[Darran]

Cheers. Interesting coolant tank though. That seems to be the original shape one, whereas the recall uses the same bottle as the mk8? I assume it's all the same though.

I had assumed the old shape was phased out.

Here is mine (old photo)

http://imgur.com/GwJTEG1

Yeah re. the expansion tank I've gone with like for like, the newer tank isn't a straight swap, the full coolant recall kit is on eBay for £252 but reading the recall bulletin it's a lot of work, splicing into the wiring loom, updating the software via IDS plus I remember people having issues losing their map after the coolant recall.

I thought about the Pro Alloy tank but their website says for USA spec cars only which I'm sure is wrong so for now it's a £30 like for like replacement tank.

 

[alex98uk]

Fair enough, that makes sense. I don't think the tank itself is an issue anyway

 

[Darran]

In the sales towards end of last year I bought a VUDU catch can and finally got around to fitting that this morning, looks a quality bit of kit, if only I knew about catch cans when I first bought the car 57k miles ago, oh well better late than never:

View attachment 586815

This one is baffled to help catch the oil.
View attachment 586816

Catch Can contents after just 6 weeks:

 

[Darran]

After collecting all of the coolant bits I contacted a few places and asked about fitment of the radiator, thermostat, hose kits and complete a/c delete, labour quote from PERON HQ was absolute fortune, they wanted to take the front end off the car, I tried to explain the radiator slides out from underneath but they wasn't interested, I reckon their sky high quote was to put me off, Fred over at FJRS was a gent as always, comms were a bit slow, no doubt very busy plus leading to the double bank holiday didn't help, I think the a/c delete was something they wasn't experienced in which I think was the reason why their quote for that part of the job was higher then I expected.

We ended up driving the 2h40 to see the guy's at H-Sport Performance.

I'd been in contact with Connor and Jordan for a couple of weeks, picking their brains, Fiesta ST's are their bread and butter, they had them lining up and in every corner around their workshop and had experiencing in a/c delete I wanted doing.

Why a/c delete? I simply don't use it, had car now over 7 years and used it once, nothing to do with shedding weight or track times, because these engines run hot and we hear about the odd car with a cracked cylinder wall I wanted to upgrade the radiator, swap out the 97C thermostat (which Ford now do) and while doing so replace some of the stock 7 year old hoses for fresh ones, so while doing this to me it made sense to remove something I don't use and didn't want on the car the a/c.

Anyway we had a nice steady drive down and arrived at H-Sport near Timsbury around 07:15am, met up with Connor and Jordan, Jordan recommended to have the stock coolant fan shroud modified to allow better airflow so that was added to the job list which was:.

• Mountune Triple Pass Radiator
• Ford Radiator Bleed Valve:1791975
• Ford Expansion Tank: 1513111
• Ford Turbo Coolant Return Hose: 1882072
• Ford Degas Hose to Engine: 1844186
• Ford 82C Coolant Thermostat: 2184696
• Ford Super Plus Premium Antifreeze/Coolant (WSS-M97B44-D)
• PRO HOSES Coolant Hose Kit (PRO-KIT70)
• Aircon Delete
• Gates Aux Belt (shorter ver for Aircon Delete)
• Fan Shroud Modification

Connor offered and kindly dropped us off (and picked us up later) at Keynsham train station and we spent the day in Bath while they worked on the car, work was completed by late afternoon.

H-Sport Performance, these guy's were brilliant, honestly faultless, sure they don't have the prestige and reputation of Mountune or the impressive unit and offices like PERON but jeez do these two lads eat, sleep and breath Fiesta ST's, very friendly, fast comms, price wasn't cheap mind but if you're paying £60, £70+ p/h or whatever the going rate is it won't be but these lads work on ST's day in day out and know the car. I highly recommend H-Sport Performance and I'll definitely be using them again.

So has the coolant upgrades and alternations made a difference on temps, yes it has, Connor mentioned it's gave him ideas for their track car, I think he was referring more towards the lower temp thermostat.

Before the upgrades my coolant temps would usually sit between 95 to 98C, occasionally go above 100c then would slowly drop, never saw it go below 93C or above 102C, after the work I monitored coolant temp on drive home and it sat between 82 to 88C, noticed it once go to 91C then dropped quickly to low to mid-80's, as before the upgrade the faster the car goes lower the coolant temp so airflow is key, no doubt removing the a/c condenser from in front of the radiator and trimming the fan shroud is helping. Anyway I'm happy with the results plus it's also reassuring hoses and expansion tank which are known to fail (very rare I know) have been renewed.

Aircon condenser removed and trimmed fan shroud:

Stock radiator:

Aircon delete, I was shocked how heavy this lot was in the mountune rad box when I came to lifting it out of the boot.

Below pic was taken by my lad in back of car from over my shoulder, I didn't take the pic while driving.

Another very minor plus is the stock radiator rattles about on it's worn locator pin rubbers, the MT rad is rock solid so car feels less rattly over sudden bumps.

Next on the list is a diff, quaife? wavetrac? gripper? mfactory? recommendation please for fast road use.

 

[Jamie1234]

Quaife diff and a extreme clutch here , been going 2+ years with no issue

Just because it’s called extreme it’s perfect, no different feel to oem Just a tiny bit snatchier on setting off

 

[alex98uk]

Glad you got on well with H-Sport, I was very impressed with their attentiveness and friendliness. I actually stayed with them whilst they worked and they were happy to show me stuff as they went along.

Also glad you're seeing improvements with the Mountune rad. I think my brother was the first to get that shroud mod done, as I asked about it given Steve was there that day and they reckoned it was worth a go. He's seen a 10c drop under load on a warm track day, hitting a max of 110c before dropping on cool down.

Regarding diff, I run a Wavetrac, but were it just for road, I'd probably go Quaife as it's cheaper. Only advantage to Wavetrac is that it remains locked under no load situations, such as a wheel lifting off over track rumble strip.

 

[Darran]

Quaife diff and a extreme clutch here , been going 2+ years with no issue

Just because it’s called extreme it’s perfect, no different feel to oem Just a tiny bit snatchier on setting off

I've not considered the Xtreme Clutch, I'll have a search and read up, cheers mate.

Glad you got on well with H-Sport, I was very impressed with their attentiveness and friendliness. I actually stayed with them whilst they worked and they were happy to show me stuff as they went along.

Also glad you're seeing improvements with the Mountune rad. I think my brother was the first to get that shroud mod done, as I asked about it given Steve was there that day and they reckoned it was worth a go. He's seen a 10c drop under load on a warm track day, hitting a max of 110c before dropping on cool down.

Regarding diff, I run a Wavetrac, but were it just for road, I'd probably go Quaife as it's cheaper. Only advantage to Wavetrac is that it remains locked under no load situations, such as a wheel lifting off over track rumble strip.

Yep, H-Sport were great, shame they're 2h40min away but saying that it's all motorways so not too bad, anyway I hope to use them in future.

When you mention "he's" seen a 10C drop do you mean Steve or your brother? I'm interested in your brothers results because iirc he's still got the stock 97C thermostat.

When I had Turbo fitted PERON strongly recommended the Wavetrac but they couldn't source one in time, I've tried a couple of times since to find one but all say zero stock and waiting for another shipment, I don't fancy paying over £1k waiting months lose patience then struggle to get a refund, so front runner is a Quaife, like you say they're cheaper as well by about £300, so that would pay for a clutch or towards fitting.

The dilemma I have is diff, bearing kit, slave cylinder, clutch and labour will be +/- £1.5k, I doubt very much my car will ever go on track, on the road I do like pressing on and having fun but I very rarely come tearing out of corners at break neck speeds where I presume the diff will make a biggest difference, will I feel a vast improvement in traction in a straight line on say an uneven road? also will a quaife reduce torque steer or make steering more snappy as power is quickly transfer the the wheel with grip?

Most say a lsd is the best thing you can do especially after power upgrades but they are those that say it's mostly for the track, basically I don't want to shell out that much and only feel the benefit once in a blue moon, plus there's the worry of after having the car ripped apart to suddenly have clutch or gear selection issues.

I guess I should stop being a ***** and take advantage of Pumaspeeds quaife offer they having running at the moment

 

[Jamie1234]

I was also sceptical about a diff , but it’s honestly one of the best things for these cars

It makes no difference to straight line grip as most people say

It’s coming out of corners when it realy comes alive, it almost takes the wheel out of your hands and turns by itself

But on an uneven surface it will follow the camber on the road and torque steer

I’m sure you won’t be disappointed if you do it mate 👍🏻

 

[alex98uk]

When you mention "he's" seen a 10C drop do you mean Steve or your brother? I'm interested in your brothers results because iirc he's still got the stock 97C thermostat.

That was my brother. Saw a drop to about an absolute peak of 110c under load, whereas before it was hitting 120c+ and pulling power due to overheat. This was on track, i'm not sure about on road.

As you say, he has the stock 97c thermostat and Airtec rad with shroud modded.

When I had Turbo fitted PERON strongly recommended the Wavetrac but they couldn't source one in time, I've tried a couple of times since to find one but all say zero stock and waiting for another shipment, I don't fancy paying over £1k waiting months lose patience then struggle to get a refund, so front runner is a Quaife, like you say they're cheaper as well by about £300, so that would pay for a clutch or towards fitting.

I got my Wavetrac from AET. I believe they are made in the USA, which is I guess why they go out of stock until they get a new batch imported. Looks to be in stock though for £1152. Annoyingly, at the time, the voucher: B7TMY worked on it for an £81 discount, but it seems they no longer include this item

However, if I were you, I would be going Quaife. The Wavetrac isn't worth the extra over it for road.

The dilemma I have is diff, bearing kit, slave cylinder, clutch and labour will be +/- £1.5k, I doubt very much my car will ever go on track, on the road I do like pressing on and having fun but I very rarely come tearing out of corners at break neck speeds where I presume the diff will make a biggest difference, will I feel a vast improvement in traction in a straight line on say an uneven road? also will a quaife reduce torque steer or make steering more snappy as power is quickly transfer the the wheel with grip?

I don't think it'll make much difference in a straight line, though that's based off my experience running stock turbo. Maybe it will for you.

It really shines when applying power early in a corner. It sort of sucks you into a corner. Something to be aware of though is that obviously diffs lock hard on acceleration/throttle and so if the car is tramlining or torque steering and the diff locks up, it will try and pull you in the direction the wheel is facing. So, you do have to hold on tight when putting down power on uneven roads sometimes ha. I guess that mirrors exactly what @Jamie1234 has said.

Personally I think it's worth doing. It is a lot of money, but once it and an ST200 clutch is done... it's done. It's a one off payment and it optimises the car and makes even more of a backroad warrior. It's one of the reasons why it was offered by Mountune for the MK7 and as default in the PP for MK8.

I guess I should stop being a * and take advantage of Pumaspeeds quaife offer they having running at the moment

Lick the stamp and send it

 

[Darran]

Not updated this thread for a while so here goes, been on holiday so nothing much has happened to the car since the cooling upgrades.

Finally got around to trying out the Bore Scope, I wanted to check condition and gaps of the spark plugs so while they were out I poked the scope down there.

I'd like to see what condition the top of the valves are in but going down in from the top I couldn't see that so will go in via the map sensor next time, but to say the cars done just shy of 60k miles to my untrained eye things look ok?

Plugs were good and gaps still 0.6mm:

On returning home from holiday car was caked in that stubborn Sahara sand, even a couple of hits of BH auto-foam didn't shift it all so extra care with the contact wash, finally got around to using some Turtle Wax spray on Seal n Shine Sealant Wax which I bought ages ago which many of the YT Detailers were raving about, definitely can't use it has a drying aid/detail spray as it left terrible streaking, my fault for applying it wrong, ended up using auto-finesse finale which I bought years ago but initially didn't like this either as there's very little beading but I've learnt since then it's not all about the water behaviour when it comes to detail sprays, finale was pleasant to use, car looked decent but I know protection will last only a couple of weeks if that:

Still need to find motivation to polish and ceramic coat the car, hopefully get this done before Ford Fair.

 

[alex98uk]

I think it was you Darran who had mentioned manipulating the Vudu catch can, intake side hose to sit clear of the alternator?

When I fitted mine, it was sat firmly against it. I took the time today to ease the hose away from it, to sit clear.

Good job you had said so, as it was playing in my mind. Looking at the hose, there is a relatively large indentation, but it hadn't split or anything.

Feels better now though knowing it's clear.

 

[Rob084551]

Next on the list is a diff, quaife? wavetrac? gripper? mfactory? recommendation please for fast road use.

For fast road i'd recommend avoiding any plated LSD's, the Wavetrac or Quaife would be a good fit and forget. Plated generally give the best performance but the downsides are low speed noise, gearbox removal for maintenance and deterioration of performance through wear.

Unless you chasing the seconds the ATB would be best suited for your application i'd of thought.

 

[Darran]

I think it was you Darran who had mentioned manipulating the Vudu catch can, intake side hose to sit clear of the alternator?

When I fitted mine, it was sat firmly against it. I took the time today to ease the hose away from it, to sit clear.

Good job you had said so, as it was playing in my mind. Looking at the hose, there is a relatively large indentation, but it hadn't split or anything.

Feels better now though knowing it's clear.

Glad you sorted it.

I've been under the bonnet today searching for a rattle/noise I've had for ages, while under there I checked Catch Can and all was ok.

I've found the position of the Catch Can bracket and that aeroquip fitting quite critical, if you have the bracket swivelled fully away from the alternator (which mine is) and that fitting angled too far up so it clears the alternator the hose is a tad too short and it won't click into the intake manifold

Sweet spot on mine was having Catch Can bracket swivelled fully away from the alternator and have that fitting positioned so the hose misses the alternator by about 4mm.

Had a rattle/noise for a while which could be heard sometimes from the front n/s, it recently got worse which motivated me to investigate, turned out the windscreen scuttle was loose.

Removed headlights, wipers and scuttle and found this bolt loose:

This holds the plastic framework which the scuttle clips on to, the scuttle clips were all a bit loose too so closed those up a little and scuttle is now rock solid, went out for a drive and rattle/noise completely gone happy days.

 

[Darran]

For fast road i'd recommend avoiding any plated LSD's, the Wavetrac or Quaife would be a good fit and forget. Plated generally give the best performance but the downsides are low speed noise, gearbox removal for maintenance and deterioration of performance through wear.

Unless you chasing the seconds the ATB would be best suited for your application i'd of thought.

Cheers Rob if/when it'll most probably be a Quaife, I'm in not mad rush so hoping to pick up some bargains at Ford Fair, diff, clutch, bearing kit etc.

 

[Jonny ST]

Cheers Rob if/when it'll most probably be a Quaife, I'm in not mad rush so hoping to pick up some bargains at Ford Fair, diff, clutch, bearing kit etc.

I’ll be looking for a clutch kit too bud, maybe we can get a deal for 2 😂