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

[SteveS]

For me with the Recaros the best seating position is closer than you might think with the seatback tilted farther back than you might think. This incidentally turned out to be how they taught us to sit at the ST Octane Academy. You end up with the legs fairly bent, and a good bend in the elbows. And the headrest isn't too close then, even with a helmet on. Use the seat base tilt function to get the legs comfortable and the lumbar support is also adjusted.

 

[rallytaff]

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.

I had to wait until just before the 3yr, 36,000 mile kicked in and the factory warranty ended. So glad I did. Talk to the Finance guy where you bought the car. Mine was really helpful. He even got my wife and I a rebate when we paid her car off that we knew nothing about.

 

[Economatic]

Thanks, @SteveS . That's basically where I ended up after watching this video.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBKI72eqVNo


I found the farther I tilt back the seat, the more comfortable it is. The added bonus of a properly adjusted seat is that it is a lot easier to get out of the car with that rigid side bolsters.

 

[rallytaff]

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

Got them from Team Illuminata Motorsport . Speak to Paul, the owner. He imports them from Spain. Mine were about $1,300 shipped to my door. They are the same size as the stock wheel. There should be a photo of them on the car either at his website or here on the Forum somewhere.

 

[Economatic]

I had to wait until just before the 3yr, 36,000 mile kicked in and the factory warranty ended. So glad I did. Talk to the Finance guy where you bought the car. Mine was really helpful. He even got my wife and I a rebate when we paid her car off that we knew nothing about.

Thanks! I'll definitely keep this on my radar when I get close to 36k miles. I haven't decided how long I'll keep the car. Probably longer than originally expected if the recession is really bad.

 

[rallytaff]

Mine is coming up for 6yrs old in Sep, paid off 2 yrs ago, so I'm keeping this one for quite some time. My warranty covers me until 125,000 miles.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Got them from Team Illuminata Motorsport . Speak to Paul, the owner. He imports them from Spain. Mine were about $1,300 shipped to my door. They are the same size as the stock wheel. There should be a photo of them on the car either at his website or here on the Forum somewhere.

THANKS!
That's a killer price, as everyone is quoting me ~$1700.00 for a set of 16x8 Full Race As, in their 'stock' but extra cost gold color, but before shipping.
Yours are the standard 'rally white' color I'm guessing?

 

[rallytaff]

No, I got the matte black but I'm considering getting them powder coated gloss as it's a bitch to get the brake dust off them! My car is the silver one and everything on it is matte black. Talk to Paul, he's an ex-pat, like me and is very helpful. Paul might have a photo of the car somewhere, ask him.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^The Full Race As do look great in that satin anthracite color they offer as well, I'm just afraid they will look a bit too 'monochromatic' on a Magnetic color car

 

[pixelzombie]

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'm curious to know which parts of the car you covered with ClearPro paint protection film.

 

[rallytaff]

^^^The Full Race As do look great in that satin anthracite color they offer as well, I'm just afraid they will look a bit too 'monochromatic' on a Magnetic color car

I went with black because I think black and silver go so well together. My original choice of colour was white but they didn't have one in stock and silver was my second choice. Had I got the white, red would have been the colour I would have gone for for wheels etc.

 

[Economatic]

Excuse the terrible picture but I finally got the Wilwoods installed last weekend!

Can't say a lot about first impressions. I installed them last weekend with Spec 37 rotors and Polymatrix E pads with the hopes track days were going to happen Friday and today. No such luck with continued stay at home orders in Oregon so I installed the standard blank rotors and whatever street pads came with the kit yesterday. I'm concerned about the track rotor and pad setup because it is insanely touchy but the street setup seems good. We'll see. What was really surprising is the reduction in weight--I didn't expect it to be that much of a difference.

And the (unrelated) bad...10 hours of paint correction work I had to do this weekend. I did my typical after-winter thorough wash, polish, and wax 2 months ago then the car just sat because of Covid-19. I noticed a couple weeks ago that there was a nasty film on the car. Went to wash it on Friday and scrubbed like hell to get that shit off. After drying the car it was obvious something got all over the car because the paint was terribly etched especially on the hood and roof.

I wracked my brain for hours what caused the damage while clay barring, applying numerous applications rubbing compound, polish, and wax then it slapped me in the face. My awesome next door neighbor. I can rant for days about dumb shit that guy does/doesn't do that is either rude or illegal but this is a good one. 2 years ago there was a huge wind storm that took down a bunch of trees, including a large juniper in the neighbor's yard. What did he do? Left the tree there until a month ago and proceeded to illegally burn the damn thing for 3 days while it was raining. Just like a wildfire there was ash everywhere.

I'm pretty annoyed that I knew what wildfires can do to paint but didn't catch this. Whatever, I guess. Lesson learned. I was able to get the paint mostly corrected. I focused on the top sides and there are still a few noticeable spots on the rear spoiler, probably due to different paint consistency. There are some etched water spots on the doors so I'll do another round of polishing at some point. Oddly, the 3M PPF is entirely trashed. It's pitted and feels like fine grit sandpaper.

That's enough ranting. I'll be sure to share my thoughts about the brakes when track days start happening. Unfortunately that's looking like July sometime...

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yeah, you have a bit more to be enraged about with that 'neighbor' than I do at the f**ks who come and blow the wet grass right from the exit of their powerful riding mowers onto, and with their leaf blowers, and paint strip with their weed wackers, my usually just 4+ hour job, washed/waxed, car.

NO warning or consistency, or schedule to their showing up at all either, so that I can plan not to be here, they just show up, whenever THEY feel like, ANY time of day, any of 6 days a week, and start the destruction before I can even hear them..