Not a Dai - but a 3cyl turbo

[TPG]

Hello,

I didn’t know this part existed until b_hoves with his Valiant.

Anyway, for work I needed to head back to WA and needed a car here. Little did I know I’d get stuck for an extended period of time thanks to Covid-19! Still, on a global scale or even local level, it is an insignificant first world problem.

So a car in Perth needed to be cheap, reliable, have air-con and be somewhat quirky or interesting. Unfortunately no suitable Dai’s were around when I was looking - I had hoped for a unicorn gtvi with low kms, manual and air-con…one can dream.

After much looking:

It is a Ford Fiesta Ecoboost S Manual - a 1.0 Litre 3cyl turbo.
A somewhat unloved model. People wanting a runabout usually went the cheaper models or the auto version of the ‘S’. People wanting outright performance would go the Fiesta ST. Still, it fit the bill and the weak link to Dai’s was there as it is powered by a 1.0 litre 3 cyl turbo…ok, so it is a very weak link…

It was a bit neglected so we rapidly:

• Service with good quality oil and filter (oil filter is in a terrible spot and Ford Engineers should be shot for it)
• New spark plugs - a very specific slim size due to small cylinders stuffed with direct injection nozzles
• Air filter (standard paper)

With this, it sounded quieter (placebo maybe) and seemingly drove better.

Like all of us though, keeping things stock is difficult…
In the UK they got a model of this called the “Zetec S” which carries a Fiesta ST-like grille. I’ve had some genuine FoMoCo parts on order from the UK and just had word that due to UK citizens being able to return to work that it will be shipped. Interesting to note, since Australia didn’t get it from factory, two local ford dealerships were not interested in sourcing the items and provided local part#'s. One of the reasons for the change is the existing grills is slightly damaged (can spot it in the picture).

So the 4 piece (upper, lower, sides) front grille should soon look like (except 4dr and orange):

It’s a pretty common swap in the UK, less common here I believe.

All the service work was also to get it ready for a tune at some point soon. I feel it definitely has some torque-reduction in the lower gears which would be good to remove!

The next mod might be rims/tyres - as there are some Saiful tyres on the front and in the recent wet weather in WA they’ve proven themselves to be complete rubbish!

Anyway, hopefully I can get back to SA shortly, update the next round of mods for the sirion and get it on the track.

[Mr_Gormsby]

I do like this model Fiesta. They look good and I have friends in the automotive trades that do “all makes” who’ve said the 3cyl is pretty good. Well done.

[TPG]

Used the 3 day long weekend in WA (WA Day) to set aside to do this swap, turned out heaps easier than expected.

Here are the before, complete with too much chrome and a broken section:

And here is the after!

Also, sneaky extra shot, in removing the grille the “air intake” for the factory system basically went nowhere, into a void in the front bar with no direct air feed. So a little dremel-work opened up a slot in the inner front bar plastic where the air intake is…not sure if it would have any real world benefit - but it can’t be worse!

[b_hoves]

Nice! Interested to see where this goes.

[mubd1234]

The disgraceful PowerShi(f)t automatic transmission tarnished the rep of these cars, hence why these are unloved. Obviously being a manual you won’t have to worry about that, but lovely.

I’m personally quite fascinated by the Holden Spark (the last version imported by Holden looks OK style-wise, the others are fugly) and the Kia Picanto, but I’d still take a Daihatsu any day over them! Suzuki Ignis seems pretty good too.

[TPG]

You’d think the Manual is far more durable - but apparently it is a relatively ‘old gearbox’ from Ford’s box-of-parts. To the point that there is even a 6sp conversion that PumaSpeed offer which can handle more torque.

The Spark/Barina/whatever it is with the 1.4T was on the list of options when I got this. The Picano GT too - though as a new car it was far more expensive. Also the aftermarket support for the Fiesta Ecoboost 1.0T and the 1.4T (as it was the Chevy Spark in the US) was already established.

The old Ignis Sport was considered too, they have a lot going for them.

In the end this nugget won! I’m still trying to decipher what happened to it. Most logically it had a front windscreen replacement - why is the question…but it must’ve been the cheapest replacement job possible as:

• Side trims broken.
• lower trim clips missing
• ‘box’ stuck on the inside top of the windscreen stuck down with some poor double-sided tape that comes off every few days.
• SOMEHOW, it has ended up with two passenger wiper arms!

The Wiper Arm Saga was very strange to decipher. It all “looked” right. But when driving there was a large dead spot at the bottom of the windscreen that didn’t get swept. and also the wiper just went off the edge of the windscreen. Anyway, googling some pictures it became evident that the whole wiper arm was different (also the difference between a 15" blade and a 26" blade!). So luckily a nearby wreckers had the same Fiesta in stock. And so picked up the wiper arm&blade, and a rear parcel shelf as mine was MIA.

So with that quality-of-life modification done - it is on to the tune…

[b_hoves]

What sort of power do these put out in stock form?

[TPG]

Ford says - 92kw and 170nM torque. Although the internet does seem to imply they have Ford’s “overboost” function and can pump out 200nM from factory, not sure if the ADM one received it or not.

The bluefin/superchips tune is slated to put out 112kw and 230nM. which doesn’t sound that hard as Ford UK got a “Red” and “Black” edition - which were putting out just shy of these numbers from factory.

Hopefully it gets rid of some boost-by-gear or slow-spooling in lower gears. It’s not fast off the line, but 3rd gear is quite good. I feel in lower gears they’ve reduced boost to reduce torque on gearbox or to improve driveability for the ‘masses’.

[b_hoves]

Wow, 230nM is going to feel pretty rapid on a small car. Should be a fun little thing after he tune.

[TPG]

The Fiesta underwent a few changes since 2020

The bluefin tune went in and it has made the car much more enjoyable to drive, 2nd gear has some good punch to it now and overall very happy with it. Fuel Economy is still good if you’re driving normally and on the freeways. I managed a 4.9 L/100km when I was purposely trying to be fuel efficient.

Also to lower the car I put in a mix of:

• Koni STR.T front and rear shocks
• Whiteline lowering springs
• Whiteline Rear Sway bay (again on a torsion beam it is basically stiffening that)
• Superpro Lower control arms - which come with better bushings.

Of course i did a stupid thing and never bothered with a proper wheel alignment and so destroyed one of my front tyres. I didn’t mind too much as they were 4 different rubbish brands.

Given Fords are “all 4x108” I purchased some 2nd hand Fiesta ST wheels and put some RE003 tyres on them (due to a 4 for 3 special). It was when trying to test fit all this, that i realised i had one of the few Fiesta’s manufactured with 4x100 wheels and so i could’ve purchased any number of japanese 4x100’s and not had to hunt local ads for Fiesta ST wheels or other 4x108.

I really wanted them though and with some measuring it ‘looked’ like they would still fit with some 4x100 to 4x108 hub adapters. I got the thinest ones possible, only 15mm, which meant the factory studs protruded past the ‘new’ hub face. Luckily though, the factory Fiesta wheels have cut outs in the face that mates to the hub, allowing room for those studs. In the end it all fit, and the wheels are inside the guards (just) and have full travel and steering angles.

[b_hoves]

That’s really interesting that your has 4x100. Is it the series that you have, or is it just a weird anomaly for some of the cars.

[FrAsErTaG]

Nice one, when I was on the hunt for a new car I looked at some Fiestas, they definitely tick a lot of boxes for fun…

If I had not of come across the GR I did then I might also have been driving around in one of these

[TPG]

I looked into it, and it was all due to where the Fiesta’s are made.
I think it was Germany of Spain for UK market - 4x108
Mexico for US was 4x108
And then Thailand (or similar) was 4x100 for the China market.
Depending on the specific year & model, Australia got a mix.

With all the Fiesta ST’s being 4x108 and just some of the ‘lower’ model fiesta’s being 4x100 or 4x108 depending on the year, model and build location.

But of course I never looked into it before as “all 4-stud fords were 4x108”…

Frustrating at the time, and I’m not a big fan of hub adapters/spacers - but the fitment it actually pretty good and it’s just a 2nd car for my family, so it isn’t going to be under a massive amount of stress.

[b_hoves]

Thanks for the info. Very interesting.
I was looking at getting a Fiesta before I got my GTVi many years ago, and like you said they were 4x108. Interestingly, I think they shared a platform with the Mazda 2s of the same years. Which meant that the Mazda 2 was 4x108, which was weird for Mazda (who usually have 4x100 or 4x110).

[Kaeru]

Bloody hell.
Same sirion and now this
Here’s my fiesta lol.
Do u have a Volvo to make the trifecta ?

[Kaeru]