03-05-2013, 01:57 PM
Current Mileage: 3,450
Not much to report with the ST. Took it to the February VIR event with NASA. That was "interesting" on Saturday, when I combined summer tires with cold weather and snow/slush all day. Thankfully, Friday and Sunday both provided weather that was better suited for driving fast in circles.
The bigger rear sway bar really makes the rear want to rotate (which is what I wanted). I learned more about lift-throttle oversteer through Oak Tree on Friday. Oops. Didn't spin it, but the tail was a'waggin. The ST's "torque vectoring" system is a load of crap on a track. It's trying to act like a LSD, and always using the brakes to try and slow down the inside front wheel. The problem is that 1) your brakes get hot on track as it is and 2) you can feel the system kicking in during tight turns. Turn 3 at VIR was especially bothersome. It doesn't catch you off-guard or anything, but it's an annoyance.
I did get to take it out on Sunday for a few laps in HPDE 2, just for funsies. Even with my torque being actively vectored, it really did handle well for what it is. We moved pretty quickly for being on a cold track with cold Eagle F1's, and I backed out of the throttle at 125-130 mph because the cold tires + crosswind scared me. On a dry, warm track, I have no doubt that 135-140 on the back of VIR would be easily attainable.
As the motor has broken in more, gas mileage has gone up. My most recent highway trip earned ~31 mpg over 120 miles. Very pleased there. Commuting, she's getting ~25-27 depending on weather and traffic.
My second "mod" - if you can call it that - was to stop the subwoofer from making such awful boomy noises. I guess Sony thinks that owners of an ST really want to hear Nicki Minaj-style SuperBass all the time. I don't. It hurts my head and sounds like crap for a lot of music. The cheap fix is to go to Wal-Mart and buy a bag of Poly-Fil. Poly-Fil is polyester pillow stuffing. Remove the sub box from the hatch (3 10mm bolts) and take the sub out of the box (10 T25 bolts). Stuff Poly-Fil in every crevice of the box, and re-assemble.
Very happy with the sound now. The bass is just as loud if I crank it up, but it's more balanced and a far "tighter" sound. For $3.95, you can't beat that.
Not sure what I want to do next. I know turbo cars benefit from breathing more air, so some form of filter or intake kit would be neat to put on there. A tune is not in the cards right now for a few reasons. I 'spose I'll just keep um, driving it.
Not much to report with the ST. Took it to the February VIR event with NASA. That was "interesting" on Saturday, when I combined summer tires with cold weather and snow/slush all day. Thankfully, Friday and Sunday both provided weather that was better suited for driving fast in circles.
The bigger rear sway bar really makes the rear want to rotate (which is what I wanted). I learned more about lift-throttle oversteer through Oak Tree on Friday. Oops. Didn't spin it, but the tail was a'waggin. The ST's "torque vectoring" system is a load of crap on a track. It's trying to act like a LSD, and always using the brakes to try and slow down the inside front wheel. The problem is that 1) your brakes get hot on track as it is and 2) you can feel the system kicking in during tight turns. Turn 3 at VIR was especially bothersome. It doesn't catch you off-guard or anything, but it's an annoyance.
I did get to take it out on Sunday for a few laps in HPDE 2, just for funsies. Even with my torque being actively vectored, it really did handle well for what it is. We moved pretty quickly for being on a cold track with cold Eagle F1's, and I backed out of the throttle at 125-130 mph because the cold tires + crosswind scared me. On a dry, warm track, I have no doubt that 135-140 on the back of VIR would be easily attainable.
As the motor has broken in more, gas mileage has gone up. My most recent highway trip earned ~31 mpg over 120 miles. Very pleased there. Commuting, she's getting ~25-27 depending on weather and traffic.
My second "mod" - if you can call it that - was to stop the subwoofer from making such awful boomy noises. I guess Sony thinks that owners of an ST really want to hear Nicki Minaj-style SuperBass all the time. I don't. It hurts my head and sounds like crap for a lot of music. The cheap fix is to go to Wal-Mart and buy a bag of Poly-Fil. Poly-Fil is polyester pillow stuffing. Remove the sub box from the hatch (3 10mm bolts) and take the sub out of the box (10 T25 bolts). Stuff Poly-Fil in every crevice of the box, and re-assemble.
Very happy with the sound now. The bass is just as loud if I crank it up, but it's more balanced and a far "tighter" sound. For $3.95, you can't beat that.
Not sure what I want to do next. I know turbo cars benefit from breathing more air, so some form of filter or intake kit would be neat to put on there. A tune is not in the cards right now for a few reasons. I 'spose I'll just keep um, driving it.
Now:
'16 Ram 1500 | '97 BMW M3 | Some Press Loan
Then:
87 BMW 325e | 91 BMW 535i | 96 BMW 328i | 95 BMW 325i | 95 Mazda Miata | 13 Focus ST | 09 BMW 128i | 00 Pontiac Firebird | 05 Yukon Denali | 96 BMW 328iC | 11 Ford F-150 | 06 BMW M3 | 10 Range Rover SC | '03 Ford Ranger | '18 Ford F-150 | '01 BMW X5 | '98 Volvo S70 T5M
'16 Ram 1500 | '97 BMW M3 | Some Press Loan
Then:
87 BMW 325e | 91 BMW 535i | 96 BMW 328i | 95 BMW 325i | 95 Mazda Miata | 13 Focus ST | 09 BMW 128i | 00 Pontiac Firebird | 05 Yukon Denali | 96 BMW 328iC | 11 Ford F-150 | 06 BMW M3 | 10 Range Rover SC | '03 Ford Ranger | '18 Ford F-150 | '01 BMW X5 | '98 Volvo S70 T5M