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.....question has to be a subjective one since we did not have the Fiesta long enough to carry out any fifth wheel or other performance tests. What we did was to motor down to deepest Wales in convoy with the Fiesta 1600 X Pack in order to make some basic handling and performance comparisons between the two cars.
On the handling side, there were no great surprises as far as the Janspeed car was concerned since, with its unmodified suspension, it behaved exactly as every other Fiesta we have driven. That is not to denigrate the handling, however, since it still exhibits considerable grip and predictable, on-the-limit understeer.
Where this car did score was with the amazingly rewable, and obviously powerful, short-stroke 1100 engine which rocketed the car off the line to the accompaniment of Mini-like tyre scrabble and a healthy howl from the 'exhaust. It could easily match the AVO 1600 X Pack Fiesta on 0 to 60mph acceleration, indicating an elapsed time of around 10.5 seconds. Mid-range tractability was excellent for such a small displacement motor, although a bit of rowing through the gears was necessary to keep things on the boil while chasing . . . er, following the bigger-engined car through the twisting Welsh lanes.
In fairness to the 1600 version on the acceleration side, it did have to overcome the resistance created by the larger diameter 6 x 13m RS alloy wheels fitted with fat Pirelli P6s, the standard car being on normal 12in diameter slotted steel wheels. Both cars were fitted with the same compromise 3.84:1 final drive used in all UK Fiestas, although it cannot be long before alternative gearing is readily available.
The Janspeed-tuned 1100 motor, then, receives full marks from us, but as with other "partial" conversions, the more powerful motor serves to show up some deficiencies in the standard vehicle, notably the soft, yet still harsh, suspension which allows considerable dive and squat under braking and acceleration. There was obviously more body roll on the 1100, and nowhere was this more obvious that on a fast, decreasing radius corner. The 1100 would start to adopt the expected terminal understeer attitude while the 1600, with its much tauter suspension, just continued to turn in toward the apex and then power through the corner. This understeer could be overcome somewhat by chucking the car into corners, and although great fun for a short period, this technique does become a bit tiresome if it has to be kept up over a long distance, or you're carrying less than died in the wool enthusiasts as passengers.
Comparing the two cars, the Janspeed Stage One Fiesta does seem like better value for money than the 1600 X Pack, especially considering the nearly £1700 price tag on the big-engined version. If it were possible to go for a perfect conversion in a perfect world, the best combination would be the Janspeed engine mods and the Rallye Sport suspension bits (springs, struts, Bilsteins, adjustable tie bars and stiffer anti-roll bar) which, by our reckoning, would total about £620
That bill could easily be reduced by substituting more reasonably priced struts and shock absorbers and by going 'comparison shopping' for the other suspension components.
Obviously other items, such as wider wheels and tyres, larger brakes, wheel arch extensions and more supportive seats, would be useful additions, but they are very much the finishing touches. Of one thing there is no doubt: as a tuneable, road going proposition, the Fiesta has arrived.
The fact that established tuning companies, such as Janspeed and Longman, are showing considerable interest and developing their own tuning gear for the whole Fiesta range can only bode well for the future.
Could we be on the verge of a Sixties-style tuning boom with Ford's Mini at the centre of it? GJ
A sportsman... The Fiesta may not be a natural choice for motor racing, but why has it taken so long to get results, and are the cars now fully competitive? Barry Lee tested two Group One Fiestas to find out. . . .
With more manufacturers producing front-wheel-drive cars now, I'm sure the Fiesta is going to have a competition future." Those words are Richard Longman's, and when one of the most successful builders and drivers ot saloons in this country is that unequivocal about the potential of Ford's entry in the front-wheel-drive stakes, it would be best to pay attention.
In the first three parts of this Fiesta epic, we have looked at the theory behind the car plus two very different modified versions, one from Ford and the other from that well respected tuning firm, Janspeed. Having established that the Fiesta can be a highly entertaining road car, the next step had to be to check out its competition potential.
Without a doubt, the most successful racing Fiestas around at the moment are the Oatapost-sponsored cars being campaigned by Longman and former Mini-man, Alan Curnow. The latter is currently lying third overall in the British Saloon Car Championship, and first in the up-to-1300 class, while Longman is running an uncharacteristic fourth in the 1600 section of the championship, the larger-engined Fiesta suffering from a lack of much-needed, power-boosting homologation goodies for the American-specification motor. But more of these development problems in a moment.
Richard agreed to let us try both cars at the special Brands Hatch saloon practice the week before the Grand Prix; and our driver on this august occasion? None other than that man of ground effect hot rod fame, Barry Lee. But why Barry Lee, the cynics among you may ask, since all he ever drives are conventional race cars, front-wheel-drive saloons requiring a completely different technique.
It is perhaps not common knowledge that Barry has pedalled Minis very rapidly on both race circuits and short ovals at various times in his career, and in 1978, he went so far as to purchase a Fiesta from Ford with the aim of using it to contest the 1978 Hot Rod Championship.
The project was completed, but insufficient testing time meant Barry opted to run his conventional Escort in order to have a better run at the championship. Lee: "When the vehicle first came out, everybody tended to want to find fault with the project in competition because they didn't want to change over, rear-wheel-drive having been the accepted set-up for so long.
"My early concern was with driveshafts and gearboxes, but they've now been rallycrossing and rallying the cars in BDA specification for something like a year and they are not having the problems everyone foresaw.
"On the plus side, the Fiesta is instantly superior to the Mini because it has much more suspension movement. This is why the handling characteristics of a properly set up Fiesta can make it virtually identical to a rear-wheel-drive saloon as far as driving technique is concerned."
It would appear, then, that the John Rhodes days of navigating Paddock Bend in a Mini, all crossed up and with smoke boiling from the tyres, are gone forever, the new generation of fwd cars requiring a far neater, more precise driving style in order to avoid time-wasting understeer.
It seems likely that fwd rally techniques will also be required for budding Fiesta circuit racers, left-foot braking being a useful way of getting the tail out and aiming the car into the corner in such a way as to put power down.....
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