I've always had a fear that if you take a corner too quickly in a car it will simply topple over onto its side. With a bog-standard, run-of-the-mill, everyday car this might be the case. The Fiesta ST is none of these things and, from what I have read and seen on various film clips, it can certainly take corners. Questions is: How many of you have taken your ST on a track and tested its cornering ability? Does it slide well around corners? And exactly how fast have you managed to take it around a corner?

Taking a fast corner goes against everything that's normal in your mind. I automatically fear that the car will not slide and that it will topple. I'll be taking the car on a track shortly to really test its potential, so would like to be prepared before-hand.

Thanks in advance!

i have only lost a bit of control when its wet. on dry tarmac i struggle to unstick it.
i say increase your speed into a corner untill you feel comfortable its not going to loose grip

should ask Nick about it as he already bought it on track fews time,I'm sure he could answer ur question. As for corner speed that depend of the corner how sharp it is

or just go as fast as you can and wait for the bang

I've not taken the ST on a track.. but I don't really see the point in the question. You could take the ST around a corner at it's top speed if it was a long enough corner! If you were talking about a specific corner on a specific track then there may be some sort of comparison you can make...

With regards to stability, I have never once thought the ST would topple over; sliding/losing grip is much more of an issue, although the risk seems to have considerably reduced since changing the front P Zeros for ZZ3s.

I could tell you I have taken a corner on a specific dual carriageway at 70 mph (the speed limit!!) this wouldn't mean much necessarily, perhaps if I say that previously it felt twitchy at 50+ in the wet on p zeros it may have a little more weighting though

You can learn the limits of the ST for specific corners if you drive them regularly enough, and push it that bit further in good conditions with no one else on the road, hence minimising the risk of a collision should you lose grip..

Ultimately though you have to treat it with respect and know your limits, we all have them and it's not going to be clever to keep pushing past where you feel it's safe and damaging the ST, or worse, yourself!

Take it easy, you can enjoy the ST's abilities without pushing it to within moments of it's life!

I hope you enjoy your track day.
Let us know the results.
I wouldn't have the confidence to really push the ST with the standard P-Zeros but I think if you had a set of Eagle F1s and some uprated brakes (cooling wise) then you could get it to handle quite well I would imagine.

Just remember that the ST's chassis is set up for lift off oversteer, so when you pushing it round the track you may find that the rear end wants to step out on you.

Good Luck

Ayesha (Pink Rinse), surely you can add to this, as i have seen you and Arrun take to the track.

there a vid of arrun driving his ST around silverstone race track on ytub

There's no way it will topple over... If you really do something silly and completely loose grip it will just slide away out of control and unless you hit something during the slide (presumably something low and hit sideways) it will never topple over from the sheer grip of the tires, even if you have soft compount R888's...

Top speed? 132.91mph with proper timing gear, not the ST speedo

I wasnt too hot on track (spun it once) but its fun finding out what you and your car can do (safely). I say go out there, take it easy, get comfy and go at your own pace. As your confidewnce grows then your driving will improve. Always make sure that your car's tyres are of a legal tread depth and of the correct pressure too and that your car is mechnically sound (check your levels etc). Oh and when you go back into the pits DONT PUT YOUR HANDBRAKE ON. Leave it in gear and switch the engine off or you'll warp your brake discs and need new ones.

This is the bf (Arun) on track at Trax in his old ST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIP2sXVACbY