Another Fiesta ST, now with added Audi S5
Discussion
I’ve seen a few threads on the Fiesta ST crop up recently, so decided to start my own. It’s a bit after the fact, but will bring it up to the present day over the next few posts.
I’ve had a long & varied car history as probably most have on the site, but as I reached my mid-40’s I mistakenly thought I should get ‘serious’ and bought myself a new 335d, taking advantage of the massive discount on the runout F31. Once the initial hilarity of the rocket-like straight line speed & torque had worn off, after about 6 months I decided it wasn’t for me. I also decided this would my last diesel car, and probably my last auto.
It was replaced with a 2016 manual S3 in January 2020. I had some fun in this car, as a point-to-point machine it’s highly capable, and very suited to Scottish weather. I had a nagging doubt that it wasn’t engaging enough though, and this was compounded by it sitting on my driveway for most of the first lockdown, depreciating nicely…..
So the S3 went & for a few months I had no car for the first time in 30 years. My wife treated herself to a new ‘family’ car as lockdown was eased, and I started to formulate a plan to get myself a small hot hatch for knocking about in, doing most of my own work on, and most importantly having a laugh with.
I settled on a Fiesta ST as it seemed to get great reviews & would hopefully be easy to maintain/cheap to run.
In late September last year, I looked at a few in dealerships but there was always a gap in service history, a myriad of owners, or a suspicion the cars had been thrashed to death.
I then found an ST2 on eBay which sounded promising - local, one owner from new & with a full Ford history. I went to see it & everything checked out. The owner was about the same age as me & had only just replaced it with a brand new ST. Every invoice was present (including the supplying dealers fuel receipt for the first tank of petrol!) and it had recently been fitted with new discs & pads all round plus two new Conti’s on the front. At 2013 & 62k the car maybe had a few more miles & was older than I’d envisaged buying, but I liked the seller & the car had far more provenance than any I’d seen in garages. The coolant recall had been done & MP215 fitted at a year old was an added bonus.
A deal was done & I was back in a Fiesta - same as my first ever car in 1989.
I’ve had a long & varied car history as probably most have on the site, but as I reached my mid-40’s I mistakenly thought I should get ‘serious’ and bought myself a new 335d, taking advantage of the massive discount on the runout F31. Once the initial hilarity of the rocket-like straight line speed & torque had worn off, after about 6 months I decided it wasn’t for me. I also decided this would my last diesel car, and probably my last auto.
It was replaced with a 2016 manual S3 in January 2020. I had some fun in this car, as a point-to-point machine it’s highly capable, and very suited to Scottish weather. I had a nagging doubt that it wasn’t engaging enough though, and this was compounded by it sitting on my driveway for most of the first lockdown, depreciating nicely…..
So the S3 went & for a few months I had no car for the first time in 30 years. My wife treated herself to a new ‘family’ car as lockdown was eased, and I started to formulate a plan to get myself a small hot hatch for knocking about in, doing most of my own work on, and most importantly having a laugh with.
I settled on a Fiesta ST as it seemed to get great reviews & would hopefully be easy to maintain/cheap to run.
In late September last year, I looked at a few in dealerships but there was always a gap in service history, a myriad of owners, or a suspicion the cars had been thrashed to death.
I then found an ST2 on eBay which sounded promising - local, one owner from new & with a full Ford history. I went to see it & everything checked out. The owner was about the same age as me & had only just replaced it with a brand new ST. Every invoice was present (including the supplying dealers fuel receipt for the first tank of petrol!) and it had recently been fitted with new discs & pads all round plus two new Conti’s on the front. At 2013 & 62k the car maybe had a few more miles & was older than I’d envisaged buying, but I liked the seller & the car had far more provenance than any I’d seen in garages. The coolant recall had been done & MP215 fitted at a year old was an added bonus.
A deal was done & I was back in a Fiesta - same as my first ever car in 1989.
The car really was in excellent condition, but the fettling started almost immediately, with a thorough exterior decontamination & clean/protection of the interior. I was pretty happy that I hadn’t missed anything when inspecting the car (apart from non-illuminating sill plates) and nothing necessarily ‘needed’ done, however I took a couple of days off work & gave the paint a two stage correction with the DA, leaving it looking as good as new save a couple of small stone chips on the front. The white paint was a doddle to work with & came up really well.
I also polished the exhaust tips.
They still have a bit of pitting, but came up OK.
Finished off by fitting a few minor cosmetic mods just to personalise it including a short OEM Mk8 aerial, Ford Performance number plate holders, interior & number plate LEDs, yellow fog light covers (no idea why, just fancied it!) & a handbrake ‘hole of doom’ cover.
Another lockdown meant that proper driving time was limited for the next few months, although I did get a few short blasts in. It did give me time to gel with the car & assess what I wanted to do with it going forward. Nothing drastic needed, it’s a great wee thing really, but I wanted to go for an OEM-plus theme & make the car my own.
I also polished the exhaust tips.
They still have a bit of pitting, but came up OK.
Finished off by fitting a few minor cosmetic mods just to personalise it including a short OEM Mk8 aerial, Ford Performance number plate holders, interior & number plate LEDs, yellow fog light covers (no idea why, just fancied it!) & a handbrake ‘hole of doom’ cover.
Another lockdown meant that proper driving time was limited for the next few months, although I did get a few short blasts in. It did give me time to gel with the car & assess what I wanted to do with it going forward. Nothing drastic needed, it’s a great wee thing really, but I wanted to go for an OEM-plus theme & make the car my own.
stargazer30 said:
Funny that, my first car was a B Reg 1L Fiesta death trap for £600 in the early 90s and I traded my much loved MP215 2013 Fez ST last year just before the first lock down. That car was probably one of the best cars I've ever owned. 2nd only to the 270bhp boosted mk3 MR2 I had, which was also a death trap 
You've got the coolant recall covered. The MP215 is decent but a bit held back in 1st and 2nd. I found the Collins CP2 map was better but nothing silly/engine risky like some of the more powerful maps. My 2013 plate never really missed a beat up to 63K when I traded it. Only problems I had were bad geo from the last owner killing my tyres on the inner walls and failed rear bushes which gave the car a wicked shimmy at motorway speed.
Its been replaced with a mk3 Focus ST now as I needed space for my 3 grown up kids. The focus is more capable, comfy and practical. AKA boring. Also just no point in remapping or tuning it as it can't get its power down in any way shape or form with the stock 247 ponies unless is warm dry and in a straight line.
You're reading my mind re CP2! I noticed that the only MOT fail the car had was a year ago on the rear bushes, so hopefully they'll be OK for a few years yet.You've got the coolant recall covered. The MP215 is decent but a bit held back in 1st and 2nd. I found the Collins CP2 map was better but nothing silly/engine risky like some of the more powerful maps. My 2013 plate never really missed a beat up to 63K when I traded it. Only problems I had were bad geo from the last owner killing my tyres on the inner walls and failed rear bushes which gave the car a wicked shimmy at motorway speed.
Its been replaced with a mk3 Focus ST now as I needed space for my 3 grown up kids. The focus is more capable, comfy and practical. AKA boring. Also just no point in remapping or tuning it as it can't get its power down in any way shape or form with the stock 247 ponies unless is warm dry and in a straight line.
I actually thought about a Focus ST, but we have a family car, so I didn't really need anything as big. The MR2 sounds fun!
J4CKO said:
Seems to be a theme developing here with folk buying the really fast modern hatches and other German type stuff and missing something, then going for a Fiesta ST despite it being smaller, slower and having a less desirable (to many, I am not fussed) badge.
Same boat, prob seen my thread as you alluded to, the money hit my bank for my M135i this morning, gone, done and dusted, great car but something missing so grabbed my sons ST when he wanted to move it on for a Golf R, booked in for CP2E next week, added a shortshift his week (great mod for £32 btw)
These seem to give enough of the old school hot hatch feel, but without them being completely outdated or lacking in safety, enough power with scope for more, they are light and handle well.
100% agree. Feels old school but reasonably modern at the same time. Your thread has been a good read. I've had a couple of people question my sanity about 'downgrading' brand-wise, but it doesn't bother me at all.Same boat, prob seen my thread as you alluded to, the money hit my bank for my M135i this morning, gone, done and dusted, great car but something missing so grabbed my sons ST when he wanted to move it on for a Golf R, booked in for CP2E next week, added a shortshift his week (great mod for £32 btw)
These seem to give enough of the old school hot hatch feel, but without them being completely outdated or lacking in safety, enough power with scope for more, they are light and handle well.
A few more recent things I’ve done……
Gloss black mirror covers & smoked dynamic indicators (AliExpress specials) to update the look a bit.
New illuminated sill lights made by a friend of a friend (can provide details if anyone interested)
Mountune induction hose (fancied a bit of colour). Can definitely feel a sharper throttle response & hear some more noise from the turbo. Also stuck a new K&N panel filter in.
Collins short shifter (best photo I can get, forgot to take one when fitting). A bit of a faff, but well worth it. Went for the 25% setting.
I’ve also made a few DIY security modifications. I live in quite a quiet area & the car can’t be seen from any road, but still…..
Gloss black mirror covers & smoked dynamic indicators (AliExpress specials) to update the look a bit.
New illuminated sill lights made by a friend of a friend (can provide details if anyone interested)
Mountune induction hose (fancied a bit of colour). Can definitely feel a sharper throttle response & hear some more noise from the turbo. Also stuck a new K&N panel filter in.
Collins short shifter (best photo I can get, forgot to take one when fitting). A bit of a faff, but well worth it. Went for the 25% setting.
I’ve also made a few DIY security modifications. I live in quite a quiet area & the car can’t be seen from any road, but still…..
To bring the thread up to date - finally managed a good long drive the other day. Headed down the Dalveen Pass from Elvanfoot (just off the M74) and then back up the Mennock Pass to Abington before going back along some quiet A&B roads to just outside Edinburgh where I live.
The car performed excellently - pretty lively in tight bends & pulled strongly in 3rd/4th gear especially. Pretty good brakes too when sheep made an appearance on the road!
I’ve got a few more mods planned now though to tighten things up a bit & will maybe think about upping the power slightly too. More so to remove the torque limiter in 1st/2nd than anything else. Collins CP2 is my current thinking.
So - orders have been placed for Mountune springs, a Collins torque mount & a GFB DV+. Hopefully can get these on in the next few weeks weather & time permitting.
The car performed excellently - pretty lively in tight bends & pulled strongly in 3rd/4th gear especially. Pretty good brakes too when sheep made an appearance on the road!
I’ve got a few more mods planned now though to tighten things up a bit & will maybe think about upping the power slightly too. More so to remove the torque limiter in 1st/2nd than anything else. Collins CP2 is my current thinking.
So - orders have been placed for Mountune springs, a Collins torque mount & a GFB DV+. Hopefully can get these on in the next few weeks weather & time permitting.
Edited by Nelka on Thursday 13th May 12:07
RS Grant said:
Nice history, great colour choice for the BMW and Audi too.. nice change from black/grey/white.
Fiesta ST are great wee cars. I loved everything about mine apart from the harsh suspension and high seating position, which I was gutted about cause it did everything else really well.
Cheers, the Sunset Orange on the BMW was a beautiful colour. The Audi was a bit lairy & I wasn’t 100% at first, but I ended up really liking it! Fiesta ST are great wee cars. I loved everything about mine apart from the harsh suspension and high seating position, which I was gutted about cause it did everything else really well.
I’m hoping the Mountune springs will help a bit with the ride, but I’m not expecting miracles.
stargazer30 said:
Op you've got after market light up sill plates on the car. The ford ones are rubbish and the electrics often break. Problem is the ones you've got really don't like water and will de-laminate. When you wash the car dry them and the bottom of the door off and don't use the pressure washer on the door sill seam.
I killed mine within 3 months due to careless washing.
Thanks for the heads up. A friend of a friend made them for me so I’ll be careful around them. If I do wreck them I’ll just put the originals back on & live with it. The most annoying thing was that the drivers side one half lit up, so it was really noticeable something was wrong with them. If they end up back on I’ll just not plug them in. I killed mine within 3 months due to careless washing.
RC1807 said:
Yours looks very good, and clean 
- unlike mine! 
I also own a white ST2. Mine's from 2014 and has only covered 66,000 km (41,000 miles) to date.
I haven't done many modifications save for
- +150% dipped and mainbeam bulbs
- silverline indicator bulbs
- a metal footrest plate (from the (American) Fiesta ST Owners Club)
- a Boomba Racing sound symposer delete kit (mine buzzed like a wasp, annoyingly, at 80mph, which is the motorway speed limit here)
- gloss black mirror covers, lower front grille, rear valance insert
Mine isnt very clean at the moment, and still has winter wheels / tyres on it.... I should now refit the summer 17" wheels and give the car a damned good clean.
I shall add your thread to my bookmarks.
Enjoy the car.
Thanks for the nice words. I find the paint comes up really well so hopefully you can have it looking spot on for summer! - unlike mine! I also own a white ST2. Mine's from 2014 and has only covered 66,000 km (41,000 miles) to date.
I haven't done many modifications save for
- +150% dipped and mainbeam bulbs
- silverline indicator bulbs
- a metal footrest plate (from the (American) Fiesta ST Owners Club)
- a Boomba Racing sound symposer delete kit (mine buzzed like a wasp, annoyingly, at 80mph, which is the motorway speed limit here)
- gloss black mirror covers, lower front grille, rear valance insert
Mine isnt very clean at the moment, and still has winter wheels / tyres on it.... I should now refit the summer 17" wheels and give the car a damned good clean.
I shall add your thread to my bookmarks.
Enjoy the car.
J4CKO said:
The paint is a way better finish than on my BMW, which seems bizarre. Reds used to fade but both of ours are Race Red and when polished it comes up almost like its fluorescent in bright sunlight despite being 6 and 7 years old.
Be a fun weekend fitting that lot, they do seem pretty easy to work on, we did the springs and it wasnt hard. Mine goes in tomorrow so am quite excited, will ask them to fit the rear engine mount as well, or sell me one.
Think I need the Diverter/Dump valve as well, but will do on the spend for this month at least, need to use it for a bit then decide where to take it.
Did you have a short shift ? my son came back and borrowed it, obviously used to be his and he was taken aback as to how much improvement the short shift makes, he has got his mate at work with one order one today for his
I think, secretly he prefers the ST to his Golf R...I washed and vacced it, he borrowed it, went down some back lanes and brought it back filthy, thought at least the interior will still be clean, but no, full of dust, apparently he drove past someone operating a wood chipper He did offer to clean it to be fair but I did it, I like cleaning it.
It seems a good time to do the diverter valve when I have the wheel & strut off anyway. I’m more doing it for preventative maintenance than looking for any gains but will see how it performs. Seems a lot of cash for what you get in the box but I suppose you’re paying for the development, etc too. Be a fun weekend fitting that lot, they do seem pretty easy to work on, we did the springs and it wasnt hard. Mine goes in tomorrow so am quite excited, will ask them to fit the rear engine mount as well, or sell me one.
Think I need the Diverter/Dump valve as well, but will do on the spend for this month at least, need to use it for a bit then decide where to take it.
Did you have a short shift ? my son came back and borrowed it, obviously used to be his and he was taken aback as to how much improvement the short shift makes, he has got his mate at work with one order one today for his
I think, secretly he prefers the ST to his Golf R...I washed and vacced it, he borrowed it, went down some back lanes and brought it back filthy, thought at least the interior will still be clean, but no, full of dust, apparently he drove past someone operating a wood chipper
He did offer to clean it to be fair but I did it, I like cleaning it.My main worry is hitting problems with top mounts or drop links, have had issues before with simple jobs getting more involved than they should be in theory……
I’ve got the Collins short shift, it’s a great wee mod.
Hide the keys, he’ll be back again!
Looking forward to your update when you get the car back.
Finally managed to get the springs, torque mount & GFB DV+ fitted last night.
All pretty straightforward, drivers side drop link was a bit reluctant to come undone & managed to destroy another two wheel nuts (luckily I had some spares). Also discovered that my passenger side front spring was in fact broken!
The springs & torque mount have made the whole car feel more taught & direct, with a bonus marginal gain in ride quality. Also suspect I may have had a very small boost leak as it now feels slightly stronger at the top end. Very happy overall.
Tried to keep the tracking as it was with the old two blocks of wood on the wheels & measuring tape method, but will take it in anyway at the end of the week to ensure it’s ok. Certainly feels fine but I need to go on an 80 or so mile round trip today & want to let the springs settle a bit first without destroying my tyres.
All pretty straightforward, drivers side drop link was a bit reluctant to come undone & managed to destroy another two wheel nuts (luckily I had some spares). Also discovered that my passenger side front spring was in fact broken!
The springs & torque mount have made the whole car feel more taught & direct, with a bonus marginal gain in ride quality. Also suspect I may have had a very small boost leak as it now feels slightly stronger at the top end. Very happy overall.
Tried to keep the tracking as it was with the old two blocks of wood on the wheels & measuring tape method, but will take it in anyway at the end of the week to ensure it’s ok. Certainly feels fine but I need to go on an 80 or so mile round trip today & want to let the springs settle a bit first without destroying my tyres.
Edited by Nelka on Tuesday 8th June 15:53
J4CKO said:
Coming on, power mods next ?
Can recommend the Collins CP2E, took mine out last night for a blast and it felt great, not sure I need more but going to anyway.
Prob do the brake fluid on saturday.
MOT due in a couple of weeks & a service next month. I’ll get them out the way & then I think it’ll be CP2….would quite like a wheel refurb too right enough! Can recommend the Collins CP2E, took mine out last night for a blast and it felt great, not sure I need more but going to anyway.
Prob do the brake fluid on saturday.
On the brake fluid/service note - mine is now 8 years old & it’s due oil/brake fluid this year. It’s got full Ford service history but I’m tempted to just do it myself & keep the receipts. I’ve no intention of changing the car, but losing the full ‘official’ service history may be a shame. There’s also the option of a middle ground, a well-known Indy is just up the road from me (not Ford, but used to be very well known for Peugeot) so I could go there.
Any thoughts?
Yes, I'd rather know for sure that the correct oil, etc had went in rather than some generic rubbish from a massive drum. I'd also know the car was being looked after rather than being just another car in a list of ten others to be done that day.
With regards to keeping it, I'm going to get underneath come Autumn and put some Lanoguard or similar on to it. Mine is looking a tiny bit crusty in places (nothing to worry about at the moment) and is only going to get worse up here over the long-term with salt being on the roads for months at a time. Probably half an hour well spent.
With regards to keeping it, I'm going to get underneath come Autumn and put some Lanoguard or similar on to it. Mine is looking a tiny bit crusty in places (nothing to worry about at the moment) and is only going to get worse up here over the long-term with salt being on the roads for months at a time. Probably half an hour well spent.
I’ve been waiting almost since I got the car on the Mountune lower spoiler to come back into stock & had very nearly given up. However, it reappeared yesterday so I decided to treat myself.
Arrived this afternoon, very quick delivery & was an easy fit albeit I had to jack the front up to get a drill underneath for the two self-tappers.
Think it suits a white car in particular really well.
Arrived this afternoon, very quick delivery & was an easy fit albeit I had to jack the front up to get a drill underneath for the two self-tappers.
Think it suits a white car in particular really well.
Time for a service. All the bits to do oil & filter, cabin filter, brake fluid change & replace the rear caliper sliders (fine just now but a known weak point & worth changing for £20 while I’m doing the brake fluid).
Did the oil & cabin filter yesterday, will hopefully get the brake bits done this week at some point.
Did the oil & cabin filter yesterday, will hopefully get the brake bits done this week at some point.
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