Discussion
J4CKO said:
Lol, yeah it’s fun going through the process, missed out when younger as had small kids and no money so this is cathartic.
Don’t think I am in any way comparing a Fiesta to a Ferrari, it’s just hilarious how things have gone where you can get 300 bhp or more so easily from a shopping car.
Nice having the 350Z as well, they are so much better than I remembered to be fair, at the time I was itching for a barge and had done that, they usually say don’t go back but it’s like putting on the proverbial comfy old slippers.
Be interesting to see what my lad makes of it, he was a bit nonplussed by his Golf R, he was offered the M135i for a decent price but having driven it extensively didn’t want it.
Some car get under you skin, some don’t and you can’t always predict it.
I had a good few years of enjoying cars after passing my test, then settled down somewhat mid twenties once we had kids, just gone 30 now and have the bug back.Don’t think I am in any way comparing a Fiesta to a Ferrari, it’s just hilarious how things have gone where you can get 300 bhp or more so easily from a shopping car.
Nice having the 350Z as well, they are so much better than I remembered to be fair, at the time I was itching for a barge and had done that, they usually say don’t go back but it’s like putting on the proverbial comfy old slippers.
Be interesting to see what my lad makes of it, he was a bit nonplussed by his Golf R, he was offered the M135i for a decent price but having driven it extensively didn’t want it.
Some car get under you skin, some don’t and you can’t always predict it.
The 355 has a tubi, and like you hinted a few pages back, there’s a point in which you can have too much power that it takes the fun out of the experience, I’m well aware there’s modern kit that will wipe the floor with it, however for me the 355 is a perfect level in which you can enjoy it on the road, it’s quick but you get to enjoy the theatre of it all without seeing 3 digits on the Speedo after a couple of seconds.
As for not going back, I sold my Fn2 to a family member back in 2014 And the other week I ended up borrowing it and reminding myself why I bought it in the first place, such fun cars so I’m buying it back lol , still very low mileage which is good, I put it back to standard when I sold it so I’ll be getting the same mods done as I did originally and take it from there
355spider said:
J4CKO said:
Lol, yeah it’s fun going through the process, missed out when younger as had small kids and no money so this is cathartic.
Don’t think I am in any way comparing a Fiesta to a Ferrari, it’s just hilarious how things have gone where you can get 300 bhp or more so easily from a shopping car.
Nice having the 350Z as well, they are so much better than I remembered to be fair, at the time I was itching for a barge and had done that, they usually say don’t go back but it’s like putting on the proverbial comfy old slippers.
Be interesting to see what my lad makes of it, he was a bit nonplussed by his Golf R, he was offered the M135i for a decent price but having driven it extensively didn’t want it.
Some car get under you skin, some don’t and you can’t always predict it.
I had a good few years of enjoying cars after passing my test, then settled down somewhat mid twenties once we had kids, just gone 30 now and have the bug back.Don’t think I am in any way comparing a Fiesta to a Ferrari, it’s just hilarious how things have gone where you can get 300 bhp or more so easily from a shopping car.
Nice having the 350Z as well, they are so much better than I remembered to be fair, at the time I was itching for a barge and had done that, they usually say don’t go back but it’s like putting on the proverbial comfy old slippers.
Be interesting to see what my lad makes of it, he was a bit nonplussed by his Golf R, he was offered the M135i for a decent price but having driven it extensively didn’t want it.
Some car get under you skin, some don’t and you can’t always predict it.
The 355 has a tubi, and like you hinted a few pages back, there’s a point in which you can have too much power that it takes the fun out of the experience, I’m well aware there’s modern kit that will wipe the floor with it, however for me the 355 is a perfect level in which you can enjoy it on the road, it’s quick but you get to enjoy the theatre of it all without seeing 3 digits on the Speedo after a couple of seconds.
As for not going back, I sold my Fn2 to a family member back in 2014 And the other week I ended up borrowing it and reminding myself why I bought it in the first place, such fun cars so I’m buying it back lol , still very low mileage which is good, I put it back to standard when I sold it so I’ll be getting the same mods done as I did originally and take it from there
Managed to fit the other front arm so its equal either side.
Nearly a year now, no urge to change.
Had a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor eager to show me how much faster his EV is, the answer, from a roll was very little difference. His face was a picture, suspect he had got used to just blitzing everything and a standard ST is fair game, a 300 ish bhp one, less so. Juvenile I know but it was a very empty dual carriageway and couldnt resist.
Nearly a year now, no urge to change.
Had a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor eager to show me how much faster his EV is, the answer, from a roll was very little difference. His face was a picture, suspect he had got used to just blitzing everything and a standard ST is fair game, a 300 ish bhp one, less so. Juvenile I know but it was a very empty dual carriageway and couldnt resist.
J4CKO said:
Managed to fit the other front arm so its equal either side.
Nearly a year now, no urge to change.
Had a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor eager to show me how much faster his EV is, the answer, from a roll was very little difference. His face was a picture, suspect he had got used to just blitzing everything and a standard ST is fair game, a 300 ish bhp one, less so. Juvenile I know but it was a very empty dual carriageway and couldnt resist.
If a questions if I may?Nearly a year now, no urge to change.
Had a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor eager to show me how much faster his EV is, the answer, from a roll was very little difference. His face was a picture, suspect he had got used to just blitzing everything and a standard ST is fair game, a 300 ish bhp one, less so. Juvenile I know but it was a very empty dual carriageway and couldnt resist.
How well does it get the power down in the dry? Bit lairy?
Brakes? These are the biggest bug bare I have. Have you upgraded BBK etc? My car is really just a daily, but, there are times when I look at some of the builds on here and think - tempted.
If i did, a BBK would be first on the list. I'm in 2, maybe 3 or 4 minds as to whether to go for it. Not sure I'd want to daily it if I went for it and I am (cautiously ) on the look out for a new Evo.
The brakes do annoy me though. I think they really need a calliper strip down and service. Which i could do myself I suppose.
Chuck328 said:
J4CKO said:
Managed to fit the other front arm so its equal either side.
Nearly a year now, no urge to change.
Had a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor eager to show me how much faster his EV is, the answer, from a roll was very little difference. His face was a picture, suspect he had got used to just blitzing everything and a standard ST is fair game, a 300 ish bhp one, less so. Juvenile I know but it was a very empty dual carriageway and couldnt resist.
If a questions if I may?Nearly a year now, no urge to change.
Had a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor eager to show me how much faster his EV is, the answer, from a roll was very little difference. His face was a picture, suspect he had got used to just blitzing everything and a standard ST is fair game, a 300 ish bhp one, less so. Juvenile I know but it was a very empty dual carriageway and couldnt resist.
How well does it get the power down in the dry? Bit lairy?
Brakes? These are the biggest bug bare I have. Have you upgraded BBK etc? My car is really just a daily, but, there are times when I look at some of the builds on here and think - tempted.
If i did, a BBK would be first on the list. I'm in 2, maybe 3 or 4 minds as to whether to go for it. Not sure I'd want to daily it if I went for it and I am (cautiously ) on the look out for a new Evo.
The brakes do annoy me though. I think they really need a calliper strip down and service. Which i could do myself I suppose.
I am amazed how well it deploys the power in the dry, its been sort of counter intuitive to be honest the traction situation as my thinking was more power = worse traction and by and large that is the case in most scenarios.
However, the Fiesta seems to be blessed with a chassis that seems to cope pretty well out of the box. It got worse when I went from standard to Collins CP2E, which is a circa 40 ish bhp gain over standard, adding another 60/70 to that figure you would think would make it proportionally worse but it actually seemed no worse, maybe even better than before. Its more about the torque of course, the amount and how it comes in.
Sounds weird but the changes add a hybrid turbo, so the boost comes in a smidge later and stays longer, withe the stage 2 type mods, they maximise the performance of the standard small turbo which produces loads of boost low down and then this tails off by 6500, the S270 mine has means it produces boost longer into the rev range and it will rev to 7500 rpm.
So this has the effect of losing some of the low down torque spike as the standard turbo maxes itself out and allows the mapping to feed the torque in more gradually, I am sure they could replicate that swell low down but they have no need to and Gary at Collins said they could take it further but they mapped the CP4 tune to be on the threshold of traction at full throttle.
I think there are tunes and other setups that give spikier power delivery but the theory is that ultimately, having to battle for grip by backing off is counter productive, it may feel quicker but actually isnt if you are spinning the wheels, I think going any further and an LSD becomes a necessity.
You can get a bit of a chirp from the tyres but it isnt the tyre smoking animal I would have assumed, had a Volvo T5 with a lot less power and that would light up a tyre for fun. I think decent tyres help as well, its on Michelin PS4's, have seen people complain about traction issues in much less powerful cars then you realise they have some knackered budget tyres on.
As for brakes, I just changed the fluid and it just has eBay special Mintex pads and some grooved disks, £200 or so to do all four corners. I havent managed to fade the brakes, its a 1200 kilo car with fairly large disks all round, on the road you dont get the opportunity (Or I dont) to put that much heat into them with repeated stops from 100 mph plus. Might add some braided lines next time I do the fluid, I am a great advocate of keeping brake fluid fresh in cars that get used with performance in mind, having had brake fade I dont want to repeat it. Last time was a Mercedes CLS, three stops from speed and brakes turned to wood, fresh fluid, couldnt fade them.
Big Brake Kits look great but on the road you need to have a think about your driving if you are overheating the standard ones, or standard sized ones with uprated pads and fresh fluid. I think Brake upgrades are probably essential for hard track use in a 300 bhp plus car but I haven't felt the need, never felt the brakes lacking, you run out of oportunity for speed, into traffic and license worries on the road before brakes in my humble opinion.
Not got any mods pending at the moment, so open to suggestions as to what should come next, LSD is a possibility but thats quite a pricey item ! Any cheaper ones in the meantime ?
J4CKO said:
Yeah, no problem.
Many thanks for all that.Interesting reading re the turbo. Noted for future ref.
Run PS4 as well, prob as good as it gets for 17's bar a track tyre. Might give the Potenza Sport a try next though.
I have binding brakes. Only slightly though. I can hear them on the J hook discs hence the thought of a refurb.
One test of sorts I did do, in all 3 of my cars was a fast quiet back road run - 15ish miles? Followed by M/way home to let the brakes cool. The Audi TRW and Lancer Brembo callipers were nice and cool once home. This Fiesta, cooking hot still.....( Yellowstuff pads and Motul race fluid) Hmmm
The car is completely stock bar powerflex rear bushes and mentioned pads and fluids.
Leicester Loyal said:
Great to see this thread still going and you still ploughing on.
What's the MPG like nowdays compared to previous stages/standard?
It will still do decent MPG, did London and back and it said it averaged 45 point something, overall seems to say 32 ish, but can get it into the teens if you use the performance for a while.What's the MPG like nowdays compared to previous stages/standard?
Its pretty flexible as you would expect a light car with a fair amount of torque, most of the time I suspect I use less than a quarter of the available performance.
Been a year now give or take, no plans to change, have done that before and regretted it, bigger and better is one thing but that horrible realisation that you have spent a lot of money and dont like it as much.
If I do change I will hang onto this, at least for a while until I am sure, but no plans currently
Edited by J4CKO on Thursday 28th April 21:59
mooseracer said:
J4CKO said:
Not got any mods pending at the moment, so open to suggestions as to what should come next, LSD is a possibility but thats quite a pricey item ! Any cheaper ones in the meantime ?
Bushes - all of them. One of the best (and cheapest) changes I made on mine.Chuck328 said:
J4CKO said:
Yeah, no problem.
Many thanks for all that.Interesting reading re the turbo. Noted for future ref.
Run PS4 as well, prob as good as it gets for 17's bar a track tyre. Might give the Potenza Sport a try next though.
I have binding brakes. Only slightly though. I can hear them on the J hook discs hence the thought of a refurb.
One test of sorts I did do, in all 3 of my cars was a fast quiet back road run - 15ish miles? Followed by M/way home to let the brakes cool. The Audi TRW and Lancer Brembo callipers were nice and cool once home. This Fiesta, cooking hot still.....( Yellowstuff pads and Motul race fluid) Hmmm
The car is completely stock bar powerflex rear bushes and mentioned pads and fluids.
J4CKO said:
Done the rear beam ones a while back, good mod, just put new front Powerflex arms on that replaces the front ones. Just the ARB ones I think left.
I had this lot on mine, all Powerflex yellowRear Beam To Chassis Bushes
Front Wishbone Front Bushes
Front Upper Engine Mount Insert
Bushes for Rear Spring Upper Isolator
Front Anti Roll Bar Bushes 21mm
Front Arm Rear Bushes, Caster Adjustable
Upper Transmission Mount Insert
mooseracer said:
J4CKO said:
Done the rear beam ones a while back, good mod, just put new front Powerflex arms on that replaces the front ones. Just the ARB ones I think left.
I had this lot on mine, all Powerflex yellowRear Beam To Chassis Bushes
Front Wishbone Front Bushes
Front Upper Engine Mount Insert
Bushes for Rear Spring Upper Isolator
Front Anti Roll Bar Bushes 21mm
Front Arm Rear Bushes, Caster Adjustable
Upper Transmission Mount Insert
Its still here, doing its job, not much to report other than giving the driver of a CL600 an almighty shock, yes its childish but its good fun when someone thinks they can just flex their right foot and disappear. under no illusions it would have pulled away eventually but not so much in that short pull, but then thats 2.1 tons with 510 bhp, this is 1.2 tons with just over 300 so power to weight not that far apart.
Did an oil change, £41 with oil and filter off eBay.
Ordered a GFB turbo diverter valve, hopefully will smooth out part throttle boost which can be a little choppy on occasion.
Went to see some friends in it today, my wife hates it :
I said, ok, will get my M4 now, she just said whatever, so, tacit approval to get an M4, which was my plan before this dropped in my lap, but to be honest, I am not all that bothered and still feel I want to keep it, plus put too much money into it and need to get the use out of it.
Slow trip today with wife and dog, 48 mpg, not bad really.
Did an oil change, £41 with oil and filter off eBay.
Ordered a GFB turbo diverter valve, hopefully will smooth out part throttle boost which can be a little choppy on occasion.
Went to see some friends in it today, my wife hates it :
I said, ok, will get my M4 now, she just said whatever, so, tacit approval to get an M4, which was my plan before this dropped in my lap, but to be honest, I am not all that bothered and still feel I want to keep it, plus put too much money into it and need to get the use out of it.
Slow trip today with wife and dog, 48 mpg, not bad really.
J4CKO said:
Its still here, doing its job, not much to report other than giving the driver of a CL600 an almighty shock, yes its childish but its good fun when someone thinks they can just flex their right foot and disappear. under no illusions it would have pulled away eventually but not so much in that short pull, but then thats 2.1 tons with 510 bhp, this is 1.2 tons with just over 300 so power to weight not that far apart.
Great to hear that you're still having lots of fun in it! 
J4CKO said:
Its still here, doing its job, not much to report other than giving the driver of a CL600 an almighty shock, yes its childish but its good fun when someone thinks they can just flex their right foot and disappear. under no illusions it would have pulled away eventually but not so much in that short pull, but then thats 2.1 tons with 510 bhp, this is 1.2 tons with just over 300 so power to weight not that far apart.
Did an oil change, £41 with oil and filter off eBay.
Ordered a GFB turbo diverter valve, hopefully will smooth out part throttle boost which can be a little choppy on occasion.
Went to see some friends in it today, my wife hates it :
I said, ok, will get my M4 now, she just said whatever, so, tacit approval to get an M4, which was my plan before this dropped in my lap, but to be honest, I am not all that bothered and still feel I want to keep it, plus put too much money into it and need to get the use out of it.
Slow trip today with wife and dog, 48 mpg, not bad really.
I found the combination of ITG induction and GFB too much and changed to a forge recirculating one instead to quieten it down.Did an oil change, £41 with oil and filter off eBay.
Ordered a GFB turbo diverter valve, hopefully will smooth out part throttle boost which can be a little choppy on occasion.
Went to see some friends in it today, my wife hates it :
I said, ok, will get my M4 now, she just said whatever, so, tacit approval to get an M4, which was my plan before this dropped in my lap, but to be honest, I am not all that bothered and still feel I want to keep it, plus put too much money into it and need to get the use out of it.
Slow trip today with wife and dog, 48 mpg, not bad really.
My wife also hated my modded ST!
mooseracer said:
J4CKO said:
Its still here, doing its job, not much to report other than giving the driver of a CL600 an almighty shock, yes its childish but its good fun when someone thinks they can just flex their right foot and disappear. under no illusions it would have pulled away eventually but not so much in that short pull, but then thats 2.1 tons with 510 bhp, this is 1.2 tons with just over 300 so power to weight not that far apart.
Did an oil change, £41 with oil and filter off eBay.
Ordered a GFB turbo diverter valve, hopefully will smooth out part throttle boost which can be a little choppy on occasion.
Went to see some friends in it today, my wife hates it :
I said, ok, will get my M4 now, she just said whatever, so, tacit approval to get an M4, which was my plan before this dropped in my lap, but to be honest, I am not all that bothered and still feel I want to keep it, plus put too much money into it and need to get the use out of it.
Slow trip today with wife and dog, 48 mpg, not bad really.
I found the combination of ITG induction and GFB too much and changed to a forge recirculating one instead to quieten it down.Did an oil change, £41 with oil and filter off eBay.
Ordered a GFB turbo diverter valve, hopefully will smooth out part throttle boost which can be a little choppy on occasion.
Went to see some friends in it today, my wife hates it :
I said, ok, will get my M4 now, she just said whatever, so, tacit approval to get an M4, which was my plan before this dropped in my lap, but to be honest, I am not all that bothered and still feel I want to keep it, plus put too much money into it and need to get the use out of it.
Slow trip today with wife and dog, 48 mpg, not bad really.
My wife also hated my modded ST!
Fitted the GFB+ yesterday and pleased with the effect its had, gone is the spot where it abruptly comes into and off boost at part throttle, seems smoother and more natural, makes the car nicer to drive.
Fiddly thing to fit though.
Kerbed a wheel the other day, think the spacers dont help with that, and being a clumsy get, gave it a good clean yesterday, did the tyre pressures, checked the oil etc, all good.
Cost £83 to fill a Fiesta, thats Tesco SUL, bet would have been nearer 90 at Shell.
Possibly driving to Scotland, wife is refusing to go in it all that way
Fiddly thing to fit though.
Kerbed a wheel the other day, think the spacers dont help with that, and being a clumsy get, gave it a good clean yesterday, did the tyre pressures, checked the oil etc, all good.
Cost £83 to fill a Fiesta, thats Tesco SUL, bet would have been nearer 90 at Shell.
Possibly driving to Scotland, wife is refusing to go in it all that way
Not much to add, still enjoying it.
Noticed a blow on the exhaust, and the MOT is tomorrow so took a look over the weekend, assumed it was the extra silencer I had fitted but it was the gasket had blown out between the downpipe and mid section. Two bolts to undo and as its still fairly recent they werent knackered, had a spare gasket so fitted that with a bit of assembly paste and all is well again. So much smoother and seems quicker, does an exhaust leak affect performance ? Hopefully it will hold this time. MOT should be ok as most of it is new, just hope the Sports cat is ok. was last year.
Gave it a really good clean, comes up very well for a 7 year old car, just a little corrosion on the wheels, few stonechips on the bonnet.
Audi S3 driver, newish one decided to make a point, it was in the way, He gave me a slightly incredulous thumbs up as if to say "WTF just happened", I am so childish
Still needs an LSD, but lot of cash, need to book it in for an alignment.
Noticed a blow on the exhaust, and the MOT is tomorrow so took a look over the weekend, assumed it was the extra silencer I had fitted but it was the gasket had blown out between the downpipe and mid section. Two bolts to undo and as its still fairly recent they werent knackered, had a spare gasket so fitted that with a bit of assembly paste and all is well again. So much smoother and seems quicker, does an exhaust leak affect performance ? Hopefully it will hold this time. MOT should be ok as most of it is new, just hope the Sports cat is ok. was last year.
Gave it a really good clean, comes up very well for a 7 year old car, just a little corrosion on the wheels, few stonechips on the bonnet.
Audi S3 driver, newish one decided to make a point, it was in the way, He gave me a slightly incredulous thumbs up as if to say "WTF just happened", I am so childish
Still needs an LSD, but lot of cash, need to book it in for an alignment.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff