Feisty the "Family Car"

[Dialcaliper]

Nothing is more irritating than a screw in your tire. I’m just glad that these tires are almost at the wear bars. While I wait for new tires, I figure it’s as good a time as any to try my own hand at plugging a tire. Doesn’t seem that hard when the shops do it.

For about $50you can get one of the high quality kits popular with the overland crowd. ARB and SafetySeal seem to be two of the favorites. I opted for the latter.


First, the kit smells to high heaven like raw rubber/new car smell/air freshener. Past that, it turns out it’s ridiculously easy and quick to probe and then stick the plug in and you’re done. Still holding pressure, so I count that as a success. I wouldn’t do a track day on one (need a good internal patch from a shop that knows what they are doing for that) but it is just fine to extend the life of a tire on the street. The extra miles to wear off the track rubber I picked up also helps!

9/10 would recommend (except the smell - keep it in bags)

 

[Volumetrik]

Okay, its time for one of those "I wish I knew about this before" moments

For a little while now, the steering has been a bit darty, which I chalked up to the zero toe in my latest alignment. But I've started realizing that sometimes I randomly get a pull to one side, almost like my camber is off. But it sometimes goes away, and sometimes randomly pulls in the opposite direction. Happens most often shortly after startup, but things have always felt a little squirrelly under acceleration and braking, ever since I got the car.

But, I started wondering if it was something electronic. I was searching around, and came across some random posts like this one on Ford's "adaptive learning" and something called "drift pull compensation" in EPAS steering systems.

After searching how to reset on the Fiesta it and coming up with only the Ford factory service software demos and Forscan to reset on the PSCM (power steering module) for the FoST and other cars and how you're supposed to reset it after changing your battery (for some inexplicable reason), and not figuring it out, I noticed this service procedure in Forscan, on the PCM called vaguely "Reset all adaptations". Given the centralized nature of the Fiesta control system, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I decided that since I've been through something like 2 battery changes, 5 suspension swaps and 8-10 different DIY alignments (including some where I didn't get things quite right and had to redo) since owning the car, that its quite possible it's learned some bad habits. And since it's an adaptive system, the worst thing that could happen is that everything gets reset, not just the steering algorithms. I decided to give it a try.

Wow. All of a sudden the steering is precise, no pulls or nervousness and the car tracks straight as an arrow on the freeway! It also seems to have reset the ECU's octane learning on the tune, and probably a bunch of other stuff, but I am one seriously pleased customer! I have another trackday coming up, and I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing how the car does, especially with the "booty shake" I was getting under heavy braking.

Be advised that an extended license purchase of Forscan is required for this service procedure (my previous year's one had expired), but so worth it, especially if you're experiencing any steering weirdness.

View attachment 66471

I was having the same issues (darty, massive torque steer on random occasions, wandering on the high-way) and after this reset, I can confirm that this really makes a difference. It's almost night and day. Very stable on the highway, reduced a lot of torque steer as well. I think everyone should do this every few years, or especially after new wheels & tires.

I think I'll do a reset every time I switch to and from my winter and summer wheels/tires.

 

[Dialcaliper]

Speaking of tires, the Tire Rack fairy had a new size offering as of this spring, and a set appeared on my doorstep! I’m excited to try these out. Crossing my fingers that they don’t rub. Anyone want to guess the tire?

 

[rallytaff]

Michelins?

 

[M-Sport fan]

Speaking of tires, the Tire Rack fairy had a new size offering as of this spring, and a set appeared on my doorstep! I’m excited to try these out. Crossing my fingers that they don’t rub. Anyone want to guess the tire?

Nankang CR-S

I have a brand new (but old build date) set of A052s in that size with the stickers still on them that I want to sell, CHEAP.

 

[foodtruck]

Wow. All of a sudden the steering is precise, no pulls or nervousness and the car tracks straight as an arrow on the freeway!

Ford service did this for me today when I was in for something else. Can confirm, the car steers like a dream now. What I thought was tramlining due to worn down RE71rs or lowered suspension geometry turned out to be computer things. Great tip

 

[Dialcaliper]

Nankang CRS 225/45R16 in the flesh! Jan ‘25 date stamp, finally wore out the RE-71’s and got them mounted.

Had them on for a day or two so far and I’m really impressed. Compared to the two tires I ran previously (RE-71RS and Rival S 1.5) They’ve got a lot of the best aspects of both wrapped into one. I was worried about tire clearance to the struts, but it seems they only sit 3-4mm closer in than the 215 RE71’s and there’s still enough clearance that the casting boogers are still clear of the struts

They feel nice and grippy, with good ride quality and responsiveness like the Bridgestones, but at the same time they have stiffer sidewalls and snappy steering feedback and don’t fall off at high slip angles, more like the BFG’s. I’m looking forward to getting them out on the track in July!

 

[M-Sport fan]

Given the 40ET of the dekagrams, do they poke very far out of the fender wells?

That was the other concern I had about mounting that same size A052s on my Dekagrams, even at factory ride height (besides the inner suspension and liner/mounting hardware issues).

 

[Dialcaliper]

Given the 40ET of the dekagrams, do they poke very far out of the fender wells?

That was the other concern I had about mounting that same size A052s on my Dekagrams, even at factory ride height (besides the inner suspension and liner/mounting hardware issues).

Surprisingly not. They are again slightly wider than the 215 Bridgestones , but not ridiculously so.

 

[Volumetrik]

Man, that's a meaty fitment. Did you weigh them? Curious about the weight of 225 16s tires.

 

[Dialcaliper]

Man, that's a meaty fitment. Did you weigh them? Curious about the weight of 225 16s tires.

I did not weigh them, but putting them on they felt slightly heavier. Tire rack specs say 22lbs for the 225 CRS vs 20lbs for the 215 RE-71RS.

Either the RE-71 runs wide mounted on an 8” rim or the CRS runs narrow because I was worried about contacting the strut since the Bridgestones had only about 8mm clearance to the strut.

Now that I think about it, it makes sense that section width is being affected by rim width since the “measured rim width” for the 215 is 7” and the 225 is 7.5”. The wider 8” rim will pooch out the sidewall farther.

Its possible that’s the origin of the hard to verify claims that “X tire runs wide”, because they’re almost always being mounted on a wider rim than the “measured” rim width.

What that also probably means is that going up 10mm in section width probably doesn’t actually mean a 10mm wider tire when mounted on the same rim.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^That, and usually most of the widest (AR-1, CRS, A052, etc.) tread width 200 treadwear gumballs usually have a much more 'square' shoulder, in that the tread width and section width differences generally are not as great as is the case of the narrower tread width stickies (RE-71RS, Rivals, all of the Contis, Azenis RT615+ etc.).

 

[Dialcaliper]

Next project is taking shape…

 

[Dialcaliper]

Another track day at Sonoma!

All in all went really well. I did discover that the 225/45R16’s were rubbing on the track, and it turned out to be interfering with the rubber washers on the front rallyarmor mud flaps. Faced with the philosophical question of “wide sticky tires vs mud flap style” I had to choose tires. So the front flaps were hastily removed at the track and the rubbing went away. Still on the fence regarding the rears.

All in all a great day at the track, and I also got a chance to test my latest modification, hinted at above. Stay tuned for something cool!

 

[rallytaff]

That's a great track! Spent 4 days there when I worked for the SoCal Gas Company way back in '89 as the chauffeur/ bodyguard for the president of the company. Spent the last night, in total darkness, being chased by the instructor (pretend terrorist), for about 20 mins, to try and kill me but I outfoxed him every time! He gave up in the end! Met Bob Bondurant during the course.

 

[Dialcaliper]

Time for something completely different…Brakes!

This is going to be a multi-part post just because there’s a lot to catch up on.

Originally, I decided that because the stock brakes with summer pads were pretty decent, I would work with them until I was truly able to experience them fading. All and all, I’m pretty impressed that with proper fluid, they stood up to plenty of punishment. I never succeeded in getting to the point of pad fade on the street, not for lack of trying with 200TW tires, suspension upgrades and Stage 2 tune. I honestly think they would stand up just fine to >90% of autocross use

It wasn’t until finally getting the car out to HDPE track days that I finally found the limits. Really pushing the car for a hard lap at Laguna or Sonoma finally started showing some dropoff in friction to the point I needed to back off. Upgrading to some cheapo track pads extended that to 2 laps, but at the end of the day, it’s just not quite enough rotor for the job.

While I could have gone with something like an off the shelf BBK, I didn’t like the drawbacks that most of the options out there have. The Wilwood kit is a good price point and aimed more a reduced unsprung weight with aluminum hats, but actually gives up a lot on rotor mass and thickness. Down to 20mm from 23mm stock, with less actual cooling vane area and a lot less iron in the non-hub swept area. Vented surface area and rotor thermal mass to absorb the heat spikes are really two of the main points of an effective brake upgrade, even with weight savings from aluminum hats. Also, the calipers Wilwood chose have 14% larger than stock piston area, increasing front bias.

Compatible with many 16” wheels rules out the Stoptech and other kits north of $2,000. Whoosh had a neat kit, but it and the 290mm VMAXX kit have similar problems and pad selection seems questionable. The upscale kits out there (Brembo, AP, etc) cost a fortune and mostly aren’t 16” compatible.

So I decided to forge my own path and set out with some basic engineering requirements:

• 16” wheels including my Dekagrams and my 16” winter wheels
• Off the shelf inexpensive rotors with some decent thermal mass in the vented area
• OEM or similar calipers with wide pad selection
• Proper brake balance with stock master cylinder when combined with SVT rear rotors. Too many kits use large pistons and shift bias too far forward.

It turns out there are exactly two options for front rotors that bolt on with no fuss. Correct 4x108 lug pattern and 63.5mm center bore:

• SVT 300x24mm rotors
• Mk1 Focus RS 324x28mm rotors (available imported from the UK)

SVT Front Rotors:


Step one of course was installing the fairly standard upgrade in the rear with SVT 280x9mm rotors using a bracket kit I ordered a while back from Pumaspeed.

 

[dhminer]

Following. Looking to change my current brake setup (whoosh BBK) for something else that’ll fit under dekas as well. EBC currently looking like the choice but would require me to raise the car a bit for more fender clearance since they require a larger spacer.

 

[Dialcaliper]

I’ll briefly touch on a bit of a red-herring, as it’s some of the caliper options I explored, and why they didn’t work out…

After figuring out off the shelf rotors, since I don’t care to mess around with redrilling rotors, it was scouring Rockauto and other sources for a compatible caliper that wouldn’t break the bank.

The biggest problem is that between the Mk6/7 FiST in the UK and the Mk7.5 that finally came to the US, the caliper bolt spacing changed from 90mm ATE caliper that’s ubiquitous among Ford vehicles to a unique new 120mm TRW caliper, so the easy options are no go for front calipers, Specifically, SVT Focus, Focus ST, and also the bolt-on Mondeo ST220 swap that people have done in the UK to older Mk7 FiST models. Ironically the Mk8 FiST went back to ATE, but oddly retains the 120mm spacing.

SVT Focus:


Model ST220:


For the Mk1 Focus 324mm option, it turns out a decent match would be a C4 vette/Mustang Cobra 2-piston caliper made by PBR. This is also the caliper that Baer uses for their classic car kits. Some years (94-95) Cobra had 38mm pistons as did 94 and earlier C4 Corvettes (base model, not Z51), a good match for the stock 54mm single piston. Because of the low spoke profile of the 2-pots, these would potentially be an option for stock 17” ST wheels, I just didn’t pursue it.

PBR 2-Pot Caliper:


As much as I would love to go with the bigger 324mm option, measurements revealed just the rotor simply wouldn’t fit with the 16” Dekagrams no matter what caliper I used, at least if I wanted balanced wheels with weights. A 316-318mm might fit, but there just aren’t clean options.

Also, it seems the original unobtanium
Mk1 RS Brembo calipers (the silver Brembos pictured below) used a less common small 2x36mm piston diameter shared with the ‘00 Mustang Cobra R which is otherwise not found much outside of aftermarket Brembo and Stoptech brake kits. to maintain brake bias with the 280mm rear brakes carried over from the SVT/ST170. Not the end of the world, but again, front biased brake setups underutilize the rear brakes, additionally compounding the front rotor heat problem we’re trying to solve here.

Mk1 Focus RS Brembo:

That leaves the 300mm SVT Focus rotors as still the most viable option. The stock rotors are about 11.5lbs, with about 6lb of that in the hub. The SVT rotors use the same hub design are roughly 2lb heavier, but 100% of that is where it counts, increased vane area (almost 65mm of swept pad height)

Unfortunately 120mm caliper bolt spacing on the FiST is uncommon. The few closest matches I found were R53/R56 Mini Cooper (which uses a very similar TRW caliper) and the various generations of Miata. E46 BMWs used 122mm which is kinda close-ish if you squint.

ND Miata Brembos use an even smaller 34mm piston and the JCW mini uses 38mm pistons, but both are either new enough or uncommon enough to be obscenely expensive even used.

Sadly because of their original mounting hole locations, none of the above options are anything close to a direct bolt-on and even the mini JCW and E46 mounting holes are positioned farther out such that it would align to a smaller rotor than even the stock one (despite the fact that the 330i used larger than 300mm rotors). I even ordered and then returned some calipers and brackets just to make sure

A couple of stock photos from the Internet of some of the calipers (thanks Rockauto) below.

So, none of these options panned out. I did finally find something however…