Introduction from new user

[Corey Hart]

Hey Guys. Just bought a Fiesta ST at the weekend. Its apparently got a few mods and runs on e85 (that's what the dealer said) but after having the car for a couple of days , i'm wondering if he knew much about the car at all.
It has a bunch of stuff under the hood with 'dizzy tuning' and 'whoosh" on it but i'm VERY new to all this. Cheers, Corey
Can any of you guys recommend a tuning shop in the North of Atlanta area that may take a look ?

 

[D1JL]

Dave

 

[SteveS]

Welcome.

I can see a red radiator hose and replacement coils. Those are from Whoosh.
The engine plastic cover is obviously not there.
Dizzy is a tuner, so it may have been tuned. Did the car come with an accessport?

 

[M-Sport fan]

That car could possibly have a hybrid, S280, or even a bigger turbo yet installed, since it does have some of the visible 'ancillaries' needed to support those larger and more powerful than factory snails.

I see an aftermarket MAP sensor setup, and a Mishimoto or Radium oil/oil vapor catch can, as well as Whoosh Motorsport aftermarket coil packs.

There is also an aftermarket coolant overflow tank (either a Mishimoto or Pro Alloy by the looks of it) since our factory one, which is translucent plastic, is prone to cracking over a long time, especially in very hot locales.

It's hard to tell from that under hood pic, but it could also have a single port auxiliary fueling.

Did you get a Cobb Accessport hand held device with this car??

IF it is actually tuned for E85 fuel, you MUST have one of these, so that if you ever have to run it on a lower ethanol content, or 91/93 octane totally non-ethanol fuel, you can switch to those tunes, which are radically different from the E85 tunes.

Can you see a polished aluminum radiator top (possibly with a big M on it) through that semi-circular cutout in the radiator cover top?

 

[dhminer]

Has a 2J racing intake for sure. Dizzy’s AEM MAP sensor leads me to believe it may actually run e85. Probably a big turbo under there. Gotta figure out what all the mods are then tune for them. JST is local to you and one of the better tuners for this car. I’d hit him up.

 

[Corey Hart]

Thanks for all your replies guys.
So, it did not come with an accessport. I saw a used one today for sale for a fiesta st and have enquired about it. I"m very new to any of this. My Dad has had plenty of muscle cars of the years but he's scratching his head over all this stuff too lol. This is my first modded car so going to be a complete learning curve. I would like to know as much as possible about what is on it but don't know where to start. My Dad contacted Dizzy today but without having an accesspoint he said you can't tell what tune it has.
When we test drove it on Saturday the guy at the car lot said that if we give it too much through the rev range the turbo lets out all the air so we don't ruin the engine. It was awful to drive. everytime we got up to about 3000/3500 revs, you get this period of flapping sound like from the turbo or something and it splutters really bad so you have to ease off the gas. We went back to the lot and asked the guy to drive us up the road in it. as he was driving, it did seem a lot better and he said you cannot just put your foot down, you have to ease into it. I've never had a car that you need to do that with lol. We bought it and noticed following day that when you do put your foot down a bit, you get the loud whistling from turbo then this like flapping sound then a huge backfire and big plume of black smoke.
thanks for you knowledge. Any help is much appreciated. BTW. JST is a good 3 hour drive I think. I'll have a look for the radiator top. Thanks Guys

 

[Dpro]

Welcome from what you just described . I would have a shop look it over carefully. It’s definitely not running right . I hope you got a good deal on it.

 

[kivnul]

I am scared for you: That turbo setup does not sound healty. Unless you are low rpm (2.5k or less thereabouts) you should be able to floor it with no repercussions (besides spinning tires and speeding tickets) since that is the senario all tuners use to tune the car.

If your state has any kind of lemon/return policy on a used car, I would take it back asap unless you got a killer deal.

 

[WannabeST]

The advise I always give my friends is that if you don't know what's done to a car you should probably steer clear of it. If it's a good deal then go for it. Especially with tunes for e85, different turbos etc. Those are pretty substantial changes to a car.
A better learning curve is starting with a stock or near stock car.
Best of luck with figuring out the tune.

 

[Corey Hart]

Yea, I understand. Iv'e just bought a cobb ap so I'll probably overwrite it with a new tune or something. I would prefer just to run it on 93 to save all the hassle. Think I need to have a decent look over and try to see what I've actually got on this thing. Not that I know much about it but I'll do my best lol.
Thanks for your input everyone

 

[Dialcaliper]

Yea, I understand. Iv'e just bought a cobb ap so I'll probably overwrite it with a new tune or something. I would prefer just to run it on 93 to save all the hassle. Think I need to have a decent look over and try to see what I've actually got on this thing. Not that I know much about it but I'll do my best lol.
Thanks for your input everyone

Verify that it has a stock turbo and not some aftermarket upgraded one one (big giveaways are a Turbosmart wastegate actuator or a welded tubular exhaust manifold instead of an OEM cast one.

If there’s an aftermarket MAP sensor that’s a warning sign too.

If either of those is the case (turbo or MAP sensor), you take a big risk of popping the engine like a champagne bottle if you’re just slapping on any old “off the shelf” Accessport tune, even the stock one.

Check and see if the wastegate actuator or blow-off-valve are disconnected or unplugged (if electronic). The previous owner may have just disabled it and loaded the factory tune back on, preventing the turbo from going into boost and blowing the engine - the result might be what you describe - no boost and heavy overfueling at spoolup RPM (2500-3500) where the turbo should be building pressure.

A car will generally “run” and cruise on E30 or even E85 by adapting fuel trims, but it will not be pretty outside of driving around easy.

Alternately, I don’t see any signs of an Aux fuel system (usually a metal spacer with ports between either the throttle body and intake manifold or or manifold and head), so I doubt the car runs pure E85 (which may be part of the problem - if the dealer gave it a full tank of E85 instead of DIY mixing E30, it’ll also run rich and like crap. That’s something you might try is a proper E30 fillup.

 

[Corey Hart]

Thanks. Haven't a clue what the stock turbo would look like but I'll post pics in case you guys can enlighten me.
So, it is running a bit better since I drained the tank and put half a tank of 93 in. I did take it out briefly this evening and it pulled pretty good. I didn't really hit it hard through the gears because the backfire frightens the life out of me lol. It was definately better although far from perfect.
I am actually getting code P0171 which I believe is too lean air/fuel.
Friend of mine said to check maf sensor. Think I'll just get a new one to rule it out.
I think I do have an aux fuel port. Just behind the coil packs there is a black spacer under a unit of some description that has a line going to it.
Sorry if pics are a bit large.
Thanks, you guys are invaluable !

 

[dhminer]

I think I’m looking at an S280 or X47 and airtec manifold? The thing you pointed to in the pic is high pressure fuel pump. It looks like an aftermarket one meaning you probably have +30% injectors also. Good mods if so!

 

[Dpro]

I think I’m looking at an S280 or X47 and airtec manifold? The thing you pointed to in the pic is high pressure fuel pump. It looks like an aftermarket one meaning you probably have +30% injectors also. Good mods if so!

yup that sure looks like an S280 I can tell by the very familiar piping.

 

[Dialcaliper]

That definitely looks like an airtech or similar tubular manifold with a stock turbo flange. The black and silver actuator on the turbo is definitely a turbosmart (it will be engraved on the far side)

Definitely not a stock turbo (stock has a diverter valve port on the outlet). Looks like an S280 or similar turbo. The little rectangle boss on the aluminum compressor housing (near the inlet hose clamp) may have a nameplate on it.

Odds are with fuel pump and injectors it’s tuned for E30 (or even E40), not E85. Definitely not 93 pump gas, especially with the lean condition. I’d suggest filling up a tank with 3-4 gallons E85, the rest with premium and see how it runs. Run a couple of tanks before you give it sauce as the fuel trims are probably skewed by incorrect fuel.

Looks like definitely an extensive set of choice mods. As long as they were competently installed and the engine wasn't damaged being driven since the owner ditched it, it can be reasonably reliable if we’ll cared for - correct fuel is the biggest hazard.

Also, with that high pressure fuel pump and maybe injectors, the engine will NOT run properly on a stock tune or any standard tune, so I wouldn’t chance that.

Step 1 is get an Accessport. Step 2 is unless you’re absolutely confident of the tune, catalog the parts and contact a tuner for a new tune. You can get it tuned for 93 octane no problem, though the fuel pump and injectors won’t be well utilized unless you run some ethanol.

If you are able to get in contact with another Fiesta ST owner in Georgia, it might be a good idea to have someone look it over who either has a stock car or knows what to look for to figure out what other mods might be hiding in there.

 

[Corey Hart]

you guys are great. Thank you so very much for your input.
My main concern was hoping to be able to run it on gas that is readily available and not being half way to TN or something and worried about finding e85. Knowing that I can overwrite with a new tune that can let me use 93 would be awesome.
I have found myself a cobb v3 on facebook. That should come later this week, then I'll probably get hold of Dizzy and see what they can do for me.
From all you guys input, i'm slowly getting a list together of what I have on this car.
Thanks very much.
Your the best !

 

[dhminer]

you guys are great. Thank you so very much for your input.
My main concern was hoping to be able to run it on gas that is readily available and not being half way to TN or something and worried about finding e85. Knowing that I can overwrite with a new tune that can let me use 93 would be awesome.
I have found myself a cobb v3 on facebook. That should come later this week, then I'll probably get hold of Dizzy and see what they can do for me.
From all you guys input, i'm slowly getting a list together of what I have on this car.
Thanks very much.
Your the best !

Keep us posted! That car will be a blast when tuned and fueled properly

 

[Geebs]

Just my opinion but I would stay out of boost as much as you can until you get everything sorted out.
certainly don't hammer down on the throttle....backfiring is NOT good and can certainly cause engine problems.

 

[Dialcaliper]

While the backfiring might be a cause for concern and treated as such, given the nature of the mods on the car, the previous owner may have put on a tune with “pops/crackles” of some sort or another, especially if the backfires are constant or happen regularly. Take a look at some videos like this one.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UnhId5a1BYc

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^THIS!
When you get the Accessport and choose a tuner to go full 93 fuel, they can also get rid of any pops, crackles and bangs written into the current tune as well, IF that is the case, or cause of the backfires.

But yeah, as others have stated, DO NOT go WOT on it until you get the above accomplished.