Now, the Fiesta even looks fast!
We're still fine tuning our ride height, in this photo the front is too low.
Turn-in has improved greatly.
The suspension, tires and wheels have dragged this car very close to track-only duty.
Now that we’ve made some considerable improvements to our Ford Fiesta, its time to take it to the test track. Since its last test day, our little road racer has gained sticky rubber, wider wheels, and a racing suspension; before we make any other improvements, we need to see the effect of these. We headed back to The FIRM.
If we had to pick two words to describe the Fiesta now, they would be “race car.” The suspension, tires and wheels have dragged this car very close to track-only duty. It’s too harsh to drive on the street with any regularity, although our intern does drive it to work every day. It must be nice to have a young back.
So, we’ve essentially ruined this as a street car for drivers with older components. Does that mean we’ve made it into a fabulous track car? Yes, in fact it does. The Fiesta’s handling has dramatically improved, and a real decrease in lap times backs up that seat-of-the-pants assessment. We still have some suspension tuning to do, but even as-is the Fiesta is now a formidable track car.
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