I was not entirely sure where to put these notes, but figured this to be as good as any subforum here. Comments are anecdotal.
Event: March 28, 2015 Alfa Romeo of Oregon lapping event at Portland International Raceway.
Weather conditions: Cool (highs in the low to mid 60s), dry, partial sun
Driving style: Recreational lapping, not competition
Car setup: Build thread summary
My prior experience at this track: I've been out with half-dozen or so different groups about 25 times at Portland International Raceway, but this was my first event in the new car. My prior car was also a mildly FI'd FWD Ford, so this was not a radical shift for me. I sold it in 2012. It was nice to get to know a new car on a well understood course.
My experience on this day:
Summary
For me, this stuff is all about having fun on track days and getting home safely. This car's combination of power, drive train, suspension, brake, and wheel/rubber adjustments is nearly perfect for my usage. It is not a fast car, but it's quick enough to hold its own with the many comparable cars found at typical track days -- and find plenty of open track. It'll never keep up with the GT3s, Palatovs, and the like we see at local events, but I'm confident it'll perform every bit as well as my old heavily modified FWD car. That's plenty for me.
Event: March 28, 2015 Alfa Romeo of Oregon lapping event at Portland International Raceway.
Weather conditions: Cool (highs in the low to mid 60s), dry, partial sun
Driving style: Recreational lapping, not competition
Car setup: Build thread summary
My prior experience at this track: I've been out with half-dozen or so different groups about 25 times at Portland International Raceway, but this was my first event in the new car. My prior car was also a mildly FI'd FWD Ford, so this was not a radical shift for me. I sold it in 2012. It was nice to get to know a new car on a well understood course.
My experience on this day:
Carbotech XP8 pads -- The XP8s held up very well. I did not brake late very often, so was pretty easy on them. No fade and excellent stopping power when requested (on the few occasions when I asked for a little more and later braking power...chasing down cars).
Here's what they looked like after 3 15-minute a.m. sessions and 3 20-minute p.m. sessions:
Passenger side front
Driver side front
The Torque RT700 fluid and Stoptech brake lines seemed to perform very well. No fade, steady, progressive brake response and great grip when called for. No complaints whatsoever.
The stock calipers seemed to hold up well, but again, I did not cook the brakes. A more aggressive driving style, featuring consistently late, hard braking could heat things up significantly. YMMV.
Passenger side front
Driver side front
The Torque RT700 fluid and Stoptech brake lines seemed to perform very well. No fade, steady, progressive brake response and great grip when called for. No complaints whatsoever.
The stock calipers seemed to hold up well, but again, I did not cook the brakes. A more aggressive driving style, featuring consistently late, hard braking could heat things up significantly. YMMV.
- Quaife LSD -- This road coarse really only calls on the LSD in a couple of spots (link to track map). Exiting Turn 2 (main straight chicane) an exiting Turn 7 (basically the entry to the back straight). I tried 2nd and 3rd gear exit on both, and really 2nd gear carried more speed and the car pulled straight with no diff-related, off-wheel spin. Very glad I added the LSD.
- BC Racing coilovers -- I set these up with a relatively mild setting (10 clicks off full stiff). Car was very responsive. I am thinking that, for the next event, we'll add a couple of clicks of stiffness and push the car a little more. But on this day, the suspension did everything I asked. It even did a little oversteer 4-wheel slide exiting the chicane in 2nd gear on one or two occasions (chasing or running from fellow lappers). I had the tiniest amount of negative front camber (about -1 deg) accommodated by the H&R camber bolts. More negative camber is undoubtly going to result in even better grip, but this car is a street car and I drive it to the track. Happy.
- 205/50-15 NT01s -- I love these tires. Very grippy (for what they are). While they do not communicate much (are not noisy at the limit), they do lose traction in a very progressive, manageable way. Love them. Same material as Toyo RA1s. These are the cheapest R-compounds you can buy (new). I know there are RA1 takeoffs that can be had cheaper, but these worked very well and are now nicely heat cycled! The width is comparatively mild, but for my use, they work fantastic.
- MP215, mountune FMIC, mountune induction hose, infamous Turbo Transformer -- It's hard for me to distinguish how each bit contributed, but I found this very mild set of adjustments to work great together. What Fiesta ST owner does not want more power no matter what mods they have? Having said that, this setup had plenty of scoot for my fun recreational lapping application. I was not going to keep up with a Palatov D2 that dropped into our group, nor could I stay with the STi. Both just pulled on me in the straights (D2 also handled like a go cart, so I was not going to keep up with him back in the turn complex either). But the Fiesta had plenty of pull to get by when I found cars that could not get away from me in the curvy bits (and that had to let me through). That's all I ask for with this car -- enough power to execute a safe pass with some authority. I don't generally try to get away from cars that are catching me (depending on the situation and car). They are often faster cars or better drivers -- or both. One last note: In comparison to my old, similarly powered FWD car, this car seems to have better corner exit scoot (I attribute that to the EcoBoost's torque curve in the low- to mid-range). That works well when closing on a fellow lapper and trying to execute a safe pass.
Summary
For me, this stuff is all about having fun on track days and getting home safely. This car's combination of power, drive train, suspension, brake, and wheel/rubber adjustments is nearly perfect for my usage. It is not a fast car, but it's quick enough to hold its own with the many comparable cars found at typical track days -- and find plenty of open track. It'll never keep up with the GT3s, Palatovs, and the like we see at local events, but I'm confident it'll perform every bit as well as my old heavily modified FWD car. That's plenty for me.
