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SCCA Autocross setup thread

94885 Views 647 Replies 36 Participants Last post by  Des
I thought I'd start a thread specifically to discuss autocross setup for the Fiesta ST for next years Street class (probably G Street). This way we can share our learnings on wheels, tires, shocks, sway bars and alignment.
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Did you have a chance to get my set done yet?


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No. But if you do happen to try this at home...

Currently, the only rattles at the moment are in the rears where the vw shock bracket nut hits the body.

I'm going to drill that out this week to make it quiet.

The thing I'm most afraid of is the bottoms of the inserts wobbling around. They seat in a sort of hemispherical shape in the bottom and I have them cranked down really hard. They might have gotten a bit loose without loc-tite, but now that I have loc-tite on the Koni nut threads, I think they'll stay put. I used a monkey wrench to tighten them with authority.

My other suggestion is to not drive the car until after a few hours (or overnight) to give the loc-tite a chance to harden.

The solution to the wobble might be a ring at the bottom. One that's just smaller than the ID of the tube, and just larger than the koni's OD at the bottom, and about 1/4" tall. Nothing to add height, just a concentric spacer to keep the Koni in line. If I could make one, I would. Maybe I'll be forced to.

Here's a list of tools you'll want to have before attempting this:

13mm ratcheting wrench for the three tower nuts
10mm ratcheting wrench (preferably with a bending head) for the brake line and the brake cylinder fill
15mm open-end wrench and a 5mm hex/allen key for the sway bar link
18mm ratchet socket / 15mm socket to remove the knuckle
flat head screwdriver to remove the brake sensor wire
22mm socket deep wall (not impact - won't fit in the cup) for the main and jam nuts provided by Koni
Impact wrench
Spring compressors ($12.99 at Harbor Freight, currently) + 7/8 socket to operate them with the impact wrench
LocTite (I used "red" available in the glue aisle at Home Depot)

And here's an excellent video to give you some confidence before you begin:


The brake sensor wire was WAY harder to remove than the video might lead you to believe.

But seriously, I wish I had gone out and bought more tools from the start. Do NOT try this with an adjustable crescent wrench. That's all I'm tryin' ta say.
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Awesome job. I might have to try to copy you. Not sure I have adequate skills to do it. Double-adjustables would be great. I think compression adjustment is going to be very important in the front, and it would be nice for the back too.
Awesome job. I might have to try to copy you. Not sure I have adequate skills to do it. Double-adjustables would be great. I think compression adjustment is going to be very important in the front, and it would be nice for the back too.
I believe Cligedy is about to try this stunt too. I'm making him some threads just to see it happen out in the wild.
For the top adjuster you should have either converted it to the side-style adjuster with the holes or made something similar (think the round piece with all the holes from a set of tinker toys) and attached it to the top before you installed it. The rear shocks on my '95 Audi had the side adjusters and they worked great.

http://www.koni-na.com/pics/80fig1.gif
Thanks! I actually have a good idea for an adjustment tool... I will post it to my build thread on GRM if it works out.
Koni still doesn't have these available (as of 8/17), but the part number for the Koni Yellow rears is the same for ST and non-ST.
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