The 91“«Ć½ ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ modified car project has successfully raised an impressive Ā£21,901.50 for the Rays of Sunshine childrenā€™s charity, which was commemorated with a cheque-giving ceremony at the companyā€™s Northampton HQ recently.

With the help of some of the biggest names in the tuning industry, the once-standard Mk7 Ford Fiesta ST was converted into one of the most formidable examples of this hatchback in the country over a 12-month period ā€“ a process which was heavily documented in the form of a YouTube series and regular update entries inĢżFast FordĢżmagazine.

The Fiesta was then put into a raffle-style charity competition thanks to Dream Car Giveaways, where the thousands of entries received helped to accumulate the impressive overall donation. Eventually, West Wales-based Delmi Evans was the lucky winner of the vehicle.

ABOUT EBC BRAKES

Still privately owned, 91“«Ć½ is a world leader in the manufacture of disc brake components. Expanding rapidly in the automotive industry, 91“«Ć½ has become a world leader in sport, high performance and race brake pads and discs with a massive range of products. EBC is proud to announce all of its brake pad materials are completely free from heavy metals and sulphides, making them eco-friendly.
91“«Ć½ produces 100% of its brake pad range in its Bristol factory in the UK.

ABOUT RAYS OF SUNSHINE

Rays of Sunshine Childrenā€™s Charity was formed in 2003 toĢżbrighten the lives of childrenĢżwho are living with serious or life-limiting illnesses, between the ages of 3-18, across the United Kingdom. By granting wishes and providing ongoing support, the charity creates a positive distraction, reduces isolation, improves self-esteem and creates precious memories and smiles.

ā€œI purchased this EP3 Civic Type R back in December 2020. Right from the start it was always going to be my track toy as I also have a more sensible car that I use as my daily driver.

ā€œThis means I have a fairly extensive modification to-do list for the car, which involves some serious suspension and performance tweaks further down the line.

ā€œI thought it would be a good idea to start with upgrading one of the most important aspects of the car ā€“ the brakes. Although the standard braking setup on these cars can be pretty good with a decent set of discs and pads, I always felt like I was reaching the limits after about 15 minutes on track in my old Civic Type R a few years back, which meant I was keen to take things a bit further this time around.ā€

Dave Taylor upgraded to EBCā€™s big brake kit offering after quickly reaching the limits of his standard braking setup on track.

ā€œI purchased the car almost two years ago and use it mainly on weekends as a second car. Iā€™ve been doing track days for a number of years now and wanted a car that was fun on the road as well as on track.

ā€œAfter the first track day, the standard brakes were toast! I upgraded the pads/lines and fluid, but it still wasnā€™t enough. I was demanding too much from the standard discs and calipers to the point where the paint melted and the seals were showing signs of cracking.ā€

• Perform the Street Pre BedĢżFade 1 routine as above (either on the road or at the track if installed there ) followed by Fade 2 at the race track.
• The latest Bluestuff DM3362 and Low Mu versions should only take Fade 2 and a 15 minute cooling time to be ready to race.
• Fade 3 should not be necessary unless poor disc condition has prevented proper seating but if you have time DO perform Fade 3.

You CAN use the ā€œReal-world experienced driver – faster street bedding routineā€- Ģżdescribed above if you are bedding the pads in on the street

Find this complicated? ā€“ we tend to agree but all organic pads no matter which brand do need some bedding in to avoid loss of brake and a lot depends on rotor condition, the slightest hollow of the rotor surface will extend the bed in times a lot. So being accurate is important.

How to check if pads have heat cured or chemically bedded – Brake bedding in causes heat and it is strongly advised to monitor this heat usingĢżĢż TWICE during bedding in on Blue and once only with RP series pads. What you do is, apply the heat paints on the outer edge of the rotor, run the pads for enough stops (8-10 stops ) to pass the 430C temperature ( 800 F ) which will be Fade 1, allow a few minutes for the system to cool and take a look at the heat paints to ensure they have passed the 430 C indicator, reapply new heat paints to a different cleaned area of the disc and drive again for 6-8 more hard stops which will take you past Fade 2 where temps should pass 430C (800F) again. Full cool down needed here of at least 20-30 minutes and if you CANā€¦ overnight cool. You need to see the 430C heat paint go off TWICE to have completed Fade 2.

Fitting new discs at pad change also adds to bed in time as even if the discs are flat and smooth the pad and rotor have to ā€œSquare upā€ to each other and achieve 90% surface contact. As you use your pads on either a new or old disc stop every couple of laps and look for the blue-grey contact patch gradually widening across your rotor surface and donā€™t race until its almost a full sweep contact, any doubts pop the pads out and look at the surfaces to evaluate contact patch sweep.

Why so long to bed in any way ā€“ We can (but donā€™t) sell pads that are classed as soft and bed in even faster or very abrasive pads that scrub away at the rotor, cause lots of dust and give the impression of a shorter bed in time. So the balance here is to make a variety of pads according to the different driving styles and events so that users can choose what’s best for them.

Pads wearing too fast ā€“ Trackday or what the USA market call ā€œLappingā€ events just doing a few laps to enjoy your car are a tough test on brakes, Extra vehicle weight, seats, and spare wheel, etc and standard calipers make this kind of driving a tough test on brakes and you may need to consider moving up a grade. See this chart as a Ģżguide on types of EBC compounds for different driving events

Pads still fading after bed in – itā€™s not JUST getting the pads flat and parallel itā€™s about taking them past their green fade point AFTER achieving a good contact band. for this reason, are very useful. Pads should be driven with caution until bedded flat and you have passed this green fade point at least twice and then allowed pads to cool so the disc is below 100C. Green fade only happens on organic pads – much less with our RP pads and not at all with our SRĢż pad range. There are two ways to know if you have passed the green fade point – one is the clever way with heat paints – the second way is to guess… So heat paints are the better option

Green fade points are 400 C or 650 F (Fade 1) and then the same again ( Fade 2) for the two fades required with Bluestuff and 400C/800F just the once for RP series pads RP pads. For this reason, EBC Heat paints first level indicate at a temperature of just over 400C/800 F so that once this paint changes colour, one fade cycle is done.

• NoĢżStreet Pre Bed needed or legally allowed, these are pure race track compounds –ĢżBUT only in the EU markets is anyone going to worry about this. Generally, the EBC RP pads are quite safe to use on the streets and many drivers fit them and drive to and from race tracks happily with very limited noise. RP pads donā€™t need to ā€œWarm-upā€ and are as good as or better than most stock pads in lower-speed highway driving. Full potential comes though when you really work these pads though and that is why we class them as a race pad.
• Single gentle lap to seat pads to rotors followed by Fade 3Ģżas above should be all that is needed

• These are a new generation of Sintered pads and do not require any chemical bedding. Pads merely need mating to the disc/rotor which again depends on rotor/disc condition but if flat or new this should take 3-5 snubs as mentioned in Fade 3 above ā€“ at the track.
• NoĢżStreet Pre Bed needed or legally allowed, these are pure race track compounds, again we have many drivers who use these on the open road with no complaints but remember in the EU legislation makes it actually illegal to use a nonapproved pad on public roads.

Comparison of friction levels of the main EBC race materials below

The graph should not be confused with a ā€œ fade test ā€œ

Any falloff in friction depends on the deceleration amount from V1 to V2 – and heavier stops see more fall off.

Still, in every case, the brake effect is still very significant and reliable

The test is a made-up lap of 9 stops repeated 5 times to give 45 stops in total.

All stops are at 0.7G but have different brake-on and brake-off speeds as shown below (in km/h) ā€“ the slower stops tend to produce higher friction levels irrespective of the material which is what gives the variability.

Surprisingly many drivers donā€™t pay enough attention to fluid. A high temp fluid such as EBC BF-307 which is an extremely pure glycol fluid and has a dry (new) boiling point of 307C ( 580F ) should be used, change fluids regularly in track use to maintain firm brake pedal, avoid vapor lock and deliver a linear brake response. Fluids should be changed every two years for normal street use and every 2-3 track events for track-day and every event for full hard race use.
EBC strongly recommends the use of Disc heat paints to monitor disc temperature and caliper heat strips in racing to check caliper is not overheating. If calipers are dragging temperatures can rise above the seal upper limits and damage seals. Sliding single piston calipers should always be serviced ready for track driving as often sticking or seized calipers cause blame to be placed on the pad compound in error.

During the second bank holiday Monday of May 2021, the 91“«Ć½ team headed to Sywell Aerodrome for Supercar Festā€™s ā€˜The Runwayā€™ event.

This is a chance for sports and supercars from across the country to enjoy the extensive runway at the Northamptonshire-based air base, reaching some impressive speeds in the process.

91“«Ć½ had a stand in the trade area where it showcased many of its high-performance products to attendees. Also on the stand were some impressive EBC-equipped vehicles, such as Andy Duckerā€™s VW Golf R, a 45th Anniversary Chevrolet Camaro RS and R44 Performanceā€™s brand-new G80-series BMW M3 (that 91“«Ć½ Racing is currently developing a range of products for).

91“«Ć½ plans on attending a number of automotive events during the summer of 2021. Please keep your eyes out for further information and be sure to head over to our stand and speak to our friendly team if you do spot us.

Now itā€™s reaching its final stages, weā€™ve decided to look back at how our ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ project has unfolded over the last few months by bringing you our build articles that were originally featured inĢżFast FordĢżmagazine. This week, itā€™s Part 13, where we head back to our friends atĢżĢżfor the installation of aĢżĢżroll cage.

Remember: you can now sign up to WIN the car in a charity raffle competition, with all proceeds going to the Rays of Sunshine childrenā€™s charity.ĢżĢżto enter.

With our Mk7 ST ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ now becoming so impressive itā€™s able to topple fully-fledged supercars on track (), this month we wanted to ensure that its safety aspects were equally-as-competent for the lucky person who eventually wins the car in our charity giveaway soon.

Itā€™s why we decided to approach our friends atĢżĢżand snap up one of the firmā€™s 4-point bolt-in roll cages to help keep the internal cabin area as safe as possible in any situation.

Just like 91“«Ć½, Somerset-based Caged Laser is one of those proudly British engineering firms that are all too uncommon nowadays. Supplying bespoke motorsport solutions for a huge range of applications, everything that Caged Laser does is proudly designed, built and finished in house.

The ā€˜cage we opted for is a ā€˜rearā€™ item that starts just behind the driver and passengerā€™s heads and works its way back into the boot area. Made out of sturdy PTG700 tubing, itā€™s handily supplied with weld-in mounting boxes which the ā€˜cage then conveniently bolts into.

To make sure the install was done correctly, we headed back over to our friends atĢż, where technician James got to work getting the shiny red unit in place.

The first job is fully removing the rear seats and carpet, before stripping all fixtures, fittings and adhesive from the white metal underneath. The curtain airbags above each door of the Fiesta also carefully needed removing, as well as some of the headlining to accommodate the satisfyingly snug fit of the ā€˜cage.

Once the mounting boxes were welded in, Caged Laser made the rest of the process hassle-free with its skillfully designed product that just required some bolting to ensure a secure fit inside the car.

Looking fantastic in its complimentary red hue, the interior was finally freshened up by re-adding some of the carpet and headlining to give it the ultimate ā€˜clubsportā€™ fast road/track look. We can now rest assured that the Fiesta is up for the job of keeping its passengers safe, regardless of what we throw at it. Oh, and the handling has probably been improved slightly, to boot. Winner!

As we arrived back at EBC HQ and just before going to press with this update, we received a package from our friends atĢżĢżā€“Ģża set of 7.5Ɨ17ā€ Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 alloys, finished in a stunning gloss black colour! These will eventually get a set of dedicated track day semi-slick tyres on them and act as a second set of wheels for the winner of the car. Stay tuned to see what the look like mounted in placeā€¦

Now itā€™s reaching its final stages, weā€™ve decided to look back at how our ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ project has unfolded over the last few months by bringing you our build articles that were originally featured inĢżFast FordĢżmagazine. This week, itā€™s Part 12, where we find ourselves over atĢżĢżgetting one of their finest security systems installed.

Remember: you can now sign up to WIN the car in a charity raffle competition, with all proceeds going to the Rays of Sunshine childrenā€™s charity.ĢżĢżto enter.

During a routine scroll through the web recently, we stumbled upon a rather eye-opening list that displayed the most stolen vehicles in the UK throughout 2020.

Guess what was right at the top spot? Yep ā€“ the humble Ford Fiesta! This worried us here at EBC HQ, as our Mk7 ST ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ is undoubtedly a particularly desirable example of this much-loved hatchback, making us feel even more exposed to the potential dangers lurking out there.

There was only one thing for it: to head to one of the UKā€™s most respected alarm specialists ā€“ĢżĢżā€“ to make our Fezza as secure as Fort Knox in case of any unwanted attention in the future.

With premises in Birmingham, London and Manchester, Pandora is pushing the envelope of whatā€™s possible with car alarm systems right now. Often catering for the most exotic supercars on the planet (including some of Shmee150ā€™s machines), we knew weā€™d be in safe hands.

Arriving at the firmā€™s impressive Redditch HQ, we were greeted by Sales Manager Matt, who talked us through what the team thought would be the best solution for our particular needs ā€“Ģż.

Now itā€™s reaching its final stages, weā€™ve decided to look back at how our ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ project has unfolded over the last few months by bringing you our build articles that were originally featured inĢżFast FordĢżmagazine. This week, itā€™s Part 11, where we head back to the track with some very special guestsā€¦

Remember: you can now sign up to WIN the car in a charity raffle competition, with all proceeds going to the Rays of Sunshine childrenā€™s charity.ĢżĢżto enter.

After this, it was time for the big one: putting our Ford up against our R35 Nissan GT-R development vehicle. With Jake Hill once again in the Fiesta and our in-house test driver piloting the Japanese super-coupe, this would promise to be an extremely interesting set of battles indeed.

The first test was a simple 0-60mph sprint on the damp Tarmac. Unsurprisingly, the 550bhp GT-Rā€™s trick 4WD system meant it performed the launch in just 4.4 seconds, with our FWD manual Fezza taking 6.2 seconds to achieve the same speed.

A 60-0mph brake test followed. This time, the Fiestaā€™s lighter weight and big brake kit came into their own, with a 66ft stopping distance compared to the bulkier GT-Rā€™s 88ft.

Finally, it was what weā€™d all been waiting for ā€“ a handful of hot laps of the circuit. With the Fiesta taking an early lead and the GT-R hot on its tails throughout, it incredibly managed to retain this position throughout the race, illustrating just how much the modifications weā€™ve added to the car have transformed it.

As the sun began to set, we were greeted by one last contender ā€“ a full-blown BRSCC Fiesta Championship race car, which went out in the hands of local driver Adam Higgins against Jake Hill in our car. It was fascinating to see how a heavily modified road car fared against a full-blown race car on race tyres and you can see the outcome of this battle by heading toĢżĢżnowā€¦

Itā€™s fair to say that with 380-odd horses under its bonnet and its killer suspension and brake setups, our ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ is really starting to live up to its name.

But thereā€™s still a long way to go before the car is finally given away in its charity competition ( for your chance to win it ā€“Ģżentries are open until early summer).

For now then, itā€™s business as usual and this month saw us tackling our ST-3ā€™s plush Recaro interior, with the aim of losing as much weight as possible and supplying a much more supportive cabin for both driver and passenger during on-track action.

The first task was to remove the majority of that attractive black-and-red factory trim. Once it was all out of the car, we just had to get it on the scales to see how much it all weighed. The answer? A whopping 75.5kgs!

In replacement of all of this mass, we opted for a duo of . FIA approved, HANS-compatible and side-mounted, these are the real deal for track day and race cars, with these exact seats featuring in some of the most formidable race, rally and drift cars around the world.

We opted for the composite-backed variants to suit our budget, although theyā€™re also available in carbon fibre for even better weight savings. Still, with the shell weight of our seats coming in at just 6kg apiece, we were set to shave a mighty 60kgs from the Fiestaā€™s overall weight in one fell swoop with this one upgrade!

The icing on the cake is the bespoke embroidery that the guys at Motordrive added to each seat for us ā€“ the ā€˜Ultimate Fiesta Buildā€™ slogan proudly displayed in the carā€™s black/red/white colour scheme. Remember to consider custom upgrades when placing your order with this hugely respected British company.

With the amount of big-turbo goodness under the bonnet, it would be all too easy to plonk a load of clunky gauges and dials onto the carā€™s dashboard to keep tabs on the goings-on in the engine bay. But keen to streamline things and keep the interior looking relatively understated, the perfect solution instead came from our friends over at .

Snapping up one of their trick air vent-mounted digital dials ensured we had all bases covered with one handy product. Cleverly giving off OEM looks until you fire it up, this amazing piece of tech then comes to life to quickly and accurately display info such as boost levels, vital temperatures, ignition timing, speed, RPM (with shift light) and even fault codes. You can even record accurate 0-60mph times with it!

Installation couldnā€™t have been easier ā€“ you simply plug the gauge into your OBD port using the supplied adapter and the carā€™s computer does the rest for you. This is a vital piece of kit for anyone who likes to keep on top of whatā€™s going on with their pride and joy and we canā€™t wait to make use of all of its functions.

Next time, weā€™re heading back out onto the track to see how our latest raft of mods translate with some high-speed driving. Weā€™re bringing along some other cars to compare it against too, so it should make for some seriously interesting readingā€¦