Just got a Ford Puma
Discussion
Finally get to make a Readers' Cars topic 
Having spent 3 years hooning around in my little 1.25 Fiesta, I felt that graduating was the perfect excuse to buy myself something a little more interesting and what better than a prettier, slightly faster version of my Fiesta.
So here's the black cat:
Initial to-do list:
But so far, it's a cracking little car to drive and people seem to respond well to it too, possibly because it's a bit different and there aren't many others around here
Having spent 3 years hooning around in my little 1.25 Fiesta, I felt that graduating was the perfect excuse to buy myself something a little more interesting and what better than a prettier, slightly faster version of my Fiesta.
So here's the black cat:
Initial to-do list:
- Service
- Toyo T1Rs all round to replace the wrong size rears and ditchfinder fronts and tracking to get it all driving right
- Bodyshop to sort the rear arches
- Cambelt and waterpump replacement
But so far, it's a cracking little car to drive and people seem to respond well to it too, possibly because it's a bit different and there aren't many others around here
Wattsie said:
Finally get to make a Readers' Cars topic
This is not an upgrade on a Puma with 15" wheels you will be left feeling it squirm around on T1's with their squidgy side walls, takes out the sharpness of the Puma's steering and handling - get some decent tyres like Bridgestone's or Dunlops on it.- Toyo T1Rs all round to replace the wrong size rears and ditchfinder fronts and tracking to get it all driving right
rallycross said:
Wattsie said:
Finally get to make a Readers' Cars topic
This is not an upgrade on a Puma with 15" wheels you will be left feeling it squirm around on T1's with their squidgy side walls, takes out the sharpness of the Puma's steering and handling - get some decent tyres like Bridgestone's or Dunlops on it.- Toyo T1Rs all round to replace the wrong size rears and ditchfinder fronts and tracking to get it all driving right
rallycross said:
balders118 said:
You just don't notice it on a puma.
Well you might not notice it but if you had experience of dozens of different car/tyre combinations you certainly would notice it on 195/55/15's - it takes away a good part of the sharpness which makes a Puma so much fun to drive.Edited by rb5er on Monday 6th August 23:15
Update:
Gave her a full service today - the old fuel filter was a rusty motherfudger so I'm sure it'll run more happily now and I sorted the handbrake cable from being too near the rear wheels and knocking on them. Running lovely now.
Unfortunately, because I'm a penis, I got the key wet and now it refuses to program to the car
It's a 1.7 and it does go some - certainly a step up form the 1.25 Fiesta
The T1Rs are going very cheap on Camskill at the moment which is abonus, but I was considering either Yokohama Prada Spec 2s (a mate's got these on his Zetec S and they're brilliant) or Uniroyal Rainsport 2s (my brother swears by these on his ST170).
Gave her a full service today - the old fuel filter was a rusty motherfudger so I'm sure it'll run more happily now and I sorted the handbrake cable from being too near the rear wheels and knocking on them. Running lovely now.
Unfortunately, because I'm a penis, I got the key wet and now it refuses to program to the car
davepoth said:
I'm guessing it's one of the later ones - which engine is it?
I think it's a full Phase 2 (or is it 3 on Puma's? The latest one, as it has the dimming interior lights and 3 button key).It's a 1.7 and it does go some - certainly a step up form the 1.25 Fiesta
stewy68 said:
Nice motor. My wife loves her's (when she gets to drive it). If the one you're going to scrappy to get bits from has the same wheels as your's, can you get me a wheel nut cover?
I guess they'll have a few Puma's there, as it's a pretty huge scrappy (Tan y Groes, near Cardigan), but none of the cars there have wheels on them. Do you mean the centre cap or the wheel nut (as in the things the hold the wheels on)?The T1Rs are going very cheap on Camskill at the moment which is abonus, but I was considering either Yokohama Prada Spec 2s (a mate's got these on his Zetec S and they're brilliant) or Uniroyal Rainsport 2s (my brother swears by these on his ST170).
Keep an eye on the rear brake pipes; they're steel and rust like buggery thanks to being placed right next to the carpet-like material that lines the wheel arches.
I'm currently borrowing my mother's 1.7 51-plate (with a very low 58k on the clock) which will be up for sale once I've done the deal on the 328i I'm buying.
Hers needs quite a bit of cosmetic TLC, although weirdly for a Puma there doesn't appear to be any rust on the rear arches. I have to say, they go bloody well and are great-handling little cars. Not really designed for motorways though, it desperately needs a 6th gear or longer final drive.
I'm currently borrowing my mother's 1.7 51-plate (with a very low 58k on the clock) which will be up for sale once I've done the deal on the 328i I'm buying.
Hers needs quite a bit of cosmetic TLC, although weirdly for a Puma there doesn't appear to be any rust on the rear arches. I have to say, they go bloody well and are great-handling little cars. Not really designed for motorways though, it desperately needs a 6th gear or longer final drive.
but mine was the 1.4.Wattsie said:
Yokohama Prada Spec 2s (a mate's got these on his Zetec S and they're brilliant) or Uniroyal Rainsport 2s (my brother swears by these on his ST170).
IME the Uniroyals are good in the dry, bloody fantastic in the wet. I would strongly recommend them, especially for the price. Check whether it would be Rainexperts or Rainsport 2's in your size though, the Rainexperts are a bit softer and not so sporty Funk said:
Keep an eye on the rear brake pipes; they're steel and rust like buggery thanks to being placed right next to the carpet-like material that lines the wheel arches.
Yeah, the MOT it just got says about corrosion to brake pipes and ferrules as advisories - I'll have them changed before long too. Gotta sort the ABS Sensor first though. Front left one is reading at 1250-odd Ohms which implies it's f
ked, but I wanted to compare it to the FR one to be sure - only problem being I couldn't get the bastid thing off earlier!That is low - mine's on 57,900 now, which is also ridiculously low for a Y-Plate. Only done 2,500 miles between this and it's last MOT, with an advisory for a baby seat stopping the tester seeing the seatbelt on the last one. It was traded for a C-Max apparently, so I'm assuming it was a loyal wife/kids car for the school run in it's previous life
vit4 said:
IME the Uniroyals are good in the dry, bloody fantastic in the wet. I would strongly recommend them, especially for the price. Check whether it would be Rainexperts or Rainsport 2's in your size though, the Rainexperts are a bit softer and not so sporty
Definitely RainSport 2s, as the RainExperts are more expensive still. They're not ridiculous on price and since this is Wales, I might just go for them - anything suited to rain is always a gonna be a plus point here 
Wattsie said:
Funk said:
Keep an eye on the rear brake pipes; they're steel and rust like buggery thanks to being placed right next to the carpet-like material that lines the wheel arches.
Yeah, the MOT it just got says about corrosion to brake pipes and ferrules as advisories - I'll have them changed before long too.Yours looks in really good nick, out of interest (and in no way helping me to gauge the market), how much did you pay for yours?
Funk said:
They should be replaced with copper items. Worth checking the rear bushes on yours too - mine were shagged and had them done at the same time as the brake pipes - the pipes are a dismantle-the-back-of-the-car-and-remove-the-fuel-tank jobbie.
Yours looks in really good nick, out of interest (and in no way helping me to gauge the market), how much did you pay for yours?
I had them done on the Fiesta for somewhere round £110 for an MOT last year, and I assume it's the same job? I think they were replaced with copper ones.Yours looks in really good nick, out of interest (and in no way helping me to gauge the market), how much did you pay for yours?
Well it was up for £650-odd without an MOT, with the ABS light on (common issue on them), so I rang up for a mate but pretty much passed it by.
Then a fortnight later, it was up for £850, so I ran up with the old 5-why's and it turned out they'd MOTd it. Since it was fairly close to me, I went up, it all seemed as straight as you'd expect on a 10 year old car needing a bit of TLC so I made the deal for £800. Got them to tax it up and took it for a grand
Going by the market, I'd say it'd be worth maybe £1100-odd with the arches and ABS sensors sorted, since it's pretty low mileage and now T+T'd for the year.
As an aside, anyone reckon it's worth going for the ST150 front brake upgrade (which is bolt on and fits under the 15s) or is it better to just stick with the stock setup?
Edited by Wattsie on Tuesday 7th August 00:24
Mine has a full year's MoT on it as well as the aforementioned repairs.
As for the front brakes, I agree they're a little uninspiring and would be on my list of mods if the car were mine. Sounds lovely and raspy lower down the rev range though!
As for the front brakes, I agree they're a little uninspiring and would be on my list of mods if the car were mine. Sounds lovely and raspy lower down the rev range though!
Edited by Funk on Friday 28th September 17:36
I'm not really qualified to judge it yet, since I'm still very much wearing rose tinted specs but it does sound a bucketload better/sportier than the Fiesta and that wasn't really a bad noise for a shopping trolley.
How much were the brake pipes and bushes for you, or did you DIY them?
How much were the brake pipes and bushes for you, or did you DIY them?
I have the Rainsports 2's on my 1.7 and I give them hell everyday! There great cant fault them.
A simple little induction mod is if you take off the airbox lid you will see a plastic sound suppreser, using a large screw driver is is possible to break the plastic welds off and remove it all together.
It just gives it a little more induction noise
A simple little induction mod is if you take off the airbox lid you will see a plastic sound suppreser, using a large screw driver is is possible to break the plastic welds off and remove it all together.
It just gives it a little more induction noise
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