Considering a 2019 Fiesta ST--Need some input from current owners

[rallytaff]

I'm 71 yrs old, have a 2014 silver ST with nearly 90,000 on the clock. It's the most fun car I've owned. First mod. was a bigger intercooler, then upgraded Hawk pads, stainless brake lines, COBB AccessPort, short shift, upgraded rear engine mount, K & N filter, stainless downpipe and cat back exhaust H & R coilovers, BRAID wheels and currently on my 2nd set of Riken's which really grip well with no squealing and lastly, recently a WaveTrac LSD. Goes like stink and handles really well in all conditions. It's light, extremely nimble and I get 27mpg regardless of how I drive. I'm 6'2" and 220lbs and have no problem with interior space. Don't forget the 3M protection for the front of the car. Saved me some BIG bucks by protecting the paint! Worth every penny!
Enjoy your new steed and welcome to the club.

Clint, my paint job is as good as the day I bought it. I've seen $70,000 Mustangs with orange peel finishes which I would refuse to take delivery of unless it was repainted!

 

[Intuit]

Don't suppose I can dip the whole car in 3M? Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Nothing can stop the paint from coming off at the seams where they adhered the panels together except proper application at the factory.

 

[Intuit]

More than a little paranoid about the rust. Far too young to have rust bubbles anywhere. Tried to use my (all aluminum, plastic, rubber) motorcycle as Winter beater but my front wheel had a disagreement with a large ice patch last Winter. Okay... Spring, Summer and Fall beater too... but you get the idea... err... okay I just like the moto.

 

[METZGER]

Change out your transmission fluid to something other than the Ford garbage and see if it is 1.6L or 2L when you drain it. Welcome to the wonderful world of Pure imagination!

This is what I got put in mine just a few weeks ago. You can feel when these cars need a gearbox oil change.

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[rallytaff]

Don't suppose I can dip the whole car in 3M? Thanks for the recommendation.

Don't suppose I can dip the whole car in 3M? Thanks for the recommendation.

You can if you've got the money, they'll do it!

 

[Economatic]

I'm 71 yrs old, have a 2014 silver ST with nearly 90,000 on the clock. It's the most fun car I've owned. First mod. was a bigger intercooler, then upgraded Hawk pads, stainless brake lines, COBB AccessPort, short shift, upgraded rear engine mount, K & N filter, stainless downpipe and cat back exhaust H & R coilovers, BRAID wheels and currently on my 2nd set of Riken's which really grip well with no squealing and lastly, recently a WaveTrac LSD. Goes like stink and handles really well in all conditions. It's light, extremely nimble and I get 27mpg regardless of how I drive. I'm 6'2" and 220lbs and have no problem with interior space. Don't forget the 3M protection for the front of the car. Saved me some BIG bucks by protecting the paint! Worth every penny!
Enjoy your new steed and welcome to the club.

Clint, my paint job is as good as the day I bought it. I've seen $70,000 Mustangs with orange peel finishes which I would refuse to take delivery of unless it was repainted!

Thanks, rallytaff. I've certainly been enjoying the car and already have just under 7k miles on the clock. At this point my only complaint is that the Recaro seats have not softened up as much as I hoped. They're great for daily driving but I just got back from a 3k mile road trip across ND and MT and the rough roads really beat the crap out of us after a while. But the seats are slowly getting better. I really noticed it after spending most of the time driving and then having my wife drive for a while yesterday. The passenger seat still felt hard as a rock!

That's a great suggestion about the 3M protection. I did that the first week I got the car but only did the first 1/3 of the hood. There's already a few chips where the PPF isn't installed. But part of the problem is Oregon's solution to providing traction on winter roads is to use an abundance of crushed lava rock with no salt. That crap is like driving on a gravel road.

 

[rallytaff]

Glad you're happy with the car. If you don't end up with softer Recaros, I'm sure there's someone out there who'll snap them up. I have the base seats and am perfectly happy with them regardless how 'spirited' I drive. You'll find that front end protection worth it's weight in gold and it's warranted for 10yrs and is covered for replacement if you have an accident. Mine is half the hood, lights and mirrors and the rear bumber where you might scratch or drop something on it. Look after it, I think they might even become collector's cars sometime in the future!

 

[SCMike]

Great to see you enjoying another of the Last of the Mohicans 2019 FiSTs. I’m only at 3,000 miles on mine, but can only echo all the positives expressed by you and the others on this thread. I did do the Octane Academy day, out near SLC, and the performance of the school’s track FiSTs, with only minimal mods for the track (not much beyond what you have already done for your track days except for additional safety stuff), was an eye-opener.

The capabilities of these little shoeboxes, virtually stock, usually far exceed those of the humans holding the steering wheels. The biggest bang for the buck in mods is not in hardware, but in just improving/modding the skills set of the driver!

 

[Economatic]

I completely agree @SCMike. These are great little cars. My only regret is I didn't buy my FiST earlier so I could have done the Octane Academy in SLC. Not sure I'll make it to the east coast to take advantage of the free instruction and track day, considering I can drive a couple hours and spend $200 to track my car. Tempting though...

 

[thomas.mcniven]

seeming as I am just a little taller(not much lol) and in the 150-170 range I can say my Recaro's fit great!

I’m 5’10” @ 320 and I like my Recaros... even driving cross-country.


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[4DGC]

Any updates on your '19? I bought my '19 at the end of Sep. Absolutely love it 99% of the time. I could do without the random squeaks and rattles but the fun per dollar is off the charts. As I'm sure you've read a thousand times by now, the Cobb Access Port is worth every penny and then some. I got mine from Mountune and had Randy do an E-tune. It really wakes these little beasties up. I'm just over 9k miles and hope to get another 100k+. Looks like I may miss out on the Octane Academy however since there is no way I'm getting in metal tube of death to cross the country any time soon. Any way let us know how it's treating you.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I'm 71 yrs old, have a 2014 silver ST with nearly 90,000 on the clock. It's the most fun car I've owned. First mod. was a bigger intercooler, then upgraded Hawk pads, stainless brake lines, COBB AccessPort, short shift, upgraded rear engine mount, K & N filter, stainless downpipe and cat back exhaust H & R coilovers, BRAID wheels and currently on my 2nd set of Riken's which really grip well with no squealing and lastly, recently a WaveTrac LSD. Goes like stink and handles really well in all conditions. It's light, extremely nimble and I get 27mpg regardless of how I drive. I'm 6'2" and 220lbs and have no problem with interior space. Don't forget the 3M protection for the front of the car. Saved me some BIG bucks by protecting the paint! Worth every penny!
Enjoy your new steed and welcome to the club.

Clint, my paint job is as good as the day I bought it. I've seen $70,000 Mustangs with orange peel finishes which I would refuse to take delivery of unless it was repainted!

I missed this post completely when you first posted it.
WHICH Braids did you go with, and what size??
Any pics at all of them on the car?

 

[Economatic]

Any updates on your '19? I bought my '19 at the end of Sep. Absolutely love it 99% of the time. I could do without the random squeaks and rattles but the fun per dollar is off the charts. As I'm sure you've read a thousand times by now, the Cobb Access Port is worth every penny and then some. I got mine from Mountune and had Randy do an E-tune. It really wakes these little beasties up. I'm just over 9k miles and hope to get another 100k+. Looks like I may miss out on the Octane Academy however since there is no way I'm getting in metal tube of death to cross the country any time soon. Any way let us know how it's treating you.

Thanks for checking in! Have any pictures of your car to share? I completely agree with how much fun this car is for the money. I have about 9k on mine and it puts way too many stupid smiles on my face on a regular basis. Unfortunately it's been parked with the coronavirus stay at home order. I took off the studded steelies, washed, waxed, and repaired some of the winter paint damage, and it has just been sitting on the driveway for 2+ weeks with no end in sight.

But I was busy late this winter doing a few upgrades and getting ready for track days. Nothing serious in terms of performance, more preventive if anything and some data gathering tools. Installed a tow strap (how did they not include a hook from the factory?!), deflectors for brake cooling, front lip, and this has been sitting in my office for the last 2 weeks...

I've considered the Cobb AP but will probably wait until I'm out of warranty. The only time I found I could use more power is when it's weighted down with a cargo box on top. All other times the car feels oddly quick...although it really isn't!

If I have any complaints it would be about the Recaros. I just can't seem to get comfortable in them. I feel the seating position is weird and there were a few weeks where it was downright painful to drive. But that is partly because I had a retarded crash on a mountain bike so I can't blame it entirely on the seats. I think they're getting better but there are times I feel spoiled to sit in the "luxurious" seats of my wife's 4Runner and enjoy a break from the FiST Recaros.

 

[4DGC]

Mine has the standard seats and they are comfortable enough for most of the time. I find the headrest pushes my head farther forward than I want so it took some time to find a comfortable angle for the seat back. I saw somewhere that you can swap the headrest with an adjustable one from a '14 Focus. I tried getting quotes from a couple junk yards but no reply. I suppose they are shut down by Covid.

 

[4DGC]

From right before we got quarantined.

 

[Economatic]

Mine has the standard seats and they are comfortable enough for most of the time. I find the headrest pushes my head farther forward than I want so it took some time to find a comfortable angle for the seat back. I saw somewhere that you can swap the headrest with an adjustable one from a '14 Focus. I tried getting quotes from a couple junk yards but no reply. I suppose they are shut down by Covid

The headrest is fine for me but I feel that the Recaros have an exuberant amount of lumbar support. Like it pushes my abdomen uncomfortably outward. It's disappointing as I had Recaros in my STi and those were really comfortable. I watched a few videos on seating positions and have tried about every rational position. I found a position that is OK for comfort but a bit more leaned back than I prefer. But like I said, I think it's getting better...or my body is just adapting.

 

[rallytaff]

I had my first problem about 2 weeks ago at 91,500 miles. My key fob refused to start the car unless it was pressed up under the steering wheel where a normal key would go. Would not open or lock the doors either. Had to use the supplied key in the fob. There's a sensor down there and it turns out that a Body Control Module had decided to take a vacation. Anyway, I'm glad I paid for the extended warranty when I did as the cost with labour would have been around $1,500! Didn't cost a penny! Thank you Ford.

 

[Economatic]

I had my first problem about 2 weeks ago at 91,500 miles. My key fob refused to start the car unless it was pressed up under the steering wheel where a normal key would go. Would not open or lock the doors either. Had to use the supplied key in the fob. There's a sensor down there and it turns out that a Body Control Module had decided to take a vacation. Anyway, I'm glad I paid for the extended warranty when I did as the cost with labour would have been around $1,500! Didn't cost a penny! Thank you Ford.

That's awesome you had the warranty. Did you purchase the warranty when you bought the car? Just curious because I don't think I was offered it when I bought mine.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I had my first problem about 2 weeks ago at 91,500 miles. My key fob refused to start the car unless it was pressed up under the steering wheel where a normal key would go. Would not open or lock the doors either. Had to use the supplied key in the fob. There's a sensor down there and it turns out that a Body Control Module had decided to take a vacation. Anyway, I'm glad I paid for the extended warranty when I did as the cost with labour would have been around $1,500! Didn't cost a penny! Thank you Ford.

Kind of I know, but are the Braids on your car the Full Race As??

WHERE did you get them, what size/offset, how much, and any pics at all on the car?
TIA