Lemon's X47 track ST

[M-Sport fan]

I wonder what customs would say if you had 4 tyres in your suitcases?

 

[WannabeST]

I wonder what customs would say if you had 4 tyres in your suitcases?

I know every country is different. but from experience if you try to take even a pair of tires in or out of mexico to the US you will get taxed on it. Mexico is a little stricter on asking questions and such about what you are bringing in. US doesn't seem to care as long as you pay your tax and no drug dogs get alerted. If you get lucky, on some busy weekends they don't even tax you on items. (Perfect for my family because we stack up on alcohol when this happens lol)

 

[lemonjs]

I attended Castle Combe's Summer Action Day yesterday. There were thousands of cars there on show, as well as track sessions and drift events happening all day.

I only went out for two sessions and decided that was enough as the track was lawless. Usually on organised track days there are sighting laps at the beginning and everyone behaves themselves, but this was absolute carnage!

The car did well for both sessions. The EBC RPX pads are phenomenal, although I don't see them lasting long. Also, the car started to get a little hot toward the end. I know you guys in the US say a radiator swap is a must for this car, but generally the stock radiator is fine over here (or at least I thought). I have a full track day booked next week so there's no way I can order a radiator and fit it before then. I'm thinking I might cut the fan shroud up in the short term to get some more air through.

There was a photographer, but he wants £18/$22 per photo which is a joke, so the watermarks will have to do:





Here's a little onboard video, not pushing too hard as it was my first time at this track:

 

[lemonjs]

I pulled the radiator fan shroud this morning. You can remove it without having to take the whole bumper and rad pack out but it's pretty tight. There's two clips on top of the shroud, then you can lift it up and off the bottom brackets. I had to move the top radiator hose out of the way to get it out. Your mileage may vary if you've got the standard boost hoses, as I don't have the symposer anymore which gives a bit more room.

I read that Ford have this giant heap of plastic blocking the radiator to let the car get up to temp quicker:



Whatever the reason, Pumaspeed recommend removing the plastic around the shroud when installing their radiator. From their website:

but we do recommend the removal of the outer areas of the shroud and vents to allow extra flow to the whole width of this Alloy Radiator

Hopefully the same applies to the stock radiator, as most of mine has now gone, and it's just the fan and the brackets that remain:



I'm hoping that this will allow a lot more air through when the car is moving, at the expense of taking longer to get to temperature (which isn't a problem). Fan installed, there's a good amount more exposed area on both sides.





The Pumaspeed radiator is tempting as it's only £259 with a 45mm core. Airtec and Mishimoto are around £500, and Mountune no longer sell a radiator in the UK.

 

[Intuit]

The racers for my R6 motorcycle commonly remove the fan entirely when at the track because it impedes airflow through the radiator. (they're constantly moving at high speed)

Removing the shroud on the car is like the same thing. That shroud is definitely needed for the average daily driver though. Over-cooling will fowl the cylinders.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Over-cooling will fowl the cylinders.

THIS is one of my only 'worries' about installing an aftermarket radiator for daily use in the upper mid-Atlantic/northeast winters.

As it is, my factory system barely gets up to or over 180*F in the dead of winter, regardless of how long it idles, or how far it's driven.

 

[lemonjs]

I was at Bedford Autodrome on the 1st July. It was my first time here and I absolutely loved it! The circuit is 3.8 miles long and has 18 corners with plenty of run off. I didn't do any lap timing, but did manage to hit 140mph on the straight which was wild.

My garage space was next to another Fiesta:



The car performed incredibly. The coolant temps were also noticeably improved since hacking up the fan shroud. I saw a max of 101c (213f) with it usually hovering between 90-95c (194-203f) which is still hotter than I would like, so a radiator is on the cards for sure.











I don't have anything else booked for this year, but I'm looking at some potential dates in August.

 

[lemonjs]

New Motamec passenger seat fitted along with a TRS harness. I recently replaced the driver side subframe with one from SW Motorsport as the Sparco one I had sat too high for my liking, so I've gone for the same on the passenger side. Motamec just had to change their logo in the last few months 🤦‍♂️



I'd kept the other Recaro seats so I could sell them as a set, which I've done now. It's crazy to see the prices of them in the US. A full set here sells between £200-400 depending on the colour and condition.

 

[lemonjs]

Also made some floor mats as it gets a bit slippery without any carpet. I’m not sure if this design was common in the US, but in the UK every kid had this rug in their bedroom when I was younger.

The backing is a rubbery material and they are fixed to the floor, so no risk of them sliding.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Cute mats! (Yes, I remember seeing that as a kid's room rug somewhere along the line. )

Is the main reason you do not already have an aftermarket racing/alcantara covered steering wheel and quick disconnect solely because you want to retain the air bag, even though you already lost the side/seat ones?

Or is that in the future sometime?

 

[lemonjs]

Cute mats! (Yes, I remember seeing that as a kid's room rug somewhere along the line. )

Is the main reason you do not already have an aftermarket racing/alcantara covered steering wheel and quick disconnect solely because you want to retain the air bag, even though you already lost the side/seat ones?

Or is that in the future sometime?

An aftermarket wheel is on the list for sure! The car is still street legal and the removal of airbags can be an issue for our yearly inspections (MOT), so I want to make sure my tech is okay with it before committing.

The list is:
- Uprated radiator and thermostat
- Aftermarket steering wheel
- Coolerworx shifter

 

[daloonie]

Also made some floor mats as it gets a bit slippery without any carpet. I’m not sure if this design was common in the US, but in the UK every kid had this rug in their bedroom when I was younger.

The backing is a rubbery material and they are fixed to the floor, so no risk of them sliding.

I need new mats now, that design was everywhere when I was a kid. Love it

 

[lemonjs]

Removed the headliner today including the curtain airbags. This puts me up to a total of 6 resistors in the airbag circuit now, and I think there's more to come.

 

[lemonjs]

Today I fitted an Airtec radiator, Pumaspeed coolant hoses and Mishimoto thermostat. I thought this job would take me around 5 hours and it took just over 6, so not a bad estimate.

Started stripping the front down:



I don't think I needed to take the intercooler out, but I was working on my own and wanted the crash bar to be as light as possible:



Crash bar and old radiator out. I had to get a bit creative with propping everything up. Used an umbrella for a hood prop, and a jerry can to hold the aircon rad up. This definitely isn't a job to tackle on your own!:



Mishimoto thermostat about to go in:



The Airtec radiator is so much thicker than the stock one, couldn't believe it! The stock bleed nipple did not fit the new rad properly, and they supplied a little capping plug which is what I've used:



And finally, many, many hours later, she's back together:

 

[lemonjs]

I spent some time today trying to make the shifter position a bit better.

First off, I removed the centre console and cut the lower half of the trim away to retain the ECS button:





I used some M6 threaded rod and cut it into 10cm lengths:



I've raised the front up as much as possible, as any further would interfere with the dash. I also raised the rear up higher to tilt it towards the steering wheel and the dash:







I'm pretty happy with the result, given it cost less than £10. A Coolerworx shifter is definitely the end goal, but this should do for now.

 

[M-Sport fan]

As long as that is solid/stable, that's great!

 

[lemonjs]

As long as that is solid/stable, that's great!

It does look a bit flimsy, but it’s rock solid!

 

[lemonjs]

Installed a Motamec steering wheel and MOMO hub. I can't believe what a difference it makes to the feel of driving the car. I've always hated the OEM wheel! I don't know if the Euro and US wheels are the same, but it always felt gigantic in the Fiesta to me. I've gone for 350mm, but I think I could have gone for 330mm:



I have an evening track session booked at Brands Hatch on Monday. Looking forward to feeling the new wheel/shifter set up on the track.

 

[Intuit]

Best of luck at the track Monday. May your fenders stay clean! 👍😎

 

[M-Sport fan]

Installed a Motamec steering wheel and MOMO hub. I can't believe what a difference it makes to the feel of driving the car. I've always hated the OEM wheel! I don't know if the Euro and US wheels are the same, but it always felt gigantic in the Fiesta to me. I've gone for 350mm, but I think I could have gone for 330mm:

View attachment 63642

I have an evening track session booked at Brands Hatch on Monday. Looking forward to feeling the new wheel/shifter set up on the track.

I would have done this already, as I too despise our OEM steering wheel, and it is only a slight bit better when covered in alcantara.

But this being a total, and only a street car for me (as well as the only one I own), I do have a fear that insurance would not cover any medical expenses for me, nor any liability coverage in the case of a catastrophe with the steering wheel airbag gone, even if it had nothing whatsoever to do with the accident/incident, or injuries incurred (such is the corruption of said companies).

Same goes for the seats as well, although if I did them I would also do the steering wheel change since it would not matter at that point, and one looks stupid without the other (in my opinion, at least).