanced dome. I put a bunch of pics on my Flickr, but here are the obvious ones:

What's important in this graph are the blue lines. They represent the max amplitude for each band. The red is simply me forgetting to pause the microphone before pushing the button for a screen cap. Blue, not red!
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

It's a catastrophic frequency response. The screech from 600 to 10k is a major reason why it sounds so bad. There's no sparkle, not much midbass warmth, and almost no bass. It's a frequency response I'd expect in a 75 cent paper 2" full range in an old CRT TV.

A pink noise plot flatters the frequency response better because it's hiding all the nonlinear distortion and resonances induced from pure sine waves, but the generally crappy response is still there:
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr


What does this mean. Oh boy, these speakers have to go! So I started buying stuff. For the audio revamp, I'm choosing to start simple and accept the subsonic cut-off at 35Hz and not go for a full DSP setup. Here's what I have so far:

Audison AV K6 component set: 6.5" in the door, and I'll fabricate an a-pillar mount for the tweeter.
Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr

Fiesta baselines and enhancements by Ryephile, on Flickr


It turns out the stock midbass location and the base of the a-pillar are the exact same distances on both sides of the car [left door and left a-pillar, right door and right a-pillar]. This bodes very well for naturally good time alignment.

Also en-route and/or not pictured yet:
*Dayton RSS315HF-4, single 12" will go under the load floor in the trunk
*Rockford Fosgate P600x4. This thing tests exceptionally well, and according to my listening test in my audio room last night, has amazing resolution. Very impressed period, not just for the price.
*A bunch of Kno Knoise, carpet, 3m Super 90, hardware, polyfill, an NVK XKIT42 for hooking it all up, and Home Depot holding onto my MDF for me although they don't know it yet. [wrenchin] [wink]




More to come! Oh yea, the audio stuff has distracted me from doing coilovers, which are usually one of my first things to change. Damn you Ford for making a car that doesn't ride like squish and actually turns [lovest]
 


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Location
Mountain House
#16
Fantastic work bro! I too find the stock stereo pretty terrible. The DSP System from Simplicity In Sound will have me saving for months but will bring joy to my ears!
 


OP
Ryephile
Messages
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Location
Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #17
Fantastic work bro! I too find the stock stereo pretty terrible. The DSP System from Simplicity In Sound will have me saving for months but will bring joy to my ears!
Thanks! You're lucky to have SiS nearby. Their installs are top-notch with top-shelf products.
 


OP
Ryephile
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Metro Detroit
Thread Starter #18
Doing some initial listening/break-in on these Audison component sets. Oh....My...God they sound amazing. Their resolution is excellent. Like Wilson Audio / Egglestonworks / VonSchweikert / Dunlavy excellent. My ears haven't been this pleased in a long time.
 


twolf

Active member
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Canton
#19
What are those little boxes? Would this be a waste for someone who uses BT audio?
 


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8
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6
Location
Diepenbeek
#20
I agree that the roll restrictor was one of the best mods I made to my car!

Love the colour, first time I ever see one in this colour. I have to say I'm pretty jealous about the colour options you get in the US compared to the EU spec :(.
 


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