Page 12 - mishimotoengineering

Time to dive into yet another Fiesta ST project! This little Fiesta is getting the royal treatment at Mishimoto; over the last few months it has been fitted for numerous upgrades. If you are in the mood for a recap, you can check out some of the other Fiesta posts here on the Mishimoto blog. For now we'll dive right into our development of Mishimoto's expansion tank for the Fiesta ST.

Stock Expansion Tank

Here at Mishimoto we feel a certain type of way about plastic. It is not that we have a vendetta against plastic, but we see an area where we can improve upon some of the stock Fiesta ST parts. Plastic expansion tanks in general (or any plastic parts) are more prone to failure than an aluminum part would be. Plastic becomes brittle with age, exposure to elements, and the repeated heat cycles in the engine bay. Replacing the plastic tank with an aluminum one not only looks better, but it also would be less prone to bursting or cracking especially as the

We've discussed R&D for many of our typical product segments for the Fiesta ST. These include our in-progress aluminum radiator, our already released catch can kit and oil cooler solution, as well as our nearly complete intake system and exhaust components (both cat-back and downpipe). Our company is also known for its strong line of heat exchangers, so we certainly need to see what can be done about the undersized stock intercooler on the Fiesta.

Heat is a big enemy of the Fiesta, as many have already discovered during track driving. High oil temperatures, high coolant temperatures, and a heat-soaked intercooler all commonly occur after short periods of aggressive driving. We've been actively tackling both the coolant and oil temperature concerns in other development threads, but now it's time to lower the intake temperatures with an upgraded intercooler.

Stock Intercooler Evaluation

You've probably seen the stock Ford Fiesta ST intercooler on

In our last post we took a good look at the stock Fiesta ST exhaust and the initial design of our cat-back exhaust. The exhaust was fabricated and installed on the car and then it was time to test the stock system.

To Resonate or Not to Resonate

Getting the sound just right was quite a process. Our initial prototype featured 2.5" piping with a single rear muffler. This design did not feature a resonated mid-pipe unlike the stock unit. The initial design was sound tested on the dyno and also test driven by several members of the team. While we loved the low growl of the exhaust as it was, we wanted to test a resonated version before settling on a final design. As with all exhaust development projects, we are aiming for a final product that sounds great on throttle while still being

Interested in purchasing our awesome intake system? Check out our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Nissan 350Z Performance Air Intake!

Last time we dyno tested our assembled prototype for sound and performance. Maximum gains were achieved in the midrange of the rpm band to the tune of 10 whp and 13 wtq. These are impressive numbers. We saw gains from the start of the pull through redline, averaging around 5-7 whp/wtq throughout.

The sound produced by the VQ with our intake installed is nothing short of awesome! The large air filter and reduced restriction produces a deeper, amplified induction tone that sounds quite satisfying from behind the wheel.

Our last task is to fully model our design in Solidworks and construct our final prototype for fitment confirmation. As we mentioned last time, minor tweaks were needed to perfect fitment.

Intake 3D

Dyno preparation for Fiesta ST parts testing

Testing day has finally arrived and it's time to see how our new Fiesta ST parts perform! After weeks of prototype design and fabrication, we have our first prototype Ford Fiesta ST intake system ready for dyno testing. Our first round of product testing is being conducted for two reasons:

First, we want to evaluate power output. Our initial post explained that we were skeptical about making power with our intake. The Fiesta is a MAP-based vehicle and only uses its MAF sensor to gather temperature data. Through our years of development, extracting additional power from speed density (MAP-calculated) is a bit of a challenge. The gains we usually see on these vehicles is a result of reduced restriction within the intake tract. With this intake we've certainly improved flow, so let's see what we are able to produce.

Our second goal

We're getting closer to dyno testing! Our intake piping and turbo inlet hose are now complete. A well-designed airbox is the last portion of our intake design before we begin performance testing. The airbox will provide a shield for the filter to reduce the impact of engine bay heat. It also allows us to create a volume for cold air to enter from the stock duct, routing directly to our filter.

The airbox design was pretty extensive for this project, so this is a long post. Sit back, crack open your favorite beverage, and read on!

Airbox Fabrication

We started this process with cardboard templates. These templates helped us quickly adjust and modify the shape and bends until we had a design that provided for appropriate clearance. The space between the battery and air duct is quite slender, so the design will need to be precise.

Interested in purchasing our awesome intake system? Check out our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Nissan 350Z Performance Air Intake!

With our initial design completed, it is time to strap our Z to the dyno and make a few pulls. We would be evaluating power output and engine sound, both of which are important aspects of our Nissan 350Z intake design.

Dyno Testing

Setting vehicle up for Nissan 350Z intake testing

Once we had the car lined up properly, we were ready to make some pulls!

This is a pretty cool post, something a bit out of the ordinary for our projects. We typically utilize our existing silicone boots in our intercooler kits, intake systems, etc. For this project, we decided to manufacture the first portion of our intake system from a wire-reinforced silicone hose. This would facilitate an easier installation, and it would also provide a smooth airflow transition from the small turbocharger compressor inlet to our intake's large pipe diameter. Since we like to show you what goes into developing our prototypes, check out the process for creating our silicone turbo inlet hose below!

Printing Our Fixture

The hose we have in mind will follow the path of the stock induction hose, which is actually a plastic piece on the stock ST. Before beginning our silicone project, we needed a fixture that would serve as a base for the silicone layers that will be applied. After making a model in Solidworks, we fired up the 3D printer and watched

Interested in purchasing our 6.0L intake elbow?

We're back with another update on our 6.0L Powerstroke intake elbow project! Last time we covered the stock unit and noted the plans we had for our rendition of the intake elbow. After collecting data from the stock piece, we began mapping our prototypes on 3D-modeling software.

Prototype 1

Our first prototype comes by way of the almighty 3D printer. We made a quick design in Solidworks to map out the appearance and dimensional constraints for our design.

Mishimoto 6.0L Powerstroke intake elbow prototype 1

Now that we had a ton of information and data points for the stock intake system, it was time to begin creating our own design.

Piping Fabrication

We're starting our intake system at the turbocharger and working to the airbox. We intend to place our box in the same location as the stock unit so we can take advantage of the stock cold-air duct.

We switched on the band saw, fired up the welder, and started tackling the route for our prototype pipe. Our first length runs from the turbocharger around to the rear of the valve cover.

Prototype Fiesta ST parts