2014 Ford Fiesta ST project
9
So I picked up a 2014 Ford Fiesta ST to play with. There are a bunch of reasons I did this so I'll just make a simple numbered list to help explain why.
1. I wanted a small lightweight car again (It's 27XXlbs)
2. I wanted to learn the Ford ECU
3. I wanted to track a small lightweight car
4. I wanted a small lightweight car that got great gas mileage for my commute
That's about it overall for the reasons. With over 20 years of driving Mitsubishis, Subarus and VW's I never ever ever ever thought I would own a Ford....
For some reason the Focus ST never really intrigued me. After reading all the press about the Fiesta ST, it did intrigue me, I went and test drove a bunch and I totally fell in love with the car. It really feels like something special, a Ford engineering baby.
I still own my current Evo, an Evo 10, for now. It's in a different league for sure, but I didn't buy the Fiesta ST to replace the Evo. So enough about that.
This thread will serve as a place to post my findings as I learn the car, the ECU, etc.
I come from a tuning background. I used to tune Mitsubishis professionally, mainly Evos. Most recently a 2005 Evo 8 MR for 10 years that was my personal project, that I tuned and tracked. It had 500hp on E85. I also had a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart that I also tweaked and tuned to 400hp on E85. As stated above still have my Evo 10, 400hp, also on E85. You can sense what's coming for the Fiesta ST then.
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Initial photos, 100% stock minus upgraded wheels/tires.
2014 Ford Fiesta ST
Options:
Recaro Package
Navigation
Sunroof
"Rado" wheel package (painted wheels and brake calipers)
Wheels replaced with Sparco Assetto Gara 17x7 +42 satin black
Tire replaced with Bridgestone Potenza S-04 205/45/17
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1. I wanted a small lightweight car again (It's 27XXlbs)
2. I wanted to learn the Ford ECU
3. I wanted to track a small lightweight car
4. I wanted a small lightweight car that got great gas mileage for my commute
That's about it overall for the reasons. With over 20 years of driving Mitsubishis, Subarus and VW's I never ever ever ever thought I would own a Ford....
For some reason the Focus ST never really intrigued me. After reading all the press about the Fiesta ST, it did intrigue me, I went and test drove a bunch and I totally fell in love with the car. It really feels like something special, a Ford engineering baby.
I still own my current Evo, an Evo 10, for now. It's in a different league for sure, but I didn't buy the Fiesta ST to replace the Evo. So enough about that.
This thread will serve as a place to post my findings as I learn the car, the ECU, etc.
I come from a tuning background. I used to tune Mitsubishis professionally, mainly Evos. Most recently a 2005 Evo 8 MR for 10 years that was my personal project, that I tuned and tracked. It had 500hp on E85. I also had a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart that I also tweaked and tuned to 400hp on E85. As stated above still have my Evo 10, 400hp, also on E85. You can sense what's coming for the Fiesta ST then.
Initial photos, 100% stock minus upgraded wheels/tires.
2014 Ford Fiesta ST
Options:
Recaro Package
Navigation
Sunroof
"Rado" wheel package (painted wheels and brake calipers)
Wheels replaced with Sparco Assetto Gara 17x7 +42 satin black
Tire replaced with Bridgestone Potenza S-04 205/45/17
1 - 6 of 127 Posts
I'm thrilled with the possibilities these new direct injected turbocharged engines offer with such an advanced engine computer. Good luck and thank you for exploring what this platform is capable of. I haven't been this excited about a car since my childhood.Well hit my first road block and "ah ha!" moment all in one in continuing to learn the ECU tonight.
I've been having an issue where I keep hitting a ignition timing ceiling and it wouldn't let me run more ignition timing in the midrange and through the top. Well I figure it out. The car ended up running more timing through the midrange and through the top which remarkably gave me another 14whp/14wtq from 4200rpm to 6000rpm. It felt really really strong. That's the good news.
The bad news is now it's running more ignition timing then I would like to run without putting the car on a real dyno to find MBT. Obviously it made more power so I'm not past MBT but I also hate not know what MBT is so I'm going to dial it back until I can get it on a real dyno.
The owner of the dyno I use is out of town for now so I'll have to wait until he gets back in town to get it strapped down and find MBT.
The other good news is I'm really finding my way around the ECU more and more every day.It's really very cool and powerful compared to what I am used to. Still really excited about it all.
1 - 6 of 127 Posts
