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Fidy's 2016 Molten Orange Build

Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
#1
Figured it is as good as time as any to start a build thread. I've had the car for about 2 months now and its still completely stock. I wanted to get some seat time and miles on it before I started doing any mods to it. I've been enjoying the car even more than I thought I would and want to make sure my modding process is enjoyable as well. I really want to maintain the factory warranty for as long as possible so the build will less focused on engine mods and more geared toward suspension/braking mods. I didn't buy the car for its hp. Its a nice little, lightweight, nimble car that's great on gas. Throw in some suspension and brake mods while shaving some pounds and it should be a blast.

Tuning and engine mods will be inevitable but I'd like to get the suspension sorted before I make any more power. I still have plenty of reading and research to do in the tuning/ engine modding area. I'm looking forward to more seat time and some autocross/high performance driving events will provide plenty of good feedback on how the car performs when it is pushed. I'm in SW Florida so unfortunately there aren't too many twisty roads down here. Good news is Sebring, Homestead, and Palm Beach are all relatively close and I can have much more fun on a track compared to the streets.

Progress will be slower than most build threads due to limited funds and a hectic work schedule. I'm going to try and take lots of pics along the way and will be glad to share my experience and answer any questions anyone may have along the way. End goal is to add to an already great handing platform. Build something a little more fun to drive and a little more track day capable.

Wishlist of Mods (and it will grow) [thumb]

Coilovers
Wilwood Big Brake Kit
Lightweight 16" wheels
Front lip/splitter
Some sort of cooling mods for track days
Intercooler
Racing seats
 


OP
Fidy Trim
Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
Thread Starter #4
So time for the first update and first mod to the car. Figured coilovers would be a great place to start especially considering what I wanted to do with the car. I didn't want to dive into engine mods yet as the car is barely broke in. Suspension is never a bad investment and it cured the itch I had to mod..... at least for the moment. I did a lot of research and narrowed it down to the Bilsteins and the BC Racing coilovers. I really liked the lifetime warranty that came with the Bilsteins but I wanted the adjustability that the BC Racing Coilovers offered. Bilstein has a great reputation in the industry and offers a top notch product that I was already familiar with. BC Racing on the other hand was relatively unknown, at least to me. Decisions, decisions.....

After talking with Joe at 2J Racing I settled on the BC Racing coilovers. Joe was super cool and we chatted about spring rates before I placed my order. I settled on 6k for the fronts and 5k for the rears per Joe's advise. Joe is super knowledgeable regarding suspension on the FiST and the fact that he did a lot of legwork and testing for BC helped me feel super confident in my decision to go with the BC Coilovers. I figure I can set the dampening relatively soft for daily driving and bump it up as needed for autocross and track events. The 30 way dampening adjustabilty will be a nice feature to have in the end I think. Everyone seemed to like the smooth and plush ride the Bilsteins offered I just thought it would be a little too soft for autocross or a track day. This is just my opinion and I am by no means an expert. Just wanted to share my 2 cents

Coilovers took about a week to arrive from 2J Racing and were packaged extremely well.

Anyway on to a teaser pic

 


OP
Fidy Trim
Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
Thread Starter #5
Finished up the putting on the BC Racing coilovers today. Installation was very straight forward and only took a few hours. Didn't go crazy slamming the car, plan is to drive the car for a week or two and let the springs settle. No rubbing after a quick 15 minute test drive, started to rain a few minutes in so I didn't get a chance to really test them out. Ride is noticeably stiffer, more details to follow once I get a chance to drive it some more. Probably end up getting an alignment in the few weeks.

Few quick pics of the drop



 


OP
Fidy Trim
Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
Thread Starter #6
Pulled the trigger on a Wilwood BBK kit awhile back from 2JRacing. Finally had a chance to unbox the kit today. Wont have time to put it on for a few weeks though, I plan taking a few pics of the install and weighing the stock setup vs the Wilwood kit.

Quick teaser pic:

 


OP
Fidy Trim
Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
Thread Starter #7
Found some time to put the Wilwood BBK on the car this morning. Install wasn't too bad at all. Just make sure to threadlock the supplied hardware and torque everything to spec per the Wilwood instructions. Only bummer was none of the local stores had any high temp brake fluid, had to bleed and refill with regular fluid for the time being. I have some Motul 600 on order from Summit, I'll probably go back and re-bleed and recheck everything next weekend anyways. Had a scale handy so I was also able to weigh the stock setup vs the Wilwood setup as well.

Stock rotor, caliper with pads, dust shield



Wilwood 2 pc rotor, caliper with pads, caliper relocation bracket



Can't argue with dropping 10lbs off each corner and more braking power! Just need a lightweight wheel and tire combo to finish it off

Few more pics from the install









 


OP
Fidy Trim
Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
Thread Starter #8
Small little update to the build as it seems like it's been forever since I did anything to the car. Decided to pull the trigger on a set of wing risers from velossa tech. Just installed them this morning, installation was very straight forward and velossa tech has a great set of instructions available on their website.


Quick pics:



 


OP
Fidy Trim
Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
Thread Starter #10
Wheels are next up on the agenda for the build. I've been doing lots of research on the forums and I think I've got a plan that will work for what I want to do with the car. The stock wheels and tires will suffice for daily driving and that's about it. They are pretty heavy at 22.5 lbs and tire options are limited to say the least.

I'm looking for some lightweight 16" wheels I can pair with a sticky tire for autocross and track days. Tires will most likely be 205/50/R16 Bridgestone RE-71R's. Lots of people running them, lots of good reviews, and they are competitively priced for the size I'm looking to run. The only downside to the RE-71's is how long they will last, I hope by only driving on them at the track I can help limit this. If I chew through them at least they will be enjoyable miles, not wasted highway miles.

Still undecided on the 16" wheels but I've narrowed it down to the following:

Enkei Rpf1's
Rota Slipstream
OZ Ultraleggera
Sparco Asetto Gara

Pretty sure they will all clear my wilwood bbk. Feel free to share your thoughts or feedback on any of the wheels
 


Messages
407
Likes
75
Location
Wichita
#11
I've got the sparco's in 16x7 on my MO. I'm very happy with them especially for the cost; I wanted the OZ's but couldn't justify the price difference.
 


Messages
213
Likes
95
Location
Philadelphia
#12
Awesome build so far! Definetly looking to go in the same direction as you (daily/track toy). I've been looking at Rota Slipstreams for a while now as my lighter track wheel wrapped in the re-71r as well. Thats probably the route I'll take once the funds come about.

How are the Wilwoods? Is the size of the pad surface noticably bigger than stock?


Keep us posted!
 


OP
Fidy Trim
Messages
43
Likes
14
Location
Fort Myers
Thread Starter #13
Awesome build so far! Definetly looking to go in the same direction as you (daily/track toy). I've been looking at Rota Slipstreams for a while now as my lighter track wheel wrapped in the re-71r as well. Thats probably the route I'll take once the funds come about.

How are the Wilwoods? Is the size of the pad surface noticably bigger than stock?


Keep us posted!
I love the wilwoods so far! I purchased them as part of a group buy from 2j racing and for the price they were pretty hard to beat. For me they offered the most bang for the buck when it came to a brake upgrade. My fiesta is not a track car so I didn't feel the need to go overboard and spend thosounds upon thousands on just the brakes. Are there better, higher quality, race oriented brakes? You bet but they also come at a much higher price tag. I found a lot of people running the wilwoods and MOST people had good things to say about them.

I've run a few autocross events and the brakes have been fantastic even with the bp 20 "street" pads. Plenty of initial bite and great pedal feel. Haven't had a chance to really put the brakes through their paces at a full on track day yet (this is where I think they would truly shine) I bought the upgraded spec 37 rotors and a spare set of bp 30 pads that I will swap in for track duty. Heard lots of horror stories about people running the wrong pad compound leading to brake failure on track. Hope this helps!
 




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