Lemon's X47 track ST

[M-Sport fan]

Finally got round to fitting the seat. I ended up ditching the sliders and drilling some new holes. I've fitted a 4 point harness and used a 2.2ohm resistor to keep the airbag light away. I'm going to remove the original seat belt when I get time, although this looks like it will be difficult with the cage in the way.

Counting down the weeks to the first track day of the year!

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One thing I've always disliked about the Fiesta is how massive the steering wheel is. Now that I have a harness in I'm tempted to swap it out for something smaller without an airbag.

Does that seat have any provision/ferrules for a solid connection to the roll bar, type brace?
(Or do you not want to do that anyway?)

 

[lemonjs]

Does that seat have any provision/ferrules for a solid connection to the roll bar, type brace?
(Or do you not want to do that anyway?)

I haven't heard of this before, is it a way of fixing the seat to the roll bar?

 

[lemonjs]

I picked up some new wheels for the track and fitted some used Avon ZZRs in 215/40/17. These tyres are £279 each new, and I managed to get the full set for £200 from a guy who races in the MX5/Miata Cup. Seems like all the guys who race NC's in the cup replace their tyres every race or two, so that's how I'll probably be buying all my track tyres in the future.

You can just about fit 4 wheels and tyres in the car with a half cage:



Local tyre place fitted the tyres and balanced them for £40 while the boss was away:



Went to a friends garage to change my oil, and while it was draining decided to cut out the resonator. I think it sounds fantastic without!:



I forgot to get some pictures afterwards. However, it's definitely time I got a proper cat back exhaust - I wonder how much power I'm missing out on by running the 2.25" exhaust. I previously had the Mountune exhaust but hated the way it sounded. You guys in the US seem to have a much better selection of exhausts. I think I'm going to go for the Miltek non-resonated race exhaust. I first need to check if it's under 90db as my local track has some very low noise limits and it would be a shame to not be able to race there.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Those Avons have a similar tread pattern to the Toyo R888s which we can get here.

There are no Avon race, track, or rallycross/tarmac rally tire distributors here in the states, at all, but I know how popular they are over there.

Those ZZRs are a 100 or 200 tread wear rating?

 

[lemonjs]

I've finally given in and purchased a proper exhaust. I went for the Milltek non-res race version with black tips as I want to keep the stealthy look. Going from 2.15" to 2.75" should make a noticeable difference, I think I'll try and book in for another dyno run to see if it makes a difference.

The cat inspection passed:


I also got an email from Mountune this morning announcing subframe alignment bolts. I picked up a set today and will fit them when they arrive and will follow up with an alignment.

 

[lemonjs]

No access to a ramp today so fitted the exhaust on the driveway. It's not the first time I've been stupid enough to do it and I doubt it will be the last! All in all it took about 2 hours as I cut the old one out. To remove it in one piece you have to drop the rear subframe which I could not be bothered to do while lying on my back.

The quality of the Milltek exhaust is fantastic, as good or better than the Mountune exhaust I had a while back. Next time it's on the ramp I'll get it aligned properly, but it will do for now.


The alignment is off a little bit, but it's as good as I was going to get with it on the jack stands.

 

[lemonjs]

I've been waiting months for the first track day of the year, and it turned out to be an absolute disaster.

Headed out for the first session and really got to feel the benefits of the diff. The car is absolutely transformed! I can't believe Ford didn't offer this as standard, it's a complete game changer for these cars.

I pulled in after 6 or 7 laps to check tyre pressures and the engine sounded like it was running on three cylinders. I scanned for codes and it had P0017 which the internet tells me is related to cam position. Managed to get the car started and it ran like dogshit at low revs, but actually smoothed out and made good power at high revs. I'm praying that one of the VVT solenoids has failed and the cam is stuck in the advanced position. It's going to sit at the garage until the weekend when I can investigate further.

The car parked up in the garage at Thruxton:


Me and the car getting loaded onto the back of a trailer:



Fortunately a friend had a trailer with them so I didn't need to call a tow truck (yes we strapped it down after the photo):

 

[M-Sport fan]

I also replaced my street tires with PilotSport 5's in 215/40/17. There's no rubbing at all, although I suspect going any wider would. I also replaced all the pads - the fronts are Pumaspeed racing pads, and the rears are PBS:

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Two questions;

1) Did you special order those Gram Lights custom drilled for our PCD/center bore, or do the wheel retailers over there actually stock these on their shelves?

2) WHERE did you purchase those PS5 tires in that size (and will they ship overseas?!?), as I am having an IMPOSSIBLE time trying to get a set sent over here, and they are THE EXACT tire I want to install on my 17x8 wheels for summer street use here, and Michelin does not allow us to buy from our dealers.

Demon Tweeks (who has them in stock, and lets me put them in their online cart, but then disallows the completion of the order ) will NOT let my calls go through to them, and my emails to them ALL kick back as 'not deliverable'.

Do you know of any Michelin dealers over there fully willing to ship to the USA??

 

[lemonjs]

1) I got each set from two different places, but they are identical. The first set was PumaSpeed (£499 inc VAT for the set here) and the second set was from Calibre (£475 inc VAT for the set here). Both came with spigot rings and bolts but they are completely off the shelf - no custom drilling.

2) I've ordered the PS5s from two different places, Demon Tweeks and blackcircles. I found an FAQ page on blackcircles that says they do not ship internationally, but will ship to someone that can forward them on. They really are incredible tyres and it's a shame you can't get them locally!

 

[LucasHigh]

how is it that a set of rays are $500

 

[M-Sport fan]

how is it that a set of rays are $500

More like the whole set was ~$1230.00 USD, over there.

But yeah, still a bargain and a half for those wheels!

 

[M-Sport fan]

I've ordered the PS5s from two different places, Demon Tweeks and blackcircles. I found an FAQ page on blackcircles that says they do not ship internationally, but will ship to someone that can forward them on. They really are incredible tyres and it's a shame you can't get them locally!

Yeah, that's why I want them so badly, but both Michelin North America, and all of their dealers here, say I cannot have them, for ANY price.

I suspect that Demon Tweeks has that same policy as blackcircles and others, they simply do not bother telling anyone at all.
Kind of senseless to actually have an "Export Department" listed if they have no intent whatsoever to export anything, and do not even allow anyone to contact said department to even discover that fact.

 

[lemonjs]

how is it that a set of rays are $500

It works out to be around $650 including taxes and shipping for a set of 4 with the current exchange rate. Pretty good deal!

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Do you have an Cobb AP3 or a Performance Data monitoring device for tuning? If so Look at the Vct-I Angle Act. and VCT-E Angle Act. Both should be at nearly 0 With a slight variation at idle. If one reads 0 and the other Reads -20. Then the Timing belt tensioner may have given up the ghost* Also check both the Camshaft position sensors and their connectors for Oil contamination.

 

[lemonjs]

Feel like I won the lottery today. Pulled everything apart and found that the crank pulley had slipped four teeth. The cams were both still in time with each other, and after retiming the engine everything fired up perfectly. Also pulled the cam cover to inspect and there’s no signs of any interference.



I’ll order a new crank pulley bolt from Ford on Monday and refit everything following the torque instructions to the T.

 

[Dpro]

Feel like I won the lottery today. Pulled everything apart and found that the crank pulley had slipped four teeth. The cams were both still in time with each other, and after retiming the engine everything fired up perfectly. Also pulled the cam cover to inspect and there’s no signs of any interference.

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I’ll order a new crank pulley bolt from Ford on Monday and refit everything following the torque instructions to the T.

You pretty much did that could have been totally catastrophic. Glad to hear it was not.

 

[Intuit]

pulled in after 6 or 7 laps to check tyre pressures and the engine sounded like it was running on three cylinders. I scanned for codes and it had P0017 which the internet tells me is related to cam position. Managed to get the car started and it ran like dogshit at low revs, but actually smoothed out and made good power at high revs.

Did the check engine light illuminate? If not, wonder why the engineers opted not to turn on the light for something that can be critical?

Engine idle and performance was much much less dramatic when the belt slipped a tooth or two in a prior vehicle but the unusual idle and change in low end torque is what prompted me to check. It was EEC-IV and was not interference.

 

[M-Sport fan]

It works out to be around $650 including taxes and shipping for a set of 4 with the current exchange rate. Pretty good deal!

That is an INSANELY low price for those wheels, as some of the tuner companies here are getting that much for ONE of those wheels in the sizes/PCDs, and offsets which do not fit our rides!!

 

[daloonie]

Feel like I won the lottery today. Pulled everything apart and found that the crank pulley had slipped four teeth. The cams were both still in time with each other, and after retiming the engine everything fired up perfectly. Also pulled the cam cover to inspect and there’s no signs of any interference.

I’ll order a new crank pulley bolt from Ford on Monday and refit everything following the torque instructions to the T.

I know my manual doesn't say to use a friction disc when installing a new timing belt. The 1.0L EcoBoost requires it when changing timing belt and considerably more torque than the 1.6L. 300NM + 90° compared to the 100NM + 90° + 2 sec pause + 15°.
Makes me wonder if a revised manual might require a friction washer.

I know Adam from TunePlus did got his crank keyed in the trash Fiesta. But might just be overkill to pull the engine for that.
https://www.youtube.com/@AdamBrunson

 

[lemonjs]

Not having the best week! The tool to lock the flywheel sheered off inside the gearbox housing so I had to pull the gearbox to get it out. The clutch and flywheel have seen better days so they will be getting replaced too.