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Today it begins... Era of Orange Spice!

GeorgiaFiesta

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#1
TL;DR: Bought a second ST to build into a street/track car.

In 2018 I bought a black Fiesta ST on a whim when my Focus DCT transmission failed for the third time in four years. I absolutely loved the ST and put 35k miles on it before trading it in for an F150. After a year of daily driving the truck, I just missed my ST like crazy. I went ahead and bought a low mileage 2019 in magnetic grey and I've been driving it on weekends for the last year. It's up to 13k miles and still pristine, which is how I want to keep it (forever!). Since I've still been daily driving my truck and missing the ST for normal daily duties, but I also don't want to put a lot of miles on my 2019, I did what any sane person would do. I bought a 2017 to daily/thrash/build!

IMG_5174.jpg

I've already purchased a set of Team Dynamics 1.2s in 15x8 and a set of Yokohamas in 205/55/15 which are waiting to be installed as soon as the tires arrive at the shop (they had none in stock, shocker). I've also got a Mountune radiator and coolant hoses waiting to go on the car, as well as a Whoosh V3 intercooler and hoses. I'm going to buy some LED fog lights and shortly after, take the front apart and install all of them at the same time. Hopefully soon afterward, I'll snag an accessport, tune, RMM, short throw shifter, exhaust, etc. Eventually I'm pretty set on going with an S280 and using this car as a daily driver / track car. I've yet to find another car that combines value and fun as well as the Fiesta ST. This thing is going to be my daily for hopefully the next decade, and I'm so excited about it! I'll document the build and all the shenanigans on this thread.

I love this community and can't wait to get more involved. Thanks for reading!

IMG_5189.jpg
 


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GeorgiaFiesta

GeorgiaFiesta

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Thread Starter #3
As an orange spice owner I say: ouch to thrashing the orange spice! Nice though. Pretty sweet situation. Congrats
I mean "thrash" as in, it's going to get all the wear and tear of being the daily driver :) although if I'm honest, it's a bit rough around the edges. Mechanically it's great and only has 49k miles, but the paint is a bit rough. Also has a couple of small dents that I'm going to see about getting pulled. It's my favorite color the FiST ever optioned with so I'd like to keep it looking nice if possible!
 


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#4
Ahh does make a bit of difference. I got mine intending it to be a daily, only 7500 miles and essentially excellent condition. But then Covid hit and work from home, and it kinda became my garage queen and I continue to daily my Tacoma. I will say, easy and cautious (and infrequent) daily driving and I still increase the chips on the front bumper noticeably. It’s irritating as hell. So that of course makes me want to drive it less 😂.
 


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GeorgiaFiesta

GeorgiaFiesta

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Thread Starter #5
Ahh does make a bit of difference. I got mine intending it to be a daily, only 7500 miles and essentially excellent condition. But then Covid hit and work from home, and it kinda became my garage queen and I continue to daily my Tacoma. I will say, easy and cautious (and infrequent) daily driving and I still increase the chips on the front bumper noticeably. It’s irritating as hell. So that of course makes me want to drive it less 😂.
Oof yeah the paint on these is paper thin... I just want to enjoy these cars for a long time but I accept they won't always look perfect lol
 


rallytaff

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#8
Ahh does make a bit of difference. I got mine intending it to be a daily, only 7500 miles and essentially excellent condition. But then Covid hit and work from home, and it kinda became my garage queen and I continue to daily my Tacoma. I will say, easy and cautious (and infrequent) daily driving and I still increase the chips on the front bumper noticeably. It’s irritating as hell. So that of course makes me want to drive it less 😂.
 


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GeorgiaFiesta

GeorgiaFiesta

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Thread Starter #12
Fully intend to send it with this car for winter! Daily driving in Utah is a cold endeavor, plus I'm road tripping to Seattle from Salt Lake for Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd better at least try to be safe. Picked up a set of 15" steelies and Blizzak WS90s in 185/60/15. Not cheap but TireRack is out of steelies until end of November so I had to pay higher local prices. Ended up being $1300 for the wheels, tires, TPMS sensors, mounting, balance, and installation. Oof. At least they look cool! Right guys?... Right? IMG_5327.jpg IMG_5326.jpg IMG_5325.jpg
 


FiestaSTdude

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Fully intend to send it with this car for winter! Daily driving in Utah is a cold endeavor, plus I'm road tripping to Seattle from Salt Lake for Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd better at least try to be safe. Picked up a set of 15" steelies and Blizzak WS90s in 185/60/15. Not cheap but TireRack is out of steelies until end of November so I had to pay higher local prices. Ended up being $1300 for the wheels, tires, TPMS sensors, mounting, balance, and installation. Oof. At least they look cool! Right guys?... Right? View attachment 52165 View attachment 52164 View attachment 52163
YES!!
I actually am a huge fan of how 15 inch steelies and snow tires look on fiesta's. I think it gives them a rally car look.
Snapchat-195725820.jpg
Also, I've driven my fiesta on snow covered roads and it does amazing with snow tires.
 


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GeorgiaFiesta

GeorgiaFiesta

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Thread Starter #15
YES!!
I actually am a huge fan of how 15 inch steelies and snow tires look on fiesta's. I think it gives them a rally car look.
View attachment 52167
Also, I've driven my fiesta on snow covered roads and it does amazing with snow tires.
Totally agree, I think steelies are one of my favorite wheels on the fiesta! They make the car look very utilitarian IMO... love it! Yours with the mudflaps looks killer!
 


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#16
Ive had my spare wheel 15" with a Hankook 185 60 R15 H rated tire on mine and I gotta say I'm gonna be ordering 4 more steelies with the same tire for the crap weather seasons and yeah it does look pretty dope on steelies. Just gotta find some center caps that clear the hub bolt.
 


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GeorgiaFiesta

GeorgiaFiesta

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Thread Starter #17
More non-performance mods today... installed a Curt brand hitch rated for up to 150 lbs hitch weight and 1500 lbs tow weight. I'm aware of the issue with exhausts banging against the hitch so I installed some stiffer Whoosh hangers at the same time. Lastly, I installed a wiring harness for trailer lights and voila, she's ready to tow!

Unfortunately, on the first drive, I could hear some clanking so I don't think the hangers solved the issue. I might try to find some heat resistant rubber to squeeze between the heat shield and the exhaust.

IMG_5399.jpg IMG_5388.jpg IMG_5390.jpg
 


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GeorgiaFiesta

GeorgiaFiesta

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Thread Starter #18
Well after selling the orange spice a few months back, I couldn't resist when I found another one for sale. This one is a forever car in my garage.
IMG_5793.jpg
 


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GeorgiaFiesta

GeorgiaFiesta

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Thread Starter #20
Hello - if anyone has any advice on my build plans, I'd love some input - I'm pretty stupid and need to do more research but this is where I'm currently at with planning for an S280 weekend car.

Exhaust:

Whoosh catted downpipe (waiting to install)
Vibrant 3" downpipe to exhaust flange gasket (waiting to install)
Thermal catback exhaust (installed)
Whoosh exhaust hangers (installed)

Turbo/Intercooler:
Turbo Technics S280 kit (waiting to install)
Turbosmart 14 psi wastegate (waiting to install)
Whoosh ported turbo manifold (waiting to install)
Whoosh turbo and manifold stud kit (waiting to install)
Whoosh V3 intercooler (installed)

Radiator/Cooling:
Mountune radiator (installed)
Whoosh coolant hoses (waiting to install, might just skip these for now)

Engine/Intake:
Bosch uprated fuel injectors (waiting to install)
Whoosh performance coils (installed)
NGK spark plugs (installed)
RAM panel filter (installed)
Whoosh crossover pipe (waiting to install)
OEM ST200 airbox (contemplating... should I bother to replace the stock airbox?)

Brakes:
Whoosh slotted brake rotors (waiting to install)
Whoosh braided brake lines (waiting to install)
Hawk brake pads (waiting to install)

Suspension:
Bilstein B6 front/rear shocks (installed)

Wheels/Tires:
Team Dynamics 1.2s - 15"x8" (installed)
Yokohama Advan Fleva (installed)

Tune:
Cobb accessport (installed)
Dizzy tune for 93 octane (installed)

Misc:
Diode dynamics fog lights (installed)
AWR complete motor mount kit (waiting to install)
OEM replacement rear fender liners (waiting to install)

Thinking about buying the following:

Whoosh cold side intercooler pipe kit
Whoosh hot side intercooler pipe kit
Whoosh hot side intercooler "S" hose for S280
Dizzy tuning MAP sensor for high boost applications
Turbosmart BOV Kompact plumb back for S280
Whoosh PCV oil separator hose
Do I need a catch can?
Whoosh breather hose
Whoosh V2 high flow turbo inlet elbow
Whoosh evap purge "fix"
Wastegate? Not sure which one, if any.

I'm trying to get all the parts ordered so I can install over the two weeks I have off work during christmas/new years. Please please please critique my plans! Thank you
 


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