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This is what I fear the most in my FiST

Sam4

Senior Member
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#2
when that rear tire lifts and you start the pirouette - you'll know. Or the straight shot into a field instead of that turn you where accelerating into...
 


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Orange
#3
I’ve pushed mine over the line autocrossing. The rear end is very communicative about what it’s going to do.

You can feel the inside rear wheel lift as the car rotates. For me, that’s the “ok, don’t push further” warning. Any more and the back end will come around on my car. I’ve tried different pressure settings on the rear tires but that’s the consistent warning.

Wiping some cone marks off the car is a lot easier than eating a curb to find out where the car’s limit is. It’s fun to push the car around turns like freeway on-ramps, and knowing that the car will tell me when I’m getting close to that limit is pretty reassuring.
 


CSM

1000 Post Club
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#4
Under normal / spirited street driving, you'll never roll the car. It's really only when you are pushing the car 9-10/10ths on a track or autocross where you run into that rollover risk.

I've seen Fiestas get on two wheels at autocrosses, and I know that at least 3 or 4 have done so. It is a risk with these cars. Hell, I was passenger in one this season where we lifted the inside wheels at least 3-4 feet off the ground during a sketchy finish element. It is usually a combination of:
- Weird autocross or track elements (like decreasing radius slaloms)
- Imperfections in the track or autocross surface (I know a pothole caused a roll ~2 seasons ago)
- People putting taller than OEM tires on the Fiesta which raises CG
 


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Anchorage
#5
I agree autocross is probably the easiest, safest way to find the limits of the these cars and refine driving skills at the same time.

EDIT: Unless you're in some sort of emergency situation, there really aren't any cases where the FiST's handling will bite you on the street. They're wonderfully capable cars, but still a hoot at non-felonious speeds.
 


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#6
I’ve never really thought about rolling the car, but I’m running stock suspension and OEM sized tires. That’s a scary thought.

I do tend to drive like an idiot sometimes, the car just begs for that kind of driving. But, I’ve never felt the “on the edge of traction” limit on in regular driving situations unless I really push on a freeway ramp. And knowing that I’ll hit more than a cone keeps me from going too far.
 


CSM

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#7
I’ve never really thought about rolling the car, but I’m running stock suspension and OEM sized tires. That’s a scary thought.
Yep. People on this Forum like to gloss over this or dismiss it, but anyone that has autocrossed long enough knows it is a bit of a risk with the FiST. Certainly one of the reasons why I like competing in my SSC car way more
 


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Camden, NJ, USA
#8
Bark's Bites: The FiST Is a Rollover Risk, and Some People Don't Want You to Know | The Truth About Cars

I thought this was a pretty good article describing what to be concerned with

"The problem seems to begin when you start messing with things that affect the grip level of the ST. In Simmons’ case, he only changed two things about the car, but they were significant: a stickier tire and a smaller wheel diameter, both of which change the behavior of the car in ways that can’t be perfectly replicated at Dearborn’s testing grounds. There’s talk that the smaller diameter of the FiST’s front sway bar (it’s actually smaller than the regular Fiesta’s) might be the culprit – any serious national-level autocrosser will replace it nearly immediately."

edit: just so I don't get flamed, this is an incomplete analysis. there's a thread here you can read but if it's the same incident, the driver's tires also had a very soft sidewall AND the springs he paired with it were a HUGE no-no. He basically created a suspension that would catapult the car under load followed by sudden unload.

I don't think Forum users here "like to gloss over it" as one of the super users has his profile picture of his car WAY up on two wheels through a chicane. Getting up on two wheels is a definite possiblity and has been documented everywhere (go look up Top Gear's initial review of the FiST to see Clarkson lift a tire through their road course). Rollover is a concern for sure but no more so then it is for a Mini (like what happens in the article).
 


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