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Totally stock Fiesta ST. Taking a track school - what do I need to worry about?

RAAMaudio

5000 Post Club
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Carson City
#21
Coolant advice: Instead of 50/50 mix the ratio that will protect the engine and cooling system down to 5 degrees or so below the lowest temps you normally have in your area so you can use more water which is much better at cooling then add the water wetter.
 


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Location
Chicago
#22
Just got back from my first track night. Car was totally fine the whole time on temperatures and even power despite it being 90 degrees out. At no point did I feel like I was lacking power; even though the car is stock. Stock pads held up okay, but they definitely faded towards the end of the last lap of each session. Not to the point of uselessness, though. Definitely room for improvement with the pads and I will be replacing them with EBC Yellowstuff. The ATE Type 200 fluid also held up extremely well. Brakes seemed to recover decently well after being allowed to cool for about 30 minutes between sessions. The RE71R tires also did extremely well in keeping me on the road.

A+++ would do again.
 


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Location
Corpus Christi
#23
Took my stocker out on MSR Houston today. After 5-6 laps it would overheat and go into limp mod (not revving over ~4000) intermittently. We'd pop the hood and give it 20-30 and it was ready to role again. Did about 25 laps total and found out that other than the radiator that Im the worst part of the car haha. Potenzas held up well along with the brakes, very little noticeable fade.
 


Siestarider

Senior Member
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Stuart
#24
My experience is stock brakes are more than adequate for tracking if you keep the fronts cooled better than stock. Temperature tests with paint indicate that ducted cooling will lower peak front disc temps 250 degrees. Then stock pads work fine. No cooling, you can get fade pushing hard on a hot day.

Rear rotors never get much above 750 degrees, stock rear pads last about 10 track days plus a years street driving.

All the above assuming ESC fully off.
 


Messages
90
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31
Location
Corpus Christi
#25
So I took it out on MSR again, and by the end of the day I couldnt make two laps all out without it overheating and going into limp mode. Id get a warm up lap, 1 flying lap, and then about 3/4 of another lap before itd shut me down on the straight. It happened every time on a straight when I shift from 3rd to 4th. Extremely frustrating, and basically ruined my second day on the track. The obvious answer is to spring for a rad and oil cooler, but I also want to know if this is a common occurrence or a problem specific to my car. The instructor was running a Mercedes C300 significantly harder then my ST and he had no problems at any point.
 


Siestarider

Senior Member
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Stuart
#26
So I took it out on MSR again, and by the end of the day I couldnt make two laps all out without it overheating and going into limp mode. Id get a warm up lap, 1 flying lap, and then about 3/4 of another lap before itd shut me down on the straight. It happened every time on a straight when I shift from 3rd to 4th. Extremely frustrating, and basically ruined my second day on the track. The obvious answer is to spring for a rad and oil cooler, but I also want to know if this is a common occurrence or a problem specific to my car. The instructor was running a Mercedes C300 significantly harder then my ST and he had no problems at any point.
Assuming you run stock I/C, charge air temps will peak at high rpm and ECU pull timing before oil/water temps become limiting factors.
 


Woods247

2000 Post Club
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Atl
#27
I've seen this on other Fiestas on track. IC is a good idea, also consider running your heater to drop temps.
 


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Location
Boston, MA, USA
#28
Is it basically always going to have charge temps get too hot, even if it's say < 50F at the track? I just got my FiST and am planning on doing track days maybe starting in the spring. It doesn't typically get too hot/humid in Seattle ever, is an upgraded intercooler still basically necessary?
 


Messages
90
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31
Location
Corpus Christi
#29
I dont think its an IC problem. This was a water temp light. The guys at the race shop recommended an upgraded rad and oil cooler, and I agree. An IC would help turbo performance, but thats not going to affect overheating dramatically...
 


Messages
295
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83
Location
Boston, MA, USA
#30
I dont think its an IC problem. This was a water temp light. The guys at the race shop recommended an upgraded rad and oil cooler, and I agree. An IC would help turbo performance, but thats not going to affect overheating dramatically...
Oh ok. What was the temperature/humidity like at the track that day?
 


Messages
90
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31
Location
Corpus Christi
#31
Well its Houston so even in November high and high haha. Temp was about 80F and it was partly cloudy. Humidity was around 80%. Not great conditions, but both my instructors and all the on site mechanics were baffled by how bad it was overheating. They said they had never had an ST on the track though so they werent privy to the problem...
 


meFiSTo

Senior Member
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Redmond
#32
I dont think its an IC problem. This was a water temp light. The guys at the race shop recommended an upgraded rad and oil cooler, and I agree. An IC would help turbo performance, but thats not going to affect overheating dramatically...
Ding.

No expert here, but I suspect it is the coolant temps rising above some limit leading to limp mode.

I've never had a problem with this car or my prior FWD hatch going into overheat mode. However, with both cars, I invested in an oil cooler. I also got the Mishimoto high volume radiator for this car.

I did attend a mid-August event at The Ridge with top ambient temps in the upper 90s (deg F). Track asphalt was registering over 150 deg F around noon. I had a little plastic tire valve cover melt onto to the valve. When went to swap back to street wheels, wow, the hardware down there was HOT.

Nonetheless, I made it through my sessions without dropping into limp mode. I was not monitoring temps, so am not sure of the peak temps.

I do have hood vents, but I think the coolers made the real difference. When it is THAT hot, I'm not too concerned about optimizing charge air temp cooling, although it's always a good thing to drop intake air temps. At 98 deg F ambient, vehicle survival is my main concern.
 


Messages
90
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31
Location
Corpus Christi
#33
Right on. Ive got the rad and oil cooler in the mail right now. Gonna go ahead and spring for an access port too so I can monitor temps better. My goal is to be back out on the track by Feb or March so we'll see how the mods help then...
 


Messages
107
Likes
57
Location
Nurburgring
#34
This car overheats easily in stock form, more so if you do any power mods. I can make coolant go over 250F on twisty roads at 70F ambient. On track I can't even do a full lap without having car go into limp mode. This is because the stock heat exchanger dumps oil heat into the coolant, and the stock radiator is paper thin.

A dedicated air-to-oil cooler and a bigger radiator are a must for intermediate and advanced drivers.
 




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