Ford Fiesta ST MK8 Stage 1 Remap Testing at Donington

VUDU Performance and Peron have had a harmonious working relationship in the Ford Tuning scene for a number of years. This meant that when the new Ford Fiesta ST Mk8 hit the UK roads it was of course going to be another opportunity to further increase our stronghold on the Ford Fiesta tuning platform.

After a successful test at the world famous Nordschliffe Nürburgring, we secured the unofficial BTG lap time of 8:34, making our stage 1 remapped Fiesta ST Mk8 the quickest to lap unofficially with a novice driver. (This was of course worked back from our in-car footage and not timed on the day). We felt it necessary to continue with our R&D program with a further 13,000 road miles followed by a trip to a fast flowing and high-speed Donnington park race circuit.

With the car equipped with a modest and easily achievable spec list inclusive of Tarox MK8 ST Big Brake Kit, a set of ST Lowering Springs By KW Automotive and of course our PERON Stage 1 Remap we headed for the circuit in an attempt to push the limits of the car and software.

Arriving at Donington to complete briefing and sighting laps, we took the opportunity to put some serious times in to further analyse our data obtained at both the Nürburgring and many road miles.

As one of the largest Ford tuning companies in the UK it’s imperative that we take the time to look at the data relating to ignition timing profiles, boost logic, charge temperatures and intake temperatures as with all this information we can ensure engine longevity whilst producing consistent power results.

With any remap regardless of stage, heat management must be a priority especially when the car is turbocharged as the compressed air can become extremely hot. This is where boost pressure logs Vs Actually charge temperatures can unlock really good information.

With our mighty Ford Fiesta ST MK8 up to the desired temperature, it was time to push the stage 1 remap to see exactly what we could really do. With over 245hp on tap, the car felt incredible, pushing much more exotic machinery around the circuit whilst maintaining the pace (actually getting faster) lap by lap.

Our data logs of the first session show outstanding consistency even in reasonable ambient temperatures while pushing on for a full 30-minute session, at this point we decided to let the car cool and try to push for an “ultimate lap”.

We entered a busy circuit and circled for some time finding a clear spot to really push the car to it’s safe limits whilst on a public track day. After several laps we finally found the spot and headed down to the start-finish straight, foot to the floor and almost touching the limiter we knew we were setting a very impressive lap time. Heading down through turn one with a wide exit onto the apex, we set the car up for craner curves, attempting to take it flat (slight lift due to drivers bottle) heading through turn three and up the hill, the car was still pulling like a train without backing off all the way to the back end of the circuit. We headed around the top section of the circuit through the double apex and onto the back straight, it was at this point you can hear passenger Ben Copson mutter “this is quick this one!” We hit the brakes hard almost locking the fronts and shimmied through the final chicane back onto the pit straight to pass under the BMW bridge.

We knew it was a quick lap but without timing allowed on the circuit we were unsure until watching the videos back to work out a rough lap time…A crazy 1:25.9 lap time was achieved, putting the Mk8 just over a second behind the fastest FWD road car recorded around Donington Park.

Find all your Ford Fiesta ST Mk8 tuning parts and remaps in our dedicated collection here.

Massive thanks to the guys at PERON Automotive, Tarox Brakes and KW Automotive.