What did you do to your Fiesta ST today ?

[danbfree]

lol y'all's states suck

35% allowed here plus a full 6" strip on the windshield... could be better, could be worse, people here go with 30% all the time and since it's so close and still can show movement good enough inside they never have problems with the law...

 

[purityracer316]

The ones that are $90 on Amazon? They are one of the few PROVEN to have a SUPER clean cutoff, nothing to apologize for, you did good! Not sure if you saw my thread about LED's but they are easily the best under $100 you can get. Personally I want ones that are closer to 5000k-5500k than the Hikari 6500k (as actually tested) but yeah, you did good man!

They were the $38 ones. Yep and saw the thread too. I just went with Hikari because it kept popping up on amazon and I just installed some on a 93 Caprice Wagon and the customer was happy with them.

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[KenST]

35% allowed here plus a full 6" strip on the windshield... could be better, could be worse, people here go with 30% all the time and since it's so close and still can show movement good enough inside they never have problems with the law...

That’s exactly what I had 30%. State has never bothered me nor any county’s. Until MDTA wanted to pull me over for 75 in a 55 [emoji1742]*[emoji3603]


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[danbfree]

They were the $38 ones. Yep and saw the thread too. I just went with Hikari because it kept popping up on amazon and I just installed some on a 93 Caprice Wagon and the customer was happy with them.

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Then just use the adjustment screws to aim them down a tiny bit and you should be fine if you think they have a lot of glare. I wouldn't tint them, maybe get some $50 eyelids at most.

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[alexrex20]

25% here on front side windows. back windows can be as dark as you want. rear window can also be as dark as you want if you have side mirrors. no tint allowed on windshield lower than 5in from the top.

 

[KenST]

25% here on front side windows. back windows can be as dark as you want. rear window can also be as dark as you want if you have side mirrors. no tint allowed on windshield lower than 5in from the top.

Here you can see how dumb Maryland is when it come to hatches and sedans https://www.tinting-laws.com/maryland/


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[alexrex20]

lol @ them having different requirements for sedans than vans/SUVs, as though they have different uses. i'm pretty sure you look out the back the same whether you're in a sedan or a van

 

[Sam4]

Swapped 1 step colder NGKs back to OE heat range. Comfort meter says better, butt dyno says better. Is it simply fresh plugs? Livernois 93 tune, so no data log to back me up.

 

[purityracer316]

Swapped 1 step colder NGKs back to OE heat range. Comfort meter says better, butt dyno says better. Is it simply fresh plugs? Livernois 93 tune, so no data log to back me up.

I went back to OE also after my second set of NGK 6510 fouled out.

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[purityracer316]

Since you haven't updated your thread about that, have you had any issues since going back to stock heat range? I don't think any of us (especially in colder climates) need one step colder plugs until we're into "stage 3" or big turbo territory, but I could be wrong. If I recall correctly, the general rule is "one step colder for every 100hp added".

Nope no issues at all anymore. Car pulls a lot better. Went back with to OE Ford Motorcraft Spark Plugs gapped at 0.026in

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[danbfree]

Swapped 1 step colder NGKs back to OE heat range. Comfort meter says better, butt dyno says better. Is it simply fresh plugs? Livernois 93 tune, so no data log to back me up.

I went back to OE also after my second set of NGK 6510 fouled out.

Since you haven't updated your thread about that, have you had any issues since going back to stock heat range? I don't think any of us (especially in colder climates) need one step colder plugs until we're into "stage 3" or big turbo territory, but I could be wrong. If I recall correctly, the general rule is "one step colder for every 100hp added".

Nope no issues at all anymore. Car pulls a lot better. Went back with to OE Ford Motorcraft Spark Plugs gapped at 0.026in

Interesting, as I've seen all the tuners recommend them even with stock tunes, and have seen zero downside to running them... maybe they do foul out sooner, but I haven't experienced any "comfort" issues either, the car just took longer to start for the first few days until the ECU adapted. I did notice my more aggressive Stratified tunes pulls harder with them in but on my slightly more conservative Dizzy tune they didn't make as big of a difference either... I have about 1500 miles on the new colder step plugs now.

 

[TheSixtyFive]

25% here on front side windows. back windows can be as dark as you want. rear window can also be as dark as you want if you have side mirrors. no tint allowed on windshield lower than 5in from the top.

In Italy the same ..I've got black rear widows for only few time.
They gave me the impression to drive a van...so I've wrapped the glass frame only.

Ops…..
I wrote…....I had black rear widows......I never saw two ladies dressed in mourning behind the front seats

 

[danbfree]

I'm no expert, but I'm not so sure that it would help on a stock or "stage 1" tuned engine. I like to think that Ford's engineers picked the OEM spark plugs and their heat range for a reason. Colder plugs just caused issues for [MENTION=10267]purityracer316[/MENTION], after all. But, there's a lot more than just power figures that factor into this, like cylinder pressures. For instance, I believe that when you're pushing 20+lbs of boost fairly consistently and/or have a long commute, then a step colder would likely show benefits regardless of whether you're cranking out 200whp or 300whp. So, perhaps if you abuse the overboost function of our little four-bangers and you've got some nice hot weather, colder plugs would help on a stock engine.

Again, I'm no expert. Just an educated idiot.

Ok, fair enough, but any real tune pushes 24 plus PSI, regardless of any bolt ons at all, but you could be right overall about stock and Cobb crap tunes, and the reason Ford chooses that heat range is probably simply emissions reasons... but I don't even know what they mean about "comfort" issues at all, lol...

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[danbfree]

True, but that's also why I take the "recommended even on stock!" claims with a big grain of salt. Stock, factory-tuned overboost is capped at, what, 21psi for 10 seconds? Of course you can just let off the throttle to reset the timer and then slam it again to go right back into overboost. You're only going to be abusing that function on the track or by being an idiot on the highway, so needing colder plugs to compensate for boost/cylinder pressures on stock doesn't make much sense to me.

You're 100% correct about "real" tunes, though. That's where I can see it being viable.

As for comfort, well, misfires and engine hesitation make me awfully uncomfortable. Dunno 'bout you.

Actually, it's only like 19 PSI, but for 15 seconds, which literally never even comes up unless you are doing a top speed run as you have to shift manually anyway of course, so it's literally a non-issue... and personally never heard of hesitation or misfires on step colder plugs, again I strongly lean towards emissions as the reason for the heat range they choose, at the stock level, it's now down to what [MENTION=3477]Sam4[/MENTION] means by "comfort meter"... But I would tend to agree with you on having doubts why some tuners would recommend them even stock, not sure they would make much of a difference at all.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

What also could be taken into effect is when people run colder thermostats and larger radiators....this all can contribute to buildup on spark plugs as the engine isn't getting up to operating temp to burn off any residual that has accumulated on the plugs....one step isn't bad at all it's when you go even colder that it can become more of an issue....IMO.

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[danbfree]

Ah, thanks for the correction about the specifics of FiST overboost. purityracer316 has a thread around here detailing that he experienced misfires (likely due to fouled plugs) when he was running one step colder NGKs. My bet is that they wouldn't get hot enough to burn off carbon. His short commute probably exacerbated the issue. Stock plugs haven't given him any issue, per his earlier posts.

What also could be taken into effect is when people run colder thermostats and larger radiators....this all can contribute to buildup on spark plugs as the engine isn't getting up to operating temp to burn off any residual that has accumulated on the plugs....one step isn't bad at all it's when you go even colder that it can become more of an issue....IMO.

Good points... I rarely drive my car less than at LEAST 15 minutes at a time and 90% of the time it's a minimum of 30 minutes... Feel sorry for PurityRacer, as if he is fouling his plugs that easy to lots of short trips then he's going to have issues with carbon buildup too. I will make sure to drive my car for over an hour each way on the freeway at high speeds at least once a month, I'll invent spontaneous road trips if I have to, it's good to get out there and get your valves up to full temp for over an hour and push some boost through them too.

 

[purityracer316]

Yeah only long trips I take is to the casino and that's still not that for away either at most 15-20 miles. Everything is within limits. Like I can walk to anywhere I need go that's how close everything is. Only time I actually get on it is at the drag strip. I'm not to worried about fouling out the spark plugs since my guy at O'Reilly's will warranty it out for me. I'll just start throwing in the NGK 6510 when I'm headed to the track.

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[aisu]

I have one step colder plugs, because they were recommended with the dizzy tune, and haven't noticed any issues or improvements. The only difference I have noticed is that it takes a little longer to start.

Last weekend I installed powerflex inserts in the upper engine and transmission mounts and a pierce 2 point brace. Installing the mount inserts was pretty straightforward. The transmission mount takes longer since you have to remove the intake and battery tray to get to it. The brace was a pain to install. Those bolts are tight but with a cheater bar and some persistence I was able to get them undone.

It has only been a few days but I am very impressed. The car launches so much smoother now, even my wife noticed the difference. Torque steer is basically gone and it helped reduce tire spin as well. It added quite a bit of vibration but it is bearable.

 

[danbfree]

Yeah only long trips I take is to the casino and that's still not that for away either at most 15-20 miles. Everything is within limits. Like I can walk to anywhere I need go that's how close everything is. Only time I actually get on it is at the drag strip. I'm not to worried about fouling out the spark plugs since my guy at O'Reilly's will warranty it out for me. I'll just start throwing in the NGK 6510 when I'm headed to the track.

Nice, at least you have those trips to the drag strip to burn out carbon too, I bet you'll get some nice deep burning smells when you drag as you burn off stuff, you might want to consider those DI intake services too where they fog stuff into your intake and help reduce carbon buildup on your intake valves, there is a Valvoline service you can have done at the shop on the high end and on the lower end you have the CDC and Seafoam ones you can do yourself, the CDC one specific for DI engines looks cool for only like $15.

 

[danbfree]

Some time ago I happened across what most OEMs typically consider to be "extreme driving conditions." The upper end values are probably what you expect, but the lower bounds might surprise you:

Speeds above 75mph.
Ambient temperatures above 80F.
Frequent braking and acceleration.
Trips under 15 miles in distance.
Anything below 35mph.
Ambient temperatures below 40F.

Not listed? Long trips with consistent speeds. Highway miles are typically the most healthy for your vehicle.

Shoot, speeds above 75 are where you REALLY burn off that carbon off your intake valves, I'd say that's healthier for you car than putting around at 55... I'll take a long road trip where everyone is going 80+ on the Interstate and with RPM's that high, can goose it some and have fun feeling that power and blasting out crap off your valves.