Nitrous Oxide Guide

16th April 2003

Ever since The Fast And the Furious (IMDB), nitrous has been one of the most banded about buzzwords in the modified car scene, with everyone saying they want it, but only a small number of them actually going ahead and getting systems. Nitrous oxide injection is largely misunderstood, with many people believing that they will damage the engine, or the bottles will explode without warning. This is simply not the case, and is explained in more detail later in this…

Zetec Tuning

28th March 2003

For the introduction and history of the Zetec engine article click here

Often regarded as difficult to tune, there is still a large number of modifications that can be made to the Zetec engine to increase power, from simple filter and exhaust upgrades to throttle bodies and turbo conversions. Many options exist to suit all budgets and while it may not respond as eagerly as its turbocharged relatives, the naturally aspiration version can still prove a worthy powerplant.

Read on…

Reliability Issues

29th January 2003

A common misconception is that RS Turbos are unreliable cars. This is largely untrue because the reliability of an engine is down to several factors which are often overlooked or ignored with these cars.

As standard the RST engine will last for 150,000 miles plus if looked after. The only problems likely to occur are general wear and tear. Cams usually last about 60,000 miles before replacement and other items such as bearings will need to be renewed as needed. As…

T3 Conversion

23rd February 2002

Converting your FRST to a T3 is one of the best ways to increase power and potential power of the car. The larger size of the turbo flows more air and also provides more of a kick than the almost lag-less T2. The T3 provides more mid range than the T2 and maintains boost higher up the rev range than the T2, which has a tendency to tail off above 5500rpm. For serious power the T3 is the only way…

Fitting 17s

26th April 2001

One of the most asked questions regarding Fiesta styling is "Can I fit 17" wheels?". The answer is yes, but there are several things that you will need to do in order to accomodate this size of rim.

1) Modify the arches

The arches on a Fiesta were only made to accommodate the 13" or 14" standard wheels that Ford fitted to the car. If you fit your 17"s straight on they will catch on the arch lip and scrape on the…

Suspension Modifications

19th April 2001

There are two main reasons for modifying the Fiesta suspension setup. The first is to improve the look of the car, the second is to improve the handling. The reasons you have for lowering the car should dictate the setup you go for, as will your budget. When lowering a car to enhance it's appearance, the object of the exercise is to eliminate the gap between the tyre and the arch. Although the oft used term 'lower is better' is…

Tuning the RS Turbo

19th April 2001

The RST is by far the easiest and cheapest Fiesta to tune, and has been around long enough for the majority of Ford tuners to offer upgrade packages and conversions. The engine is almost identical to the 1596cc Compound Valve Hemispherical (CVH) unit found in it's bigger brother, the Escort RST. The main differences are the engine management system, which uses the EEC-IV system also used in the Zetec engine, and the utilization of the smaller Garrett T2 turbocharger. Both…

Brake Upgrades

19th April 2001

Uprating your brakes is an essential modification to make when increasing the power of your car. Brake upgrades are available in many stages, from aftermarket disc and pads, to full blown 4 pot caliper and large diameter disc conversions. It is also possible to convert the rear drums on a Fiesta to discs.

Uprated discs

The standard setup on all the Fiestas consists of 240mm vented discs and single pot (piston) calipers. This combination is just about enough to stop the standard…

Wheels

19th April 2001

How big can you go? Offsets, widths, PCD explained. What fits and what doesn't. Do big wheels ruin handling? What tyres you need for your rims. It's all here. Read on to find out.

Note: Before reading this article it should be noted that manufacturing differences and tolerances dictate that fitting advice regarding a certain car may differ slightly from that given.

Fitment information

The fitment of an alloy wheel is described as follows: 7x15 4/108 ET35

7x15 is the width and diameter of…