What drives you to throw a ton of time/money into extreme-modding a new Fiesta ST instead of just buying a faster car?

[Dpro]

Not really, just more surprised that throwing away the warranty before breakins done. I'd wait until at least 15-20k before doing anything really serious to work out all those "if it makes it 15k it'll make it forever" type issues. It'd suck to buy a car, go bigturbo, and immediately find out you needed major work you were ineligible for.

Been looking for a project, didnt get the 240z I was going for, so looking at an exocet kit and an engineless pantera, but it's a post-smog year :|

A pantera with a coyote motor would be pretty legit, or one of the crossplane powerplants. The one I was looking at is probably a no go, no engine, questionable trans, needs a ton of body work and the interior is shot.... and it'd have to pass smog :|

I think I just look at the fist differently, its my cheap commuter that I mod a bit to not be boring.

Heres the deal its a pretty stout little engine. They are a dime a dozen in the junkyards because Ford put them in vehicles that were actually popular besides our cars.

Now I get you might be paranoid due to your Fiat experience.

From what I have seen though a lot of people put hybrids or BT on our cars and do not blow them up. Yes some get blown up.

Though rule number one with Turbo cars is do not push your boost high enough to exceed the fueling limits you currently have and or add in more fueling so you can.

If one follows those rules they can have a pretty reliable engine thats not going to blow up and drive it for years.

I did not intend to add a different turbo either when I bought the car. I was like ok I will tune it and then maybe down the road. Now I have not done one yet and I am around 8K mileage on the car because part of the first year I had it I was not daily driving it. I was doing that with my Focus, which I have since sold.

Though my friends have BT and Hybrids so I am playing catch up with them on the straightaways . So ya I want more power and ya could say it will throw my warranty away but A: I could always put the stock turbo back on, and B: cheap engines in the junkyard,

Now that I am driving the car all the time I can pretty much tell you I could hit 60 in the next three years no problem. At that point warranty is gone anyways as 5 years or 60K. Yes I drive a lot and all over the place. I love driving.

If you think your FiST is just a cheap little commuter car that you mod not to be boring your selling the car short big time.
Ya I know you go on about how great your Abarth was for feeling visceral but truth be told .

Automotive journalists did not rave about them nearly as much as the FiST .

It is a vastly superior car in many ways IMO and truthfully is a little go kart , Perhaps you should take your car to the track or do some canyon runs?

. I honestly think you’re not driving the car to its true potential. I could be wrong but from what you have said thats what it sounds like .

 

[Dib]

for me. i modded everything i've ever own. mainly for individuality. to make my Fist "better" than other. To me, anyone can buy a stock car. there's an art to the puzzle of putting the right parts together. The auto journalists rave about the Fist is what drew me to it in the first place. I fell in love as soon as I test drove it. I drove it like that for about 5k before I started with bolt-ons and a tune. My favorite part was beating a brand new 2017 camaro ss to the finish line at the track (he had a better ET but I tree'd the shit out of him). in the video you hear someone say "is that a yaris?" I love being the surprising underdog. As spunky as the car is down-low for city driving, i prefer a more broad and flat torque curve, so that's my eventual goal for "big" turbo.Even though it'll get rid of the "donkey kick" attitude, I'll make up for it with a steady smooth climb to power, at least, that's the idea. Boost by gear would help a lot. i'm a hot hatch honda fanboy from birth. i feel like the Fist fully embodies the spirt of the 90s hot hatches. it's just plain awesome.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Heres the deal its a pretty stout little engine. They are a dime a dozen in the junkyards because Ford put them in vehicles that were actually popular besides our cars.

Now I get you might be paranoid due to your Fiat experience.

From what I have seen though a lot of people put hybrids or BT on our cars and do not blow them up. Yes some get blown up.

Though rule number one with Turbo cars is do not push your boost high enough to exceed the fueling limits you currently have and or add in more fueling so you can.

If one follows those rules they can have a pretty reliable engine thats not going to blow up and drive it for years.

I did not intend to add a different turbo either when I bought the car. I was like ok I will tune it and then maybe down the road. Now I have not done one yet and I am around 8K mileage on the car because part of the first year I had it I was not daily driving it. I was doing that with my Focus, which I have since sold.

Though my friends have BT and Hybrids so I am playing catch up with them on the straightaways . So ya I want more power and ya could say it will throw my warranty away but A: I could always put the stock turbo back on, and B: cheap engines in the junkyard,

Now that I am driving the car all the time I can pretty much tell you I could hit 60 in the next three years no problem. At that point warranty is gone anyways as 5 years or 60K. Yes I drive a lot and all over the place. I love driving.

If you think your FiST is just a cheap little commuter car that you mod not to be boring your selling the car short big time.
Ya I know you go on about how great your Abarth was for feeling visceral but truth be told .

Automotive journalists did not rave about them nearly as much as the FiST .

It is a vastly superior car in many ways IMO and truthfully is a little go kart , Perhaps you should take your car to the track or do some canyon runs?

. I honestly think you’re not driving the car to its true potential. I could be wrong but from what you have said thats what it sounds like .

It’s not just the warranty thing - it just seems like if you need to add a hundred horsepower right out of the gate, was the car the right choice in the first place? That’s more what I was wondering. If you mod to the extreme right at the beginning there’s nothing to work up to later

 

[jeff]

Healthy habit, better than cocaine and hookers. Half of the modding for me is just the research and install process. Love it, keeps me creating, wrenching is good for the soul, it's very satisfying.

And - any other car I drive does not have the connected feeling that my Fiesta does. That includes new Mustang GT, Audi S3, Golf R, and lesser cars.

My most recent epic FiST moment was about a month ago, I kept up with a Hellcat from 10-60mph on a safe and friendly state-road-under-the-speed-limit run, that is a glorious feeling. Guy was like "wait I have a Hellcat this shouldn't happen..." I have around $26k in my car including purchase price for a safe reliable 304whp.

 

[Olephart]

Healthy habit, better than cocaine and hookers. Half of the modding for me is just the research and install process. Love it, keeps me creating, wrenching is good for the soul, it's very satisfying.

And - any other car I drive does not have the connected feeling that my Fiesta does. That includes new Mustang GT, Audi S3, Golf R, and lesser cars.

My most recent epic FiST moment was about a month ago, I kept up with a Hellcat from 10-60mph on a safe and friendly state-road-under-the-speed-limit run, that is a glorious feeling. Guy was like "wait I have a Hellcat this shouldn't happen..." I have around $26k in my car including purchase price for a safe reliable 304whp.

You need to rethink your pleasure centers.

 

[jeff]

You need to rethink your pleasure centers.

That's called a sense of humor.

"I have known a human defended from strong temptations to ___[insert vice here]___ by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions."

- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

 

[Olephart]

That's called a sense of humor.

"I have known a human defended from strong temptations to ___[insert vice here]___ by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions."

- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Irony.

 

[jeff]

Irony.

We all come from somewhere.

 

[MagnetiseST]

It was really simple, it went like this:

A Focus RS was ~650/mo + insurance + maintenance + mods

A Fiesta ST was ~350/mo + insurance + maintenance + mods

I could have "afforded" the RS, just minus the mods, and with shitty maintenance (RS tires are NOT cheap)

So the fiesta was the logical choice. I could actually afford it plus have fun

 

[polyphonic]

I used to love modding my cars back in my younger days. Changing intakes and exhausts, flashing ECU's with custom tunes, and upgrading suspension components was always something I enjoyed doing. Nowadays though, the cars coming out of the factories are so good that it makes me question if any of that is really even necessary any more. I've come to appreciate vehicles in their stock form. The only mod I've done (if you can even call it that) has been a Cobb air filter. While I won't say I would never mod the FiST, the chances of it happening are pretty slim. I really do enjoy it as-is straight from the factory. Ford nailed it with this one, IMO.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

I used to love modding my cars back in my younger days. Changing intakes and exhausts, flashing ECU's with custom tunes, and upgrading suspension components was always something I enjoyed doing. Nowadays though, the cars coming out of the factories are so good that it makes me question if any of that is really even necessary any more. I've come to appreciate vehicles in their stock form. The only mod I've done (if you can even call it that) has been a Cobb air filter. While I won't say I would never mod the FiST, the chances of it happening are pretty slim. I really do enjoy it as-is straight from the factory. Ford nailed it with this one, IMO.

I'm totally 100% on board with modding. I just... I worked hard for a long time to learn how to "hack" my own psychological reward system. Once upon a time I would just say "I want that" and buy things without thinking about cost, long term implications, etc. - but once I did the "all-in" there was nothing left and I'd quickly get bored. By limiting myself to a "progressive" mod path, I can keep the dopamine hits coming and stay "interested" in a car a lot longer. I get car ADD if I keep one without doing "stuff" for too long.

Healthy habit, better than cocaine and hookers. Half of the modding for me is just the research and install process. Love it, keeps me creating, wrenching is good for the soul, it's very satisfying.

And - any other car I drive does not have the connected feeling that my Fiesta does. That includes new Mustang GT, Audi S3, Golf R, and lesser cars.

My most recent epic FiST moment was about a month ago, I kept up with a Hellcat from 10-60mph on a safe and friendly state-road-under-the-speed-limit run, that is a glorious feeling. Guy was like "wait I have a Hellcat this shouldn't happen..." I have around $26k in my car including purchase price for a safe reliable 304whp.

I'm right there with you on the "connected" thing. I've always wanted a Miata, but since I am relatively tall and all torso like a penguin, the feeling of driving while looking over the windshield was... not ideal. I couldn't stop thinking about either a rollover or getting tagged in the forehead by a bee - maybe add a rollbar and go full roadster with no windshield and just wear a helmet everywhere? lol need a STIG suit and the simpson helmet to go with it

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Heres the deal its a pretty stout little engine. They are a dime a dozen in the junkyards because Ford put them in vehicles that were actually popular besides our cars.

Now I get you might be paranoid due to your Fiat experience.

I see why you think my warranty concerns come from the Fiat - it's more because I am a value-conscious person - if I buy a new car, the value of the warranty factors into the transaction. If the warranty carried no value I'd just buy a used car without one. The idea of paying extra for the "potential" value of the warranty then consciously throwing it away makes my eye twitch - when I buy a new car I generally plan my "mod path" to eventually coincide with the end of the warranty period, i.e. the "big mods" are necessary to hit the dopamine button right about the time the warranty ends.

If you think your FiST is just a cheap little commuter car that you mod not to be boring your selling the car short big time.
Ya I know you go on about how great your Abarth was for feeling visceral but truth be told .

Automotive journalists did not rave about them nearly as much as the FiST.

It is a vastly superior car in many ways IMO and truthfully is a little go kart , Perhaps you should take your car to the track or do some canyon runs?

. I honestly think you’re not driving the car to its true potential. I could be wrong but from what you have said thats what it sounds like .

I get what you mean - it's not just a "cheap little commuter", but it's something I can drive daily and have fun in without going to extralegal speeds. I bought the FiST because I could drive it hard while not winding up at felony level speeds. Trying to enjoy my Grand National, for example, without speeding was pretty much impossible.

As far as enjoying the FiST "properly", I'd love to hit the track with it but with certain medical issues I feel it would be irresponsible and needlessly endanger others so I abstain. I really miss riding motorcycles and autocrossing, but I'm pretty sure those days are behind. I just enjoy hooning around in the FiST while I can still drive a stick

On the FiST vs Abarth thing - yeah, on paper the FiST was always the "better" car, it handled better, was a teensy bit faster (though I think on stock turbos the Fiat has more headroom?) but there was a big difference in character. If I could only have one car I probably would've originally gone for the FiST, but for my specific purposes at the time (filling the motorcycle-shaped hole left in my soul) the Fiat just fulfilled that role better, but I only rolled the dice on the Fiat because I had alternative transportation. (and I got it for under 14k brand new ).

 

[RubenZZZ]

Not really, just more surprised that throwing away the warranty before breakins done. I'd wait until at least 15-20k before doing anything really serious to work out all those "if it makes it 15k it'll make it forever" type issues. It'd suck to buy a car, go bigturbo, and immediately find out you needed major work you were ineligible for.

Been looking for a project, didnt get the 240z I was going for, so looking at an exocet kit and an engineless pantera, but it's a post-smog year :|

A pantera with a coyote motor would be pretty legit, or one of the crossplane powerplants. The one I was looking at is probably a no go, no engine, questionable trans, needs a ton of body work and the interior is shot.... and it'd have to pass smog :|

I think I just look at the fist differently, its my cheap commuter that I mod a bit to not be boring.

Join us for the next drive. Sounds like you enjoy building cars up, but don't drive them?

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

 

[flbchbm]

I don't extreme mod. I have too many other interests and places to put my money.....investments, hobbies, home improvement, entertainment. Just minimal mods to gain more driving enjoyment (AP, IC, intake)

 

[Booster]

I have always liked a good underdog story. I have always been fascinated with the idea of a sleeper. If you bought a faster car everyone on the street would know what it is.

The FiST is rare enough that it’s still unexpected. The styling is sharp when you stop to pay attention, yet unassuming at a glance. I’m not necessarily talking about racing per se, but ripping off a perfect 2-3 shift and laying into 290 lb ft, when someone was dogging the “slow hatch” is pretty satisfying.

I honestly would not tune any car just to make it unique because I’m much more concerned with performance than aesthetics or sound. I bought and tuned this car because I knew it took well to tunes and there was gobs of reliable torque left on the table for small money. Driving it tuned for 10 months now I have zero regrets. I understand the limits of the big torque, low hp set up on the stock mini snail. It’s a street ripper not a highway blaster. I appreciate it for what it is and if/when I step up to a hybrid or BT I’m sure I’ll love that too. But I would rather push a Vespa than go back to stock. It’s simply too good to ignore. I’m always shocked at the back to stock part outs, I simply can’t understand taking the car to a devolved state.

But maybe this thread doesn’t apply to me because I don’t consider anything I’ve done so far in one year to be “extreme”. Making the jump to fender flares, wheel spacers, custom (expensive) 9” wide wheels and the like...well I don’t know if I could cross that bridge. I honestly don’t even consider the big turbos to be extreme. It makes perfect sense to upgrade the turbo on a turbocharged car which can be done for $1800-2600 with tune. Whereas spending $5k-8k supercharging an FRS which was not built for FI is much more extreme in my mind; just to give an example of an often modified platform. We’re taking 300whp with the stock manifold, stock injectors, stock ecu, stock head, stock cams. Nothing done that can’t be reversed easily if you choose the slow life. That’s just incredible if you ask me. This platform was just built to mod.

 

[Dpro]

It’s not just the warranty thing - it just seems like if you need to add a hundred horsepower right out of the gate, was the car the right choice in the first place? That’s more what I was wondering. If you mod to the extreme right at the beginning there’s nothing to work up to later

I honestly did not feel that way right off the bat. It was fun to begin with albeit a little quite lol. But totally fun.

I stumbled across the car but did not buy it immediately. I discovered it in late 2016 I bought in 2018. In that time I researched and learned.

At that point when I picked up the car I told my Fleet Manager I was planning on a tune when I told the TQ numbers and extra HP he was shocked Ford had left that much on the table.
It was a no brainer and pretty much dead safe warranty wise to add a tune aka it might not be warranty friendly but basically nobody would cry foul for the most part.

I did get bit by the bigger or hybrid Turbo bug like what Booster says I do not consider this extreme.
Extreme is rebuilding the engine for a big Turbo and the other things Booster mentioned.

As far as warranty is concerned I do trip a bit on the fact that I am going to probably put a bigger turbo on before the warranty is up but the warranty is truly a moving target. If one drives a lot the warranty disappears fast. I am already into over 1 year on my bumper to bumper.

My mileage is starting to shoot up big time as now I drive the car constantly so that comes into play as well.

I do not buy new cars usually I even thought about buying a used FiST. Though the low mileage ones at the time were too close to the price I could buy new for. It was a no brainer take the new to you car.

So perhaps our perspectives differ in terms of warranty. I also see warranties just come and go. I buy a lot of stuff that I just use and the warranty runs out and I am still using the item.
Smart shopping helps with this. My sister thought I was nuts buying a Ford at first because we have been buying Japanese cars for years. The last American cars we had was when we were kids . Even my parents switched to foreign cars in the late 80’s Actually my dad made the switch in the mid 70’s to Mercedes. My mom switched to Toyota in the 90’s.
Though my research showed the FiST is relatively bullet proof with a few annoying small things like blend door actuators. Also living in a dry arid climate I was not going to face possible paint corrosion issues even though the factory paint is crap anyways but all car manufacturers paint is crap these days, Water base for the win! LOL

In the end we did both buy the car for similar reasons. I wanted a daily. I wanted a fun daily. I have never been worried about driving fast cars as there is a time and a place. Though to have it is nice.
Though again I agree that the fun and quick is great for cheap thrills at legal speeds. I do not think mods take that away unless I allow myself too. Its all up to my right leg and my brain.

 

[ROCKYFiestta]

I wanted the fiesta body but the engine of the fost so I got the fiesta cheap and said I can do a few things under the hood to close that gap. but if I wanted 300+ hp I agree with you I would have gone with another car like older sti or evo again. personally I prefer smaller cars, miss my mr2turbo the most.

 

[Dpro]

I wanted the fiesta body but the engine of the fost so I got the fiesta cheap and said I can do a few things under the hood to close that gap. but if I wanted 300+ hp I agree with you I would have gone with another car like older sti or evo again. personally I prefer smaller cars, miss my mr2turbo the most.

See I don’t see it as that expensive or hard to get 300whp out of our cars. In fact its not. You can buy a Hybrid or BT that will put you in the ballpark for under 2k with all the parts needed to bolt it on. Then a tune and you are pretty close to if not there.
I personally think the car does not need over 300 whp for the street. I think at those numbers it will move along quite well and its what I have seen.
Plus most cars you buy that are above 300 whp also weigh a lot more and do not feel as light or are as nimble as the FiST it truly is a unique package for the money. Like I said earlier and for exact numbers. For around 26-27k all in including purchase of car new you will have a lightweight 300whp car that will kick ass on cars 2-3 times its cost.
If you buy used its even cheaper. Thats a bargain that cannot be passed up.

 

[zumakid70cc]

See I don’t see it as that expensive or hard to get 300whp out of our cars. In fact its not. You can buy a Hybrid or BT that will put you in the ballpark for under 2k with all the parts needed to bolt it on. Then a tune and you are pretty close to if not there.
I personally think the car does not need over 300 whp for the street. I think at those numbers it will move along quite well and its what I have seen.
Plus most cars you buy that are above 300 whp also weigh a lot more and do not feel as light or are as nimble as the FiST it truly is a unique package for the money. Like I said earlier and for exact numbers. For around 26-27k all in including purchase of car new you will have a lightweight 300whp car that will kick ass on cars 2-3 times its cost.
If you buy used its even cheaper. Thats a bargain that cannot be passed up.

I can agree but I will also say for the street I don't even think our car needs 300hp. I mean it's great but so lovely as is I'd put an lsd and let me sit at 250 or 270 and I'd be more then happy. I'd also like to say that our cars are I feel a great way to get started on a track plus if u start tracking it stock gives you plenty of room to grow with the car and the mods you end up doing. Me personally I want to focus less on out right power and more on handling and cornring... While also playing with aero with the occasional bolt on. I do plan on tracking my car part-time just to learn more from it.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

I can agree but I will also say for the street I don't even think our car needs 300hp. I mean it's great but so lovely as is I'd put an lsd and let me sit at 250 or 270 and I'd be more then happy. I'd also like to say that our cars are I feel a great way to get started on a track plus if u start tracking it stock gives you plenty of room to grow with the car and the mods you end up doing. Me personally I want to focus less on out right power and more on handling and cornring... While also playing with aero with the occasional bolt on. I do plan on tracking my car part-time just to learn more from it.

I was pretty fine with the stock-ish power level, I only tuned to get rid of the rev hang and crappy stock throttle mapping. The stratified was too aggressive so I bought the dizzy as well, which feels juuuuuuust right. With 300hp I'd be back into "losing the license" territory.