2017 Ford Fiesta S

[scotman]

Chrome-moly across that short distance is plenty strong but it depends on the wall thickness.....020" would not do...right? I would have to see what the wall thickness is before I sink $300 in that piece. It should have an inspection/weld-vent hole you could use a caliper hook into to verify the thickness. No details on the webpage.

I just got off the phone with Ron. The 6 point chassis brace is comprised of three layers of
aluminum that are each 2mm in thickness. The overall weight is just under 4lbs.
Im definitely interested.
A cutaway view of the material.

 

[FiEscort]

Bought these Bilstein B6 struts during Black Friday. I drove around with these for a few months while waiting for the shocks to ship out.



The rear shocks shipped months later due to it being back ordered.







TB Performance rear torsion bar installed. I could feel the difference as soon as I turned the steering wheel. Body roll has been further reduced!

Bought some Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 in 205/50/16
I like how the extra sidewall fills the wheel well a bit better. I prefer this over the 45 series that were on previously. These are more comfortable over rough roads.

 

[scotman]

The B6 is a nice damper. It has a bigger diameter piston than the Koni STR-T. And is quicker to react when you hit a bump. So, it behaves more like a traditional heavy duty damper than the Koni "orange" slower rebound behavior.
I am not knocking the Koni's. It's a very good handling setup.
My guess is that the Koni orange will need/like a more responsive or larger diameter anti sway bars than the B6, if you are autocrossing the Fiesta.
If I was just hauling people, kids and stuff and wanted a set of dampers that will stand up to the abuse of all that and still give good handling, the B6 is the smart choice.
If you want a Fiesta that handles well and responds to a few minor tweeks when you want to sharpen the handling a bit for autocross play or just for extra joy. Then the Koni orange would look like the choice pick. Just my opinion. But it may change by late June! I need more seat time.

 

[FiEscort]

The B6 is a nice damper. It has a bigger diameter piston than the Koni STR-T. And is quicker to react when you hit a bump. So, it behaves more like a traditional heavy duty damper than the Koni "orange" slower rebound behavior.
I am not knocking the Koni's. It's a very good handling setup.
My guess is that the Koni orange will need/like a more responsive or larger diameter anti sway bars than the B6, if you are autocrossing the Fiesta.
If I was just hauling people, kids and stuff and wanted a set of dampers that will stand up to the abuse of all that and still give good handling, the B6 is the smart choice.
If you want a Fiesta that handles well and responds to a few minor tweeks when you want to sharpen the handling a bit for autocross play or just for extra joy. Then the Koni orange would look like the choice pick. Just my opinion. But it may change by late June! I need more seat time.

I agree with your assessment. I will say that the the rear sway bar with the rear torsion bar is something I would probably recommend even if you are on stock springs. I think that combination would help retain comfort while adding in the handling department.

 

[scotman]

I like the feel of the added rear bar. But, i didn't pair it with the torsion beam stiffener. Those two together were too much stiffness for my 2011. I also have the urethane bushings in the swing arms. So, i cannot recommend that anyone use that absolutely brutal combination of parts! There really must be some "give" or "compliance" in the rear suspension.
The stock basic Fiesta has a strong tendency to lift the outside rear tire off the road when you make a sharp maneuver at speed.

 

[FiEscort]

A few updates with my car. I needed new tires so I switched out the Firestone Firehawk Indy-500 summer tires and replaced them with BFGoodrich G-Force Comp 2 All-Season Plus in the same size 205/50Zr16. These tires are comfortable and tramline less which makes for an easier driver, but as expected for an A/S, they don’t grip as well as a summer tire. I really do like them though.

I had these Alex The Machinist Aluminum Steering Rack Bushings here in their packaging for quite a while, but finally had these bushings installed. The steering feels a little heavier (which I prefer), but it’s difficult to tell exactly how much of a difference these in themselves made since I had Energy Suspension polyurethane front sway bar bushings and Moog end links put on at the same time.

I’ve been wanting to paint my valve cover for quite a while so I finally did. It was such a PITA to remove my original valve cover that a piece actually cracked while taking it off. I hit the pick a part and got another one. I also painted the intake heat shield as well.
I wanted the Pierce strut brace to match the VC so I ended up painting the bar too.