Stealthy Frankenfiesta

[meFiSTo]

Back when I started this project thread, this is what I said:

My prior FWD Ford car was not stealthy. It had an APR wing, CF hood, tow hooks, 6-point cage, Recaro racing seats, catless exhaust, FSWerks camber plates (had to chop off the top of the strut tower), a kill switch (pull cord poking out of the top edge of the hood), a very whiny Powerworks charge-air cooled supercharger, racing steering wheel, fire suppression kit, and so on. It touched all the senses: visual, audible, olfactory, and even tactile (made my butt ache sitting in those buckets). Focustein started life as an SVT Focus, but became a bit of a beast to drive around town. It stalled from time to time and would throw CELs when the test pipe was in there (and even with the aftermarket cat). It was essentially a 99 percent track toy. I sold it in 2012.

Frankenfiesta is not going to go that far. I'm shooting for more like a 70 percent street car. I want to happily drive it around town without drawing unwanted attention. But (there is always a but), I do want the car to be quick and nimble at the track on club HPDE days. Toward that end, I've been assembling bits and getting stuff bolted on. The car was ordered in December 2013 and landed at the dealer for pickup at the end of April 2014. Now, it's just about done. It's a compromise car. It does not have a lot of miles on it, but that should change with trips down to Portland International Raceway and The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton for occasional lapping days. Who knows, maybe there's a road trip to California tracks in the future. Anything is possible.

And it's true that I did not add a 6-point cage, racing seats, gut the interior, or swap an entirely different FI system (a bolt-on turbocharger change is not ENTIRELY different). BUT, I did tilt the car probably to be more like 55 percent street. And the few remaining items will tilt it to more like 50/50. Hopefully though, all what I'm doing will make it safer on the track and more likely to drive home in one piece. Fingers crossed. I think I can see the "end" of this build coming! May be time to enjoy it a little now.



Here's what's done:

Engine and Exhaust

• Borla exhaust
• Cobb exhaust hangers
• mountune intake package installed with MP 215 tune
• mountune high-flow cat
• mountune MRX turbo upgrade and tune
• mountune BOV
• mountune Fiesta ST Oil Control System
• mountune FMIC
• mountune high-flow lower intercooler charge pipe
• mountune high flow induction hose
• Mishimoto oil cooler
• Mishimoto high-capacity radiator package with CHILL fluid
• Mishimoto 160 degree t-stat
• Mishimoto oil catch can and drain kit
• Denso Iridium ITV22 pre-gapped spark plugs

Drive Train

• Quaife LSD
• Shift linkage "reinforced" with a zip-tie (lesson learned from my SVT Focus...these things love to pop out..not fun at the track)
• mountune quick shifter

Suspension

• BC Racing BR Type coilovers (corner balanced and aligned with a 2 degrees of negative camber)
• H&R camber bolts
• Cobb rear motor mount
• Pierce Motorsports 4-point lower brace

Wheels and Brakes

• StopTech braided stainless-sheathed teflon brake lines
• Torque RT700 brake fluid
• Team Dynamics PR 1.2 15x8 35 mm offset 4x108 High Power Silver wheels with Hankook RS-3 (Version 2) 225/45-15 tires (street summer; drive-to-track wheels)
• Track pads: Carbotech XP8s
• Porsche 993 brake cooling deflectors

Exterior

• 30% tint
• Perrin shorty antenna
• no-pistons evaporator housing skid shield
• Sico hood vents

Interior

• Ford all-weather floor mats
• no-pistons down-sized pedal lifter
• OMP (OA/1000) racing pedal set
• Boosted Designs dead pedal

Safety Gear

• Sport II, Model 20, HANS
• Halon extinguisher
• Pierce Motorsports front tow hook
• Rear flip down hook
• Arai GP-5W helmet
• Alpinestars Tech-1 race gloves
• Alpinestars shoes
• Schroth 4-point Quick Fit Pro harnesses

Some photos taken along the way.

A snapshot from the car's first track day (3/28/15)

Adapted 993 brake cooling air deflectors (4/20/15)

Mishimoto baffled oil catch can attached to strut tower and plumbing routing (4/20/15)

Fire extinguishner under seat mount (4/15/16)

OMP pedals and the Boosted Designs dead pedal (4/15/16)

Pierce Motorsports front tow hook (requires stock crash beam) (4/15/16)

Rear tow hook (4/15/16)

Down view of Mishimoto fan shroud (4/15/16)

Sico vent installed (7/8/16)

Car is *mostly* "done" (7/27/16)

Paddock pic from The Ridge (7/30/16)

Some clean laps at The Ridge, starting to get a feel for the place (7/30/16)
[video=youtube;jols2ftkuiE]

]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jols2ftkuiE[/video]



Two snapshots from Audi track day (8/20/16)

Snapshot from SCCA Track Night in America at The Ridge (8/10/17)

Wounded warriors. Two cars done for the day (9/1/17)

Maybe the last time on track with Club Lotus NW at Portland (9/1/17)

[video=youtube;8dLvAgdlJ4Q]

]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dLvAgdlJ4Q[/video]




I know that most people are not fans of the 15-inch wheels, but for my purposes, they're perfect. I like having more rubber driving over our crappy roads. There are also way more options in the 205/50-15 tire size versus 16- and 17-inch choices that fit this car. 205 is not a very wide size, but for my application, they'll work great. I'm not racing this car. I'll keep the stock interior and stock safety gear.

With the May 2017 update to the mountune MRX setup and the additional of the "oil control system," this car is mostly done. Whew. That took three years.

I'll also post track day photos and such here from time to time.

Track day updates:

• A couple images from the initial Portland shakedown day. (March 2015)
• Some initial lapping day notes: Post in Fiesta Tracking, Autocrossing & Dragstrip subforum (March 2015)
• Notes from June 2016 visit to The Ridge Motorsports Park: Post on page 11 of build thread (June 2016)
• Notes from July 2016 visit to The Ridge: Post on page 14 of build thread (July 2016)
• Notes from my sad Aug 2016 visit to The Ridge: Post on page 15 of build thread (August 2016)
• Notes from Track Night in America back to back at The Ridge and then Portland: Post on page 19 of build thread with a video from Portland (August 2017)
• Notes from what might be the last Club Lotus NW track event ever (I hope not, but Mark Viskov might walk away from running the event after 22 years.): Post on page 19 of build thread

Thanks for looking!

 

[CanadianGuy]

Nice package.

 

[PCA-1]

Looking good!

 

[FocusMike]

Great progress so far and I love your driveway.

 

[meFiSTo]

Great progress so far and I love your driveway.

Thanks. Yeah, well, I just noticed I have to clear off some crap from the roof.

Looking good!

Thanks for all your help with the wheels. It's practically impossible to capture what the anthracite color looks like in a photo under standard lighting conditions (oh yeah, with a smartphone camera, hah).

 

[MKVIIST]

Your FiST has really come a long way and it looks great.

 

[PCA-1]

It's practically impossible to capture what the anthracite color looks like in a photo under standard lighting conditions (oh yeah, with a smartphone camera, hah).

Just makes getting them all the better .

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I know that most people are not fans of the 15-inch wheels, but for my purposes, they're perfect. I like having more rubber driving over our crappy roads. There are also way more options in the 205/50-15 tire size versus 16- and 17-inch choices that fit this car. 205 is not a very wide size, but for my application, they'll work great. I'm not racing this car. I'll keep the stock interior and stock safety gear.

I was just about to get a set of 15 inch tires for my wheels. As like you I need the extra rubber for our crap city roads and like the ride.

What made you choose the 205/50 over the 195/55? That's the size I was looking at getting.

And great looking car. Love that wheel and car combo.

 

[ElChupacabura]

The quite the list of mods there, good work, love what you've done so far!

 

[meFiSTo]

I was just about to get a set of 15 inch tires for my wheels. As like you I need the extra rubber for our crap city roads and like the ride.

What made you choose the 205/50 over the 195/55? That's the size I was looking at getting.

And great looking car. Love that wheel and car combo.

I chose 205/50 because I prefer to get as much rubber patch as possible without wheel well rubbing under heavily loaded turn in at the track (or fender rolling or adding bolt on fender flares or any actual sheet metal mod). I think Rodmoe and RAAMaudio went up to 225s on 15x8s, but they also are WAY more into competitive driving or taking their cars to the ragged limit. I'm happy to be a little more dialed back and will push the car like it is. It'll be slower than their setups for sure, but I still think I can give the Elises and such grief. We'll see in August-ish when I get out with the Lotus kids at Portland (at least that's the plan). The 205/50s are also a tiny bit shorter, so they will corner exit a little faster out of chicanes and other slow speed sequences. Great tire options at 205/50 as well (both R-compounds and extreme summer tires). More than you expected probably, but that covers it. Hah.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I chose 205/50 because I prefer to get as much rubber patch as possible without wheel well rubbing under heavily loaded turn in at the track (or fender rolling or adding bolt on fender flares or any actual sheet metal mod). I think Rodmoe and RAAMaudio went up to 225s on 15x8s, but they also are WAY more into competitive driving or taking their cars to the ragged limit. I'm happy to be a little more dialed back and will push the car like it is. It'll be slower than their setups for sure, but I still think I can give the Elises and such grief. We'll see in August-ish when I get out with the Lotus kids at Portland (at least that's the plan). The 205/50s are also a tiny bit shorter, so they will corner exit is a little faster out of chicanes and other slow speed sequences. Great tire options at 205/50 as well (both R-compounds and extreme summer tires). More than you expected probably, but that covers it. Hah.

More is always better when it comes to learning about stuff. I appreciate the thought out response.

I just can't decide between the Dunlop Direzza DZ102 205/50 or Bridgestone Comp-2 in the 195/55 size.

Are both close to the rolling diameter of stock? I heard that's something to always consider.

 

[STephen]

Now THIS is a hot build. Excellent work!!

 

[meFiSTo]

More is always better when it comes to learning about stuff. I appreciate the thought out response.

I just can't decide between the Dunlop Direzza DZ102 205/50 or Bridgestone Comp-2 in the 195/55 size.

Are both close to the rolling diameter of stock? I heard that's something to always consider.

I had to DZ102s on my S4 wagon. They were fine tires, but I now have Kumho Ecsta 4Xs which are fine as well. And cheaper. I believe the 195/55 is closer in rolling diameter to the stock 205/40-17 tires, but you can check on Tirerack in the specs (diameter). As far as I know, the only difference that you get with smaller or larger diameter tires is that the speedometer and odometer are incorrect (and smaller diameter wheel/tire combos accelerate from low speed a little faster, while larger diameter wheel/tire combos, I believe, have a higher top end).

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I had to DZ102s on my S4 wagon. They were fine tires, but I now have Kumho Ecsta 4Xs which are fine as well. And cheaper. I believe the 195/55 is closer in rolling diameter to the stock 205/40-17 tires, but you can check on Tirerack in the specs (diameter). As far as I know, the only difference that you get with smaller or larger diameter tires is that the speedometer and odometer are incorrect (and smaller diameter wheel/tire combos accelerate from low speed a little faster, while larger diameter wheel/tire combos, I believe, have a higher top end).

Well the only reason I say the DZ102s is because they are the only ones in the 205/50 that I see that I would get. I don't think I'll get the full use out of the RE11As because it will only see daily driving, not the track. So I don't really see the point in spending the extra money if I won't be using them to their full potential.

And the DZ102s rank 3rd (the RE11As ranking 1st) in the ultra high performance tire survey according to Tirerack. And the DZ102s aren't THAT far behind in any of the categories, they are actually ahead of the RE11As in the thread wear, noise and ride comfort category.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHP&sortValue=0&tireSearch=true&showwp=N&showdp=N&showcm=N

Do you know of any other good 205/50 wheels to recommend?

 

[ChristianW]

I would like to know more about the Porsche 964 brake cooling fins and how you go about installing these! Also how are you finding the upgraded brake pads?

 

[meFiSTo]

Well the only reason I say the DZ102s is because they are the only ones in the 205/50 that I see that I would get. I don't think I'll get the full use out of the RE11As because it will only see daily driving, not the track. So I don't really see the point in spending the extra money if I won't be using them to their full potential.

And the DZ102s rank 3rd (the RE11As ranking 1st) in the ultra high performance tire survey according to Tirerack. And the DZ102s aren't THAT far behind in any of the categories, they are actually ahead of the RE11As in the thread wear, noise and ride comfort category.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHP&sortValue=0&tireSearch=true&showwp=N&showdp=N&showcm=N

Do you know of any other good 205/50 wheels to recommend?

I was interested in a specific role for my tire and had settled on the RE11A after thinking long and hard about it vs. the Dunlop Direzza DZ II tires. I wanted a good summer tire that would perform well in wet (not cold) conditions in a road course setting. The 205/50 size had the most options in the extreme performance tire categories of the options I was considering (thus the 205/50-15 choice). There were also Yokohama Advan AD08Rs. Since I planned on getting the Nitto NT01 for dry track use, I focused on wet performance. The RE11As were incrementally better.

I wish I'd looked one last time at the options available. There is a new tire from Bridgestone, the RE-71R. That looks like a helluva tire in limited testing. It performs well in damp conditions, but was not tested in standing water (which I believe is part of TR standard complete comparison test). In any event, I'm happy with the RE11As, but some day in the future might switch to the RE-71Rs.

I really did not evaluate the other tire classifications for this application. I was pretty much set on an Extreme Performance summer tire to compliment the NT01s.

And regarding your last questiion: Are you asking about tires or wheels. You ask: "Do you know of any other good 205/50 wheels to recommend?" That is a tire spec, not a wheel spec.

 

[airjor13]

Very nice! Love the color combo!

 

[meFiSTo]

I would like to know more about the Porsche 964 brake cooling fins and how you go about installing these! Also how are you finding the upgraded brake pads?

I used the brake fins with my prior Ford -- a supercharged, track-prepped SVT Focus. They worked great and helped reduce late-session brake fade. They are mounted using brackets welded to the LCA. I had one snap off from hitting something (probably a tall speed bump), but it was easy to fix and did not damage the LCA.

Here's a pic I posted to another thread awhile ago:

As for the pads: They have not gone on yet. I'm waiting until it's certain that I'm headed to the track (registration paid) -- with a little time to bed them before going. My experience with Carbotech XP-type pads on the SVT Focus was very positive. My recollection is that they were more progressive than they were "bitey" which took some getting used to, but the ultimate grip was very good and they held up well and wore pretty evenly. I did not experience much fade compared to the SVT Focus stock pads. I ran XP10s and XP8s both. This car is almost identical in weight to the SVT Focus, with slightly smaller front brakes. The XP10s were a little tougher on the rotors than the XP8s, but both wear rotors out compared to stock pads. They also generate a fair amount of heat, so the fins were handy. I replaced the front wheel bearings and rear spindles (because of that heat) every couple of years when I was tracking the car a lot. I'll cross that bridge when it comes with this car. I was running Castrol SRF brake fluid with the old car (incredible stuff). The shop that preps my car for track switched me to Torque RT700 and says it's excellent. He's using it on all the track Porsches that come through his shop (his speciality). It's significantly cheaper than SRF, though still more costly than Motul RBF600 or RBF660. YMMV.

 

[Chuckable]

I used the brake fins with my prior Ford -- a supercharged, track-prepped SVT Focus. They worked great and helped reduce late-session brake fade. They are mounted using brackets welded to the LCA. I had one snap off from hitting something (probably a tall speed bump), but it was easy to fix and did not damage the LCA.

Here's a pic I posted to another thread awhile ago:

As for the pads: They have not gone on yet. I'm waiting until it's certain that I'm headed to the track (registration paid) -- with a little time to bed them before going. My experience with Carbotech XP-type pads on the SVT Focus was very positive. My recollection is that they were more progressive than they were "bitey" which took some getting used to, but the ultimate grip was very good and they held up well and wore pretty evenly. I did not experience much fade compared to the SVT Focus stock pads. I ran XP10s and XP8s both. This car is almost identical in weight to the SVT Focus, with slightly smaller front brakes. The XP10s were a little tougher on the rotors than the XP8s, but both wear rotors out compared to stock pads. They also generate a fair amount of heat, so the fins were handy. I replaced the front wheel bearings and rear spindles (because of that heat) every couple of years when I was tracking the car a lot. I'll cross that bridge when it comes with this car. I was running Castrol SRF brake fluid with the old car (incredible stuff). The shop that preps my car for track switched me to Torque RT700 and says it's excellent. He's using it on all the track Porsches that come through his shop (his speciality). It's significantly cheaper than SRF, though still more costly than Motul RBF600 or RBF660. YMMV.

I'm interested to know more as well. Did you weld these on yourself?

 

[RAAMaudio]

I love your way of doing things, body and wheel color and flying under the radar, that is my preferred method and colors as well, my car is far more modded but from the outside there is not much difference than yours

I have been considering the hood as well and would paint it for sure if I got one, especially on our color car, the vents look nice but not really big enough to help a great deal so I was considering a none vented one then add much more serious vents to it. I have a sunroof as well, needed it for the dogs to stay cool when parked, if not for that I would not have it for sure!

I too want 15" street wheels but have found nothing in a tire and wheel combo I am ready to try on it, so far no 15x7 or 8's I have found will fit my over my BBK's and the 15x9's I use for the track are to wide for any tire I can run for my needs on street tires....

One word, watch those pads, I ran XP12 front and XP8 rear and burned up most of the 12s in two days at the track so the XP8's up front might not hold up well so watch them and get those fins on first if you can. I was on 225 RA1 tires and hit 130 or so every lap on the main straight and brake late, hard and trail brake on many corners so the XP8 might work out but you might have to try the XP10s if not.

Love the car, envious of the driveway, mine is having serious surface issues from salting it in the winter as a bit steep.....thanks for posting this great thread

Rick