Chris' 2014 silver FiST

[wwuchris]

April 2014:

Just some pictures of my car taken September 2014:

Optional factory accessories:
*SYNC Sony Branded HD Audio and Navigation (Sirius subscription NOT renewed)
*Power Moonroof
*Rado Grey Premium Painted Wheels

Changes made at this point (Feb-Sep 2014):

*Cobb Accessport (Stage 1 OTS map)
*Cobb high flow filter
*Ford ST all-weather floor mats
*3M Color Stable 20/5 tint
*Perrin Super Shorty antenna
*Boomba Racing Round 270 Weighted Shift Knob

================================================================================

Updated list (Mar 2015)

Engine:
*Cobb Accessport [Panda Motorworks tune in progress]
*2J Racing catted downpipe
*Cobb motor mount
*Airtec intercooler (black)
*Cobb intercooler pipes
*Boomba Racing sound symposer delete
*Mountune panel filter
*NB Styling bonnet (hood) strut (purchased from SiCo)

Transmission:
*Boomba Racing transmission bracket bushings
*RH-Renntechnik short shifter (certainly seems to be a copy of Mountune's first gen short shifter)
*Boomba Racing shifter base bushings
*Active Shift Designs Accelerator Pedal Lift Spacer

Interior:
*Ford ST all-weather floor mats
*Boomba Racing Round 270 Weighted Shift Knob
*Accessport A-pillar mount
*Accessport carbon fiber faceplate
*Fiesta ST Cargo Liner

Exterior:
*3M Color Stable 20/5 tint
*Perrin Super Shorty antenna
*Cobb Tuning license plate frames
*Debadged "Fiesta"

Suspension/Wheels/Tires:
*Mountune lowering springs
*Koni Sport shocks/struts (+ 2 sets of Goldline 81250 camber bolts for the front)
*16" Sparco Assetto Gara wheels, matte graphite silver (42mm offset)
*205/45R16 Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport (nitrogen filled)
*McGard 65457BK Chrome/Black SplineDrive Wheel Installation Kit (Amazon)

 

[wwuchris]

On Saturday evening around 5 PM, my friend and I started working on my FiST. We didn't finish until 8 AM Sunday morning. Other than bathroom breaks and some dinner, we were working on it the entire time. We essentially disassembled everything first. I actually took a couple crappy pictures during disassembly!

After disassembling everything, we installed parts in the following order:

*Boomba Racing transmission bracket bushings
*RH-Renntechnik short shifter (certainly seems to be a copy of Mountune's first gen short shifter)
*2J Racing catted downpipe (torque specs anyone??)
*Cobb motor mount (torque specs anyone??)
*Airtec intercooler
*Cobb intercooler pipes
*Boomba Racing sound symposer delete
*Cobb air intake

Didn't quite get to:
*Cobb AP A-pillar mount
*NB Styling bonnet (hood) strut (purchased from SiCo)
*Mountune lowering springs

I intended to take a lot of pictures, but considering how late in the day we started, and how long it took just to disassemble everything, I ended up only taking a few photos during the disassembly process. Sorry guys! I flashed to the Stage 3 OTS map before heading home (we did the work in my friend's garage, and lots of the parts have been sitting there since last April because two of his vehicles have been consuming his garage space).

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed by the power increase (measured by butt-dyno only). I'll probably look into Freaktune or Panda for a custom tune, after I decide if I want to install any more performance parts. I'm hoping to rent a spring compressor within the next few weeks so we can get the springs installed. I also plan on getting the Sparco Assetto Gara wheels (16 in), but I'm waiting on the OEM tires to wear out first. I've had the FiST since last February, but I still have less than 6k miles on it. At the rate I've been driving it, it probably won't be for another year or two.

The worst parts of the disassembly/assembly process:
*Installing the short shifter. Seriously, there's virtually no room to get an allen wrench under the short shifter to get it installed. It took us forever. I'm sure there is a better tool for this.
*Removing the downpipe. We first tried pulling it from the bottom, behind the driveshaft. Next, we tried pulling it straight out the top. Finally, we dropped it in front of the driveshaft. I guess we should have tried that first, in retrospect, since it wasn't too bad getting it out that way.
*The transmission bracket bushings were kind of a PITA, but really not too bad. It seems to be that the shifter bracket bushings would have been an easier job.
*Not too bad, but since the RH-Renntechnik short shifter suffers from the same 6th gear issues as the early gen Mountune short shifter, we used a dremmel to make a notch in the plastic end of the shift cable. This allowed the other cable to settle in better, and so far I haven't experiencing any issues shifting.

 

[rodmoe]

Sounds like you had fun Tip for next time the shift assembly comes out of the trans with two bolts and unplug one wire makes it real easy to get after that allen head beasty. And if you take the wipers off and the plastic cowling oyu have tons of room to get after the DP from the top. But you figured it out so it is all Good Thanks for the Pics you did get ..

 

[rodmoe]

Sounds like you had fun Tip for next time (J/K) the shift assembly comes out of the trans with two bolts and unplug one wire makes it real easy to get after that allen head beasty. And if you take the wipers off and the plastic cowling oyu have tons of room to get after the DP from the top. But you figured it out so it is all Good Thanks for the Pics you did get ..

 

[wwuchris]

Sounds like you had fun Tip for next time (J/K) the shift assembly comes out of the trans with two bolts and unplug one wire makes it real easy to get after that allen head beasty. And if you take the wipers off and the plastic cowling oyu have tons of room to get after the DP from the top. But you figured it out so it is all Good Thanks for the Pics you did get ..

You mean to tell me the black shift arm can actually be removed easily? Damn, we must have missed that. I didn't see any way to pull it, so we screwed the shifter in while it was attached. The instructions for Mountune's shifter doesn't say anything about removing the shift arm, so I didn't think it would be feasible.

Also, we did remove the cowl and wipers, but we still couldn't get the downpipe out the top. The welded downpipe bracket kept catching on the oil line to the turbo and we couldn't get it past that. Maybe it was just because, at that point, I believe it was already about 2-3AM

If anyone has any suggestions for good shops in Western Washington to get an alignment after we install the Mountune springs, please let me know!

 

[rodmoe]

Not just the black arm the whole shifter assembly under the arm also. It seems a lot but really it isn't as long as you would take care to keep anything out of the trans and make sure the shifter lines up proper to drop it all back in.. Somewhere I have a thread on that . But as long as you got it done you are golden . As for the stock dp I had the battery ECU and a few other things apart at the time
In my build thread pictures http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/590-rodmoe-s-Blue-by-You-Build

 

[wwuchris]

Koni Sports arrived today! My buddy has been pretty busy and I agreed to help him finish his DSM before we do the other bits. I'm sure we'll (eventually) be able to get it all done in one day.

Do you guys end up getting a basic alignment after lowering spring installs, or is there more to it?

 

[wwuchris]

Nothing too exciting...

March 1st - installed Boomba Racing shifter base bushings

March 2nd - installed ProClip mount for the Accessport (no pictures, you guys have seen this image enough!)

Tomorrow, March 9th, I'm going to a local shop to have my Koni Sports, Mountune lowering springs, and hood strut (purchased from SiCo-Developments, UK) installed. Very excited! Probably a detail as well.

I re-installed the Sound Symposer yesterday, as I'm experiencing some very annoying whirring noise, typically in the 2k-2700 RPM range in all gears, but only when there is a load on the engine (doesn't happen on downhill). The Boomba kit certainly wasn't the culprit, as I was still experiencing the noise, so I reinstalled the Symposer Delete. Now I have to figure out what else could be causing it. I guess that's the drawback to installing so many parts at once (2J-Racing catted downpipe, Airtec Intercooler, Cobb Intake, Cobb Intercooler Pipes, RH-Renntechnik short shifter, Boomba Racing Sound Symposer Delete, Boomba Racing Transmission Cable Bracket Bushings).

 

[Teezlr]

I like the silver! Keep us updated!

 

[wwuchris]

I went in to get my Koni Sports and Mountune Springs installed today at a local shop. I'm loving the handling so far, although I'm sure I'll toy with loosening the front struts a bit, as it's probably a tad bit harsh for my wife. Was going to have the tech install my hood strut as well, but it's best to get the suspension fully adjusted first because it mounts to the driver-side strut tower. I also purchased a used set of Sparco Assetto Gara 16" wheels in matte graphite silver from a fellow forum member this morning. Once those arrive, I'll debate how much longer I want to drive on the stock wheels and tires, as I'm only at 6300 miles since last February and it would be a shame to just toss them so soon. I'm sure I'll change my mind shortly after they arrive

Forgive the dirtiness and curb rashes on my passenger side wheels. My fault, first couple months I had it . Also bad lighting - guess I need someone else to take pictures!

 

[Chris G]

Hey Chris - did you notice a difference with those base bushings?

Car looks great!

 

[wwuchris]

Hey Chris - did you notice a difference with those base bushings?

Car looks great!

I'm not as sensitive as most you guys are to small changes in the car, so honestly I didn't notice a difference. Probably because I already had the RH-Renntechnik short shifter and the Boommba transmission bracket bushings already previously installed.

If you (or anyone else), considers the RH-Renntechnik, I'd highly recommend against it. I wish I would have a paid a bit extra to get the Mountune (which is now also on sale for a pretty good deal), as Renntechnik must have simply copied the original design of the Mountune shifter (which sucked).

 

[wwuchris]

Original values are after Koni Sport and Mountune Spring install, then the alignment of course. I need to look up the stock ST specs, because those idiots used the 2010-2013 Fiesta values, i.e. non-ST. I hope nothing is out of tolerance, otherwise I'm bringing it back in to redo the alignment.

EDIT: With the exception of rear camber, of course, because that can't be adjusted.

 

[jaynometry]

If it helps you out, here are the ST specs vs non ST

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tdyrjz08gw8b7fn/2014%20Fiesta%20Alignment%20specs.pdf

 

[wwuchris]

If it helps you out, here are the ST specs vs non ST

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tdyrjz08gw8b7fn/2014%20Fiesta%20Alignment%20specs.pdf

Awesome, thanks! I found that a couple weeks back but was having trouble finding it last night when I was searching around. It's got to be in the Helm Inc manual somewhere (which I own), but I haven't found it there so far.

Now, since my used set of 16" Sparco Assetto Gara wheels should arrive soon, should I go with 205/45R16 or 205/50R16?

I REALLY prefer going Costco on the tires, but in either size, the only summer option is the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport. Tire size comparison:

 

[Chris G]

I'm not as sensitive as most you guys are to small changes in the car, so honestly I didn't notice a difference. Probably because I already had the RH-Renntechnik short shifter and the Boommba transmission bracket bushings already previously installed.

If you (or anyone else), considers the RH-Renntechnik, I'd highly recommend against it. I wish I would have a paid a bit extra to get the Mountune (which is now also on sale for a pretty good deal), as Renntechnik must have simply copied the original design of the Mountune shifter (which sucked).

Right now I have the Boomba transmission bracket bushings and the Boomba shifter plate. I have the base bushings sitting in my toolbox right now along with a new shift boot, but I'm not sure I really want to tear the whole console up just to install these two items. The car rattles and creaks enough, I don't need to add fuel to the fire by pulling more plastic parts off of it.

 

[wwuchris]

Right now I have the Boomba transmission bracket bushings and the Boomba shifter plate. I have the base bushings sitting in my toolbox right now along with a new shift boot, but I'm not sure I really want to tear the whole console up just to install these two items. The car rattles and creaks enough, I don't need to add fuel to the fire by pulling more plastic parts off of it.

I can only say that you should be VERY careful pulling the front of the console loose. I gave it to much upward pressure when I should have pulled it more to the rear, and I broke the frail front-most part of the console (there is really no reinforcement here). I should have taken pictures of that, sorry, but it was dark and I was doing it outside No new noises though, and on the plus side, removing the console allowed me to remove the mailbox key I dropped into the magic ebrake hole last year (it's for my old complex). I also would have preferred doing this during the daytime so I could vacuum, because it gets surprisingly dirty under the center console.

Also, I still haven't determined exactly what is causing my strange whirring sound, although the tech yesterday noticed the MAF sensor was really loose on the Cobb intake. We tightened that down and the noise seems to be a LITTLE better, so my initial thought is there may be a leak somewhere on the intake, or something needs to be tightened down (maybe the top of the airbox).

 

[wwuchris]

To potentially make it easier for other users to find in the future...

Alignment Specs - '14-'15 Fiesta ST

 

[FiestaSTan]

Where did you buy your Koni sports? Are they the Fiesta model or the ST specific? Looking to get those but I want to make sure it has the mounting bracket for the mass damper. Keep up the good work man. looks exactly like mine.

 

[wwuchris]

Where did you buy your Koni sports? Are they the Fiesta model or the ST specific? Looking to get those but I want to make sure it has the mounting bracket for the mass damper. Keep up the good work man. looks exactly like mine.

They aren't making an ST-specific front. With the Koni Sports, you'll throw the NVH dampener in the garbage. They aren't necessary. And you'll have to ziptie the ABS sensor wire.

If you're interested in the Koni Sports, I'd highly recommend reading through this thread - http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/3637-My-KONI-Sports-(yellows)-will-be-here-friday!

EDIT: Also, check here (couple posts worth) - http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/...-Fiesta-ST-today?p=70707&viewfull=1#post70707
I paid about $660 shipped from Redline360 for all 4. Westcoast claims he found them for about $40 bucks cheaper, so it wouldn't hurt to PM him and ask what he found. Due diligence!