Fiesta ST Intercooler Info Thread

[stascom]

Well, it's the one that goes across the front of the radiator behind the grill... noticed there were sensors on each end of it and someone had said earlier that's what they were...

The sensors are on the red-arrow-marked bar. The crash bar is the one under blue arrow. I drilled holes in the former.

 

[Quisp]

I was wondering about drilling holes in the lower grill where it is solid, good to hear it actually helps somewhat... Did you just use a Dremel tool and does it leave clean looking surfaces?

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You take off the front bumper, remove grill and grind from behind. Much less tedious.

 

[Jerickson88]

The very same could be said for the Mountune 'stage' packages as well.



WHY I will not even consider going to a hybrid/BT setup until this car is paid off FULLY.
(I don't have the coin like some on here do, to be 'fickle', jaded, or restless/bored, and drop this car like a white hot rivet for the next 'big thing' hot hatch from Japan/Korea coming down the pike, even after throwing BIG coin at it with HEAVY, extensive mods. )

Mountune makes great stuff as well, but I ordered RA flaps from them with their logo, two weeks later they were on back order, website said in stock and it took some days for my refund. Kind of put a bad taste in my mouth. Cobb has really good product support and customer service. I’m sure Mountune does as well, but they pissed me off lol.

You hit the nail on the head. Folks are jaded about ford not sending the new ST here, I’m thinking “your car is 4 years old, probably just paid off, enjoy it”

 

[danbfree]

The sensors are on the red-arrow-marked bar. The crash bar is the one under blue arrow. I drilled holes in the former.

Ah, OK, so I WAS right, drilling some holes in the thin upper bar IS OK, as it does just hold the air bag sensors, thanks for clarifying man!

 

[danbfree]

You take off the front bumper, remove grill and grind from behind. Much less tedious.

OK, I think I will do that as a project, I can take the time to get a nice clean "Big Mouth" cold air shroud cut that way too for my intake and be ready to install an actual Big Mouth eventually...

 

[TDavis]

You take off the front bumper, remove grill and grind from behind. Much less tedious.

I've been trying to get up the patience to do this. Lol

 

[deadlast]

Ah, OK, so I WAS right, drilling some holes in the thin upper bar IS OK, as it does just hold the air bag sensors, thanks for clarifying man!

Ohhh okay. I was wrong.

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[danbfree]

Ohhh okay. I was wrong.

That's OK, better safe than sorry... so if that upper thin section basically ONLY holds the air bag sensors then I think maybe a half dozen holes, 2 in each section around the 2 middle bolts, shouldn't hurt... hopefully it's not a radiator support bar that will cause flexing/issues if driven aggressively... Anyway, I think I'll pull the bumper and grill so I can make some clean cuts to the lower plastic grill and that bar as well as clean up my cold air shroud cutout for my intake... I'll just find some YouTube videos to follow, I know it's not that complex at all...

So, yeah, TERRIBLE paint skills, but something like this with obviously clean 1/2-3/4" holes roughly in the yellow spots...

 

[FLORIDAST]

The very same could be said for the Mountune 'stage' packages as well.



WHY I will not even consider going to a hybrid/BT setup until this car is paid off FULLY.
(I don't have the coin like some on here do, to be 'fickle', jaded, or restless/bored, and drop this car like a white hot rivet for the next 'big thing' hot hatch from Japan/Korea coming down the pike, even after throwing BIG coin at it with HEAVY, extensive mods. )

Depends how risk averse you are. I'd say a hybrid upgrade is a pretty safe bet if tuned responsibly.

 

[danbfree]

Depends how risk averse you are. I'd say a hybrid upgrade is a pretty safe bet if tuned responsibly.

Absolutely, these motors internals stock form can handle up to 400 HP, fuel runs out at around 325 before auxiliary is needed, so running a hybrid around 275-300 WHP with a quality tune is quite safe for the motor... BUT, a big BUT... while the motor may not blow, things like the clutch, trans and axles etc. do wear out faster at higher HP... so the mindset in general for those concerned about warranty, they may not want to be exposed to having been tuned and voiding the warranty on all those other items too... I mean, with just a strong stock turbo tune I can tell there is more stress on the drivetrain, I'm a bit concerned about certain slack/clunk, etc myself... But let's not fool ourselves, as far as the thread topic is concerned an upgraded intercooler does help with more reliable performance in general, even in stock tune... however, people also need to be aware that coolant temps could be affected by change of air flow too, so they do go hand in hand especially for those in hot weather areas, for them a radiator upgrade may be in store as well.

 

[stascom]

I used a step drill to put the biggest hole in each cell. Then used this to carve out the edges. Then filed rough spots. And took a torch to the loose plastic fibers. Took about an hour. The hardest part was removing the grill from the bumper. It's not neat. But you can't tell due to location. The replacement grill is $130 on amazon.

 

[redmoe]

I would be cautious about modifying even the bracket that holds the airbag sensor as it may alter the transmissibility between the sensor and the main structure. Depending on how the system was modeled the engineering team may have selected the sensors based on the vibration and shock coupling properties of that bracket as designed.

 

[danbfree]

I used a step drill to put the biggest hole in each cell. Then used this to carve out the edges. Then filed rough spots. And took a torch to the loose plastic fibers. Took about an hour. The hardest part was removing the grill from the bumper. It's not neat. But you can't tell due to location. The replacement grill is $130 on amazon.

Well dang, I don't want to make too much of a deal with it, I wonder if I can just drill out the top half row that filled and use some heavy sandpaper to get it smooth enough, but then from there reach the upper bar with a circular metal drill bit maybe? But then would have to be super careful not to pinch through to the radiator!

 

[stascom]

Well dang, I don't want to make too much of a deal with it, I wonder if I can just drill out the top half row that filled and use some heavy sandpaper to get it smooth enough, but then from there reach the upper bar with a circular metal drill bit maybe? But then would have to be super careful not to pinch through to the radiator!

I used the same step drill with an extension to get to the bar with the bumper (fascia) off. Don't have to worry about going too far that way. But it wouldn't fit through the honeycomb. If I were you, I would delay this until you have to take the bumper off anyway. The plastic blocking the cells is pretty thick.

 

[stascom]

I would be cautious about modifying even the bracket that holds the airbag sensor as it may alter the transmissibility between the sensor and the main structure. Depending on how the system was modeled the engineering team may have selected the sensors based on the vibration and shock coupling properties of that bracket as designed.

Crash sensors detect rapid velocity change. They don't rely on the deformation of the bracket to trigger the output. They don't trigger the airbag either; the ECU does. They only report the force readings. One could probably relocate those sensors and remove the bracket altogether without affecting the functionality of the safety system (I do not recommend this).

 

[M-Sport fan]

Mountune makes great stuff as well, but I ordered RA flaps from them with their logo, two weeks later they were on back order, website said in stock and it took some days for my refund. Kind of put a bad taste in my mouth. Cobb has really good product support and customer service. I’m sure Mountune does as well, but they pissed me off lol.

You hit the nail on the head. Folks are jaded about ford not sending the new ST here, I’m thinking “your car is 4 years old, probably just paid off, enjoy it”

Ironically, those are the very RA flaps I have on my car. (But I do understand your frustration with Mountune USA, as you are NOT the first with that sort of complaint/dissatisfaction. )

I just wanted to show some 'heritage pride' with their logo prominently displayed, for being the engine builders/tuners for the Ford World Rally Team/M-Sport, for so many years, before that function was moved 'in house' at the Dovenby Hall, Cumbria, England M-Sport compound.

 

[danbfree]

I used the same step drill with an extension to get to the bar with the bumper (fascia) off. Don't have to worry about going too far that way. But it wouldn't fit through the honeycomb. If I were you, I would delay this until you have to take the bumper off anyway. The plastic blocking the cells is pretty thick.

Good call, can't pull the trigger on a step drill right now anyway, best to remove bumper and grill to do it right, thanks for the tips!

 

[redmoe]

Crash sensors detect rapid velocity change. They don't rely on the deformation of the bracket to trigger the output. They don't trigger the airbag either; the ECU does. They only report the force readings. One could probably relocate those sensors and remove the bracket altogether without affecting the functionality of the safety system (I do not recommend this).

That is the basis of my caution the damping/coupling properties of the bracket/structure that they are mounted to will alter the shock/acceleration readings. How much tolerance the ecu allows for on the sensor reading and the impact of the modified support is unknown. I work with instrumentation quite often and it is surprising the impact mounting location and material can make in the reading. That being said I’m sure the signal level to trigger the system is significant and minor changes to the mounting beam should not be an issue. The key is “should not be” since we do not have the necessary data to evaluate the impact of the change it’s not advisable to alter a component directly associated with the system.

 

[anticon]

I didn't want to post again here, but I have a writeup of my MTC intercooler install here for reference.

https://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/10304-MTC-Intercooler-!?p=318675&viewfull=1#post318675

 

[danbfree]

In case you guys didn't see the install thread posted a few days ago: Sweet American made intercooler for $477, shipped, with only 15 degree MAX over ambient even with hybrid or BT, does not require altering factory crash bar... I wonder why these big manufacturers couldn't get results like this?!?!?

https://www.bravoalphaperf.com/products/big-mutha-fist-intercooler-and-race-crash-bar-kit