Nicks Media Thread

[Reijo]

Imagine back when Stock ran on Hoosiers...

The Fiesta is an interesting case. The non-ST Fiestas are actually banned due to rollover risk. I don't know the details of why the non-ST cars were banned while the ST ones weren't, but I've got to imagine that the ST is just over the SCCA's line of acceptability.

ST's are probably just a bit lower than the regular ones ... just like the Fiat 500 vs. the Abarth ... very similar ... and more highly sprung/sway bars all resulting in less lean.

[NickST]

ST's are probably just a bit lower than the regular ones ... just like the Fiat 500 vs. the Abarth ... very similar ... and more highly sprung/sway bars all resulting in less lean.

Even the suspension geometry is completely reworked in the ST compared to the non-ST... although it does actually have a smaller diameter front sway bar than the OEM. The reason I've heard for that is apparently to make the rear more lively. One of the mods that seems to be popular for guys racing the ST on a regular basis is to put in a standard Fiesta sway bar, as the aftermarket ones are apparently too stiff.

[zero10]

I wasn't trying to start a bashing session about the Fiesta ST being unsafe - I was just trying to let you know that you were running very close to the limit there and might want to focus on keeping body roll under control when considering upgrades or how you prepare your car - I didn't actually think many people checked this thread
You are allowed a sway bar in street, no?  Perhaps it would be worth throwing the stock fiesta bar on there to help keep the front a little more level.  As much as I give you a hard time about beating me all the time I don't want to see anybody get hurt or lose their car.

I would also like to see the street class get downgraded a little bit tire-wise, many of the current autocross tires are just too damn sticky.  I'm often smashing my control arms into the subframe because the tires are stickier than the bushings are hard.

[NickST]

I wasn't trying to start a bashing session about the Fiesta ST being unsafe - I was just trying to let you know that you were running very close to the limit there and might want to focus on keeping body roll under control when considering upgrades or how you prepare your car - I didn't actually think many people checked this thread
You are allowed a sway bar in street, no?  Perhaps it would be worth throwing the stock fiesta bar on there to help keep the front a little more level.  As much as I give you a hard time about beating me all the time I don't want to see anybody get hurt or lose their car.

I would also like to see the street class get downgraded a little bit tire-wise, many of the current autocross tires are just too damn sticky.  I'm often smashing my control arms into the subframe because the tires are stickier than the bushings are hard.

No worries, I never took it that way. It is an issue with the Fiesta, but personally I think the risk is fairly minimal and nearly zero with anybody that knows how to react if it starts to go up on two wheels.

I've been keeping my eye out for a wrecked Fiesta to snag the front bar, but generally I am fairly pleased with how the car is behaving right now.

I wouldn't mind a higher tread wear rating in street class just to make it more affordable... it is really expensive trying to keep up with the wear on my 71R's. However if you run any other tire, you are basically leaving time on the course.

[Terry Johns]

I could be wrong but I'm not sure you can add a sway bar as it wasn't fitted from the factory. Been wrong before.

[Stuart]

So long as you stick to only changing one sway bar you should be good.

13.7.A.
Substitution, addition, or removal of a single anti-roll bar and supporting hardware (brackets, endlinks, bushings, etc.) is permitted. The use of any bushing material is permitted. A bushing may be implemented as a bearing.

[NickST]

I didn't do any serious video this weekend, but I loaded my dash cam card out of curiosity. I wanted to see what kinds of speeds I was getting out of that long sweeper slalom. Obviously the  GPS was having some trouble keeping up, but it was a little bit over 100km/h.

https://youtu.be/G8xMCewIHk0

Here is my 2 lap run... it is sure a lot of fun to really heat the tires up and get that instant replay on elements, but man you start to get tired mentally after running for that long!

https://youtu.be/SujI74flIGI

[Mkelder]

I managed the same feat as you, I neglected to record my poor driving as I was schooled and then recorded the last to runs after I started to drive well I'll have to get mine off the cam soon too.