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MODIFYING GUIDE
MK7 FIESTA ST
It’s one of the most fun-to-tune fast Fords ever made, and with so many performance modifications available it’s easy to tweak the Mk7 Fiesta to suit your needs Words JAMIE Photos FAST FORD ARCHIVES
he Mk7 Fiesta ST will go down in history as one of the most tuneable hot hatches ever. As standard it isn’t shy; even a factory example gives us more grunt (200PS/197bhp on overboost) than the quoted 180bhp that earns the car its ST180 nickname. Yet, ample as 200bhp in a fiery front-wheel-drive hatchback is, the Mk7 Fiesta’s excellent chassis means it’s just plain rude not exploit it by extracting more power; more than double the factory power is within relatively easy reach, and we’ve recently seen cars producing over 500bhp! Furthermore, the 1.6-litre EcoBoost has proven to be incredibly robust, and even at nearly double the factory power outputs the engine remains reliable, and compliant
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enough for everyday use. Of course, the gem of an engine is only part of the ST story. One of the main reasons tuners pushed so hard and so far with engine performance was because no matter how powerful the ST became, the chassis just lapped it up. The Mk7 Fiesta is widely praised for its fun and chuckable handling characteristics across the range, and the ST is understandably the best of the bunch. Yes, it can be a bit stiff and choppy, and the lack of a limited-slip differential can mean it’s entertaining trying to put all that power down, but these are easily remedied with bolt-on upgrades. The fundamentals of the chassis itself is sublime, and with the right tweaks in the right places the ST can be whatever you want it to be; anything from aired-out show-
stopper to race-winning motorsport machine, and everything else in between. And then we get to what is possibly the best bit about tuning the Mk7 Fiesta ST: it is supported by so many fantastic tuners and specialists that can cater for your every need. Many have been working closely with the ST since it was launched in 2013, and the model has been their staple diet ever since, meaning they really know these cars inside-out. By quizzing the experts, we’ve been able to pull together a picture of what works, what doesn’t, and what you should do to get your ST performing the way you want. Over the next pages, we’ll go through it all, so sit back, relax, and get your credit card ready, because big power and even bigger performance is only a few clicks/calls away…
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