FOCA

Well my car did not seem like it was performing right 

The turbo seemed to be making a new noise scince i came back from the rolling road dyno, and it seemed a bit "laggy" and did not seem to be picking up so well from really low revs

it was hard to say though, and i know these things can be deceptive, i thought i would test it and compare it to some previous figures (i kept detailed acceleration figures during the development of the car)

(disclaimer - all timing done safely off road, i have over 8 years with no accidents, claims or convictions, i don't speed on the road and i have special skills & training,  - stay safe/ don't time yourself when you are driving!) 

I thought i would use a high gear to check it right so i found a suitable stretch of tarmac and timed my 50-70mph using the speedo and stopwatch (and stopwatch operator)

i did it then looked at the stopwatch 5.0 seconds! i squinted at it thinking it must be a 6 , we tested it again this time slightly uphill, making sure i was in top and  pressing the start button before 50, and stopped it after 70 (and it really was 50 and 70)-   5.3 seconds  

We tested it the same way Autocar do - accelerating "through" the timed points.

This got me thinking - how does that time compare to other cars like hot hatches and supercars?

i made a list -

(often cars have 6 or 7 (or even more) gears, and the 50-70mph is timed in 5th), and the times i have aquired do not state which gear, its in, Supercars often have stratospheric top speeds & gearing to match - so are right out of the power at 50 in top. other cars have big, torky V8 engines and "low" gearing (Range Rover) or electric motors with massive torque at low revs (Honda hybrid) race/ rally cars are sometimes fitted with low gearing - the Mondeo has its standard gearing from the factory (5-speed mtx 75) - in this test, the 5-speed has the advantage, but it does not have a ridiculusly low top / final drive with a 130/140ish top speed (Autobanns, of course!) - ive put the top speed in to give a comparison,  the 5.9 is an old figure, recorded last year, when the car was heavier, the speedo  and using the stopwatch is not accurate so i just put the 50-70 in my signature a conservative "< 6"

I often get told "but you could just drop agear/ 3 gears" but that is not the test, there is a 70mph limit in this country/ nation, so how fast the car goes from 100 to 130 is not important, (because there is a 70mph limit)  dropping gears every time you need to overtake takes time  a quick 50-70mph is important for quick, safe, legal overtaking, and reduces you TED (time exposed to danger) off dual carrigways (in response to "why does you car need to be so fast/ quick" questions )  

50-70mph in top-

Merc Mclaren SLR 2.4 sec (top) fastest ever recorded in a production car at the time 30-50mph 1.7 sec (5- speed auto)

Bugatti Veyron 2.3 sec (1000Hp)

Bugatti Veyron SS 3.1/2.3 in 6th/ 5th 1200ps 7-speed 268mph 0-60mph 2.3secs 1836kgs

McLaren F1 3.7/2.8 sec in 6th/ 5th (6-speed box)

Ferrari f40 4.0 sec (in 5th - 5 speed box)

Ferarri F50 4.4/3.3 in 6th/5th (6sp box)

Range Rover Sport 4.4 sec (5L v8 502hp461ibft 140mph)S-charged

De Tamaso pantera 4.7 sec

Range Rover Evoque 4.9 sec

honda accord hybrid 5.1 sec (US 3.0v6 255hp 232ft lbf) 8.6mph 0-60 137mph

Tvr Cerbera 5.47 sec

Saleen S7 does it in 5.6 sec

>My mondeo tddi est. 5.9 secs /4.98 secs in 4th (old) - new 5.0secs  in top (5th) 4.3secs in 4th (on speedo) speed geared for 130/140mph approx 1400kgs)<

Merc sl65 black 6.0 sec

Focus ST3 - 6.1 / 5.1 in 6th/ 5th  (6-spd) 247bhp 340Nm 154mph  1362kgs

De Tamaso Pantera gts 6.1 sec

Lambo Gallardo 6.2 sec

Ferrari F430 6.4 sec (4.3L v8 490hp343lb ft 196mph/0-60- 4sec /0-100- 9.2sec 1450kgs)

BMW M5 6.4 sec

porsche cayman 6.7 sec

2010 golf gti 6.7 sec

BMW M3 '95 7.3 sec

Testarossa 7.4 sec (in 5th / 5 speed box)

Ford GT 7.4 sec

Golf r32 7.6 sec

mazdaspeed MX-5 7.6 sec

Toyota prius C 7.6 sec

Lotus Carlton 7.7 sec (5th?) 6 - speed manual

911 Turbo S 7.8 sec

BMW330D 8.4/5.7/4.7/3.7 8th/7th/6th/5th 8sp auto 3.0L luxury touring 255hp 560Nm 0-60mph 5.8secs

Porche Boxter 2.7 8.5 sec

lotus exige 8.5 sec

C6 Z06 8.8 sec

cobra mustang GT500 8.8 sec

Mazda MX-5 8.9 sec (127 mph 1040kg)

Civic type R 8.9 sec

1999 Mustang fr500 9.0 sec (4.9L twin-cam v8 415hp/365lb-ft 168mph 4.5sec/60..13sec.at110mph 1/4 mile )

Mondeo ST220 9.1 sec in 5th? - 5sp version (151mph) 0-60-6.8/7.4secs 0-100mph 20.8secs/18secs)

golf gti mk1 9.1 sec (in 4th?) (geared for 115mph)

C6 Z51 does it in 9.1 sec

2000 BMW 320D 9.3 sec (in 5th - 5 speed manual 136bhp/206lb-ft 129mph)

2004 mustang GT 9.5 sec

Impreza WRX 9.5 sec

BMW 545i 9.5 sec

Mustang shelby gt500 9.6 sec

Viper SRT10 9.8 sec

Subaru BRZ LTD 10 sec (top) 6spd 139mph (200hp/150ft-lbs 2.0 flat-4 vvt)

sierra cosworth Rs500 10.1 sec

Audi a4 Avant 10.7/6.7/5.0 in 7th/6th/5th 7speed 3.0L TDI auto estate quattro 242hp 500Nm 0-60 5.9secs 1725kgs

escort xr3i 11.3 sec (in 4th?)

Mondeo ST-TDCI 11.6 sec (in 6th) 6.5 (in 5th)

Pontiac Solstice 13.5 sec

Dodge viper 14 / 5 - 6th/ 5th 6sp box (14.6/5.9 2003 model)

Well i got myself a Samsung Freesat HD twin tuner hard drive recorder it has a 500gb hard drive, with the twin tuners i can record 2 channels simultaniously while watching a previous recorded programme

It recieves all the Freesat channels including all the HD Freesat channels, and can record and playback on full HD 1080P

Samsung is now one of the market leaders in AV and mobile phone etc technology

This is one of the best of these boxes available and compares favorably with the Humax box and recieved a 5-star raiting from What -HI-FI and video   

This joins my 500gb Sony Freeview HD recorder which also has twin HD tuners  and can record / playback in 1080p HD  and also has a two hour buffer and can pause, rewind and record live TV,  

I have a Sony 1080p HD tv that also recieves freesat HD, and can record onto my 2TB hard-drive the Sony freeview box can also connect to the 2TB hard-drive, to backup

The Sony box integrates nicely with the Sony tv, the box remote control works the tv, and the box and tv "talk" to each other via HDMI (for example if you switch the tv off, the box also switches off)

Between the Freeview HD and Freesat HD channels i get all available free channels on both platforms (there are some on one and not the other)

And i can record 5 simultanious channels between the tv and two boxes, and watch 2 of them simultaniously (picture in picture) i can record series with a total of 3TB (approx 3000mb) of storage

Im getting rid of all my old AV gear (its mostly obsolete now) i may also get a Blue-ray recorder, (i have a Samsung Blu-ray player for now) mostly i will get rid of all the standard- def stuff   (PS - i don't like 3D so i plan to keep my present setup for a while)

And the mest thing about it - there is no monthly subscription- All the Freesat/  Freeview/  HD channels are Free!  

i may post a list of all the Freesat/  HD And Freeview HD channels to see how they differ     

I thought i would start with the spec/ a list of modifications

Remaps/ etc -

Superchips Blufin rev3 remap

DTUK digital tuning box with custom remote adjust (can be used with remap, was not used on dyno run)  

Turbo

Fixed vane Garrett GT20 with wastegate and pnumatic actuator

Two - stage digital driver adjustable electronic boost controller, 100psi solenoid, anti-lag programme, defeat/ fail-safe (3 effective stages)

Anti- lag/ dump valve system for actuator/ wastegate (silent)  

Overboost pressure relief valve

Mechanical boost gauge 30psi (for now)

Inlet / etc -

One-off large diameter insulated CAIS,  

Gas flowed airbox/  stock filter

Resonator bypass

EGR delete/ shortened boost hoses

Intercooler -

Lightweight alloy aftermarket performance FMIC

External waterspray

Exhaust -

2-1/2" SS heatwrapped decat -

gas flowed heatwrapped downpipe 

Back- box delete

Straight - through 2-1/4" system with centre silencer

EGR delete on manifold

9.5kgs lighter - balanced for traction/ handling

To do - ceramic coat/ heatwrap the manifold which still has the stock heatshield

Trans

Mtx75 5-speed 'box

Solid flywheel conversion, dynamically balanced SMF to replace DMF

Carbon fiber and kevlar clutch - Heavy duty - 33% stronger - sprung plate

Short shifter (stock gearstick shortened and travel reduced by repositioning the cables)

Torque restrictor defeat switch (beside gearchange)

No form of traction control / ESP protects trans from torque  (de-ristricted in all gears/ at all revs)

Various -

Parasitic loads -

Electric waterpump with (planned) electronic control

Aircon removal (- 11kgs) including pulley/ shortened belt

Two Digital electronic fan/ pump controllers with display of voltage, oil and water temp 2 channels of control  

Lighter

Total 150+kgs lighter (too much to list all)

Payload increased to 740kgs

Exhaust 9.5kgs lighter

Battery 6.5kgs lighter (With almost total LED light conversion/ solar panel )

Spare tyre / jack removed - 20kgs lighter (replaced with tyreweld/ floorpump)

"Lightest" wheels fitted 17.4kgs each w tyres (reduces unsprung / rotating mass too)

Back seat removed (25+kgs)

interior "gutted" back from C pillar/ "van" conversion

(may reverse the last 2 things/ fit lighter back seat)

Weight removed off back (50+kilos behind rear wheels) and left on front of car to improve traction/ handling

The lightening is arguably the most significant modification, acceleration, braking, is improved, payload increased, wear on many components reduced, MPG improved

 IMG_0129-my mondeo boost gauge crop-745-+bright 50-10.JPG   27.06K   22 downloads

Picture shows - manual electric waterpump off/ on (temporary - to be replaced with rocket arming switch for electronic boost controller) 30PSI mechanical boost gauge (in cup holder) two didital fan controllers one with (selectable) water temp, oil temp or voltage display and one with water temp or voltage , each can control a radiator fan or waterpump to switch off/ on at almost any temprature with an overtemp warning buzzer as well, its a lot of displays/ gauges in a small space and is hidden in the ashtray, the switch is to arm the electronic boost controller - switch next to gearstick is for the  torque restrictor defeat   

I have many other mods - its a bit epic/ may edit this back a bit

Ive recently had the car tested on an independant dyno/ rolling road - results in my signature  

Superchips Bluefin handset - works to upload the performance map and can also be used as a fault-code reader