Upgrade advice for 2014 FiST EDIT: Loving my new mods

[Drew J]

Hello, I am considering moving forward with finally upgrading my 2014 FiST.

Long story short, I've never really messed with performance parts much, and I'm pretty overwhelmed by the plethora of options for this platform. If you have any knowledge or experience with the FiST, I'd be interested in how you went about your upgrade path. Basically I have about $5k-8k I can realistically throw at this, and the below parts plus installation costs will probably be about as much as I can go.

That said, again, I'm very inexperienced with this sort of thing, so I would be very interested in hearing your perspective. Cobb and Mountune seem to have a good reputation from what I've gleaned online.

The big thing is the Cobb Tuning Stage 3 package. It includes:
-Turbo-back exhaust system
-Front Mount Intercooler
-Cold air intake system
-ECU tuner
-Rear motor mount

Details: https://www.cobbtuning.com/products/stage-package/ford-stage-3-power-package-fiesta-st-2014-2019

In addition, I would also like to install:

-Eibach front and rear sway-bar kit

Details: https://www.cobbtuning.com/products...ont-and-rear-sway-bar-kit-fiesta-st-2014-2019

Mountune short throw shifter kit

Details: https://www.mountuneusa.com/mountune-Quick-Shift-Fiesta-St-p/2238-bqs-aa.htm

Mountune spring kit: https://www.mountuneusa.com/mountune-Sport-Spring-Set-Ford-Fiesta-St-p/2364-msk-ba.htm


Do you think it's worth upgrading the turbo before I do the above upgrades? I'm about 2/3 interested in acceleration/power upgrade, and about 1/3 interested in improved handling and shifting.

Thanks in advance

 

[stealthfist]

https://dizzytuning.com/blogs/technical-documents/the-ultimate-guide-to-modding-your-fiesta-st

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[zumakid70cc]

I'd personally go with the whoosh v3 intercooler it gives you some wiggle room to upgrade the turbo in the future. And forgo the Cobb it's tunes get a tune from dizzy tuning, stratified, or tune plus. They will bump you up to about 26psi on stock turbo and intake with a downpipe

 

[Se7eN]

I wouldn't get anything from Cobb except for the Accessport and the Intake. Get a V3 Whoosh IC and Thermal Exhaust. Whoosh RMM and that basically covers the list you put on there.

https://whooshmotorsports.com/

They have anything you might need.

As for turbos then S280 or Hybrid.

 

[Dpro]

Are you doing the work yourself? If you’re thinking big turbo don’t limit yourself to hybrids or S280. Take a look at Borg Warner(which is the manufacturer of the stock snail) while you are shopping. I would talk to some shops about what your goals are and see what they have to say. Sometimes it’s better to let experts apply their trade unless you’re a proficient wrench.

there are not a lot of options Turbo wise with Borg Warner regardless of it being the manufacturer of the stock snail. The Borg Warner Turbo’s are quite expensive . He will go out of his budget.
Actually the S280 is one of the best cost effective turbo upgrades on the market. It spools close to if not just like a hybrid and has room to grow being cable of 350hp with the right fueling setup.
The other option for above 300 would be a Garrett gt2860 gen II but thats not going to spool as quick as a S280 or a hybrid.
Under 300 the two best candidates are Whoosh Hybrid or S280. Or possibly a Pumaspeed X47R. Though more support stateside for the Whoosh as Whoosh is here.

 

[Dpro]

All I’m saying is Borg Warner has options other turbo manufacturers don’t have and I think it’s worth looking into.

And all l am saying is the for our cars those options are either not viable or economically not worth it.
Trust me I know. I looked into it before deciding to purchase my S280. I suggest you learn more about whats viable for our cars before just handing out advice.

 

[Dpro]

I suggest you don’t decide your budget is everyone’s budget.

words better taken to heart as the OP already stated his budget and you exceeded it. You would be a terrible financial advisor.

 

[Dpro]

The best money saving decision anyone can make is modifying properly the first time around. Anyone who’s been in the car modification game knows this and forums exist to lead modders to options not dead end opinions. Live long and prosper ✌️

Wow and you still know not of what you speak. You are the one with the dead end opinion. I also suspect you are a former member hiding under a new name that spent way to much doing exactly what you preach against. lol
The S280 is also far from a dead end opinion. Now this conversation is over and I suggest you do not advise newcomers ever again young troll.

 

[Ford ST]

Go slow and try to enjoy the car and the mod process. I have been here for several years and have seen so many people come and go.

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[Drew J]

Ok, after consulting with Ron at Whoosh, and figuring out a budget and schedule, I've decided to go the full turbo replacement route, but I'm doing it in two phases.

Phase 1 (Fall 2020):

-Body Armor mudflap set
-VIBRA-TECHNICS uprated rear torque mount (RMM)
-Whoosh Transmission Short Shift Kit
-Pro Alloy STAGE 1 Induction Kit
-Whiteline 22mm Rear Sway Bar
-Whiteline Lowering Coil Springs Kit
-NGK Iridium IX Spark Plugs 6510 1 step colder **Custom PRE-GAPPED**
-Whoosh Motorsports symposer delete kit
-Whoosh Hi-Flo hot side intercooler pipe (black powder coated)
-Whoosh Motorsports V3 front mount intercooler
-Turbosmart Kompact Shortie Plumb Back BOV
-COBB Tuning Accessport V3

Phase 2 (Spring 2021):
-Whoosh Hybrid turbocharger
-Whoosh Crossover Pipe Kit (black powder coated)
-Whoosh 3" catted downpipe
-Whoosh-spec Thermal R&D 3" cat-back exhaust


Yes, I realize I won't be able to unlock the full potential of the Phase 1 upgrades with the stock exhaust, but I'm ok with that.

My question at this point is what would a good quote from a local tuning shop be for Phase 1? It's all bolt-ons, and with the exception of perhaps the coilovers, I don't see why anything in that listed would be particularly labor-intensive. A decent tuner should be able to do all this in a day or less (8 hours), right?

 

[M-Sport fan]

You DO NOT need an aftermarket exhaust system to 'unlock' any potential of that first phase of mods.

In fact, most on here would state that you do not need one even with the Whoosh hybrid install/tune, but i would go for it as well.

Also, unless you absolutely are VERBOTEN to work on your car where you live (I fully understand that, as I have to deal with a draconian, Gestapo-like HOA, unlike most on here ), you can do all of that 'phase 1' yourself (unless, of course you have NO tools, and do not trust yourself/your skills to spin wrenches).

 

[Drew J]

To be honest, there are a number of reasons I'm probably going to get a local shop to do all that.

1. I've never done anything more complicated than oil changes and brake work, and I have basically no tools.
2. I just moved from Seattle to Vermont to start a new job, and I'm honestly fucking exhausted from the move and getting settled in here at the job.

 

[Drew J]

I got a pretty good quote from a local tuning shop. He recommends HD Tuners, so going with that instead of the Cobb, the quote was $1200 for installation plus $650 for the tuner and a custom tune. I'm pretty happy with that, as it means the entirety of my Phase 1 costs will be around $3,500.

Then I'll just need to do the new turbo and exhaust in the spring, which should be another $4,000 or so total.

Not too shabby, $7,500 to get me over 300whp on 93 fuel, plus some extra goodies like short throw shifter, rear sway bar, coilover springs, and mud flaps.

 

[Se7eN]

Why would you stray away from the Cobb Accesport which is more than tested for these vehicles for HP tuners which is very much limited and can only flash once and not have monitors in place?

That really makes little to no sense.

 

[Drew J]

Why would you stray away from the Cobb Accesport which is more than tested for these vehicles for HP tuners which is very much limited and can only flash once and not have monitors in place?

That really makes little to no sense.

Per the tuner:

"The cost depends on if I am custom tuning it or simply installing an off the shelf tune using a handheld you are supplying. I charge $350 for a custom tune using HP Tuners and an additional $299 if you want an HPTuners MPVI2 interface.

I am primarily a custom tuning business that offers installation services to my tuning customers. If I am not custom tuning it for you then I would refer you to another local shop for the installation."

 

[Dpro]

I got a pretty good quote from a local tuning shop. He recommends HD Tuners, so going with that instead of the Cobb, the quote was $1200 for installation plus $650 for the tuner and a custom tune. I'm pretty happy with that, as it means the entirety of my Phase 1 costs will be around $3,500.

Then I'll just need to do the new turbo and exhaust in the spring, which should be another $4,000 or so total.

Not too shabby, $7,500 to get me over 300whp on 93 fuel, plus some extra goodies like short throw shifter, rear sway bar, coilover springs, and mud flaps.

I would not go with HD tuners. Cobb is the defacto standard for our cars here. All the tuners use it and I am sure you can find a local Cobb Tuner as its pretty popular. The cost of the Cobb is around $400 and a tune is another $100-125. that pretty much saves you around 1k.

Plus you can load other tunes into the Cobb from any tuner. Essentially with stage One you are much better with the Cobb even when going to the Whoosh Hybrid down the road you will have many more tuning options for it with the Cobb.

 

[M-Sport fan]

To be honest, there are a number of reasons I'm probably going to get a local shop to do all that.

1. I've never done anything more complicated than oil changes and brake work, and I have basically no tools.
2. I just moved from Seattle to Vermont to start a new job, and I'm honestly fucking exhausted from the move and getting settled in here at the job.

Understood, and I love Vermont, I am actually jealous!

 

[stealthfist]

I got a pretty good quote from a local tuning shop. He recommends HD Tuners, so going with that instead of the Cobb, the quote was $1200 for installation plus $650 for the tuner and a custom tune. I'm pretty happy with that, as it means the entirety of my Phase 1 costs will be around $3,500.

Then I'll just need to do the new turbo and exhaust in the spring, which should be another $4,000 or so total.

Not too shabby, $7,500 to get me over 300whp on 93 fuel, plus some extra goodies like short throw shifter, rear sway bar, coilover springs, and mud flaps.

If you follow the dizzy progression link which has been researched, implemented and tested you can be all in with a whoosh hybrid for $3500 (with either separate dizzy stage 2 and custom purchases or a one-time lifetime tune from tuneplus for your phases- both highly recommended). Factor in another $1000 for suspension/cosmetic mods.

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[Drew J]

If you follow the dizzy progression link which has been researched, implemented and tested you can be all in with a whoosh hybrid for $3500 (with either separate dizzy stage 2 and custom purchases or a one-time lifetime tune from tuneplus for your phases- both highly recommended). Factor in another $1000 for suspension/cosmetic mods.

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Yep, I basically am, and that's basically exactly in line with the costs I'm seeing. About $4,500-$5,000 total in parts, plus about $2,500 in labor.

 

[Drew J]

Alright, I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the performance mods I'm doing first.

So far:

-Rally Armor mudflap set
-VIBRA-TECHNICS uprated rear torque mount (RMM) along with Whoosh passenger side uprated motor mount bolt
-Whoosh Transmission Short Shift Kit, along with shifter base and cable bracket bushings
-Pro Alloy STAGE 1 Induction Kit
-Whiteline 22mm Rear Sway Bar
-Whiteline Lowering Coil Springs Kit (1.25" drop)
-Whoosh Motorsports symposer delete kit
-Whoosh Hi-Flo hot side intercooler pipe (black powder coated)
-Whoosh Motorsports V3 front mount intercooler
-Whoosh Crossover Pipe Kit (black powder coated)
-Whoosh 3" catted downpipe
-Whoosh-spec Thermal R&D 3" cat-back exhaust
-Whoosh Motorsports Cold Side Intercooler Pipe Kit
-Go Fast Bits diverter valve
-COBB Tuning Accessport V3 (off-the-shelf Stage 3 93-octane tune)

I'm really enjoying it so far, and can't wait to finish up the last few things.

To be installed next week:

-NGK Iridium IX Spark Plugs 6510 1 step colder **Custom PRE-GAPPED**
-Whoosh motorsports Stainless Steel Braided Brake Line Kit
-StopTech SportStop Front Slotted Brake Rotors
-StopTech SportStop Rear Slotted Brake Rotors
-EBC Yellowstuff Front & Rear Brake Pads
-Motul Brake Fluid RBF 600 - Racing DOT 4
-Spec Clutches Staged kits (Stage 3+)
-Spec Aluminum Flywheel
-Turbo Technics S280 bolt on turbo kit with Turbosmart 14 PSI wastegate
-Custom tune from Tune Plus

Then, next Spring I hope to finish off the last touches:

-Wavetrac Limited Slip Differential w/IB6 Transmission
-Ford Performance Differential Installation Kit
-Bilstein B8 Performance Plus Front Right & Left *SET* Monotube Shocks
-Bilstein B8 Performance Plus REAR *SET* Monotube Shocks
-Whoosh Motorsports Performance Radiator