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Hi just bought a fiesta st and need help please

Dpro

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#21
6’-0”, 225lbs here on base cloth seats...

The ride is harsher than most road cars. Running 215/40/17s on the factory wheels will add sidewall and a bit more comfort. Much more so if you get all-season tires.

Be warned: what makes the Fiesta ST special is the great suspension/brake/tires from the factory. If you begin to swap out parts for more “comfortable” replacements, you’ll be taking the edge off of a cool little car.




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Yes and No, You can swap out to different springs and shocks and or coilovers and retain the exceptional handling. I swapped out to coilovers and improved the ride and it did not sacrifice turn in or handling.

I also just recently went to 16x8 konig Dekagrams with Federal RS Pro 205/45 16 tires ( closer to 215/45 because Federals run wide) my ride is super comfortable now and the car still handles like a bat out of hell and turn in is fine.

If you do this methodically and logically it can be done. If you make just random choices and decisions you can destroy the handling.

Its a known fact that car is overdamped stock and changing springs alone can help. Its such a known fact that when they went to the ST200 in Europe and 17 up here they made some changes to compensate for that.

While some will claim by butt dyno that the turn on a 17 is not as precision as a 16 and earlier truth be told its minor if not even real. As no one here as ever backed to back tested them for proven results.
On top of that they went even further to correct it with the MK8 in Europe and no one over there is complaining about it destroying the handling. In fact the MK8 has retained the lively drive that the FiST is known for.

So yes you can make changes that will soften the ride without sacrificing your handling . Just study it and make the right choices.

P.S. Not a fan of Koni Oranges and feel you will do yourself a disservice using them. Koni Yellows on the other hand are a good shock. IMO
 


Hypergram

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#22
I got to tell you guys I'm amazed by how many ppl are trying to help and how fast! I now know in how good of community I'm in! Thank you guys

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We're happy to help! I'm sure most of us were in a similar position as you at one point or another with questions about the car. I know I was.
 


Capri to ST

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#23
We're happy to help! I'm sure most of us were in a similar position as you at one point or another with questions about the car. I know I was.
Yes, I have also gotten a lot of help on here, some when I was new and didn't know anything, and some more recently when there was something I still didn't know about.
It is a helpful group of people on here. Recently there was something I was worried about following a small fender-bender, and I posted a question. Helpful responses were posted in less than 10 minutes, and I was really grateful.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #24
Yes and No, You can swap out to different springs and shocks and or coilovers and retain the exceptional handling. I swapped out to coilovers and improved the ride and it did not sacrifice turn in or handling.

I also just recently went to 16x8 konig Dekagrams with Federal RS Pro 205/45 16 tires ( closer to 215/45 because Federals run wide) my ride is super comfortable now and the car still handles like a bat out of hell and turn in is fine.

If you do this methodically and logically it can be done. If you make just random choices and decisions you can destroy the handling.

Its a known fact that car is overdamped stock and changing springs alone can help. Its such a known fact that when they went to the ST200 in Europe and 17 up here they made some changes to compensate for that.

While some will claim by butt dyno that the turn on a 17 is not as precision as a 16 and earlier truth be told its minor if not even real. As no one here as ever backed to back tested them for proven results.
On top of that they went even further to correct it with the MK8 in Europe and no one over there is complaining about it destroying the handling. In fact the MK8 has retained the lively drive that the FiST is known for.

So yes you can make changes that will soften the ride without sacrificing your handling . Just study it and make the right choices.

P.S. Not a fan of Koni Oranges and feel you will do yourself a disservice using them. Koni Yellows on the other hand are a good shock. IMO
Thank you for the response ! Can you tell me with your experience what setup would you purchase if you now had a stock fiesta st?



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west Columbia
#25
Yes and No, You can swap out to different springs and shocks and or coilovers and retain the exceptional handling. I swapped out to coilovers and improved the ride and it did not sacrifice turn in or handling.

I also just recently went to 16x8 konig Dekagrams with Federal RS Pro 205/45 16 tires ( closer to 215/45 because Federals run wide) my ride is super comfortable now and the car still handles like a bat out of hell and turn in is fine.

If you do this methodically and logically it can be done. If you make just random choices and decisions you can destroy the handling.

Its a known fact that car is overdamped stock and changing springs alone can help. Its such a known fact that when they went to the ST200 in Europe and 17 up here they made some changes to compensate for that.

While some will claim by butt dyno that the turn on a 17 is not as precision as a 16 and earlier truth be told its minor if not even real. As no one here as ever backed to back tested them for proven results.
On top of that they went even further to correct it with the MK8 in Europe and no one over there is complaining about it destroying the handling. In fact the MK8 has retained the lively drive that the FiST is known for.

So yes you can make changes that will soften the ride without sacrificing your handling . Just study it and make the right choices.

P.S. Not a fan of Koni Oranges and feel you will do yourself a disservice using them. Koni Yellows on the other hand are a good shock. IMO
I had a 16 model and missed it so much I bought a 17 model and the handling difference to me was pretty big. The 16 felt way better. I put on a rear beam brace and it was fixed if not better than the 16. You could tell only the tires were holding it back now.

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Thread Starter #28
Can I mount 205 45 17 on the factory wheels?

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ROCKYFiestta

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#29
I use a memory foam seat cushion that is 1" thick like the ones sold at bed bath beyond or any home goods store (the ones that people put on wood chairs with the little strings), even at Walmart.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #30
Update: I had to update results after all your help guys. So I bought a memory foam seat cushion from Amazon that is great , extremely comfortable and looks pretty good as well.
And the most significant thing is I followed one of your advices and just installed the koni str.t rear shocks and I have to tell you it feels so much better its unbelievable how much the car is less punishing and I dont feel that the handling became worse!
I now feel that I dont mind spending much more on modifications because I'm going to keep it!!! Thank you guys

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Dpro

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#31
Thank you for the response ! Can you tell me with your experience what setup would you purchase if you now had a stock fiesta st?



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If I know had a stock ST hmmm I would not put in the Koni SRT‘s lol but to each their own.
I would probably get Meister R coils due the great results my friends have been getting with them. Most of my mods where thought out. There are a few things I would not buy that I did . Though its small parts. I would get an accessport a FMIC . A exhaust ( to better hear my car) Oh wait I did most of this stuff including coilovers ST XTA. Definitely a LSD which I am getting. I love my 16’s with 45 series tires it really made the car ride plush but it still handles insane.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #32
If I know had a stock ST hmmm I would not put in the Koni SRT‘s lol but to each their own.
I would probably get Meister R coils due the great results my friends have been getting with them. Most of my mods where thought out. There are a few things I would not buy that I did . Though its small parts. I would get an accessport a FMIC . A exhaust ( to better hear my car) Oh wait I did most of this stuff including coilovers ST XTA. Definitely a LSD which I am getting. I love my 16’s with 45 series tires it really made the car ride plush but it still handles insane.
Hi, what is an fmic accessport?
The meister r are comfortable?

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#33
16 x 7 inch wheels and 205/50R16 tires and the ride is much improved. In addition the added sidewall height provides a much better resistance to damage from potholes, something that is essential in the Pothole State (Mich).
 


Hypergram

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#36
Cobb accessport is better than the mountune 215?

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Yes. A Cobb Accessport is the same tuner as the Mountune one, but the Mountune one is restricted to just Mountune tunes, so it would be smarted to not buy it from Mountune. They pop up in the used market often enough, or some tuners bundle a tune and AP together.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #37
Yes. A Cobb Accessport is the same tuner as the Mountune one, but the Mountune one is restricted to just Mountune tunes.
Got it , good to know. Thank you
Would you still get the accessport if you had the 100k extended warranty?

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#38
I went to 205/50r16 on Konig dekagrams, highly recommend this for stock suspension. Even with re71r it was an improvement over stock doughnuts for comfort.

I recently swapped to whiteline drop springs and haven't looked back. I no longer crash over every small thing in the road. Everything is still nice and tight, body roll is drastically reduced too. Much smoother ride overall.

Note: I had to change to 205/45r16 (went with BFG SportComp2 - 8" wide tread, basically a 225/42 IN THIS SIZE ONLY) and the softer sidewall on this tire also helped.

About 1.5k miles on this setup and I can recommend both springs and tires for a more comfortable ride that doesn't give up the classic FiSt feel. (Tires are much better than expected. Coming from an extreme performance tire I was nervous about loosing significant traction)

Note II: I do not race or autoX, so my experience is based on a short daily commute and ALWAYS driving spirited.
 


Dpro

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#39
Hi, what is an fmic accessport?
The meister r are comfortable?

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Ya I said Accessport and should have completely explained it a Cobb Access Port tuner.
It allows you to flash your ECU with more powerful tunes that increase your TQ and HP. Ford left some of that on the table with our cars so a lot of us do that. Some even go larger turbo.
If you are warranty concerned you might want to hold off. If you find the right dealer they will not even blink an eye at your car having a tune during service. You can always flash your ECU back to stock tune before going in for Service. Though if your car is used with a CPO warranty you may not even be servicing it at but at your local mechanic.


A FMIC is a Front Mount Intercooler the stock one on our cars is inadequate in warmer temps or constant track use.

Meister R’s can be very comfortable, my ST XTA‘s are comfortable. Meister R’s are good bang for the buck as they are a little less expensive and have quite the reputation in British Touring Car championships. I have several friends with them, A lot of things are better than the factory stock dampers which are rather harsh.

I also went Konig Dekagram 16x8 wheels with a 205/46 tire that has a wide treat patch and wider than rated section width.
The wheels are considerably lighter than the Factory stock wheels which are heavy, cast and bend easily with the stock tire sizes due to stock tire sizes being like rubber bands.
 


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Hypergram

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#40
Got it , good to know. Thank you
Would you still get the accessport if you had the 100k extended warranty?

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When it comes to tuning or modifying, there’s always a chance of harming your warranty. That being said, the powertrain of this car seems to have a good track record for being reliable. It's really a decision only you can make. I decided to flash my tunes since I do very low mileage (15k miles in 1.5 years of ownership) so the warranty would die before I probably see any issues anyways.
 


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