Ford Fiesta ST Beats Toyota GT86 on the Track in EVO Test

[Brzetto]

The real winner is the 86 because even with 250hp the Fiesta only got 1.2 seconds ahead of it. Stickies + light forced induction = a loss for the Fiesta and Focus ST.

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by topazsparrow

Excuse me for playing devils advocate here, but what empiracle evidence do you have to support this?

I think if you took the exact same car and made two versions of it, FWD and RWD, there would be a negligible difference in track times.

It's a matter of how much work you're asking the tires to do. When you have a FWD car, you are asking the front tires not only to steer, but also to pull the vehicle forward. In a rear wheel drive car, those jobs are divided. Front wheels steer and rear wheels push.

I would very much be interested to see the same exact car in a FWD/RWD version and then run them around the track to see which is faster. I don't think we'll ever get that chance though. Of course, it's not just a matter of any car that is RWD being better than any FWD car. The whole platform comes into play as well, and there are plenty of FWD cars that handle better than RWD vehicles.

Originally Posted by Brzetto

The real winner is the 86 because even with 250hp the Fiesta only got 1.2 seconds ahead of it. Stickies + light forced induction = a loss for the Fiesta and Focus ST.

The Fiesta ST has 197 horsepower. Now let's touch on your second point. So a base FRS is only about four grand more than base Fiesta ST, and then we just gotta put another six grand into the car?

At least make the overall costs even. I wonder how well the Fiesta ST would perform if we were to dump ten thousand dollars into it. Or in the other case, the Focus if we were to dump another eight.

[DylanFRS]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

The Fiesta ST has 197 horsepower. Now let's touch on your second point. So a base FRS is only about four grand more than base Fiesta ST, and then we just gotta put another six grand into the car?

At least make the overall costs even. I wonder how well the Fiesta ST would perform if we were to dump ten thousand dollars into it. Or in the other case, the Focus if we were to dump another eight.

Well said.

[HunterGreene]

prius tires

/thread

[DylanFRS]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

prius tires

/thread

$4k less

/thread

[Mr.Jay]

Originally Posted by Brzetto

The real winner is the 86 because even with 250hp the Fiesta only got 1.2 seconds ahead of it. Stickies + light forced induction = a loss for the Fiesta and Focus ST.

The Fiesta only has 197HP but its got 214TQ

either way tho the twins lost far and square but then again we are talking stock

I bought this car with no plans of keeping it stock

[Brzetto]

Originally Posted by Mr.Jay

The Fiesta only has 197HP but its got 214TQ

either way tho the twins lost far and square but then again we are talking stock

I bought this car with no plans of keeping it stock

Ok 197 so what sticky tires on the 86 would certainly help crush the Fiesta.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by DylanFRS

$4k less

/thread

So when you trading in your FR-S for the Fiesta ST?

Lets also keep in mind this was the euro-spec Fiesta ST. I'm willing to bet there's a couple differences between that and the US-spec.

[Rampage]

Under 300HP RWD does not > FWD. Look no further than Continental Sports Car challenge ST, Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car, British Touring Car Championship and FIA World Touring Car Championships where FWD regularly dominates RWD. Believe it or not FWD does have some advantages over RWD such as less parasitic loss through the drivetrain. Today's performance tires are not overtaxed by sub 300HP engines even when they have to do the steering too.

Properly set up a FWD car will exhibit oversteer just like a RWD car. On the street, understeer will save your ass while oversteer will bite you in it. The BRZ is made to understeer from the factory for this very reason. FR-Ss (and some BRZs) are being wrecked because average drivers do not react properly to an oversteering car.

I would still not buy a Focus or a Fiesta but the fact is they are pretty good performance cars and they can give the GT86/FR-S/BRZ fits on the street or the track.

For the record, I love the FT86. If I did not have the car I am currently driving I would buy one in a heartbeat.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

At least make the overall costs even. I wonder how well the Fiesta ST would perform if we were to dump ten thousand dollars into it. Or in the other case, the Focus if we were to dump another eight.

Except you would be dumping money into a Ford Fiesta

Both cars are pretty good out of the box, but the 86 (and RWD platforms in gerenal) is the car you would want to build on and modify.

Once you start adding power and playing with the suspension on the fiesta, the downside to FWD will show.

[DylanFRS]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

So when you trading in your FR-S for the Fiesta ST?

NEVER!

No, but in all seriousness, it's not because I think the FR-S is a better car than the Fiesta ST, it is because I prefer the FR-S. I don't think the FR-S is better than a Honda Accord, I just prefer the FR-S.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by DylanFRS

NEVER!

No, but in all seriousness, it's not because I think the FR-S is a better car than the Fiesta ST, it is because I prefer the FR-S. I don't think the FR-S is better than a Honda Accord, I just prefer the FR-S.

You also stick out more on the road--which, lets face it, is part of the appeal of the twins

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by Steve

Except you would be dumping money into a Ford Fiesta

Both cars are pretty good out of the box, but the 86 (and RWD platforms in gerenal) is the car you would want to build on and modify.

Once you start adding power and playing with the suspension on the fiesta, the downside to FWD will show.

That's when you just call up Ken Block or Tanner Foust's rally team, hand them a bag full of money, and tell them you want what they have.

[DylanFRS]

Originally Posted by Steve

Once you start adding power and playing with the suspension on the fiesta, the downside to FWD will show.

You mean like a Focus ST, 60 more hp, still FWD, and will still beat the twins around the track most days?