New 2017 ST owner in east Tennessee

[cafp]

Just bought a 2017 Fiesta St with 29,000 miles on it. Don't know any history on it but it has some modifications added. Exhaust, oil catch cans, blow off valve and a back up camera is all I have seen so far. My first fun manual transmission car in about 18 years. Sold my Galant VR4 back in 2002 and have been driving a mini van since. No regrets, for kids, carpools, moving things and family vacations they work well and it's still in the fleet. But the Fiesta is fun.
So I took it for 2 short test drives, drove it home from the dealership and around town some, maybe a total of 2 hours of driving it then decided I needed to take a longer drive, Well I saw a twisty road near home on the map and set out not remembering I had read about this loop years ago. So after only 2 hours of seat time in a new to me car I drove the Devils Triangle loop here in east Tennessee. For those of you that don't know of it people online compare it to The Tail of the Dragon. I will admit I didn't really push it but did go fairly quickly. Alot of the twisty parts have a high rock face cliff on one side and a steep drop off on the other with no shoulder on the road. The only time I did push it was through some sweepers in the middle where I had a clear view of several turns ahead. But it was a fun drive and told me I bought the right car.
Not thinking about doing anything to it yet except tires as it has cheap Roadone Calvery tires on the front and the stock Potenza RE050 on the back. Too many threads on tires here making my head spin but may need 4 all seasons for the cold. I won't drive this in the snow.
Pray for my clutch as I want to teach my 2 daughters how to drive a manual. Lucky this seems to be an easy car to drive and I want them to know how if they ever have to. Hopefully they will find a manual more engaging to drive also.

 

[D1JL]

Dave

 

[Dpro]

congrats and welcome.

 

[flbchbm]

Welcome to the machine.

...The Tail of the Dragon......But it was a fun drive and told me I bought the right car.

That's a fact jack! When I was in Spain back in 2001, I rented a Renault Megane w/manual and it was slow fast also. The mountain roads were empty...such a blast. The Policía used some version of it too.

....Not thinking about doing anything to it yet

Famous last words...lol

....Too many threads on tires here making my head spin but may need 4 all seasons for the cold. Pray for my clutch....

For sure too many....to summarize: 205/45-16 or 205/50-16...too few wheel choices at 4x108. The 16's will drop the un-sprung weight a lot compared to factory 17's.

East Tennessee comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely Bledsoe, Cumberland, and Marion.[1] East Tennessee is entirely located within the Appalachian Mountains, although the landforms range from densely forested 6,000-foot (1,800 m) mountains to broad river valleys. The region contains the major cities of Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Johnson City, Tennessee's third, fourth, and ninth largest cities, respectively.

 

[jmrtsus]

General GMAX A/S tires work really well in the wet of the South Central area and good dry grip.....plus very reasonable price. Ride is a little less harsh and a bit more sidewall so potholes don't cost you an $850 insurance claim! I'm in Chattanooga and love the E. TN and W. NC roads. Natural area for a FiST. I thought the 17's came with a back-up camera. Maybe it was the 18's. I have a 16' Mountune MP-215, a mild factory approved tune. Love My FiST! Welcome to more smiles per gallon!

 

[flbchbm]

2018 and 2019 have b/u cams. Any rain and it's crap. I keep forgetting to coat the lens...

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[LILIKE16ST]

Congrats and welcome. Southwestern va here. These cars are a riot stock and can he improved upon alot without really doing alot or spending a ton of cash. I lowered mine with swift spec r springs on 15x8 team dynamics pro race 1.2 wheels in matte black with 205/50/15 continental extreme contact sport tires...awesome tires all around and grip amazing in warmer weather for a 340 tw tire. They also happen to be one of the lightest tires in their size at 18.7 lbs each (weighed myself) so i dropped over 8.5 lbs per corner which is huge on this little car and is very noticeable as is the better ride with nearly 1 inch more sidewall compared to stock lol. I am full bolt on with an x37 hybrid prob have 4 grand in it total including tuning and im around 280ish WHP on e30 tuned by ryan at pd tuning. This thing is so much fun its unreal. This power level really works...helps balance the car. I also did hawk pads and stainless lines and that really helped the already good braking...as did the 100+ lbs of total weight reduction to an already light care. Stops on a dime. I can still average 27-28 mpg on my daily commute which is isnt even quite 50/50 highway/town and backroads. I think that is very respectable for a car with this power to weight ratio and being tuned on e30 (which brings mpg down 2 or so). I highly recommend doing something similar. I am going to get some better shocks and stuff too. It isnt crazy modded and dont have tons of money dumped into it but it is a significantly more fun than stock and that is saying alot becauee theyre super fun stock. Good luck man you picked the right car...the last of a dying breed (in the US)