CG's daily fun ride

[CanadianGuy]

How did you do that? Is there a guide you used to base it off of? Also great build, I'm also going to go for a quick but useable DD whenever I start modding it!

This should help explaining what I, and others have done.

[video=youtube;5XKNhSS9wWo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XKNhSS9wWo&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[BiigMe]

This should help explaining what I, and others have done.

[video=youtube;5XKNhSS9wWo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XKNhSS9wWo&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Awesome, thank you for that. I was planning on doing this as a first performance mod, then a few weeks or months get a FMIC and Tune but now I'm thinking I'll just do it when I get the FMIC so the bumper only has to come off once.

 

[CanadianGuy]

August 14th Great brake lights

I had installed some cheap LED brake lights ($10). They work perfectly until one died and one lost a lens in the housing. Was able to get all the pieces out and switched to the Putco Plasma 3157 LED. Bought from Xenon depot for less than $40 with their sales and coupons I had. I do not have a good camera to take the pictures but I can tell you the light output is very high compared to the stock bulbs. Should make the people on my butt realise I press the brakes a weebit faster.

http://www.xenondepot.com/3157-Putco-Plasma-LED-bulbs-p/243157w-360.htm

 

[CanadianGuy]

August 30th Quick cosmetic update

Replaced the mirror caps with black versions. Actually bought black ones could of plastidip or vinyl wrapped (would have been cheaper) but for some reason I was too lazy to take the caps off and wait for either to be done. This way I can swap back to MO version quickly. I really like the look of it. May also now try black lug nuts unless I can find reads to match the calipers.

 

[NJBooST]

Mirror caps look great!

 

[CanadianGuy]

September 9th 3rd brake light flasher

I installed the GS-100A 3rd brake light flasher unit today, best $3 Canadian I spent on the car thus far. Link to the install photos here.

I like it but it does not have the go straight to solid if the brakes are re-press within 10 seconds like other modules do but I dont drive in very heavy traffic that I would need that. With the bullet connectors I can revert quickly back to stock or replace the module.

[video=youtube;qP9T4YctZJw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP9T4YctZJw&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[CanadianGuy]

September 17 tranny fluids changed

Decide to change the tranny fluid along with the oil today. Very easy to do. Take the air box out makes your life much easier. I used Royal Purple Synchromax, because I never had issues with it in the past. To fill I simply cut the tip off the cap, held my finger on the tip to plug it and lowered the bottle to the hole, squeezed the bottle to fill. For the second bottle I took out 100ml ( as the bottles are only 948ml) and proceeded like the first. Actually swapped the caps instead of cutting it.

Pro tip make sure you are loosing the fill plug and not tightening it. After two minutes I was about to get the breaker bar. Then it dawned on me. Came out supper easy with just an extra long 8mm Allen key. No wrench required.

Second pro tip. Watch out the oil splashes against the frame when the plug is removed, my wisdom has taught me to place a peice of card board and angle it into the pan. Much less of a mess that way.

As for the drive I feel it is much smoother. I have only done 100km but after the first 10 the tranny was butter smooth. Especially in downshifts. Personally I recommend any tranny fluid that will due he job and you should drain it at 20000 to 30000 miles to get rid of the metal as the gears have meshed together better.

 

[jeff]

Decide to change the tranny fluid along with the oil today. Very easy to do. Take the air box out makes your life much easier. I used Royal Purple Synchromax, because I never had issues with it in the past. To fill I simply cut the tip off the cap, held my finger on the tip to plug it and lowered the bottle to the hole, squeezed the bottle to fill. For the second bottle I took out 100ml ( as the bottles are only 948ml) and proceeded like the first. Actually swapped the caps instead of cutting it.

Pro tip make sure you are loosing the fill plug and not tightening it. After two minutes I was about to get the breaker bar. Then it dawned on me. Came out supper easy with just an extra long 8mm Allen key. No wrench required.

Second pro tip. Watch out the oil splashes against the frame when the plug is removed, my wisdom has taught me to place a peice of card board and angle it into the pan. Much less of a mess that way.

As for the drive I feel it is much smoother. I have only done 100km but after the first 10 the tranny was butter smooth. Especially in downshifts. Personally I recommend any tranny fluid that will due he job and you should drain it at 20000 to 30000 miles to get rid of the metal as the gears have meshed together better.

Thanks for this. I have used royal purple on other manual transmission cars in the past but not yet on my fiesta. It shifts smoothly already so much I didn't think I could get any better. Reading this makes me consider this mod....

 

[M-Sport fan]

Decide to change the tranny fluid along with the oil today. Very easy to do. Take the air box out makes your life much easier. I used Royal Purple Synchromax, because I never had issues with it in the past. To fill I simply cut the tip off the cap, held my finger on the tip to plug it and lowered the bottle to the hole, squeezed the bottle to fill. For the second bottle I took out 100ml ( as the bottles are only 948ml) and proceeded like the first. Actually swapped the caps instead of cutting it.

Pro tip make sure you are loosing the fill plug and not tightening it. After two minutes I was about to get the breaker bar. Then it dawned on me. Came out supper easy with just an extra long 8mm Allen key. No wrench required.

Second pro tip. Watch out the oil splashes against the frame when the plug is removed, my wisdom has taught me to place a peice of card board and angle it into the pan. Much less of a mess that way.

As for the drive I feel it is much smoother. I have only done 100km but after the first 10 the tranny was butter smooth. Especially in downshifts. Personally I recommend any tranny fluid that will due he job and you should drain it at 20000 to 30000 miles to get rid of the metal as the gears have meshed together better.

Thanks for the tips, but I am not going to wait that long to change out the factory fill.
5K miles for me, at most, to the first transaxle fluid change, then every 10-15K after that.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Thanks for this. I have used royal purple on other manual transmission cars in the past but not yet on my fiesta. It shifts smoothly already so much I didn't think I could get any better. Reading this makes me consider this mod....

It may not make it much better for you but it's always good to flush out the water particulates that occur during the early years of the gears meshing together.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Well after a full day of driving 500km in all kinds of traffic I can honestly say it is so much nicer. The 1st to 2nd pause or double clunk is gone. Upshifting and downshifting is a breeze. Well worth it.

 

[jeff]

Wanted to thank you for a great build thread and all-around balanced and friendly demeanor on this forum. I always enjoy reading your posts and updates.

Glad to hear the new tranny fluid is paying off in noticeable ways! I'm only at 12k miles but around 30 I'll be changing it with RP.

 

[KKaWing]

I've always thought Royal Purple as a gear oil company. I guess this is an option vs. Motul's gear 300. Decisions... decisions...

 

[CanadianGuy]

I've always thought Royal Purple as a gear oil company. I guess this is an option vs. Motul's gear 300. Decisions... decisions...

Yes they are both similar. For $40 canadian you can pick one and change in the future. For me Royal Purple more accessible, could of went Lucas but meh. Now I reserve the right to comment when it gets much colder....

 

[M-Sport fan]

Actually, the RP Synchromax is a substantially lighter (lower viscosity) fluid than the excellent Gear 300.

The Synchromax is a manual transmission fluid, whereas the Gear 300 is an actual gear oil which yes, can be used in certain gearboxes/transaxles.

The Synchromax has a 7.7 cSt @ 100*C viscosity, whereas the Gear 300 has a 15.2 cSt @ 100*C viscosity.

The Gear 300's world class leading viscosity index (at 222) does allow it to have a great range of ambient temperature use (vs. the Synchromax's 175 V.I.), but I would still expect it to make shifting much 'balkier' than the RP fluid in the almost arctic ambients of Canada, and our northern tier states, in the winter, especially until it warms up, due to it's about double viscosity @100* C.

 

[KKaWing]

That's what weirded me out when I tested the car in Feb. @ the dealer. I was used to the Mazda 3's stiff shifter / Nissan's stick in a bucket of rocks feel in the winter. The FiST was just snick snick even in -10*c weather.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yes, the factory, and Motul/Red Line DCT fluid viscosities are very close to that of the RP Synchromax MTL's viscosity, which are ALL going to shift better in very cold ambients than the Gear 300 will.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Sand I said "basically similar" equivalent to motul would be RP max gear synthetic gear oil. But ya the motul will be mud in winter which some older sloppy transmission will benefit from not so much the FiST. But I also say you can try it it will not damage anything just be stiffer. But I have use RP, correct product application, and never had issues but I am not opposed to anything else busy easy for me to get.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yes, the Synchromax may very well turn out to be the 'bees knees', go to fluid for these B6 transaxles.

I'm just a little wary of it since it made my T56 grind in every gear when I tried it in that gearbox, although, YES, I KNOW that the blocker ring material in those transmissions' gear sets are very different than what's in ours, and some who have used it in their T56es have had no problems at all with it.

 

[ModBargains]

I installed the GS-100A 3rd brake light flasher unit today, best $3 Canadian I spent on the car thus far. Link to the install photos here.

I like it but it does not have the go straight to solid if the brakes are re-press within 10 seconds like other modules do but I dont drive in very heavy traffic that I would need that. With the bullet connectors I can revert quickly back to stock or replace the module.

[video]https://youtu.be/qP9T4YctZJw[/video]

This looks really cool but definitely would be a nuisance if you were driving behind this in traffic :/ At least you have their attention though!