Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration

vivekji05 · 5th August 2008, 08:07

Last week, Ford invited some media journalists to the MMST, in Chennai to have a go with their Fiesta 1.6S. The idea was to make people appreciate the changes made in the favourable light of a race track. The chief of vehicle dynamics, Ford Australia, Mr. Con Balasis was present to demonstrate the handling dynamics of the car on the track. The course was set up with more cones (other than Mr. Con himself

) to create the situations of a Collision avoidance manuever apart from the usual slalom and decreasing angle corners.

The event was neatly divided into demo laps, individual laps and some ABS/EBD demonstrations. The demo laps with Mr. Con were amazing as he hurled the car through the cones(again...No pun intended Mr. Con). While it got some of the inexperienced people too excited...I got behind the wheel of my car and followed him in his Fiesta. Mr. Con was driving as the pace car but the lady behind me was too slow and getting far behind that Mr. Con had to slow down spoiling the fun I was having. The individual laps that followed more than made up for it though.

While I have to reserve some of the photos for printing purposes, here are some to feast your eyes upon. Will give more on the story later.

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0928.jpg

The lineup of cars. In fact there was one more Fiesta which had the ABS disconnected

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0947.jpg

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0863.jpg

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0895.jpg

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0913.jpg

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0948.jpg

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0855.jpg

The truck pouring water to wet the track

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0874.jpg

Con approached the wet patch and hits the brakes and attempts to steer it at the same time to avoid an imaginary obstacle that suddenly jumped into the road.

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0876.jpg

The ABS and EBD equipped car responds without locking its wheels and he comes to a stop avoiding an imaginary obstacle

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0880.jpg

He does the same in the vehicle with ABS+EBD disabled. You can see that despite the steering lock, the vehicle slides forward

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0884.jpg

And he ends up like this.

Nothing new here. We have all been brought up driving non ABS vehicles so far and we know how an ABS equipped vehicle stops. But Ford thought it necessary to demonstrate this one.

The funny thing was that everyone preferred to watch the non ABS vehicle come to a screeching halt

.

(Couldn't click too many pictures as I was more involved in doing more laps. Sorry for the quick shutter speeds that seemed to have taken the motion out of the pictures.)

gemithomas · 5th August 2008, 08:55

WOW!!!! Thats all i can say.

anujmishra · 5th August 2008, 09:17

Great! Its nice to see the testing of car with or without ABS/EBD. Sure my next car would have ABS/EBD.

It must be an exhilarating experience.

benbsb29 · 5th August 2008, 09:56

Thanks for the pics and write-up, Vivekji.

Its good to see manufacturers out to prove the importance of ABS and EBD. The next step in this regard would be making these standard across models, or atleast providing the customer with an option of having these across variants, rather than limiting them to the top-end variants alone.

im_srini · 5th August 2008, 10:06

Hi Vivekji05, great report... Were the laps on the long or short loop ? Can I ask what lap times were being posted by the 1.6S ?
From some of the pictures it appears the cars were run in the reverse direction, i.e. anti-clockwise, on the track - were the cars run in the opposite direction on the start-finish straight alone or the entire lap ?

P.S. - How does one get invited for such an event ?

madan80 · 5th August 2008, 10:32

wow - that looked lik fun. but you wre all sitting shotgun to mr. Con? another reason - why cant they make ABS etc standard for all cars?

GTO · 5th August 2008, 10:47

Wow! Great pictures...thanks for sharing. The Fiesta 1.6S looks awesome in racing blue. In this era of 8 lakh rupee fuel-efficient sedans & common-rail engines, it is refreshing to see a revv happy driver's car. C'mon Ford, give it another 20 horses!

On a related note, it's been raining 1.6S' on Team-BHP. Lots of reports coming up in the reviews section. Ford better take good care of these owners with trouble-free cars and quality after-sales.

Quote:

Its good to see manufacturers out to prove the importance of ABS and EBD.

+1 to that.

aaggoswami · 5th August 2008, 10:55

The pictures make me drive faster, so what if its just a bike or small car!

I appreciate Ford for displaying importance of ABS. We had a minor crash which could be easily avioded if ABS was there.

Anyways, Fiesta remains a driver's car and thats a good point. There are very few drivers car's remaining in under Rs. 10 lakh segment.

1100D · 5th August 2008, 11:02

The 1.6s is a sure beauty. A desirable C segment Sedan, but can't it have a different fuel map, a better exhaust etc from the factory.

esteem_lover · 5th August 2008, 12:01

Looks like a lot of fun. They should have also invited the Team-BHP motley bunch to test their cars on track.

amit · 5th August 2008, 12:34

All the cars sport temporary number plates. What is Ford going to do with them once the track event is over? Don't tell me they are going to be shipped off to dealers to be sold to customers!

suman · 5th August 2008, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit

What is Ford going to do with them once the track event is over?

I would say they would probably be sent to dealerships as TD cars but can't be sure; other option is that they would be offered to Ford employees at major discounts - they do have this policy IIRC

nitrous · 5th August 2008, 12:44

A 100 laps of the long loop on the circuit in that Fiesta 1.6 sport and I would still climb out of it with a smile.

European Fords RULE!
If only the Indian company cared about their customers...

Rahulkool · 5th August 2008, 14:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1100D

The 1.6s is a sure beauty. A desirable C segment Sedan, but can't it have a different fuel map, a better exhaust etc from the factory.

when i took the TD S versions exhaust definitely was better sounding than the normal version, even suspension was better. but somehow i didn't liked the car ........... from outside it looked brilliant but once you in driver seat it wan't fun :(
from nowhere it felt like a car worth more than 8lacs if it was less 7 it wud have been better ............

vivekji05 · 5th August 2008, 16:20

Well, the Fiesta has good driving dynamics in my opinion. I've driven it(the normal 1.6) on Coimbatore track as well as the S version, on MMST now.

Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration-img_0658f.jpg

And yes, the exhaust sounds raucous and sporty. The suspension is now slightly less forgiving and the tyres are a lot grippier in the S version. Proved well on track. This is the best driver's car in the sub Rs. 10 lakh segment, I would say.

@im_srini

That was on the long loop. And yes, they made us drive which was the whole idea of the event. I was driving it all afternoon.

5th August 2008, 08:07	#1
vivekji05 BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ernakulam Posts: 277 Thanked: 310 Times	Ford Fiesta 1.6S Track day & ABS demonstration Last week, Ford invited some media journalists to the MMST, in Chennai to have a go with their Fiesta 1.6S. The idea was to make people appreciate the changes made in the favourable light of a race track. The chief of vehicle dynamics, Ford Australia, Mr. Con Balasis was present to demonstrate the handling dynamics of the car on the track. The course was set up with more cones (other than Mr. Con himself ) to create the situations of a Collision avoidance manuever apart from the usual slalom and decreasing angle corners. The event was neatly divided into demo laps, individual laps and some ABS/EBD demonstrations. The demo laps with Mr. Con were amazing as he hurled the car through the cones(again...No pun intended Mr. Con). While it got some of the inexperienced people too excited...I got behind the wheel of my car and followed him in his Fiesta. Mr. Con was driving as the pace car but the lady behind me was too slow and getting far behind that Mr. Con had to slow down spoiling the fun I was having. The individual laps that followed more than made up for it though. While I have to reserve some of the photos for printing purposes, here are some to feast your eyes upon. Will give more on the story later. The lineup of cars. In fact there was one more Fiesta which had the ABS disconnected The truck pouring water to wet the track Con approached the wet patch and hits the brakes and attempts to steer it at the same time to avoid an imaginary obstacle that suddenly jumped into the road. The ABS and EBD equipped car responds without locking its wheels and he comes to a stop avoiding an imaginary obstacle He does the same in the vehicle with ABS+EBD disabled. You can see that despite the steering lock, the vehicle slides forward And he ends up like this. Nothing new here. We have all been brought up driving non ABS vehicles so far and we know how an ABS equipped vehicle stops. But Ford thought it necessary to demonstrate this one. The funny thing was that everyone preferred to watch the non ABS vehicle come to a screeching halt. (Couldn't click too many pictures as I was more involved in doing more laps. Sorry for the quick shutter speeds that seemed to have taken the motion out of the pictures.) Last edited by vivekji05 : 5th August 2008 at 08:08.
	(1) Thanks

5th August 2008, 08:55	#2
gemithomas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,366 Thanked: 143 Times View My Garage	WOW!!!! Thats all i can say.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 09:17	#3
anujmishra Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,290 Thanked: 492 Times View My Garage	Great! Its nice to see the testing of car with or without ABS/EBD. Sure my next car would have ABS/EBD. It must be an exhilarating experience.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 09:56	#4
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,968 Thanked: 13,224 Times View My Garage	Thanks for the pics and write-up, Vivekji. Its good to see manufacturers out to prove the importance of ABS and EBD. The next step in this regard would be making these standard across models, or atleast providing the customer with an option of having these across variants, rather than limiting them to the top-end variants alone.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 10:06	#5
im_srini BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Portland Posts: 1,010 Thanked: 490 Times View My Garage	Hi Vivekji05, great report... Were the laps on the long or short loop ? Can I ask what lap times were being posted by the 1.6S ? From some of the pictures it appears the cars were run in the reverse direction, i.e. anti-clockwise, on the track - were the cars run in the opposite direction on the start-finish straight alone or the entire lap ? P.S. - How does one get invited for such an event ?
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 10:32	#6
madan80 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 1,360 Thanked: 80 Times View My Garage	wow - that looked lik fun. but you wre all sitting shotgun to mr. Con? another reason - why cant they make ABS etc standard for all cars?
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 10:55	#8
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,982 Thanked: 2,931 Times	The pictures make me drive faster, so what if its just a bike or small car! I appreciate Ford for displaying importance of ABS. We had a minor crash which could be easily avioded if ABS was there. Anyways, Fiesta remains a driver's car and thats a good point. There are very few drivers car's remaining in under Rs. 10 lakh segment.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 11:02	#9
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,096 Times View My Garage	The 1.6s is a sure beauty. A desirable C segment Sedan, but can't it have a different fuel map, a better exhaust etc from the factory.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 12:01	#10
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Looks like a lot of fun. They should have also invited the Team-BHP motley bunch to test their cars on track.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 12:34	#11
amit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3,717 Thanked: 449 Times	All the cars sport temporary number plates. What is Ford going to do with them once the track event is over? Don't tell me they are going to be shipped off to dealers to be sold to customers!
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 12:44	#13
nitrous Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: UAE/Lon/Madras Posts: 6,965 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	A 100 laps of the long loop on the circuit in that Fiesta 1.6 sport and I would still climb out of it with a smile. European Fords RULE! If only the Indian company cared about their customers...
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 16:20	#15
vivekji05 BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ernakulam Posts: 277 Thanked: 310 Times	Well, the Fiesta has good driving dynamics in my opinion. I've driven it(the normal 1.6) on Coimbatore track as well as the S version, on MMST now. And yes, the exhaust sounds raucous and sporty. The suspension is now slightly less forgiving and the tyres are a lot grippier in the S version. Proved well on track. This is the best driver's car in the sub Rs. 10 lakh segment, I would say. @im_srini That was on the long loop. And yes, they made us drive which was the whole idea of the event. I was driving it all afternoon.
	() Thanks