This turned out to be one of the more lightly attended track day events I can recall! There might have been 25 cars total (a big day is 80). It might have been the threat of rain...
We had really favorable conditions. Overcast and about 55 degrees F. The track was reasonably clean.
My run group only had three cars, so track time wasn't an issue. The car was effectively "new", and I wanted to be careful with my testing. Mostly, I wanted to get the suspension sorted out, figure out how to kill TVC/stability control permanently (but keep ABS), and check general state of tune and fit.
My first couple runs revealed a small clearance issue with the front left tire. It was this >< close, so just clocking the fender nut 90 degrees mostly did the trick. The wider 225 NT01s otherwise fit fine.
After the first couple runs, I was able to sort out the tire clearance issue. What became obvious is that without an MFD display, there isn't a reliable way to turn off ESP (the typical one-touch ESP off worked, but isn't good for the track). I have a handy (and expensive!) Ford Wiring Diagram book for the Fiesta, and it has been great. Disabling the ABS system fuse is a bad idea if you want ABS, and there is a communication bus that relies on it for other information (like wheel speed, I believe).
Fortunately, we have another way. Like a lot of OEMs, Ford puts the airbag/restraint system control in the middle of the car. Since it contains the stability control system, it's the best place to measure changes in the Y-axis. Long story short, just unplug the two connectors going into the module! In my limited testing, it appears to allow ABS to work fine, but kills all ESP/TVC functions.
Those were the big things, and I'm pretty happy to have this stuff figured out. It was a light track day for me. I didn't push the car, but it's obviously stable and fast.
