Since the last time I was at the track the following was changed on my car;
Intercooler went from Mountune to Mishimoto J line,
Dedicated track wheels/tires Yokohama Advan A048 195/50/16 on 16x7 +40 rota's
Custom rear strut/C pillar bar from TB Performance
Front springs reduced from 425 to 350
Rear springs moved from factory location back onto the coilover still 425 rear rate
Passenger seat removed for track day with the addition of the normal gutting of the car.
This track day was at Streets of Willow going clockwise
It was a warm/hot day. Morning track temps were low 80's, by midday we were in the high 80's and temperatures kept rising. I saw a high of 94 degrees outside. It was a packed day as the Redline time attack was also competing on this track day. I got the chance to enter as well as have my normal track times. I went out a total of 7 times out on the track! Hardly any down time for me to check times until the end of the day, as I was adjusting tire pressure, or getting to go out for another session. A lot of cool cars out on the track, talked to a fellow with a Mono BAC and wow is that an amazing machine. I started in the intermediate class for the first session but it was just too crowded. I asked to be bumped up as I wanted to hit a new personal best and hopefully break into the 1:29 area. So they put me into the semi advance class. All this happened while that group was already out. So I hurried to my car, went out while everyone was up to temps whereas I was not and in a panic went off track at one point. Nothing to major just enough to get all four tires off and have to go in to the hot pits for a quick inspection before setting off again. It did make me super glad I had my skidplate as there is a nice gouge in it from that event. The next time running with the group I started on grid with them and did much better being calm and being able to getting everything up to temps with everyone else. I was for sure out ranked for the most part when it came to comparing cars. But The fiesta held its own when it could and it was a blast to drive with some cars ranging in the 100k+ price range. After the session a lot of the drivers came up to talk with me about the fiesta as they couldn't believe how quick it was. Let along all the gear I had brought with me and was able to fit in the vehicle.
Now lets talk about our cooling system. In traffic and when outside temps were below 85 degrees I saw a max of 235 for my coolant temps. This was running without the heater so it was all the radiators work. For a refresher my grill is opened up and I was running water with 2 bottles of royal purple ice. Going into the semi advance and even doing the time attack runs outside temps rose, and so did my coolant temps. I found myself having to do 1 to 2 cool down laps and 1 or 2 hot laps. As temps got into the 90's I was only able to do one hot lap if I started at coolant temps at 217 any hotter and I would hit 245 on the back straight and have to back off my run. But I wasn't the only car having heat issues as I noticed the cars in the $50k range new would have to do something similar with cool down laps. My next item of choice will be a radiator as I could feel my power dropping with the rising temps.
Intercooler comparison. Last time at SoW I was running a Mountune intercooler and it was 60ish degrees that day, my charge temps were over 130! This time around I tested the Mishimoto J line and there was an improvement. On a hot day of 90+ degrees the mishimoto would be around 120 degrees at the end of my hot laps. It was pretty easy to cool down as well where the mountune appeared to be heat soaked and the heat wouldn't go away. So there was an improvement but I have already ordered the DHM intercooler so I will be testing that next time out on the track.
Tires, wow! Reading my last review I stated I felt like I needed an LSD to put all the power down. Well with the stock turbo and running e30 I did not feel that way this time running these tires. The yokohama's had a tremendous amount of grip compared to the re71r's I was running last time. I also feel upon inspection the wear is better as well since they are designed to handle the extreme temps of track use. Even for the 195 series it fills the 7 inch wide wheel very well. I bought the lotus versions as reference since tire rack has a deal on them at the moment with a rebate and such. It took one lap to get the tires warm but 2 to make them really sticky. They really grabbed in the braking zone/turn in and then with powering out of turns I was able to go WOT much sooner then before. In the bowl I was even able to got straight to WOT right after braking and starting the turn. I can see these tires lasting 5-6 track days at least in tread depth. For the stock turbo these are wonderful and it makes me curious how a hybrid/big turbo would do (probably need an lsd then).
Time Attack
This was a new experience for myself and I was competing against another Fiesta ST. The Fiesta was completely stock, the driver however was a very experienced track driver. With a built turbocharged Scion TC for modified FWD and with 5 years of doing time attack racing. This experience completely humbled me and I hope to one day be as good of a driver. During our time attack sessions he got a 1:33.9 and I got in my fiesta a 1:33.6. I barely beat a stock fiesta around the track with all the mods I have. This just went to show me that money is better spent on the driver with track experience then anything else.
Suspension
Turn in was remarkable but I think I am going to go with a 375 rate on the front and reduce my camber from -3.3 to -3.0 as I see just a bit more wear on the inside of the tire. And in hard braking the rear end was a little too loose for my liking. I will probably adjust the camber first before changing the spring rates to be certain.
Overview: I had a lot of fun and once I got into a groove with the fiesta in the semi-advance class it made things much better. My best time on the regular track sessions was a 1:32.4 just missing my PB by .2 of a second. But it was much hotter today and everyone I talked to said you go much faster in the cooler weather. I got some great video's so I will be saving some slots below to upload those when I finish. I am trying something new with camera angles and screens so let me know how you like them. In the meantime here are some photos to feed your appetite.
Intercooler went from Mountune to Mishimoto J line,
Dedicated track wheels/tires Yokohama Advan A048 195/50/16 on 16x7 +40 rota's
Custom rear strut/C pillar bar from TB Performance
Front springs reduced from 425 to 350
Rear springs moved from factory location back onto the coilover still 425 rear rate
Passenger seat removed for track day with the addition of the normal gutting of the car.
This track day was at Streets of Willow going clockwise
It was a warm/hot day. Morning track temps were low 80's, by midday we were in the high 80's and temperatures kept rising. I saw a high of 94 degrees outside. It was a packed day as the Redline time attack was also competing on this track day. I got the chance to enter as well as have my normal track times. I went out a total of 7 times out on the track! Hardly any down time for me to check times until the end of the day, as I was adjusting tire pressure, or getting to go out for another session. A lot of cool cars out on the track, talked to a fellow with a Mono BAC and wow is that an amazing machine. I started in the intermediate class for the first session but it was just too crowded. I asked to be bumped up as I wanted to hit a new personal best and hopefully break into the 1:29 area. So they put me into the semi advance class. All this happened while that group was already out. So I hurried to my car, went out while everyone was up to temps whereas I was not and in a panic went off track at one point. Nothing to major just enough to get all four tires off and have to go in to the hot pits for a quick inspection before setting off again. It did make me super glad I had my skidplate as there is a nice gouge in it from that event. The next time running with the group I started on grid with them and did much better being calm and being able to getting everything up to temps with everyone else. I was for sure out ranked for the most part when it came to comparing cars. But The fiesta held its own when it could and it was a blast to drive with some cars ranging in the 100k+ price range. After the session a lot of the drivers came up to talk with me about the fiesta as they couldn't believe how quick it was. Let along all the gear I had brought with me and was able to fit in the vehicle.
Now lets talk about our cooling system. In traffic and when outside temps were below 85 degrees I saw a max of 235 for my coolant temps. This was running without the heater so it was all the radiators work. For a refresher my grill is opened up and I was running water with 2 bottles of royal purple ice. Going into the semi advance and even doing the time attack runs outside temps rose, and so did my coolant temps. I found myself having to do 1 to 2 cool down laps and 1 or 2 hot laps. As temps got into the 90's I was only able to do one hot lap if I started at coolant temps at 217 any hotter and I would hit 245 on the back straight and have to back off my run. But I wasn't the only car having heat issues as I noticed the cars in the $50k range new would have to do something similar with cool down laps. My next item of choice will be a radiator as I could feel my power dropping with the rising temps.
Intercooler comparison. Last time at SoW I was running a Mountune intercooler and it was 60ish degrees that day, my charge temps were over 130! This time around I tested the Mishimoto J line and there was an improvement. On a hot day of 90+ degrees the mishimoto would be around 120 degrees at the end of my hot laps. It was pretty easy to cool down as well where the mountune appeared to be heat soaked and the heat wouldn't go away. So there was an improvement but I have already ordered the DHM intercooler so I will be testing that next time out on the track.
Tires, wow! Reading my last review I stated I felt like I needed an LSD to put all the power down. Well with the stock turbo and running e30 I did not feel that way this time running these tires. The yokohama's had a tremendous amount of grip compared to the re71r's I was running last time. I also feel upon inspection the wear is better as well since they are designed to handle the extreme temps of track use. Even for the 195 series it fills the 7 inch wide wheel very well. I bought the lotus versions as reference since tire rack has a deal on them at the moment with a rebate and such. It took one lap to get the tires warm but 2 to make them really sticky. They really grabbed in the braking zone/turn in and then with powering out of turns I was able to go WOT much sooner then before. In the bowl I was even able to got straight to WOT right after braking and starting the turn. I can see these tires lasting 5-6 track days at least in tread depth. For the stock turbo these are wonderful and it makes me curious how a hybrid/big turbo would do (probably need an lsd then).
Time Attack
This was a new experience for myself and I was competing against another Fiesta ST. The Fiesta was completely stock, the driver however was a very experienced track driver. With a built turbocharged Scion TC for modified FWD and with 5 years of doing time attack racing. This experience completely humbled me and I hope to one day be as good of a driver. During our time attack sessions he got a 1:33.9 and I got in my fiesta a 1:33.6. I barely beat a stock fiesta around the track with all the mods I have. This just went to show me that money is better spent on the driver with track experience then anything else.
Suspension
Turn in was remarkable but I think I am going to go with a 375 rate on the front and reduce my camber from -3.3 to -3.0 as I see just a bit more wear on the inside of the tire. And in hard braking the rear end was a little too loose for my liking. I will probably adjust the camber first before changing the spring rates to be certain.
Overview: I had a lot of fun and once I got into a groove with the fiesta in the semi-advance class it made things much better. My best time on the regular track sessions was a 1:32.4 just missing my PB by .2 of a second. But it was much hotter today and everyone I talked to said you go much faster in the cooler weather. I got some great video's so I will be saving some slots below to upload those when I finish. I am trying something new with camera angles and screens so let me know how you like them. In the meantime here are some photos to feed your appetite.
