The ST has landed
Discussion
Picked it up from the Birkenhead dealer on Wednesday and drove the 200 miles back down home. Running in so kept under 3k rpm all the way. Well... most of the way 
Even in 6th the pick up from 70-80mph is miles ahead of my old ST170.
Been pootling around in it a fair bit and have put around 350 miles on it in the last 3 days. Today was the first day of real sunshine and I went out for a quick blat. The whole thing is so well put together and feels almost Germanic. Recaro seats are comfortable and hold you securely in place.
I absolutely love the soundtrack. Almost imperceptible noise at cruising speeds overlaid with the turbo whistle. Put you foot down and it takes on a completely different character, the 5-pot growling with an off-beat snarl most akin to a "mini-V8".
The steering, brakes, clutch and gearchange feel light and slightly over servo-ed, especially when compared to the weighty controls in the ST170.
There is a surfeit of grip so understeer (so far) has not been an issue but it's less happy to hustle than the ST170 with a noticeable weight up front. This grip and extra weight means it's supremely planted in the bends and rides with a real big car feel.
With 236lbft on tap from 1600-4000rpm there is more than enough twist to overwhelm the front tyres in the dry and the ESP is quick to reign in, perhaps a little too quick. When the system is off it is OFF but I'll save that for when it's run in properly.
After the drive I realised I'd forgotten my camera but was able to take these with my camera phone. There will be more better quality ones to follow when the weather warms up enough for me to get out there with a bucket and sponge.
Even in 6th the pick up from 70-80mph is miles ahead of my old ST170. Been pootling around in it a fair bit and have put around 350 miles on it in the last 3 days. Today was the first day of real sunshine and I went out for a quick blat. The whole thing is so well put together and feels almost Germanic. Recaro seats are comfortable and hold you securely in place.
I absolutely love the soundtrack. Almost imperceptible noise at cruising speeds overlaid with the turbo whistle. Put you foot down and it takes on a completely different character, the 5-pot growling with an off-beat snarl most akin to a "mini-V8".
The steering, brakes, clutch and gearchange feel light and slightly over servo-ed, especially when compared to the weighty controls in the ST170.
There is a surfeit of grip so understeer (so far) has not been an issue but it's less happy to hustle than the ST170 with a noticeable weight up front. This grip and extra weight means it's supremely planted in the bends and rides with a real big car feel.
With 236lbft on tap from 1600-4000rpm there is more than enough twist to overwhelm the front tyres in the dry and the ESP is quick to reign in, perhaps a little too quick. When the system is off it is OFF but I'll save that for when it's run in properly.
After the drive I realised I'd forgotten my camera but was able to take these with my camera phone. There will be more better quality ones to follow when the weather warms up enough for me to get out there with a bucket and sponge.
Good afternoon Richard,
Congratulations on your new purchase.
I am sure you will really enjoy that Volvo 5 pot engine that a good few Volvo drivers have enjoyed, maybe a little more discreetly, in its various other incarnations over the last few years.
Just to mention that when you get the itch for some more grunt I have some Swedish software upgrades for these cars plus various exhausts, downpipes with special cats etc., in stock in London that might tempt you.
Presently, this software remains the only offering that can be installed without opening the ECU.
Ford have made physical internal modification of these ECU's very difficult for all software upgraders by the very simple glueing together of both metal covers to the circuit board. Opening of the ECU, by any means, allways damages the circuit board to some extent, which will manifest itself sooner or later.
Best regards, Don.Norchi.
www.kalmar-union.com
>> Edited by don kalmar union on Saturday 4th March 20:15
Congratulations on your new purchase.
I am sure you will really enjoy that Volvo 5 pot engine that a good few Volvo drivers have enjoyed, maybe a little more discreetly, in its various other incarnations over the last few years.
Just to mention that when you get the itch for some more grunt I have some Swedish software upgrades for these cars plus various exhausts, downpipes with special cats etc., in stock in London that might tempt you.
Presently, this software remains the only offering that can be installed without opening the ECU.
Ford have made physical internal modification of these ECU's very difficult for all software upgraders by the very simple glueing together of both metal covers to the circuit board. Opening of the ECU, by any means, allways damages the circuit board to some extent, which will manifest itself sooner or later.
Best regards, Don.Norchi.
www.kalmar-union.com
>> Edited by don kalmar union on Saturday 4th March 20:15
I plan on keeping it standard since it's a company car, albeit and opted out one.
You might want to post info on the forums of www.ffoc.co.uk and www.focusstoc.com to get some more interest. People are getting excited about the offerings from Superchips, Pumaspeed et al whereas it's clear, to me at least, that if the engine comes from Volvo, why not go to the Volvo tuning experts?
You might want to post info on the forums of www.ffoc.co.uk and www.focusstoc.com to get some more interest. People are getting excited about the offerings from Superchips, Pumaspeed et al whereas it's clear, to me at least, that if the engine comes from Volvo, why not go to the Volvo tuning experts?
I've ordered the ST-3 in the performance blue, but I'm a little concerned that Ford have still not sorted the paint miss match on the bumpers.
I noticed from you pictures that the miss match on the front bumper is terrible. Hope mine isn't like that when I collect, otherwise I will be rejecting the car.
I noticed from you pictures that the miss match on the front bumper is terrible. Hope mine isn't like that when I collect, otherwise I will be rejecting the car.
don kalmar union said:
Good afternoon Richard,
Congratulations on your new purchase.
I am sure you will really enjoy that Volvo 5 pot engine that a good few Volvo drivers have enjoyed, maybe a little more discreetly, in its various other incarnations over the last few years.
Just to mention that when you get the itch for some more grunt I have some Swedish software upgrades for these cars plus various exhausts, downpipes with special cats etc., in stock in London that might tempt you.
Presently, this software remains the only offering that can be installed without opening the ECU.
Ford have made physical internal modification of these ECU's very difficult for all software upgraders by the very simple glueing together of both metal covers to the circuit board. Opening of the ECU, by any means, allways damages the circuit board to some extent, which will manifest itself sooner or later.
Best regards, Don.Norchi.
www.kalmar-union.com
>> Edited by don kalmar union on Saturday 4th March 20:15
I beleive pumabuild have been offering a standard ECU re programme for the ST for a while, increasing the power by 11%.......
westy04 said:
I've ordered the ST-3 in the performance blue, but I'm a little concerned that Ford have still not sorted the paint miss match on the bumpers.
I noticed from you pictures that the miss match on the front bumper is terrible. Hope mine isn't like that when I collect, otherwise I will be rejecting the car.
It looks a lot worse in the picture than in the flesh. Notice the sun is shining on the back bumper and it looks fine?
My first post here.
I ordered an ST 3 door in Performance Blue this morning. I live in Ireland and my contact in Fords in Cork mananged to find a "dealer unallocated" car with a build date on 20th March. It's due for delivery about 10 days after that.
So about 3 weeks all in - I'm delighted!
The downside is the price and a few other issues. Punative taxes here mean that a basic 3 door ST with metallic paint (not that orange) retails at almost €36000
plus €500 delivery.
I'm lucky to enjoy the Ford employees scheme benefits, so it's much more affordable.
Insurance is actually less than annual road tax bizarely, which is over €900 per annum.
I'll let you know how I get on nearer delivery date.
Great forum btw
I ordered an ST 3 door in Performance Blue this morning. I live in Ireland and my contact in Fords in Cork mananged to find a "dealer unallocated" car with a build date on 20th March. It's due for delivery about 10 days after that.
So about 3 weeks all in - I'm delighted!
The downside is the price and a few other issues. Punative taxes here mean that a basic 3 door ST with metallic paint (not that orange) retails at almost €36000
plus €500 delivery. I'm lucky to enjoy the Ford employees scheme benefits, so it's much more affordable.
Insurance is actually less than annual road tax bizarely, which is over €900 per annum.
I'll let you know how I get on nearer delivery date.
Great forum btw
Witchfinder said:
I seriously doubt that.
Reliable sources suggest it's true.
Turbo engines do benefit more from the higher RON fuels like Optimax & Ultimate compared to n/a engines. I haven't seen the power figures from anyone I trust implicitly (i.e. forum rumours) but somebody from Ford who seemed to know what he was talking about said that using 95RON it will develop 320NM and they'd seen 350NM+ using 100RON.
I must admit I'm sceptical about these claims but I'll be on the rollers early April to find out for sure.
One thing I have found is a vast improvement in fuel consumption with Optimax vs Ultimate. 4mpg better with Optimax under the same conditions (motorway run).
225 said:
The ECU will adjust over time to what ever fuel is used so there will not be seperate settings as such. Looks lovely in blue.
Yeah, as you say the ECU is always 'learning' the fuel map. Therefore when you start using a better quality fuel the car will 'learn' this and it should end up producing more power from it. I would be doubtful whether it has two maps as this would require someone with the correct leads to be able to plug into the ECU
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