Let's talk Fiesta ST hitches

[The Cuzi]

Cutting the heat shield does nothing for the muffler hitting the large plate. The plate was not formed/designed to be close fitting along the body pan. And if you have an aftermarket muffler like the Borla, hit hits on the driver's side. After much deliberation with myself and taking a close look at where it is hitting, I have decided to use SS zip ties inside a thick-walled silicone tube, inside a silicone over rack rail cover. I will still use the aftermarket hangers.

I ended up using firewall dynomatting. I dropped the exhaust down a little, then applied the dynomat to the curt hitch before putting the muffler back on the hangers. I've done about 10k since the fix and it is working great though anyone who sticks their head under my car would think it's ghetto.

 

[The Cuzi]

My FiST seems to pull fine. Not that a dirt bike is much to brag about towing. I believe the trailer and dirtbike combined are around 650lbs and I was able to pull without any noticeable problems. I will say I do not like the Curt wiring harness hanging out of the trunk (not shown in pic). It looks ghetto spectacular. But it'll do for now.

 

[MarkR171]

Considering a hitch for my FiST to haul a max of 2 bikes. Is it safe to assume Curt hitch + Cobb exhaust hangers for the muffler is a good setup that won't clunk/bang around? Does anyone have a lowered FiST with a hitch? Does the receiver sit too low on a lowered car? I also don't intend to replace the stock exhaust. I kinda like having a quiet daily again.

...Though I may not be terribly opposed to using a smaller diameter muffler if that will completely solve the issue. I would just cut the stock muffler out and have a friend that does custom exhaust work weld in a smaller diameter muffler. Should add clearance and only a small amount of sound.

 

[sonicmn]

Considering a hitch for my FiST to haul a max of 2 bikes. Is it safe to assume Curt hitch + Cobb exhaust hangers for the muffler is a good setup that won't clunk/bang around? Does anyone have a lowered FiST with a hitch? Does the receiver sit too low on a lowered car? I also don't intend to replace the stock exhaust. I kinda like having a quiet daily again.

...Though I may not be terribly opposed to using a smaller diameter muffler if that will completely solve the issue. I would just cut the stock muffler out and have a friend that does custom exhaust work weld in a smaller diameter muffler. Should add clearance and only a small amount of sound.

I have a 2016 lowered on some ST coilovers (3/4-1in) that I put a Curt hitch on right after I purchased the car, I had the clunking till I added the Cobb exhaust hangers to the rear 3 mounts. I do not tow with my car, however I use it for my Saris Superclamp bike rack pretty regularly. I have not had any issues (noise, dragging the receiver, or other noises) since I updated the exhaust hangers.

 

[MarkR171]

Great. I was considering ST coilovers as well for a daily driver ride with mild lowering. I have a Kuat Sherpa rack that should work as well. Thanks!

 

[cxwrench]

Curt hitch. Stock muffler. Whoosh hangers. Muffler hit the hitch a bunch, didn't seem to be vertical movement that hit but lateral. Put some zip ties around the rear hanger and on the mount to keep the hanger from sliding back and forth and haven't heard anything since. This is a very scientific fix and took hours and hours of research and testing to get it just right.

 

[MarkR171]

Looks like the whoosh hanger is still too soft then?... maybe Cobb is stiffer

 

[flbchbm]

Looks like the whoosh hanger is still too soft then?... maybe Cobb is stiffer

I got my multi-level urethane hangers on Slamazon.

 

[albertucsb]

Considering a hitch for my FiST to haul a max of 2 bikes. Is it safe to assume Curt hitch + Cobb exhaust hangers for the muffler is a good setup that won't clunk/bang around? Does anyone have a lowered FiST with a hitch? Does the receiver sit too low on a lowered car? I also don't intend to replace the stock exhaust. I kinda like having a quiet daily again.

...Though I may not be terribly opposed to using a smaller diameter muffler if that will completely solve the issue. I would just cut the stock muffler out and have a friend that does custom exhaust work weld in a smaller diameter muffler. Should add clearance and only a small amount of sound.

I want to do the same thing! Is there a muffler that would not add major noise or drone but just a smaller lighter form factor?

 

[Xiocuatl]

Hey, I'm not sure if this help you guys but here's the rear of my 2011 Fiesta SE and my 2014 ST.

Another Dual Fiesta owner?

Nice!

I have a Magnetic SE and Tuxedo ST

 

[flbchbm]

Curt hitch. Stock muffler. Whoosh hangers. Muffler hit the hitch a bunch, didn't seem to be vertical movement that hit but lateral. Put some zip ties around the rear hanger and on the mount to keep the hanger from sliding back and forth and haven't heard anything since. This is a very scientific fix and took hours and hours of research and testing to get it just right.

I bet you have Taryl work on your mower....lol....jk
Taryl Fixes All - YouTube

 

[EnthusiaST]

Weird, I’m Curt with whoosh hangars and stock exhaust with no banging.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[albertucsb]

Finally dialed in the stock exhaust and Curt tow hitch. I had the cobb exhaust on my first fist and never had issue, while this 2017 I have now has the stock exhaust and it was banging for about 2 days while testing. Now its completely fix. This is what I did and it will work for everyone.

Buy a whoosh poly exhaust hangars, and buy an amazon poly exhaust hangars with 3 different settings, to drop the stock exhaust can slightly.

Take the old rubber hangar and cut them into 3rds or halves to limit side to side lateral movement. I saw someone on this thread do it and it was a great idea!

This setup will really keep the muffler from moving way too much and drops it slightly to add a buffer for any movement.

See attached.

 

[sleyth]

Hello all, I figured I would add in to the hitch issues. I installed a draw tie hitch from etrailer. I used it primarily for a two bike carrier for my mountain bikes. It did work, but it bounced a lot and made me nervous and I hated how low it sat under the bumper. I also had a fork mounted rack for the roof, but it is a huge pain and i lost almost 4mpg with the rack on and no bikes, and almost 6 with the bikes. I decided to take a page out of another members book and make my own. I did use the original hitch, just cut it up and used it how i felt. Also, I have a X-force varex muffler 3" in and 3" out, with a 3" pipe from the turbo back. It did bounce around like crazy and irritated me. The muffler is significantly larger than the stock and barely fit in place before the hitch. I had to cut part of the bumper and some sheet metal. But it does fit and sounds great. I posted pics of the transformation below. I also wanted to mention that it does not move at all now.
To fix the muffler hitting, I ordered some hangers from whoosh motorsports, not a sound out of it since. And it sits in the correct location.
Everything is still bolted on like the original hitch, I just cut and welded the original so it fit inside the bumper cover. When its not in use, i use a rubber hitch plug. Just to mention, It did get painted before the bumper went back on.lol

How does the muffler sound? Any Drone?

 

[flbchbm]

Finally dialed in the stock exhaust and Curt tow hitch. I had the cobb exhaust on my first fist and never had issue, while this 2017 I have now has the stock exhaust and it was banging for about 2 days while testing. Now its completely fix. This is what I did and it will work for everyone.

Take the old rubber hangar and cut them into 3rds or halves to limit side to side lateral movement. I saw someone on this thread do it and it was a great idea!

You're welcome....lol

 

[Mr. D]

I was speaking with etrailer today. They said only the curt hitch is a confirmed fit for a 2016 Fiesta ST hatchback?

 

[flbchbm]

I was speaking with etrailer today. They said only the curt hitch is a confirmed fit for a 2016 Fiesta ST hatchback?

Curt, Reese, Hidden Hitch. they are almost the same. You have to search my posts to see what I installed, how I installed urethane hangers in a special way to limit the aftermarket muffler hitting the massive wing.

 

[Mr. D]

Yep, tow my bikes a few times a month on a Kuat rack and continue to tow bigger stuff with a 4x8 harbor freight utility trailer. I ended up keeping the hidden hitch and have completely eliminated any knocking with the three COBB exhaust hangers.

I recently towed 25 bags of mulch with the car, so thats 500lbs + trailer which is a new record for me. Probably wouldn't do it every day, but car did fine considering the weight of the mulch and the wheelbase of the car. I would say power wise the Fiesta feels better than my old Ford Ranger with that much weight. The only slight issue is that trailer kind of starts to disrupt the car a bit on big bumps but it was never out of control. I was surprised at how little the rear end sagged, so no issues with suspension travel. I generally keep the tongue weight pretty low, so that might have impacted the balance a bit.

Wife has a SUV with 2" receiver, but I still like being able to use my car from time to time and I also use the trailer to avoid putting anything smelly inside the car like gas cans, oil, mulch, lawnmowers, trash or other house project garbage or dump materials, etc. The trailer was $150 which is about half of the cost of property tax on a Ford Ranger for a year in VA so for me it's just more practical.

Every once in a while posters like to come on this thread and complain about towing with the car, but take it from someone who does it a few times a month. Towing so far, totally safe, no issues on Fiesta ST.[/QUOTE
Which hitch do you have? Do you use the 1-1/4” to 2” adapter for your just Kuat rack? I have the 2” Kuat rack so I figured use an adapter. I also thought being the drawtite has a 200 lbs tongue limit vs the 100lb Curt it might be better?

 

[Mr. D]

I also have the Milltek sport exhaust that was in the used Fiesta when I purchased it the little ninja.