Ford Fiesta Mk7 Cosmetic Modifications

[iMitchellHD]

Hi again Guys & Girls ,

so i was gonna do some performance mods but you guys have shown me i cant hope for much with my 1.2L style + ahh well i guess i can live with that :P, but not one to like leaving things as they are im now looking into visual mods more.

As previously intended i think im going to go for a Pumaspeed Body kit with the Excessive spoiler... because well i can really.

http://www.pumaspeed...k_911.jsp&pic=6

as my car is black obviously i will be matching the body kit to that.

i think im going to go for a Black theme with bits of yellow and carbon fibre dotted around it for example

im thinking of getting these carbon fibre mirror caps

http://www.mountunes...Fibremirrorcaps

and a yellow lacker for my brake calipers because i thought it would add a nice bit of colour without looking too tacky but hey its my first car so in my opinion tack is allowed ;)

http://www.demon-twe...-engine-lacquer

I also think im going to get these alloys from mountune (although i was hoping for advice as my wheels currently are 15" but these are 17" so obviously new tyres would be needed but i was thinking that would probably affect the speedo too ? would it not?) so yeah what would i do about that? and is it even possible

http://www.mountunes...une--MS--Alloys

unless you guys can suggest something else (maybe cheaper?)

i was wondering if you guys had any ideas for the inside of the car?

Any comments would be great so thanks in advance guys

[sambooka]

Hi again Guys & Girls ,

so i was gonna do some performance mods but you guys have shown me i cant hope for much with my 1.2L style + ahh well i guess i can live with that :P, but not one to like leaving things as they are im now looking into visual mods more.

As previously intended i think im going to go for a Pumaspeed Body kit with the Excessive spoiler... because well i can really.

http://www.pumaspeed...k_911.jsp&pic=6

as my car is black obviously i will be matching the body kit to that.

i think im going to go for a Black theme with bits of yellow and carbon fibre dotted around it for example

im thinking of getting these carbon fibre mirror caps

http://www.mountunes...Fibremirrorcaps

and a yellow lacker for my brake calipers because i thought it would add a nice bit of colour without looking too tacky but hey its my first car so in my opinion tack is allowed ;)

http://www.demon-twe...-engine-lacquer

I also think im going to get these alloys from mountune (although i was hoping for advice as my wheels currently are 15" but these are 17" so obviously new tyres would be needed but i was thinking that would probably affect the speedo too ? would it not?) so yeah what would i do about that? and is it even possible

http://www.mountunes...une--MS--Alloys

unless you guys can suggest something else (maybe cheaper?)

i was wondering if you guys had any ideas for the inside of the car?

Any comments would be great so thanks in advance guys

To be honest everything you plan to do will look awsome at the end exept the spoiler maybe but if I were you I would start with a 1.6 so you have a bit of performance to match the looks you will achieve. Also what you plan to spend on all these parts you could probably trade your 1.2 in and get a 1.6 petrol or deisel but it's up to you at the end of the day. As for the alloys yes they will throw your speedo out And it will need recalibrating

[iMitchellHD]

To be honest everything you plan to do will look awsome at the end exept the spoiler maybe but if I were you I would start with a 1.6 so you have a bit of performance to match the looks you will achieve. Also what you plan to spend on all these parts you could probably trade your 1.2 in and get a 1.6 petrol or deisel but it's up to you at the end of the day. As for the alloys yes they will throw your speedo out And it will need recalibrating

how would i go about recalibrating it? and id love to have a 1.6 but this is my first car and that pushes the insurance even higher than it already is

[Johnno260]

even if you use the bodykit, I think you need to tell the insurance company, you would need to get that confirmed.

I know after market alloys you need to declare.

If it was me, but it is your money, I would make subtle changes to your exisitng car, drive it for awhile, build up your no claims, then upgrade.

Things like the footwell bulbs, de-tango the front lights, fit an Asian market front grille, and the Zetec-S rear spoiler, alloy pedal covers, will all enhance to looks, but with lower costs.

If you make drastic changes, the insurance company will rape you mate, and if you don't declare the changes I am afraid pleading ignorance to insurance companies won't wash, if you have to make a claim that is.

Sorry to sound like a bit of an orgre, but I thought I should say..

[SAT7Y]

Hi, this is my personal opinion. The Fiesta which I currently have is my first car too, and with being 18 the insurance is already currently over £2000. Any little modifications that you add, can seriously increase your insurance. I have had my wheels in gloss black which increased my insurance by £80, then I have also added a sub to the car which didn't have an effect, even though I declared it to my insurance. I really wouldn't change your car too much, the increase on your insurance price would be crazy.

[tunne1rat]

Hi, this is my personal opinion. The Fiesta which I currently have is my first car too, and with being 18 the insurance is already currently over £2000. Any little modifications that you add, can seriously increase your insurance. I have had my wheels in gloss black which increased my insurance by £80, then I have also added a sub to the car which didn't have an effect, even though I declared it to my insurance. I really wouldn't change your car too much, the increase on your insurance price would be crazy.

This is good advice.

Some insurers will refuse to insure a modified car to young or first time drivers, and you must tell them about every single mod, even if it's as trivial as changing your gear knob.

Failing to do so could void your insurance. It's just not worth the risk.

[Dave-2912]

Any modification you make is going to increase your insurance. A £4k body-kit which makes the car look like a rally car is going to increase your insurance premium considerably. Bigger alloys and all the other bits will compound the issue. You are already talking £6k+ for the mods when fitting and painting of the kit and new tyres for the wheels are taken into consideration. (Only a fraction of this will be recoverable come resale btw but thats another issue).

So please explain how can you be worried about a slightly larger engine increasing the cost of your insurance it is about to rocket up in price anyway and you are spending serious money on mods?

For the record, I'm firmly in the 'Keep the car standard, build up some no-claims and gain plenty of driving experiance before attempting any sort of major car mods' camp.

EDIT: As said above, due to your inexperience you may struggle to get any company to insure your car with any level of modification.

[iMitchellHD]

Thanks guys, i should have mentioned at the start that the body kit isnt a now thing, that was an eventual maybe one day thing but the other bits were a sorta in the next 6-12 months kinda thing. I understand the insurance and having to declare everything and mines around £2000 with alloy wheels, i was wondering if the painted brake calipers would increase insurance?

[iMitchellHD]

Any modification you make is going to increase your insurance. A £4k body-kit which makes the car look like a rally car is going to increase your insurance premium considerably. Bigger alloys and all the other bits will compound the issue. You are already talking £6k+ for the mods when fitting and painting of the kit and new tyres for the wheels are taken into consideration. (Only a fraction of this will be recoverable come resale btw but thats another issue).

So please explain how can you be worried about a slightly larger engine increasing the cost of your insurance it is about to rocket up in price anyway and you are spending serious money on mods?

For the record, I'm firmly in the 'Keep the car standard, build up some no-claims and gain plenty of driving experiance before attempting any sort of major car mods' camp.

EDIT: As said above, due to your inexperience you may struggle to get any company to insure your car with any level of modification.

im worried about the engine size putting things up when the mods will do the same as a 1.6 costs me upwards of 4000 to insure lol

[Mark M.K]

Thanks guys, i should have mentioned at the start that the body kit isnt a now thing, that was an eventual maybe one day thing but the other bits were a sorta in the next 6-12 months kinda thing. I understand the insurance and having to declare everything and mines around £2000 with alloy wheels, i was wondering if the painted brake calipers would increase insurance?

I'd guess so, anything what is not factory fit must be declared to your insurance company. You run the risk of not being covered in the event of a crash. I've heard a story about a BMW owner who swaped over the run flat tyres to normal tyres, and his insurance was void due to that little change. So be very carful about what you do.

Also, if you have the best part of £7,000 to spend on that bodykit (going by the fitted price) then you really should spend it on a much better and faster car. That would make your car to be around £20,000. This is Ford Focus ST money.

[iMitchellHD]

I'd guess so, anything what is not factory fit must be declared to your insurance company. You run the risk of not being covered in the event of a crash. I've heard a story about a BMW owner who swaped over the run flat tyres to normal tyres, and his insurance was void due to that little change. So be very carful about what you do.

Also, if you have the best part of £7,000 to spend on that bodykit (going by the fitted price) then you really should spend it on a much better and faster car. That would make your car to be around £20,000. This is Ford Focus ST money.

okay thanks :)

[FiestaZpower]

The speedo will be fine because there are lower profile tyres on the 17s....

[FiestaZpower]

Also do it.... You can put a different engine in it in the future or just keep that one ... I had a mk3 1.1 back in the day that made RSturbos look naff so go for it ...:)

[Marcr1]

To let you understand how much the k**bs at insurance companies like to rinse all of your money I have an example:

I'm 22 and been driving since 17. 2 years as a named driver and 3 as a main driver so realistically I have 3 years no claims bonus.

I bought my s1600 brand new and struggled to find any quote below £1k whereas my previous (also brand new fiat punto 1.6) cost £500.

I went to direct line who offered me £900 so I bit their hand off. Later on down the line I wanted window tints on the back 3 windows, rang up to check before for an estimate. Thinking £80 a year more possibly??

They wanted an extra £500 a year and £150 more excess!!!!!?!?!? As you can imagine I was tamping!! I asked why so much and his reply was your age (in a world where equality means so much it's shocking! You wouldn't charge someone x amount more because they're tall, fat, small, various race etc) it stinks but it's how it is and I can't argue it unfortunately :(

Yes the car also plays a bit as its limited edition but £500 cannot be justified.

So the morale of my rant - check before you do any mods

[iNath]

Marc, when I was with Direct Line 3 years ago they wouldn't even insure under 25s if the car was modified in any way!

[Philf1]

Try Adrian Flux, my son had his first car, a heavily modified Saxo, with them and they were really helpful, they ring you when you fill out there on line form so you get chance to talk to a real person who appears to know what they are on about rather than a couldn't care less person in a call centre.

I wouldn't touch Direct Line EVER, work colleague of mine made a claim recently and they have refused to cover her at renewal. They also quoted me 50% more than my current insurers for same basic cover but wanted huge excess figures.

[Lenny]

how would i go about recalibrating it? and id love to have a 1.6 but this is my first car and that pushes the insurance even higher than it already is

Here is a video on speedo calibration also knowen as speedo correction,

However the calibration/correction on todays models is most likely done via the GEM using ford diagnostic software.

[Castanea]

If you put 17" alloys on you can kiss goodbye to ever doing a decent 3 point turn or nifty swing round again :D

I used to work for a well known swindling insurance broker, and would use cosmetic modifications as a reason to increase the price, despite there being no further loading on the risk. Invariably you are made to call the company and then if you haven't declared they will scare you into admitting it, or if you have admitted to it, then that's their cue to up the price and blames the mods.

Tinting windows, painting calipers etc. has little impact on the risk - modifying parts like wheels, adding kits etc does, albeit nothing like they would have you believe. It's all about money. Breathe through your mouth instead or your nose? Well that's not standard, so please pay an extra £250 :D

Oh, and think carefully about remapping/chipping as certainly the company I worked for the insurance companies had this as a standard check on any cars where claims were being made, even if your car was stationary outside your house having not been moved for 8 hours they might try to not pay if there has been some undeclared tinkering.

[b1g_dav3]

One idea would be an Asian style front grill if you go slightly lower profile on the mods :P

[Tommo99]

I drive a 1.6 metal my insurance is like 2.3k with a claim it's not that much more to switch engine sizes u may as well make the switch now it would save money in the long run