Mechanical Changes/Improvements to FiST Through the Years?

[blurred]

I noticed the newer ones have lost the rear seat adjustable map lights as well as the owners manual holder in the glove box

 

[boostie]

i as well noticed this

 

[XR650R]

Cheap bastards!

 

[LILIKE16ST]

These changes are wild...my 16 is an early one (1/16 build date) it has a dome light and two map lights front and rear (all of which are now stage 2 diode dynamics led...super bright lol). Mine has the instant mpg reader and it has the pen holder in glove box along with the elastic holder for the manuals in the back...has a glove box light which is also stage 2 dd led and it has the ambient light above the glove box. I've read the cutoff date for the suspension changes was 2/166 so if this is the case mine has the old setup. I'm going to be installing swift spec r springs soon so maybe I can grab a part number off the stock dampers to confirm. My dampers seem to be I'm pretty good shape still at least I cannot tell they've worn alot. And last mine came with the all season option so it has the less performing lower dust pads which must last longer because mine are still in decent shape after 43k (I'm also not extremely hard on the brakes and I use Rev matched downshifts all the time to engine brake and help with the brakes also). As far as the rmm I'm not sure if it was changed but I've never noticed any engine clunking in mine either even ffs hard at redline. The only time I've ever noticed wheelhop is when I stomp on it in 2nd gear on a wet road and the tires spin bad it wheel hops during that scenerio sometimes but outside of that haven't noticed anything with the rmm. Nonetheless I still have an 88d awr rmm on the way from whoosh because I want to stiffen it up and make shifting more crisp as well. My stratified tune has the idle rpm set to 1000 to help with idle vibes with this mod in mind. I had a 70d steeda rmm on my old svt focus and the vibes didn't bother me at all in that car and I wouldn't mind it being a little stiffer than that one was hence the reason I chose the 88d bushing in my awr mount. Can anyone else confirm a hard cutoff date for the suspension changes?

 

[danbfree]

These changes are wild...my 16 is an early one (1/16 build date) it has a dome light and two map lights front and rear (all of which are now stage 2 diode dynamics led...super bright lol). Mine has the instant mpg reader and it has the pen holder in glove box along with the elastic holder for the manuals in the back...has a glove box light which is also stage 2 dd led and it has the ambient light above the glove box. I've read the cutoff date for the suspension changes was 2/166 so if this is the case mine has the old setup. I'm going to be installing swift spec r springs soon so maybe I can grab a part number off the stock dampers to confirm. My dampers seem to be I'm pretty good shape still at least I cannot tell they've worn alot. And last mine came with the all season option so it has the less performing lower dust pads which must last longer because mine are still in decent shape after 43k (I'm also not extremely hard on the brakes and I use Rev matched downshifts all the time to engine brake and help with the brakes also). As far as the rmm I'm not sure if it was changed but I've never noticed any engine clunking in mine either even ffs hard at redline. The only time I've ever noticed wheelhop is when I stomp on it in 2nd gear on a wet road and the tires spin bad it wheel hops during that scenerio sometimes but outside of that haven't noticed anything with the rmm. Nonetheless I still have an 88d awr rmm on the way from whoosh because I want to stiffen it up and make shifting more crisp as well. My stratified tune has the idle rpm set to 1000 to help with idle vibes with this mod in mind. I had a 70d steeda rmm on my old svt focus and the vibes didn't bother me at all in that car and I wouldn't mind it being a little stiffer than that one was hence the reason I chose the 88d bushing in my awr mount. Can anyone else confirm a hard cutoff date for the suspension changes?

A couple of pages back they have a link to a thread about the suspension and yes, it looks like suspension changes happened after 2/16/16... How's the 88d RMM working for you?

 

[LILIKE16ST]

A couple of pages back they have a link to a thread about the suspension and yes, it looks like suspension changes happened after 2/16/16... How's the 88d RMM working for you?

Yea I seen that where it said 2/16 was the start of the suspension changes. Mine was a 1/16 build. As far as the 88d rmm it's great I recommend it for sure. Nice and stiff and makes shifting feel much better all around in particular rev matched downshifts into 2nd gear that is the thing I noticed the most positive change with although it's great all around. It does have some vibes but to me it isn't overly aggressive in that regard I guess it would depend on the user. As long as you're not overly sensitive to vibes it should not be a problem. As long as you keep rpms at 2 or above you don't notice vibes while driving and since I have my stratified tune set up to idle at 1000 that really helps idle feel better in that regaurd. So basically if you drive without lugging the engine take off from a stop is the only time you really notice vibes. My rear views do shake some driving style plays a part too as long as you slip the clutch and engage it correctly with enough throttle it isn't bad. Like I said I'd recommend it for sure unless you're overly sensitive to vibes. It's a good price and really changes shift feel for the better. I never noticed alot of wheel hop prior to the install except in 2nd spinning in the wet just playing I noticed bad wheel hop before in that scenerio and I tried it since the install and wheelhop was almost eliminated. I'm sure traction is improved as well but it have not launched it yet.

 

[danbfree]

Yea I seen that where it said 2/16 was the start of the suspension changes. Mine was a 1/16 build. As far as the 88d rmm it's great I recommend it for sure. Nice and stiff and makes shifting feel much better all around in particular rev matched downshifts into 2nd gear that is the thing I noticed the most positive change with although it's great all around. It does have some vibes but to me it isn't overly aggressive in that regard I guess it would depend on the user. As long as you're not overly sensitive to vibes it should not be a problem. As long as you keep rpms at 2 or above you don't notice vibes while driving and since I have my stratified tune set up to idle at 1000 that really helps idle feel better in that regaurd. So basically if you drive without lugging the engine take off from a stop is the only time you really notice vibes. My rear views do shake some driving style plays a part too as long as you slip the clutch and engage it correctly with enough throttle it isn't bad. Like I said I'd recommend it for sure unless you're overly sensitive to vibes. It's a good price and really changes shift feel for the better. I never noticed alot of wheel hop prior to the install except in 2nd spinning in the wet just playing I noticed bad wheel hop before in that scenerio and I tried it since the install and wheelhop was almost eliminated. I'm sure traction is improved as well but it have not launched it yet.

Excellent feedback, thanks for replying to an older post... I'm installing a 75d RMM this Saturday and I'm very happy you accidentally answered my next question: I too have a Stratified tune and was wondering what RPM I should raise my idle at to help... since it's in between the Cobb and yours in hardness, I'll give it a couple of weeks to settle before I see about having Stratified changing my idle speed. Thanks again for your detailed info!

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Excellent feedback, thanks for replying to an older post... I'm installing a 75d RMM this Saturday and I'm very happy you accidentally answered my next question: I too have a Stratified tune and was wondering what RPM I should raise my idle at to help... since it's in between the Cobb and yours in hardness, I'll give it a couple of weeks to settle before I see about having Stratified changing my idle speed. Thanks again for your detailed info!

If it were me I'd go ahead and have them change it to 1000. It won't hurt a thing and helps the car warm up a tad quicker and with a stiffer mount it can only help. You don't even hardly notice a change. It's not like it's idling real high hell 1000 is hardly noticeable over the stock 850 or so but it helps alot with idle vibes. I highly recommend it.

 

[danbfree]

If it were me I'd go ahead and have them change it to 1000. It won't hurt a thing and helps the car warm up a tad quicker and with a stiffer mount it can only help. You don't even hardly notice a change. It's not like it's idling real high hell 1000 is hardly noticeable over the stock 850 or so but it helps alot with idle vibes. I highly recommend it.

This is a great idea, I'll go ahead and do it, I'll just have to figure out their order form for tune update, might as well have them add shift light at 5750 as well...

 

[Intuit]

Changes were made for the wiring and under-hood fuse block, beginning with 2016 model year.
Link: http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/...ng-Harness-Kit?p=299097&viewfull=1#post299097

 

[danbfree]

If it were me I'd go ahead and have them change it to 1000. It won't hurt a thing and helps the car warm up a tad quicker and with a stiffer mount it can only help. You don't even hardly notice a change. It's not like it's idling real high hell 1000 is hardly noticeable over the stock 850 or so but it helps alot with idle vibes. I highly recommend it.

Well, got the RMM installed in with a 75a durometer and the vibes are so minimal I'm going to put the $10 tune change fee to raise my idle towards their new version 4.0 update instead... Definitely far less vibes than I thought, even with the AC on, I like the bit of rumble starting up too.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Well, got the RMM installed in with a 75a durometer and the vibes are so minimal I'm going to put the $10 tune change fee to raise my idle towards their new version 4.0 update instead... Definitely far less vibes than I thought, even with the AC on, I like the bit of rumble starting up too.

Yea even with this 88 it isn't bad. People highly exaggerate the vibes from these and have people thinking their car gonna fall apart when in fact it's not bad at all. What's with the 4.0 update? I'd like to know more about that

 

[danbfree]

Yea even with this 88 it isn't bad. People highly exaggerate the vibes from these and have people thinking their car gonna fall apart when in fact it's not bad at all. What's with the 4.0 update? I'd like to know more about that

Ya, I'm feeling my 75 a bit more as I try to take off very slowly, so if it was any stiffer I'd personally go ahead and have the idle bumped up... As far as the update, I made a post in the Stratified section under the vendors at the bottom of the main thread list.

 

[the duke]

Has anyone done a test of the rubber for a 2017 RMM? I’m cobsidering changing my 4 year old design for a new stock one for better grip while staying in autocross “H stock” class (update / backdate rule).

 

[danbfree]

Has anyone done a test of the rubber for a 2017 RMM? I’m cobsidering changing my 4 year old design for a new stock one for better grip while staying in autocross “H stock” class (update / backdate rule).

Well, if you have to use a stock part then we do know for sure that it's at least somewhat stiffer then your early year... If it helps, I didn't have any banging problems with my '17 stock one but upgrading to 75a did help as well, so maybe stock is 60a if I had to guess.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Easy enough to tell, If you had one of these;

https://www.racerpartswholesale.com...9fNGLU0DMTURzgii3rg90dvOf09W5dlMaAlQoEALw_wcB

But then someone has to check what the older ones were as well.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Was the mount changed for all 16 and newer models or was it after 2/16 like the suspension was? Mine is a 1/16 build I upgraded to an 88d mount from awr and it'd significantly stiffer than mine was...I have my stock mount I could test.

 

[danbfree]

Was the mount changed for all 16 and newer models or was it after 2/16 like the suspension was? Mine is a 1/16 build I upgraded to an 88d mount from awr and it'd significantly stiffer than mine was...I have my stock mount I could test.

Well, 88d is far stiffer than most anything including aftermarket ;P

But interesting question, I think it's been assumed all the '16's got the update... but heck even my 75a is noticeably stiffer than my for sure newer stock '17, I think they went from woeful to barely adequate for stock, LOL.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Well, 88d is far stiffer than most anything including aftermarket ;P

But interesting question, I think it's been assumed all the '16's got the update... but heck even my 75a is noticeably stiffer than my for sure newer stock '17, I think they went from woeful to barely adequate for stock, LOL.

Yeah I think that even with the update the stock Mount is mediocre at best. I never really experienced a lot of wheel hop or banging with my stock now but even so the mount I have now makes the car feel so much better all the way around it's a must-have mod even if we will hop and engine banging the firewall wasn't an issue to begin with

 

[Intuit]

Easy enough to tell, If you had one of these;

https://www.racerpartswholesale.com...9fNGLU0DMTURzgii3rg90dvOf09W5dlMaAlQoEALw_wcB

But then someone has to check what the older ones were as well.

Interesting tech. I thought they were measuring tire temp. Makes more sense that they'd be using this instead.

The rear motor mount on the 2016 is somewhat easy to max out at high RPM as well.

If I had to choose one mount as the "weak point", it would be the rear. I'm curious about how the rubber on that mount, compares to the other three. Stiffening it may transfer additional torsional stresses to the front mount, possibly roll off more to the sides?

I almost never drive the RPMs high enough to max it, so will leave it alone. Open differential typically breaks traction before RPMs get high enough anyway. It's really that centrifugal force of high RPM that maxes it.