Stealthy Frankenfiesta

[meFiSTo]

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

I did not. Local shop Cantrell Motorsports did the work. The fins themselves are bolted to brackets welded to the LCA. I will ask Colin to take photos during the process. Your original note said you could not see the image (came to me in email). I'm assuming that you can now, yes?

 

[meFiSTo]

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

Thanks, Rick. You SHOULD love it, since, you know, you and rodmoe talked me into the Quaife and the BC coilovers (which are really the main things going on here). Hah. Just yanking your chain.

Not much difference? Not at all, except for the big meats, rolled fenders, and massive under tray. Eventually: You'll have a cage and racing seats. You know it's coming.

Lord. 15x9s. Oy. Well, all that meats is gonna have an effect on the brake pads when combined with, erm, assertive track driving, no? I had no issues with XP8s on the SVT Focus. They didn't last forever, but I usually got at least a few all-day lapping event in. But: I probably am not as hard charging and my car is not set up for all out, so we'll see.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

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.

Thanks for the input, again.

And yes I meant tire spec, not wheel spec.

 

[RAAMaudio]

The Quaiffe and BC's are very major improvement mods, you will see on track if you have not noticed much yet you will but sure you have on the street already.

Glad you listened to us but Rodmoe is the pioneer on much of what we both have done, beat me to the punch as he is on the EFR, etc...so I cannot take much credit, or blame We just have similar ideas about modding cars and go to a bit more extreme than most but also in a balanced way to make the whole car work as a package.

15x9's, VERY involved, not for the faint of heart, one of the toughest mods I have ever done but glad I did so and figured out an easier way in the process but still a very serious undertaking. Front was relatively easy, rear axle flange angle change, damn it was tough.

After the EFR I may have to run 245 RA1 fronts and 225 rears, 245 in those or 225 in Hoosiers will not fit without major sheet metal work on the rear fenders, already rolled as far as I can go, fronts will fit easily now.

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Cage and seat later on, full track car? If so it would be cool and I may someday but in reality one can buy a very well built Miata race car, add some boost or LS swap(the V6 is actually better in some ways as still plenty of power, saves weight, etc) for a ton less than the cost of buying and building the FiST but it would be fun to go kick some butt in, it is fun already for me and soon bigger butts will be in my cross hairs and then falling behind

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I do plan to bring the car to the NW for a tour, maybe next year, I am from E WA originally and have some family there and have lived on the W side a few times as well as near Portland(I wanted to move to Hood River but my kids liked the Portland area more, until horrid allergies kick us out!)

We will have to hook up when I get there!

Rick

 

[RAAMaudio]

I agree on the tire, the RE11A is much better in the rain and where you live you had to consider them over the others, wise choice I would say. Now that the newer version or what seems to be I would like to see a comparison test to see if they fixed the heat issues on dry tracks where they overheated to quickly.

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I have not ran the NTO1, NTO5 on my vette was a great street tire and I ran a couple of laps at decent speeds at MMP on them, I think the NTO1 is basically the same as the RA1. Next time you need some call JBracing tires, John Berget, I buy my track tires used, take offs from pro teams, around $400 a set shipped for the best ones with most all if not all the tread on them, shaved, heat cycled, scuffed, many ran a few laps at the most.

 

[rodmoe]

I feel we swapped Ideas RAAM Tween the Quaife and the EFR I call it even Your mentions of it pointed me in that direction.. Its all good working to forward the FiST platform pay it forward right Thanks for the tip of the hat though..

 

[RAAMaudio]

You are most welcome and I guess you are right, did not think of it but I am a bit envious you get your EFR first

A bit off topic but just had to do this

Here is one for you buddy, make you think a bit about a 4x100 conversion

15x8, +35mm, 12.1 lbs, $149 each.

I might order one to see if they clear my brakes, talked to Tirerack about them, they would take it back if just test fit, no tire mounted, etc....

 

[rodmoe]

True if I didn't have 3 sets of wheels already lol

 

[RAAMaudio]

That I know buddy, I figured you would bring that up, expected it but I had to show them to you as a tease at least

 

[ChristianW]

Thanks for explaining that I actually work at a dealer that sells Porsche's so i am going to seriously look for a set of these they seem effective! Please post when you actually test the pads I have a track weekend planed for may 1st to 3rd which will include 6.5 hours of on track time and I'm worried about pads, though at this point I'm going to just stick with stock pads because they held up pretty good last year at the track.

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.

 

[meFiSTo]

I have not ran the NTO1, NTO5 on my vette was a great street tire and I ran a couple of laps at decent speeds at MMP on them, I think the NTO1 is basically the same as the RA1. Next time you need some call JBracing tires, John Berget, I buy my track tires used, take offs from pro teams, around $400 a set shipped for the best ones with most all if not all the tread on them, shaved, heat cycled, scuffed, many ran a few laps at the most.

Yes, I do regret a little not purchasing those tires from you, but I'll see how these new NT01s hold up. Maybe getting some takeoffs will be the way to go.

I do plan to bring the car to the NW for a tour, maybe next year, I am from E WA originally and have some family there and have lived on the W side a few times as well as near Portland(I wanted to move to Hood River but my kids liked the Portland area more, until horrid allergies kick us out!)

We will have to hook up when I get there!

No doubt. There is an annual Lotus event tied to an all-British event the first week of September (varies from year to year, but it's usually at the end of August). I always have enjoyed that group. No novices. Portland is probably the most accessible venue when traveling to the NW for a road course. Also easy to learn for a one-day visit.

Off topic: I've also kicked around the idea of going to Laguna Seca with my car, but now wonder if I should just try to rent a Fiesta ST in CA. Something to investigate.

Thanks for explaining that I actually work at a dealer that sells Porsche's so i am going to seriously look for a set of these they seem effective! Please post when you actually test the pads I have a track weekend planed for may 1st to 3rd which will include 6.5 hours of on track time and I'm worried about pads, though at this point I'm going to just stick with stock pads because they held up pretty good last year at the track.

My pleasure. If it is reasonably dry, I'll try to get out with the pads March 28 in Portland. Keeping fingers crossed, but this time of year is iffy for dry track days. I won't get out to the track with the fins until sometime in May soonest. They'll go on in mid-April. Then I'm off to the Octane Academy April 18/19 (really just April 19, but there is some reception at Ken Block's warehouse)

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!

Hey Rick: Check this post about vented hoods. Hah.

 

[meFiSTo]

Thanks for explaining that I actually work at a dealer that sells Porsche's so i am going to seriously look for a set of these they seem effective! Please post when you actually test the pads I have a track weekend planed for may 1st to 3rd which will include 6.5 hours of on track time and I'm worried about pads, though at this point I'm going to just stick with stock pads because they held up pretty good last year at the track.

Turns out those fins are actually 993 brake cooling deflectors, not 964. Search on "993 brake cooling deflectors" and some stuff comes up describing (mostly Porsche track folks) various experiences with them, etc. I could see that in very wet conditions that they might not be ideal (could throw water on the the brake hardware). Mine will be set up to bolt on and off, so in the winter or at a cold wet event, I might take them off. YMMV.

 

[Chuckable]

If you do end up adapting the 993 brake cooling deflectors as a bolt on, please post pics!

 

[meFiSTo]

If you do end up adapting the 993 brake cooling deflectors as a bolt on, please post pics!

They go on late April along with tow hooks. We'll weld brackets to the LCAs. The deflectors will be bolted to those (for relatively easy on/off).

 

[Chuckable]

Envious of your ability to weld. It's a skill I never learned. I was hoping that you were planning on using the existing holes in the arm. I imagine that welded brackets would probably provide a better mount for the deflector.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I was looking at this and wondering if qtr turn fasteners would be a good way to go for easy removal and putting them back on as well as solid enough.

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I should of worked for my uncle when young like everybody else in my family did, he was a master fabricator and welder, amazing and a great man to work for as well as teacher....I finally just bought a welder 10 years ago and taught myself. A lot of projects are pretty simple and doing test welds is always a good idea so having scrap around is what I do, in fact my neighbor travels all over teaching how to use high end Miller gear and taught me some good things a few years ago, like testing everything first on all critical parts. And pretty does not mean good, often times the ones focused on pretty welds actually weld the worst, fusion is what matters, not looks.

Point of this? Get a decent welder and have some fun learning, I weld quite often and love being able to make my own parts, roll cages now included and they have passed the highest inspections

Rick

 

[meFiSTo]

Envious of your ability to weld. It's a skill I never learned. I was hoping that you were planning on using the existing holes in the arm. I imagine that welded brackets would probably provide a better mount for the deflector.

LOL. I use the global "we" here. I am not a welder. Cantrell Motorsports here locally will do the work.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I have farmed out a lot of welding when just to critical like a very very nuts race car I was building in 2012 or a race turbo manifold and DP and the EFR manifold being built for me now. I can do the work but sometimes I just want the best I can get so no worries.

BUT, there are a ton of other things one can use a welder on around to make it worth learning

 

[meFiSTo]

Practically perfect first track day for Frankenfiesta. Weather was cool and dry. Ran on fresh NT01s with the intermediate group which was about 1/2 the size as the advanced group (not sure why). I switched and was glad I did. Some very fast cars were in the crowded advanced group including a "late model" oval track kind of car (maybe set up for track) and racing Panoz out for test and tune.

I had tons of open track in my session with a bunch of Miatas, vintage Alfas, and Pro3 BMWs, plus a host of M3s, STis, and BRZs. It was wide open with some opportunities to chase cars around the track. Frankenfiesta held its own, despite today focusing on practicing apex approach and such. Car is easy to drive and delightful. Point it and it goes there. More corner exit scoot vs. my supercharged SVT Focus and a little more top end (although that's not what the car is about). A spectator told me i was regularly getting up on 3 wheels in the "chicane." Hah. Not sure if that was on the right hand entry or left hand exit.

Anyway, after 6 sessions, here is what one of the front brake pads (and its rotor) look like:

Pad looks like new to me. XP8s held up throughout (along with the Torque fluid). Zero fade. I was definitely easy on brakes today; intentionally early and progressive. I really did not find many occasions to stand on the brakes. On a couple of laps, I did find myself chasing a car and wanting to close to force a let by flag (so braking a little later), but mostly I tried to avoid excessive, heavy braking. I inadvertntly left the nannies on in the first session, but remembered to turn them all off after that (at least the ones I could turn off).

Here's the little car at the end of the day:

And here's a small pile of paddock pics. I love the Alfa and Lotus events. So much vintage hardware comes out to test and tune. Some cool visitors too.

 

[rodmoe]

Good job I will have to remember the XP8's as I think I have their AutoX pads yet new in the box to try..