Performance Blue ST220 Estate -05

[aaqee]

Hello!

 

I'm new member from Finland. This is the car I bought as our second family car / weekend car / track day car. We already have a daily driver so Mondeo won't get alot miles driven. I'm trying to keep it in shape and slowly mod and enhance necessary parts. This topic is for sharing ideas and experiences.

First picture taken on front of the auto store

 

Totally standard in pretty good condition

- Performance Blue

- White interior

- Sony 6cd head unit with bluetooth

- Auto dim mirror & rain sensor

- Parking distance sensors

- 185 000km

 

 

White recaros and red stitching on steering wheel and gear knob.

 

 

 

Original rims were scratched and clear coat peeling off and tearing. Got them sandplasted and painted graphite grey with matte effect

 

 

 

Washing

- Bilt Hamber Autofoam

- Auto Finesse Lather car shampoo

- Tar & Iron removal

- Autoglym red Super Resin Polish wax to cover swirl marks. Car will be machine polished later

 

 

Engine washed with BH Autofoam and rinsed

 

 

 

 

I run the ST wheels without big steel center caps. Small ford badges are taken from winter tyres. I like the look with bolts showing

 

[aaqee]

Finally I got windows tinted and new clean license plates. Also the front bumper was repainted under warranty because stone chips and scratches. Now the car has brighter look

 

Both driveshafts are loose causing vibrations under acceleration and front shocks are leaking a little. Car is going to service, all axles joints and teared bushings will be replaced. I have already ordered AP coilovers to be installed. After that it would be time to replace plugs and do annual service.

 

 

[b4zz]

loving the estate fella and liking the things you have changed so far

[ScorpionSX]

Ahh, the mk3 ST...classic...very nice and clean looking one, keep it up in good condition! 👍

[zain611]

Looks nice 👍. I once saw a black estate mondeo ST and since thought it looks very nice. Was actually thinking of getting it as my next car but don't know if I might get charged because of its emissions plus dad doesn't like the rust on older fords. 

[aaqee]

I just checked emissions 254g / km. Annual emission based tax 440€ a year. And then comes the insurance and fuel bills and service... Yes its very expensive to run a car and I have been thinking installing ethanol conversion box, it would save about 30-35% fueling costs and adds a little more torque. Another option would be remapping using 98 petrol trying to achieve a little more power.

Today I got information that the coilovers will be produced in the factory and there is 4-5 weeks waiting time. Nobody has them in warehouse. Now I have time to plan mild audio upgrades

[zain611]

3 hours ago, aaqee said:

I just checked emissions 254g / km. Annual emission based tax 440€ a year. And then comes the insurance and fuel bills and service... Yes its very expensive to run a car and I have been thinking installing ethanol conversion box, it would save about 30-35% fueling costs and adds a little more torque. Another option would be remapping using 98 petrol trying to achieve a little more power.

Today I got information that the coilovers will be produced in the factory and there is 4-5 weeks waiting time. Nobody has them in warehouse. Now I have time to plan mild audio upgrades

In the whole of London the government is planning on putting a charge on cars in 2021. Petrols made after 2005 and diesels made after 2015 won't be part of the charge however not all engines are exempt. Cars which are subjected to the charge will have to be paid £12.50 a day.

Just was looking at the mondeo STs and the petrol one look like its a bit of money to run. Sadly can't look at the diesel as that will be part of the charge. Think I might just go for a petrol BMW 

Will be looking forward to the audio upgrades. With my fiesta I'd probably get kenwood Speakers and a factory Sony headunit so it still looks standard. You could look at installing a subwoofer. I'm planning on installing a small underseat sub in my car. My dad had it in his car once and personally found that better than the bigger one he has now in the boot possibly because the underseat one is close to the driver. 

[aaqee]

At first I was surprised I can't stream audio through headunits bluetooth. It only supports voice calls. Aux connection from iPhone was OK but feels a little lacking of quality. Today I had an idea to test with my laptop and headphone amp, a lot better! Even with standard Speakers bass is much fuller and no need to turn up the volume as high.

I tested with Spotify and Youtube using familiar songs. A solution would be some kind of amp for iPhone aux line. I found this online: Sendstation PocketDock lineout for 29€. Hope it performs nearly as good as my headphone amp. I also ordered Sinustec ST170c 5x7 Speakers and new aux-socket. Old one is loose causing distortion when driving over bumps.

 

[aaqee]

On 8/14/2018 at 1:40 PM, zain611 said:

 Cars which are subjected to the charge will have to be paid £12.50 a day.

That is insane. It would cost over 4500 a year! And affects cars reselling values

[FatHead1979]

On 8/16/2018 at 7:41 PM, aaqee said:

That is insane. It would cost over 4500 a year! And affects cars reselling values

Welcome to "crazy land" where the lunatics are now running the asylum!

Congratulations of getting an ST220 in the best colour, I've also never seen one (in Uk spec at least) with a white leather interior, it's usually just black with red stitching.  I bet she makes a nice noise when you pin the "loud pedal" 

[aaqee]

On 9/10/2018 at 1:13 AM, 1979Damian said:

I bet she makes a nice noise when you pin the "loud pedal" 

Actually stock exhaust is so quiet I think getting a new exhaust. First I need to get coilovers installed but its still on delivery. Last weekend I cleaned interior and washed greasy steering wheel using le chat soap. Also installed new aux connector inside glove box. Next step is to install usb charging socket somewhere hidden, maybe under steering wheel. I dont like using power outlet in the center console because cables are always in the way.

[aaqee]

Finally coilovers installed. Also replaced both drive shafts, all CV joints and front strut upper mounts. All that made noticeable difference when changin gears.

Nice looking good quality. Rear shocks without height adjustment it drops about 20mm. Ride is very comfortable.

Comparison before / after

 

Enough clearance for bad roads or bumps but needs some spacers. And bigger brakes...

 

[b4zz]

looking good and looks like the steering wheel wheel came up good.