Anyone here use their FiST as a daily driver?

[Arcthum]

I’m seeing a lot of people here on the forums with some lovely ST’s with equally lovely modifications. But I’m wondering how many people daily drive theirs? Winter included. Since I’m planning to use mine as a daily, I’d also like to get an idea of the possible modifications that don’t affect daily driveability? Cheers!

 

[brbauer2]

I'd say a very large portion use it as their DD.

I'm nearly FBO 93/E30 protuned and do nearly 300 miles/week. This year's upgrades will be to the suspension and brakes since I want to start tracking the car as well.

Things that I consider a MUST for DDing are RMM, some sort of shifter shortening (transmission bracket or full kit) + solid bushings, and a pedal spacer.


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[blue2turbo]

I daily drive mine probably around 300 miles a week more if I have stuff going on after work or on the weekends. If the snow is over a couple inches, I can't drive it simply because I don't want to use my Mountune splitter as a plow, but we're expecting a small amount of snow tomorrow too and I'll be taking it wherever I need to. May even be swapping the rear shocks in the flurries
I'm also on an X37 with full bolt-ons minus a catback exhaust and Purple Drank tuned on 93 and E30. I don't have much planned for 2018 since I've done pretty much everything I wanted to. Probably just doing my 4x100 conversion, maybe digging up a catback exhaust, a few small engine bits and a small retune and then it's done.

 

[CB022481]

daily driven, 350 or more a week. 37 miles each way to work uphill both ways in the snow. but seriously, I beat the crap out of my car and its running perfect. over 50k miles and kicking. intake, exhaust, rmm, strat tune, whoosh symp delete bov

 

[Joker328]

Most people DD I think, and most mods won't really have a negative impact on daily driving. The only essential mod for DD to me is the rear motor mount. Even if you are driving hard on the street it will make a difference, and you have plenty of options from "close to stock" to "rattle your teeth out" in terms of NVH impact. After that, if you have the funds for an AccessPort, a tune can improve performance and driveability at the same time. It is also pretty much necessary for any other power mods. There are plenty of other options for both performance and aesthetic mods which you can find detailed on the forum. The only common ones that might negatively impact drivability in a noticeable way are big turbo (can introduce some turbo lag), substantially lower and/or stiffer suspension (harsh ride on the street), or racing brake pads (noise and dust, though you get plenty of that from the stock pads).

 

[alexwlwsn]

Daily driven FiST here. I just have the Cobb Stage 1 w/ a Purple Drank tune and have zero complaints. 30+ mpg highway and comfortable enough to take long trips makes it perfect for me. I may just get an upgraded FMIC come warmer weather and an E30 tune for when I'm feeling froggy and keep it at that!

 

[Kalter]

I daily drive mine, for about 300KM per week. I'm stage 1 in parts, but running the stage 2 tune (it's so cold, IDGF), but I will soon be stage 2 on parts too (FMIC). I plan to daily it until the day I decide to change the turbo, which should not be for another 3 years. Afterwards it will be stored for Winter and only driven in the summer.

It will be my DD through stage 3 and body work for sure (coilover, braces, etc). The car drives well in snow, but it's going to be too much power for such a little car in the snow eventually.

This or better tires. It might be hard to stop DD this car... gosh.

 

[kivnul]

I also DD the fiesta. With proper snow tires and stock height it works perfectly fine during the winter. (Do recommend a evap canister guard.. I've had it ring on ice chunks and rocks)

 

[HardBoiledEgg]

Lol at everyone claiming 300 a week......I do 300 plus a day

Aka easily over 1k a week

 

[alexrex20]

Wow you are so cool

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[redmoe]

DD here as well. I bought it for the gas mileage. My other two vehicles get terrible mpg.

 

[Xaendeau]

Yes, it is in fact my only vehicle. To be honest, it was kind of a rough ride out here until I swapped out for a set of adjustable Koni Yellows with the stock springs. Stock struts are very over-dampened, skips over broken concrete. We have unpaved roads in some areas, and Louisiana roads are trash...was much nicer when I was driving in Florida on the stock suspension. Feels like rally stage Greece on the way to my girlfriends house.

Currently sorting out an exhaust leak on a vband, but should be my daily with around 300 hp once it quits raining ice here in Louisiana. Might be done Thursday or Friday. We don't buy winter tires unfortunately. Except for a few days a year, a lot of sporty cars safely run summer tires all year round. Lot of people just don't drive here when it ices over. Took a bus back home.

 

[Waterfan]

DD here, ~200mi/week. SoCal so "no winter", just sweet canyon runs possible all year long.

 

[Capri to ST]

I DD mine, I bought it to replace a DD that got 12 mpg. The only thing I've done so far is lighter wheels. Reducing unsprung weight softens up the ride a bit. I will probably do the Mountune MP 215 tune to add a little power while preserving the warranty. To me, the car doesn't need anything to be a great DD, it's well set up. I haven't felt the need to do a RMM, it may have been stiffened up for the '16 model year.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Feels like rally stage Greece on the way to my girlfriends house.

LOL! Yes, the only WRC events which were/are as rough, rutted, and as SHARP rocky as the Greece round were the now long defunct Safari Rally, and some stages of the current Rally (Guanajuato) Mexico.


I do not commute in this car, since I am retired, but it IS my ONLY ride, all year 'round, in ALL weather conditions, I use it almost every day anyway, and it is not garaged.

I feel it would take some really radical mods in order to make this car totally 'un-streetable', but not sure on what would make it useless for commuting every day.
But then again, I would drive around in a fully prepped, sequential gearboxed, caged and gutted WRC car IF I could afford one, and have it legally street registered here.

I myself could 'handle' MUCH MORE suspension harshness than factory stock, and more NVH in general than just what my current CP-E RMM (which is considered one of the "harshest") causes.
I would NOT enjoy an excessively 'laggy', way too big, and ill developed/conceived turbo kit on the street at all, having been used to a large power band, instant torque, NA ride before this one.

 

[Flaco]

Daily here

 

[captainmorbid]

Daily, 600km a week. -38C last week. Ice, snow, heat, rain.. it’ll do it all. Only mod right now, mud flaps.


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[LaserWhisperer]

DD here too. 56k miles, no major issues to report.
Spent 25k+ with Stratified Flash tune, "stage 2" bolt ons

Replaced front brakes at ~27k
Replaced rear brakes at ~45k
Replaced tires at ~36k

My favorite mods for daily driving are:
1. Short throw shift adapter (brings second gear out of the back seat lol)
2. Weighted shift knob
3. FSWerks exhaust (sounds awesome, little power bump)
4. GFB DV+
5. Symposer delete

 

[ksvtguy170]

Mine is totally a daily driver. No plans to autocross or track my FiST, but I'm doing the Octane Academy in June so I might come back from that with a different opinion. The FiST has been tremendous as a DD in my very traffic-clogged metro area. The size, super-quick steering, low-end torque, easy clutch, and visibility--all make it great for daily driving. The ride can be ridiculous on really torn-up streets, but I can usually avoid those. I've been lucky we've had little snow this season, so I've been able to get away with the summer performance radials, but they sure don't like hooking up when the weather gets near freezing temps. I'd give the car an A grade as a DD.

All that said, because mine was bought solely as a DD that would be thrilling to drive when I was able to get out on the backroads, I don't plan any mods. I don't want the ride to get one iota worse, and frankly, the car overpowers its front tires most of the time in city driving situations anyway, so I can't see the point in adding power.

 

[30packdlg]

Daily driven just over 30,000 2016 . 5-10 autocross events a year. I'd just get a set of rims with nice tires. Use one for winter set if needed. Im just not a big mod guy. I like to do my own maintenance and to pay my car payments. Every time I think of mods I just do an oil change and remember tires are like 450-650$ . The stock Fist needs more grip not power IMO.