Best suspension setup?

[razorlab]

Based on past experience on other cars driving the same well set up car back to back with progressive and linear springs the most noticeable difference is turn-in. I strongly prefer the linear spring at the expense of some comfort. TBH my concern lies mainly with the stock damper on the FiST

I 100% agree with this, the difference in response and turn-in with Progressive vs. Linear is a night and day difference you can feel just pulling out of the parking lot.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

So mountune Springs are the only ones that work with stock dampers? Neither eibach or h&r work with stock set up?

 

[Original J-Pat]

Springs will be harsh for most options, wear out the shocks prematurely, and since I know what the streets in the 626 are like since I used to work in Industry, you will probably NOT be happy. The OEM suspension, around here, is so harsh I actually went to a larger sidewall to make it tolerable.

I fitted coilovers and love the improvement in ride quality and there are options for as low as $899 now for DECENT quality ones.

My combination is 215-45-17 tires/ST Suspensions XTA Adjustable Coilovers / Pierce Motorsports Lower Tie Brace (HIGHLY RECOMMEND, $89), Pierce Motorsports Front Strut Tower Brace, Steeda Rear Torsion Beam Brace. The tie brace is a MUST, so much improvement in feel. Coilovers, while not a must, are great even for DD use, my car is exclusively DD and hasn't gotten out to the track yet, just a few spirited backroad drives.

My buddy Derek has H&Rs, loves the ride quality,

Rides great even in shitty socal roads, the tie brace is a HUGE improvement especially for canyon runs. The Rear Torsion Beam Brace is also a huge improvement and helps curtail the 3-wheeling behavior.

We are having a meet TONIGHT at ModBargains for Fiesta ST's 5pm-8pm at 1721 E Lambert Rd Unit C La Habra, CA at Lambert/Harbor. Weds Oct 15th - come check out my setup.

BONUS
FOr what it's worth, I will need a Fiesta ST with oem suspension to shoot how to install the COBB springs for their install video very soon, my buddy kevin and i do the install, shoot your car and you get new COBB springs. HMU if any of you IN SOCAL are interested. Offering them at 50% off Cobb retail+lunch for me and kevin lol. NOT THROUGH MODBARGAINS, as I freelance for Cobb on weekends INDEPENDENT of my work at MB. Just to be clear.
Our channel is called OverbooST.Productions on YouTube and our videos are the ones you see on the cobb tuning website.

Thanks for all the info I wouldve went to the meet if i saw this sooner but I just got out of football practice but let me know about the next one. BTW i think I've seen you drive down Barranca a couple time on my way to school

 

[Kip2MyLou]

What exactly does the lower tie brace do?

 

[D1JL]

Mountune springs are also made by Eibach and are progressive wound.
A friend had the proto type set of these, he switcher to different brand of coilovers, now another friend has the mountune's with OE FiST struts on his Fiesta.

Wow, I didn't think I had that many friends.


I had the Eibach proto type "Pro Springs", now I am testing their proto type "Pro Street-S" coilovers.





Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

So So mountune springs will work just the same with the stock suspension as the other brands?

 

[D1JL]

Yes, they are the same physical size as the Eibach Pro set.



Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Cool. And I see you have the lower tie brace as well, what exactly does that do? For 89 bucks I was thinking it might be worth it.

 

[D1JL]

Yes, a very good investment.
It prevents any flex in the front "A" arm mounting.
Flex here can cause Toe changes.

It is never a good idea to have suspension adjustments change when you don't expect them.



Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Cool. Looks like my next investment. Thanks.

Any other suspension mods we haven't talked about? All I really know about are springs and sway bars to be honest.

 

[iso100]

The number one suspension upgrade that makes the most difference on our cars is training and seat time(at the limits). Second is tires but our stock ones are pretty good.

I'm interested in the lower front stress bar but curious about the claims that the rear upper bar can actually have an effect on the inside rear coming up.

I can't see how a few millimeters less flex can affect how the twist beam works (as designed).

 

[BRGT350]

bushings are a huge component that have not been discussed. For those of us with the 2015 ST, we got "mericanized" bushing rates while the 2014 maintained the EU rates. The 2015 ST rates have more compliance and more compliance means the more the bushing will deform under load. Under acceleration and braking, the front suspension is moving fore and aft under load. Under lateral load, the control arm is moving lateraly (duh) with one side being compressed and the other extended. All of this additional movement dulls the performance and the feel of the car, plus changing the geometry under load. When you first turn the steering wheel, the tie rod turns the steer knuckle about the axis created by the strut and lower ball joint. As the wheel is turning, the car begins to change direction and inducing a lateral load into the suspension. The bushings are what controls the lateral force being inputted into the control arm. The more flex in the bushing, the more the steering geometry changes. In the rear of the car, the bushings at the twist beam and chassis control what the rear suspension does under braking and turning, acceleration as well, but they are going along for the ride back there.

If you want to get serious about handling and suspension, then bushings need to be the list. The bushing deflection is going to much greater than the deflection of the lower crossmember. When replacing bushings, you need to replace the lower control arm, sway bar, and rear twist beam. The downfall of all of this, as you remember that all suspension stuff is a compromise, is that the stiffer bushings will transmit more NVH into the car. The high frequency vibrations can make the human body feel sick when there is too long of exposure. The durameter of the bushing is what determines the hardness. The higher the hardness, the less deflection but the more NVH being transmitted, but the better the handling. For a point of reference, the Fiesta R2 rally cars use spherical bushings (steel ball with steel casing) instead of rubber or urethane on all of their pivot locations. There is zero deflection with those.

 

[iso100]

Holy crap they loosened the bushings in 2015? Why??

 

[BRGT350]

Holy crap they loosened the bushings in 2015? Why??

Because America.

I am unable to get full clarification on what has all changed, but all sources are pointing towards control arm, twist beam, and motor mounts are all softened. Can I tell any difference between the 2014 and 2015? Nope. The only person that I have heard report a difference in handling is from a guy who is on a TV show, used to race for Ford, and now for VW. With his driving record, I would tend to think he could tell the difference between the cars at the limit. On the street, I can feel no difference. A top tier driver who can tell the difference in a PSI change in the tire could surely pick up the difference.

There are a lot of complaints from people who should never own a performance car that are dilluting the ST. If you read the complaints, these owners would be happier with a regular Fiesta with a body kit.

 

[iso100]

There are a lot of complaints from people who should never own a performance car that are dilluting the ST. If you read the complaints, these owners would be happier with a regular Fiesta with a body kit.

It's good to know that it's hard to tell the difference. I was concerned they were killing the entire idea of the car.

I have to bite my tongue on this and other Fiesta ST forums when people complain about how harsh the ride is and then even go so far as to swap wheels/tires for something more compliant or even swap to new springs/coilovers.

If you wanted a soft, comfortable ride, get a base model Fiesta!

 

[BRGT350]

iso100, you are 100% correct.

I have had a few people ride in my ST, who spent a good deal of time in the 2014 ST, and nobody can tell the difference. I would surely expect a professional driver on a race track to detect the difference if they drove both cars back to back. I only knew of the difference after being told from a number of sources. Even paying close attention to the changes, I can feel nothing different. It is worth noting for those looking for FTD. With 99% of my time on the street, it isn't worth losing sleep over.

I am just glad the changes are so slight compared to the difference between the US and EU regular Fiesta. Those are totally different cars. They both handle great, but the US car sucks in terms of how the engine and gearbox perform. I went about 50 feet in my 2011 Fiesta after taking delivery and realized it isn't even close to the EU 2009 car I just returned to Ford. I have driven 3 different prototype ST's, with different levels of development, a production 2014 ST, and my 2015 ST and they all act the same.

 

[BlueBomber]

Cool. And I see you have the lower tie brace as well, what exactly does that do? For 89 bucks I was thinking it might be worth it.

Huge improvement, great $89 investment. MUCH sharper turn in and response.

 

[iso100]

How much are the new 6 point braces going for?

 

[BlueBomber]

The number one suspension upgrade that makes the most difference on our cars is training and seat time(at the limits). Second is tires but our stock ones are pretty good.

I'm interested in the lower front stress bar but curious about the claims that the rear upper bar can actually have an effect on the inside rear coming up.

I can't see how a few millimeters less flex can affect how the twist beam works (as designed).

rear LOWER bar that beefs up the torsion beam.
I have no idea how it's doing it or what it is doing exactly, but it 3-wheels a lot less (as observed by friends in other cars) and the back end feels much better behaved. It's very hard to quantify in an easily measurable way but I promise you'll notice the difference with some form of torsion beam brace (mounts inside u channel). Makes going around street corners much more "planted" feeling in the back. Maybe it is resisting the twisting force exerted on the bar? Just guessing.

No idea on the cost of the 6-pt, I have the 2pt and I could immediately notice a difference though.

FWIW I did coilovers because they were free, but they do have the benefit of both enhancing ride quality and performance. I was OK with the ride of the car stock, but the GF complaining about it bothered me. Also, there's the fact that 215-45-17 is WAYYYY cheaper than 215-40-17 or 225-40-17

 

[iso100]

That's the thing. Tying the left and right sides together will lift the inside rear even more than stock. It will, however, improve handling by effectively increasing the spring rate on the planted tire...