My first hot hatch!
Discussion
Previously owned a 1.2 Vauxhall Corsa but I wanted something faster. So after searching for a while, I finally purchased a Colorado Red Mk6 Fiesta ST with a decat exhaust, Pioneer entertainment system and a few other goodies. The car is on 103,000 miles, but I got a decent price so only time will tell if I made the right decision or not.
Done around 100 miles in it yesterday and loved every minute. Feels like an absolute rocket ship compared with my little Corsa!
Done around 100 miles in it yesterday and loved every minute. Feels like an absolute rocket ship compared with my little Corsa!
These seem to have fallen into the hands of chavs for a while but I would like to think that they are moving on. They are a lovely little thing. Enjoy.
The engine is criticised in the STs but then I guess when a Clio had 170BHP+ it would never make life easy. At least the Duratec is very sturdy! If you do plan to mod it I would look into getting a complete exhaust system including the manifold ; they are very restrictive from the factory. They also respond well to an inlet manifold swap but things do start to become expensive after this!
The engine is criticised in the STs but then I guess when a Clio had 170BHP+ it would never make life easy. At least the Duratec is very sturdy! If you do plan to mod it I would look into getting a complete exhaust system including the manifold ; they are very restrictive from the factory. They also respond well to an inlet manifold swap but things do start to become expensive after this!
Update time.
I've done my first 1,000 miles in the car and I'm absolutely loving it. The steering and gearbox are flawless, you feel so connected. Straight line speed is okay, but I've now decatted the car and fitted a K&N air filter with a remap coming soon to help give that little more acceleration. Managed to get it to 125 MPH at Bruntingthorpe last weekend, and it was still pulling slightly.
Unfortunately I've had to spend a fair bit on it so far. Track rod ends, front brake hoses and realignment and tracking. Now my radiator hose has blown which isn't a huge issue, just frustrating. Going to try and pick up a second hand low mileage engine to swap over so I can have some more reliability, and also so I can start forging the older engine so I can eventually fit a turbo. The car needs some tidying up, but I don't mind a little project.
Future mods I have planned are to lower it 35mm all round, fit a Triple Composite carbon front splitter and difusser and paint the wheels black.
I've done my first 1,000 miles in the car and I'm absolutely loving it. The steering and gearbox are flawless, you feel so connected. Straight line speed is okay, but I've now decatted the car and fitted a K&N air filter with a remap coming soon to help give that little more acceleration. Managed to get it to 125 MPH at Bruntingthorpe last weekend, and it was still pulling slightly.
Unfortunately I've had to spend a fair bit on it so far. Track rod ends, front brake hoses and realignment and tracking. Now my radiator hose has blown which isn't a huge issue, just frustrating. Going to try and pick up a second hand low mileage engine to swap over so I can have some more reliability, and also so I can start forging the older engine so I can eventually fit a turbo. The car needs some tidying up, but I don't mind a little project.
Future mods I have planned are to lower it 35mm all round, fit a Triple Composite carbon front splitter and difusser and paint the wheels black.
Good buy. Mine runs 180bhp but don't want to plow more money into it for performance. Been meaning to buy the Bilstein B12 kit for years but will need to in the near future just to refresh the suspension components a bit.
RE: the Rad hose. was it he one that returns back to the block on the right hand side of the engine? Myself and a couple of guys have had this issue and it might be an eventual common one. This issue of it expanding up like a balloon and splitting. Managed to change mine before it went but it didn't look pretty.
Screen Shot 2015-05-12 at 20.42.10 by Jack_Pearson, on Flickr
RE: the Rad hose. was it he one that returns back to the block on the right hand side of the engine? Myself and a couple of guys have had this issue and it might be an eventual common one. This issue of it expanding up like a balloon and splitting. Managed to change mine before it went but it didn't look pretty.
Screen Shot 2015-05-12 at 20.42.10 by Jack_Pearson, on Flickr
JackP1 said:
Good buy. Mine runs 180bhp but don't want to plow more money into it for performance. Been meaning to buy the Bilstein B12 kit for years but will need to in the near future just to refresh the suspension components a bit.
RE: the Rad hose. was it he one that returns back to the block on the right hand side of the engine? Myself and a couple of guys have had this issue and it might be an eventual common one. This issue of it expanding up like a balloon and splitting. Managed to change mine before it went but it didn't look pretty.
Screen Shot 2015-05-12 at 20.42.10 by Jack_Pearson, on Flickr
That's the bugger. It's going to take a while to clean all the coolant away!RE: the Rad hose. was it he one that returns back to the block on the right hand side of the engine? Myself and a couple of guys have had this issue and it might be an eventual common one. This issue of it expanding up like a balloon and splitting. Managed to change mine before it went but it didn't look pretty.
Screen Shot 2015-05-12 at 20.42.10 by Jack_Pearson, on Flickr
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