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What's your Fiesta ST suspension plan?

What's your Fiesta ST suspension plan?

  • Leave it stock

    Votes: 92 24.9%
  • Lowering Springs

    Votes: 109 29.5%
  • Coil-Overs

    Votes: 166 45.0%
  • Air Suspension

    Votes: 2 0.5%

  • Total voters
    369

RAAMaudio

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It has been a long day so I will edit this in the AM in case I could of said it better or with less words:)

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Since the factory alignment setup promotes rear end rotation stiffening the rear would increase the tendency to rotate which can be great fun on tight and twisty roads or an autocross event but could become a bit more than one wants to see in high speed corners.

The best and probably most difficult setup would be to have good rear end rotation at lower speeds, neutral at mid speeds and a bit of understeer at high speeds which is far safer and faster, having the rear end come around at high speeds usually means a pretty sudden event and can lead to not such a great outcome.

A rear sway bar, torsion bar, etc....will induce more oversteer so be advised, at high speeds it could become a very serious issue.

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I severely modded a 5 point rear bar to test with but so far my 2 days on track have shown I do not need a rear bar and I doubt many have a need for one, or a torsion bar, unless you keep the speeds in check.

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Note:

Swaybars are the last step in working out the balance of a properly setup car. Spring rates are also used for body roll control and keeping contact with the surface of the road, shocks are next, then sway bars last. A beam axle torsion bar is a swaybar by another name.

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The Fiesta factory alignment was developed to enhance our the factor and get great reviews, they did an incredible job for most of the drivers buying the car.

For those that want a bit more, it is far from optimal due to inherent instability in high speed corners, most FWD cars have little front camber and lots or rear to induce understeer for safety reasons as most do not really know how to drive a well setup car.

The ST is opposite in induce more fun, which I love, it is just when you want to really push the envelope we run into issues like high speed oversteer which is not safe or fast but this is more pronounced in stock or lightly modded cars.

Though it was a great deal of work I changed the rear camber and toe to setting much more inline with how I drive the car, like the grandpa I am on public roads 99.99 percent of the time. On track, my car is fast and soon to be very fast and snap oversteer can be a horrible way to end the day.

Now I am running -2.5 front and -1.9 rear camber and have the sway bar to test but would look at spring rates and shock settings first.

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Note: individual driving style has a great deal to do with car setup as well, even at the F1 level it is critically important so there is no setup we can choose arbitrarily.

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One persons experience with a particular bolt on part may not be and many times not so pertinent to others needs.

Rick
 


iso100

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RAAM, it's weird but adding the torsion bar didnt make the back end step out more. It just made the car able to carry more speed through the turns. It's uncanny.
 


Hijinx

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Rick, that's a great note about "what works for one won't work for another." I was excited about being back in my car, and how it feels so different. Fact is, I wouldn't suggest the torsion bar alone. The basics is that if you beef up the rear w/o the front you promote understeer and vice versa. I knew my plan in advance when I set out to buy my 6-point. I was happy with my spring rates, but felt the car was choppy and after some more research I learned why. So I was able to settle on my Konis because I wanted to remain at stock height. My car is a DD, it may see some T&T events, I may put it on the strip. It won't be on a circuit course, although I may try out an open AutoX event.

My car is a surgical street knife. Quick and responsive. Built to excel in the twisties on a cruise, all while being comfortable at picking up the groceries. For me, it needs great potential that won't tap out. I'm no expert, but I feel like I've achieved that with my set up.
 


Hijinx

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Does the torsion bar act as a sway bar? Sway bars transfer energy from one side of the car to the other, correct? But this makes the beam more rigid. I guess if you think of the beam as a sway bar itself, then the torsion bar would be, in a sense, a stiffer sway bar.
 


RAAMaudio

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It has been a long day so that is why I posted I may need to edit it but as can be seen, individual results can be quite different and you both have great enhancements for your particular needs, which is great:)

Absolutely correct is the whole car setup, I have driven at speed on track in a stock FiST and it was far better than expected on high speed corners but nannies were also engaged which is a great safety item for many, probably me that day as well.

I only have two track days on my car, it was fast and fun but I kept forgetting to turn off the nannies and I was so used to it and dead tired at the end of the second day I decided it was best to leave them on as not at my best behind the wheel. I was still very fast but I know I was loosing time on the tighter corners and maybe a bit on some mid speed ones.

As soon as I get back on track, with a bunch more power which I might run a milder tune at first, I will turn off the nannies right away and build up the speed as I am comfortable with the car and then can really get an idea of what I have done so far works.
 


Hijinx

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Would be curious to hear more about the STR.Ts. Did you post a review somewhere?
I did not... Honestly, I'm terrible at full blown reviews. However, there is a review floating around here. Once I find it, I'll read over it and post up with any agreements/disagreements, or other little details that may be missing.
 


Chris G

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Yeah I am just curious what you think because I've heard both good and bad things about the Orange Koni setup.
 


stuntdoogie

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I did not... Honestly, I'm terrible at full blown reviews. However, there is a review floating around here. Once I find it, I'll read over it and post up with any agreements/disagreements, or other little details that may be missing.
So whats the word?
 


Hijinx

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On the STR.Ts? I posted up a while back. It's somewhere in the suspension forums. The only thing I would note is that the front OEM springs are a little too soft for my liking.
 


stuntdoogie

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On the STR.Ts? I posted up a while back. It's somewhere in the suspension forums. The only thing I would note is that the front OEM springs are a little too soft for my liking.
Yes, im thinking of getting the koni eiback package from 2JR.
 


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I went with the koni yellows for street classing. Also installed the front base fiesta sway bar which is 19mm. Wheel spin is more noticeable after pin turns but the rear wheel lifting is all but gone in slaloms and transitions. It does hurt the car when the turns are tight, but not as bad as the corksports or eibach fronts...which are 22mm and 25mm if I remember right.
 


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If I do decided to pull the trigger on suspension. I'm going with BCs. I've had them on my 99 GS300 & my 2011 WRX. Both rode very well dialed down for comfort. And performed fairly well when dial in.
 


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One of my last cars was an Abarth and when I lowered it with Neuf springs and Koni Sports it simply transformed the car. I am looking at mountune springs and Koni sports..
 


LILIKE16ST

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My plan is to keep it simple with suspension (at least for a while). I plan to go with Mountune sport springs with stock shocks and struts, add a rear sway bar and a strut tower brace as well as a rear shock tower brace and that'll be it for a while. Later on it's possible I might go coilovers but that's it on suspension upgrades for the time being. I also plan to add some 15X7.5 et40 Rota Slipstreams that are only 12 lbs with 195/55/15 bfg sport comp 2 tires. The springs matching better with the stock dampers along with the taller sidewall tires and much lighter wheels will all pitch in and improve ride quality some and all of those things should pitch in and make a decent improvement in handling too.
 


RAAMaudio

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There is already a very substantial built in STB so adding a little second one will not do much if anything. The rear shocks are loaded vertically so a brace back there will not do much either. I would spend the money on parts that return more than mostly looks and no substantiated data showing those parts are worth installing, dead weight mostly.

I am a huge fan of low weight 15s on this car, I have 18 wheels in 15"!

The stock shocks are not valved all that great so not sure the results of just a spring swap will net a great deal but perhaps they will.
 


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