Fisher Fury Upgrades?
Discussion
After almost a year of searching (and hoping) I have finally managed to get a fisher fury 
. the car I have bought is some what of a blank canvas and I'm looking forward to upgrading it. I have an initial budget of £3k-£4k for upgrades what would you suggest?
I’m looking at using the car for half road and half track.
The car currently has a 1.8 Zetec, spax coilovers, discs at front and drums at back, baffled sump, a quick rack, 13in Yokohama road tyres
I'm not too familiar with serious upgrading and wanted some advice on what should take priority and what I can get for my budget.
I was initially looking at putting new wheels & tyres on some lightweight ones and A048's. I would like to upgrade the brakes as they feel like they need a little more stopping power especially if for when I start increasing the power. How benefical are rear discs, would it be sufficient to just put some better discs and pads on? What upgrades would represent the best value for money
Over the winter I was thinking of putting in a 2 litre Zetec with some upgrades such throttle bodies, ECU, and some cylinder head upgrades.
As I said I am fairly new to all this in terms of what upgrades offer best value for money and what will have the biggest impact. I don’t really want to spend lots of money on items that don’t really make much difference or are pointless on these types of cars, so any advice would be great
. the car I have bought is some what of a blank canvas and I'm looking forward to upgrading it. I have an initial budget of £3k-£4k for upgrades what would you suggest?I’m looking at using the car for half road and half track.
The car currently has a 1.8 Zetec, spax coilovers, discs at front and drums at back, baffled sump, a quick rack, 13in Yokohama road tyres
I'm not too familiar with serious upgrading and wanted some advice on what should take priority and what I can get for my budget.
I was initially looking at putting new wheels & tyres on some lightweight ones and A048's. I would like to upgrade the brakes as they feel like they need a little more stopping power especially if for when I start increasing the power. How benefical are rear discs, would it be sufficient to just put some better discs and pads on? What upgrades would represent the best value for money
Over the winter I was thinking of putting in a 2 litre Zetec with some upgrades such throttle bodies, ECU, and some cylinder head upgrades.
As I said I am fairly new to all this in terms of what upgrades offer best value for money and what will have the biggest impact. I don’t really want to spend lots of money on items that don’t really make much difference or are pointless on these types of cars, so any advice would be great
I would start with Chassis and brakes.
Make sure the shocks are matched and get the geometry set up properly.
Wilwood and Hispec do 4 pots that will fit. There is a group buy on the wilwoods going on on the sylva google group I think.
I wouldn't have thought discs would offer a performance advantage on the back as the car is so light.
Lightweight wheels with sticky tyres are a good idea and will reduce unsprung weight.
Make sure the shocks are matched and get the geometry set up properly.
Wilwood and Hispec do 4 pots that will fit. There is a group buy on the wilwoods going on on the sylva google group I think.
I wouldn't have thought discs would offer a performance advantage on the back as the car is so light.
Lightweight wheels with sticky tyres are a good idea and will reduce unsprung weight.
I'm sure you will be wary of improving the rear brakes, if that's what will actually happen, though it might not, without imroving the fronts as well?
It would probably be better to experiment with different pads and linings first.
Are the brakes requiring more effort than you are accustomed to, or are they actually failing to slow the car sufficiently at any pedal pressure?
It would probably be better to experiment with different pads and linings first.
Are the brakes requiring more effort than you are accustomed to, or are they actually failing to slow the car sufficiently at any pedal pressure?
Wilwood 4 pots with thin discs are the way to go, Mintex 1144 or similar pads. No point in changing the rears as it adds weight and does not a lot for the braking effort.
Certainly changing to a 2.0lt on Throttle Bodies would be a big jump in power (160-170BHP). The other thing to look at is the gearbox, a HD close ratio box from someone like BGH Geartech makes a big difference to the car.
Certainly changing to a 2.0lt on Throttle Bodies would be a big jump in power (160-170BHP). The other thing to look at is the gearbox, a HD close ratio box from someone like BGH Geartech makes a big difference to the car.
Be wary of needless 'upgrades'
On such a light car, I have no doubt that your basic brake setup will be more than sufficient to stop the car - unless you're absolutely caning it to the extent where you should be amongst the fastest cars on a long trackday session. If it doesn't feel like this now, I suggest that you look to perfect what you have (could be air in the fluid, poor brake distribution etc) first. The main reason for upgrading front calipers is that aluminium items reduce the unsprung mass of the car and hence aid handling. Pads suited to your mixed application will obviously help.
Yes, sticky tyres will make all the difference, particularly om track. You'd change the wheels for the same reason as you'd change the iron calipers. That said, your 13s will be relatively light anyway. For me though, the most important things that you can do are:
1. Get the car so that it 'fits you correctly' i.e. make sure that the seat suits you, you are your preferred distance from the steering wheel and pedals and that the pedals are correctly spaced and the gearshift falls to-hand.
2. Once you've 'tailored' your car, you then want to check how your suspension is operating and get it properly set up. Depending on where you are, visit Northampton Motorsport, Prccomp, Track developments or another respected specialist and get your springs and dampers tested so that you know the working range and the limits of what you've bought. Then get the suspension checked over so that everything moves freely (i.e. no stiction) and then get the car corner-weighted and get the geo done. You'll need to say whether you are most likely to be alone in the car or carry a passanger. If its 50/50, then I'd ask the specialist to insert a 40ish-kg weight in the passenger seat to do the corner weighting. A good pro should be able to advise on baseline settings and you can then look to change things to your taste after a period of mixed road/track driving.
There are Fury-specific considerations (e.g, 12mm bolts in 1/2" holes) but others should be in a better position to advise on these.
Overall my message is maximise what you've bought, before you spend more. Incidentally, I'd expect all of the above to eat up £200 - £500 of your budget, making allowances for a small problem or two (e.g. a replacement bush or two and an extended steering column or similar.)
On such a light car, I have no doubt that your basic brake setup will be more than sufficient to stop the car - unless you're absolutely caning it to the extent where you should be amongst the fastest cars on a long trackday session. If it doesn't feel like this now, I suggest that you look to perfect what you have (could be air in the fluid, poor brake distribution etc) first. The main reason for upgrading front calipers is that aluminium items reduce the unsprung mass of the car and hence aid handling. Pads suited to your mixed application will obviously help.
Yes, sticky tyres will make all the difference, particularly om track. You'd change the wheels for the same reason as you'd change the iron calipers. That said, your 13s will be relatively light anyway. For me though, the most important things that you can do are:
1. Get the car so that it 'fits you correctly' i.e. make sure that the seat suits you, you are your preferred distance from the steering wheel and pedals and that the pedals are correctly spaced and the gearshift falls to-hand.
2. Once you've 'tailored' your car, you then want to check how your suspension is operating and get it properly set up. Depending on where you are, visit Northampton Motorsport, Prccomp, Track developments or another respected specialist and get your springs and dampers tested so that you know the working range and the limits of what you've bought. Then get the suspension checked over so that everything moves freely (i.e. no stiction) and then get the car corner-weighted and get the geo done. You'll need to say whether you are most likely to be alone in the car or carry a passanger. If its 50/50, then I'd ask the specialist to insert a 40ish-kg weight in the passenger seat to do the corner weighting. A good pro should be able to advise on baseline settings and you can then look to change things to your taste after a period of mixed road/track driving.
There are Fury-specific considerations (e.g, 12mm bolts in 1/2" holes) but others should be in a better position to advise on these.
Overall my message is maximise what you've bought, before you spend more. Incidentally, I'd expect all of the above to eat up £200 - £500 of your budget, making allowances for a small problem or two (e.g. a replacement bush or two and an extended steering column or similar.)
Edited by Tim.C on Thursday 22 July 15:34
I have already setup the car so that it fits me correctly I purchased a new seat and I have fitted and now it’s really comfy and everything just feels right. I was in the car for over 5 hours the other day and I was comfy all day long so I really happy about that as I was a little concerned that I would find it uncomfortable over long periods.
Thanks for the advice on the chassis and suspension setup I know someone who can help me with this but if anyone knows a specialist in the North West/North Wales area that would be great.
What I was concerned about regarding the brakes is that I appreciate that it will take more effort but when that effort is applied, although they stop the car ok, they don't scrub off as much speed as I would like under heavy braking and I know in the long run on track it will frustrate me especially if I start adding more power. I like the sound of that group buy and I reckon I might look into that I will also look into maximising the current system.
Also if I upgrade the power I would be looking to get a heavy duty gear box and I've already spoken to BGH about this although I think before any power or gearbox upgrades I will do a few track days and get used to the car and maybe look at this over the winter or next year.
How do the fury-specific considerations that you mentioned affect things as this confuses me a little.
Thanks for the advice on the chassis and suspension setup I know someone who can help me with this but if anyone knows a specialist in the North West/North Wales area that would be great.
What I was concerned about regarding the brakes is that I appreciate that it will take more effort but when that effort is applied, although they stop the car ok, they don't scrub off as much speed as I would like under heavy braking and I know in the long run on track it will frustrate me especially if I start adding more power. I like the sound of that group buy and I reckon I might look into that I will also look into maximising the current system.
Also if I upgrade the power I would be looking to get a heavy duty gear box and I've already spoken to BGH about this although I think before any power or gearbox upgrades I will do a few track days and get used to the car and maybe look at this over the winter or next year.
How do the fury-specific considerations that you mentioned affect things as this confuses me a little.
^^^^^what Tim said^^^^^
Fury's can have poor brakes if the wrong master cylinders have been fitted. Too much effort reqd. Also pads which never get near temerature do not help. Just try standard / cheap sierra /escort pads from the motor factors which should work from cold, they are designed to stop a car 3 times the weight of your Fury so I always found they worked fine. I ugraded to expensive Hu-specs on my Fury and EBC pads, they looked nice no stopped no better. Lighter though. And if your shocks are worn, that is not good. Try adjusting all seperately and seeing first if they work. Then play. I got £450 of Protech shocks and that transformed the car from the knackered AVOs. Best thing, get the car on an airfield day and rag it, preferably with someone who knows fury's and try to find any shortcomings. Don't waste money , that sounds like a nice fury as a base.
Fury's can have poor brakes if the wrong master cylinders have been fitted. Too much effort reqd. Also pads which never get near temerature do not help. Just try standard / cheap sierra /escort pads from the motor factors which should work from cold, they are designed to stop a car 3 times the weight of your Fury so I always found they worked fine. I ugraded to expensive Hu-specs on my Fury and EBC pads, they looked nice no stopped no better. Lighter though. And if your shocks are worn, that is not good. Try adjusting all seperately and seeing first if they work. Then play. I got £450 of Protech shocks and that transformed the car from the knackered AVOs. Best thing, get the car on an airfield day and rag it, preferably with someone who knows fury's and try to find any shortcomings. Don't waste money , that sounds like a nice fury as a base.
Andy-G said:
How do the fury-specific considerations that you mentioned affect things as this confuses me a little.
I'm really not an expert on this. Gordon Griffin on the Sylva Google Chat List was a great help on this stuff. What I do know is that Jeremy Phillips always used 12mm bolts in 1/2" holes/bushes etc. This was fine on the road but led to inaccuracies on track. I also know that Gordon advocated rosejointing the entire rear, apart from one end of the panhard rod if memory serves...Sorry I can't be much help, I didn't really have my Striker long enough to carry out any of the mods.
Tim.C said:
I'm really not an expert on this. Gordon Griffin on the Sylva Google Chat List was a great help on this stuff. What I do know is that Jeremy Phillips always used 12mm bolts in 1/2" holes/bushes etc. This was fine on the road but led to inaccuracies on track. I also know that Gordon advocated rosejointing the entire rear, apart from one end of the panhard rod if memory serves...
Sorry I can't be much help, I didn't really have my Striker long enough to carry out any of the mods.
I though that it was a bad idea to rose joint the entire rear. As this can lead to the axle locking. The brushes do allow a bit of lateral movement for the system to work. I was always under the impression that the most you should rose joint is one end of the arms. I have heard that most, rose joint the chassis end.Sorry I can't be much help, I didn't really have my Striker long enough to carry out any of the mods.
These pics are from a guy on the stylus forum
http://www.clubstylus.be/forum/download/file.php?i...
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i225/Antnicuk/DS...
Lots of people also say that an antiroll bar at the front is a good upgrade.
I believe that a few on this forum have them. And I think that most use the Rob Farley ones.
I will be paying Rob a visit one I have the car back on the road.
I have been in touch with some people today regarding have the car setup properly, I will have to have a little experimentation with the brakes before getting any hi-spec ones. Is there anything you should test to know if you have the correct master cylinder?
I’m hoping to get to a track day on the 8th August but that’s at Anglesey, I would like to let someone who knows Fury’s to have a go but unfortunately I don’t really know anyone especially not round me (north west).
I think really because it’s a new toy I just want to tinker it a little and spend some time and money on it to make it my own. My goal is to have a really nice handling car that will be fun on the track and the road but still makes the hairs on my neck stand-up when I put my foot down, hence the long term aspirations of more power, but I realise that initially it’s more important to set it up correctly.
I’m hoping to get to a track day on the 8th August but that’s at Anglesey, I would like to let someone who knows Fury’s to have a go but unfortunately I don’t really know anyone especially not round me (north west).
I think really because it’s a new toy I just want to tinker it a little and spend some time and money on it to make it my own. My goal is to have a really nice handling car that will be fun on the track and the road but still makes the hairs on my neck stand-up when I put my foot down, hence the long term aspirations of more power, but I realise that initially it’s more important to set it up correctly.
Andy-G said:
Is there anything you should test to know if you have the correct master cylinder?
With any luck the bore size will be cast into the side of the master cylinder. Then all you will need to do is to compare that with whatever size it is supposed to be (sorry, don't know). You might also want to check if there is any evidence of the pedal ratio having been changed.Hi
I'm assuming this has the 5 linked back axle and std outboard front end?
If so it's the same set-up as my Striker Mk3.
Do not rose joint the back end, nasty things happen, you could consider taking the mounting points out to 1/2inch, and replacing all the bolts, been there, done that..
The brakes should stop it like it's hit a barn door - simple solid discs and drums are fine, ensure as mentioned above the master cylinder size is right and get them overhauld (Brake Engineering @ Wrexham for the calipers) - fit Hawk Black pads - or stock ones from the dealers - forget 'race' pads way too hard.
If you're running 13" rims you've at least got the right size..
If the rims are less than 6kg each, leave well alone (unless you don't like the style!) alternatives are Minilights or Caterhams own (the later in particular are a good light rim @ 4.5kg each)
Check the age of the tyres, if over 3 years bin them and get new - once you've had it set up and corner weighted that is (I would recommend ProComp in Birmingham, but there are probably others too)
While it's being done have the shock's dyno'd (BTW if the bloke doing the setup can't do this you're at the wrong place..) you'll find out if they're mullered or not and if valved right for the car - replace if either's not right, Protech's seem to be good VFM.
Quaife ATB diff suits these cars well IMHO, and makes a HUGE difference if tracking it.
Front ARB, is well worth the time sourcing, significant handling improvement and allows you to do so with much softer springs, makes for a much more compliant car, and takes the skittish feeling away.
Gear it right.
All too often folks have mega long gearing, the cars arn't designed to make a good cruiser it's for blasting along, so gear it to ensure 5th is a realistically usable gear, with a Zetec something like 20mph/1000 revs in 5th max, assuming it'll rev to say 6.5k - if it rev's higher gear it lower!
That little lot comes from about 6 years of sorting a now rare Striker Mk3, which is the same setup as the first furys, just with less 'clothes', so hope it helps.
Be happy to come along if a Trackday didn't clash with a Sprint - it's 3 Sisters at Wigan on the 8th!
I'm assuming this has the 5 linked back axle and std outboard front end?
If so it's the same set-up as my Striker Mk3.
Do not rose joint the back end, nasty things happen, you could consider taking the mounting points out to 1/2inch, and replacing all the bolts, been there, done that..
The brakes should stop it like it's hit a barn door - simple solid discs and drums are fine, ensure as mentioned above the master cylinder size is right and get them overhauld (Brake Engineering @ Wrexham for the calipers) - fit Hawk Black pads - or stock ones from the dealers - forget 'race' pads way too hard.
If you're running 13" rims you've at least got the right size..
If the rims are less than 6kg each, leave well alone (unless you don't like the style!) alternatives are Minilights or Caterhams own (the later in particular are a good light rim @ 4.5kg each)
Check the age of the tyres, if over 3 years bin them and get new - once you've had it set up and corner weighted that is (I would recommend ProComp in Birmingham, but there are probably others too)
While it's being done have the shock's dyno'd (BTW if the bloke doing the setup can't do this you're at the wrong place..) you'll find out if they're mullered or not and if valved right for the car - replace if either's not right, Protech's seem to be good VFM.
Quaife ATB diff suits these cars well IMHO, and makes a HUGE difference if tracking it.
Front ARB, is well worth the time sourcing, significant handling improvement and allows you to do so with much softer springs, makes for a much more compliant car, and takes the skittish feeling away.
Gear it right.
All too often folks have mega long gearing, the cars arn't designed to make a good cruiser it's for blasting along, so gear it to ensure 5th is a realistically usable gear, with a Zetec something like 20mph/1000 revs in 5th max, assuming it'll rev to say 6.5k - if it rev's higher gear it lower!
That little lot comes from about 6 years of sorting a now rare Striker Mk3, which is the same setup as the first furys, just with less 'clothes', so hope it helps.
Be happy to come along if a Trackday didn't clash with a Sprint - it's 3 Sisters at Wigan on the 8th!
Andy, An ARB for sale. Dont know if it fits a Fury, & may not be one of Robs?
http://www.clubstylus.be/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&...
http://www.clubstylus.be/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&...
Regarding the rose-jointed rear, I'd certainly be more inclined to listen to the other views on here rather than my half-remembered second-hand info.
Something else has occurred to me today.. I'm aware of four different front-suspension set-ups on the Fury, being:
1. Outboard as per Striker MKIII
2. Inboard using cut-down Escort or Capri strut
3. As above but 'lowered chassis' i.e. pick-up point moved higher
4. Sierra based inboard
Do you know which of these you have?
Something else has occurred to me today.. I'm aware of four different front-suspension set-ups on the Fury, being:
1. Outboard as per Striker MKIII
2. Inboard using cut-down Escort or Capri strut
3. As above but 'lowered chassis' i.e. pick-up point moved higher
4. Sierra based inboard
Do you know which of these you have?
I doubt it would be lowered type, they really were just for racing versions, and not many of those were actually ever SVA'd....... Likewise probobly not outboard shocks, I have personally never seen a fury with that, very old Sylva versions I think. Most have the Escort / Capri ( removable steering arms???) version
Furyblade_Lee said:
I doubt it would be lowered type, they really were just for racing versions, and not many of those were actually ever SVA'd....... Likewise probobly not outboard shocks, I have personally never seen a fury with that, very old Sylva versions I think. Most have the Escort / Capri ( removable steering arms???) version
Yep - I agree with all of that; until Jim mentioned the outboard version (above) I wasn't aware of it either.. I've seen it on the Striker Clubman which came to be known as the Phoenix. There's quite a few cars running Sierra kit though...Gassing Station | Kit Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff