Jump to content
Do Not Sell My Personal Information


New Guy Looking To Join The St Crew!


lukenobrains
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi

I'm currently driving an Toyota Celica T Sport 190, only had it a month... Bought it as a spur of the moment thing... Realised it's completely impractical. So looking to get a 2008 ST2 or 3 in April (When insurance is up for renewal), so I figured I'd start researching now!

I'm in the army so I do a lot of miles, roughly 150miles from camp to home, And then town driving when I'm there... That's looking to go up soon when I get posted too... Fuel economy is not a big thing for me (obviously otherwise I wouldnt have a Celica lol!) but I don't want to be left to poor! So how bad are the STs for real? I've read book figures etc.. and I know they're trying really hard... I cruise between 80 and 90 so what would I be looking at? Also are they comfy? I should imagine so being a big family car...

How much is the tuning world for Ford? I have an MG too which is really cheap to tune, and then my Celica which is £700 for stage 2 cams! £700 could double/tripple my power output int he MG...

And finally what sort of common faults do they suffer with? My mate has a Astra VXR and his gearbox is on the way out, which is one costly repair... I hope there's nothing that major with the ST?

I've been looking at a few cars in the range of the ST... Mainly Astra VXR, Golf R32, Volvo C30 T5, Audi A3 2.0T S line, Mazda3 MPS, 1 series and the Honda Civic Type R. I would like the ST over the others but would you recommend the same? I know you will be somewhat biased but all I want is honest answers :)

Cheers, Luke

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Hi Luke and welcome to the forum,, firstly I'd like to offer my deepest sympathys for the cars you are having to use at the moment, Im a big supporter of all our troops and my heart goes out to you, it must be horrible having to commute in cars like them :rolleyes:

Being a trusty diesel owner, I can't really comment on anything to do with the ST, apart from the fact a couple of mates had them, one loves it to bit, no major issues in 2 years of ownership, and the other owned his all of 2 months and got shut because it was terrible on fuel (his words). Tuning wise, with it being a turbo the sky is the limit, bigger turbo's, intercoolers, exhausts etc etc, most common being air filter and re-maps, the latter producing the greatest gains pound for pound. Pricing will obviously depend on how far you want to go really. Im sure there will be some ST owners along soon to assist you futher. Welcome again, and good luck in your search.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lol!!! My cars arent that bad... My MG is being used by my mom for now, as it's little 1.4 lump is good for bouncing around town and doing the shopping in... My Celica is an awesome sports car, but not awesome every day car...

With the ST going to be an every day car, I wouldn't want too much out of it, with it being a step up from the Celica power wise I probably wouldnt fettle at all for atleast 6 months... That said you always want more power... With it being a FWD I wouldnt go stupid though... I've always said 250bhp max on a FWD without an LSD but apparently the ST has one? So tops I'd go would probably be 300-350... Depending on cost... I've heard someone say you can get to 300 with just breathing mods and a map... Which I believe must be a little optimistic but hey!

I'm just hoping to learn enough about them to make sure this is the car I want before I take the plunge and get one, and hoping you guys will be able to help me work that out!!

Also thanks for the welcome, Mike :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow thats alot lower than I expected! I could drive my MG at 90 all day long and get 350 miles to the tank (50L)... The Celica I had to lower the speed down to 80 but was still getting between 300 and 350... And at 20mpg that takes it all the way down to 240!

I was hoping to get the 'combined' rates at 30mpg as apposed to the 'extra urban' of 40... But wow... This makes me sad lol

EDIT; After doing some maths, the 41.5mpg the ST claims to have on the motorway would mean a single full tank should last over 500 miles... Which is ridiculous for a performance car... Therefore must be total bull... Who were Ford trying to kid with that?? My mates Diesel Mongayo only manages 600...

Still probably wont stop me getting one though hahah... I'll just have to change my driving style... Or get switchable maps for eco and fun or something... Does the ST have a sport button or anything? My mates VXR does and he has eco for normal and an angry map for sport mode lol

I guess I'll have to slow to 70/80... Journeys gonna take longer now lol

Atleast I'll be more comfortable though...

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I cruise between 80 and 90 so what would I be looking at?

Points and a fine maybe?! Haha, only kidding mate. To be honest, given some of the previous forums I've been on you'd have been crucified for that, so glad to see the guys on here aren't all holier than thou! Would do the same myself, but I'm in a TDCi.

Realistic MPG figures are 20-25 I think. I've heard people say they can get low 30s but that's with proper eco-driving, which we know isn't easy!

As for mods, you're starting at 225, so bigger intercooler, performance exhaust and a good map (would be looking £700 at least for these three alone probably) will get you into the high 200s. There also seems to be a lot of map options available at different stages to compliment further mod upgrades like RS injectors, RS clutch, bigger turbo etc etc.

As far as sport button goes, think it's just that big flat pedal under your right foot...the harder you press it, the sportier it gets!

As said, I'm a lowly TDCi owner (have done 35k in the year I've had my Focus so no chance of an ST for me!) but I love the ST styling and have the parts gathered up to fit the complete kit...it'll be my first STD! :D

I've been on the STOC forum for quite a while for styling tips and mods which is where I've picked up the limited knowledge I have of the ST.

http://www.focusstoc.com/forums/

Best advice I could give you would be to get on that forum yourself as it's a fountain of knowledge specifically for the ST. You'll come across plenty of modded STs over there, putting out 300 and even 400+ bhp.

Not trying to scare you off here by the way so keep us posted on your progress/decisions!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Points and a fine maybe?! Haha, only kidding mate. To be honest, given some of the previous forums I've been on you'd have been crucified for that, so glad to see the guys on here aren't all holier than thou! Would do the same myself, but I'm in a TDCi.

Realistic MPG figures are 20-25 I think. I've heard people say they can get low 30s but that's with proper eco-driving, which we know isn't easy!

As for mods, you're starting at 225, so bigger intercooler, performance exhaust and a good map (would be looking £700 at least for these three alone probably) will get you into the high 200s. There also seems to be a lot of map options available at different stages to compliment further mod upgrades like RS injectors, RS clutch, bigger turbo etc etc.

As far as sport button goes, think it's just that big flat pedal under your right foot...the harder you press it, the sportier it gets!

As said, I'm a lowly TDCi owner (have done 35k in the year I've had my Focus so no chance of an ST for me!) but I love the ST styling and have the parts gathered up to fit the complete kit...it'll be my first STD! :D

I've been on the STOC forum for quite a while for styling tips and mods which is where I've picked up the limited knowledge I have of the ST.

http://www.focusstoc.com/forums/

Best advice I could give you would be to get on that forum yourself as it's a fountain of knowledge specifically for the ST. You'll come across plenty of modded STs over there, putting out 300 and even 400+ bhp.

Not trying to scare you off here by the way so keep us posted on your progress/decisions!

Well I've joined that forum hoping to further my knowledge before taking the plunge... 25mpg I think I could live with but 20mpg would kill me lol, I'm only 22 and soon to be a LCpl, dont get paid enough for that sort of fuel bill.... At the moment anyways :)

Aw I was hoping they would have a sports button lol.... Being a squaddie we like things to poke and press... Then again it would be something else for me to break lol! I'm always pressing Tims sport button, he loves hates it lol..

Does anyone know what the standard sound system is in ST? I know they differ from 1 2 and 3 but in general? QAnd do they have cruise control? That should help economy a little...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi mate :) tbf 25mpg seems good from and ST I get about 30mpg from my 1.6 Ti VCT bit that's just the way I drive and a lot to do with traffic jams on the M6 and M5 everyday :S

Think the ST1 and base model ST2 has the standard 6000 CD player then the higher spec ST2 and all ST3 models have the Sony DAB unit with 8 Speakers as a posed to the standard 6. There are two sat nav models. The FX unit and the full 8" touch screen blaupunkt unit with the dual zone a/c built in.

Don't think any ST comes with CC apart from the new MK3 models (2012 onwards) but there is a guide on how to fit it to any focus model with clutch and break pedal sensors. But you will have to loose the ST steering wheel and fit the 4spoke one instead.

There's always the ESP button and adjustable steering response if you want something to have a fiddle with :P

The only thing that may be anoying is that the ST3 only has 4 seats due to the shape of the recaro rear seats having a lumpy section in the middle. That's in both the 3 door and 5 door ST3 but that all depends on the amount of friends you need to carry around

Hope the search goes well mate :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As said, I'm a lowly TDCi owner

Behave ;)

nothing wrong with a TDCi ;)

As previously said, ive known people get anywhere between 17 and 30mpg... but to achieve 30, you'll have to drive like your grandmother!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do like I do, don't worry about fuel consumption and just drive the darn thing and enjoy it. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do like I do, don't worry about fuel consumption and just drive the darn thing and enjoy it. ;)

Sounds like a plan lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like a plan lol

Indeed, if you worry too much about fuel consumption and mpg etc then you'll never drive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I come to the conclusion the other night that my Celica is crap on fuel anyways so the ST cant be much worse :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My st which was mountuned would do on average 24-27mpg doing a 50mile round trip everyday, the st is fun and can get lots of power from the 5pot lump and sounds awesome aswell but it all depends on what ur circumstances are as the words mpg and st don't go together.

Common faults are on the drivers seat and occasionally the passenger seat underneath is a bar that works with the adjustment and this can crack making the seat back loose, models effect were up to feb 2007 builds.

Alternators tend to pop on average at 30k without warning so most of the time a new ancillary belt is needed.

oil filter housing diaphragm pops, makes horrible noise if driving but must be done ASAP otherwise it !Removed! the engine.

Major fault is inner cv boots splitting on o/s then the bearing wears a notch on the inner shaft cup and causes vibrations and requires full driveshaft costing around 350quid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share




×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership