Mk 7 van conversion (ST or top-spec Zetec S ECOboost?)

[B13]

Hi all,

 

I own a Fiesta SportVan (which I absolutely love and for sentimental reasons, will not ever be sold) but for sh*ts-and-giggles, and the fact that it's a mislabelled diesel (the V5 says it has a DPF, which it doesn't), which is making getting through an MOT on its emissions increasingly difficult (and expensive!), I want to convert it to petrol - but a FUN petrol!!

 

Now, while converting it to an ST would be stupidly ridiculous (and therefore a highly attractive idea! 😁 ), I'd also consider  converting it to a top-spec ECOboost. But, because I'm a van driver, I have absolutely ZERO clue about ECOboosts. None whatsoever. As far as I can gather, the Black-and-Red Zetec S ones have the highest spec, so ... what bells, whistles and toys do you get with it? What's the bhp? mpg? Pros and cons, etc?

I'm already chatting to a company who do conversions, but would like further ideas and opinions from you guys and gals on ST vs. Zetec S ECOboost conversion.

 

Ta!!

 

😁

 

[Luke4efc]

It doesn't matter which ecoboost engine you fit, they can all deliver the same power and have the same MPG. They're pretty much the same internally, they can all be remapped to the same power anyway.

The only difference between a red/black edition and a titanium for example is the bodykit.

Tbh the majority of this job cost is going to be the labour if you're not doing it yourself. An ecoboost engine is going to be at least a grand, and an ST engine maybe £1500 tops, probably a little cheaper? By the time you've added labour costs on, that £500 wont seem like much so personally I'd spend the bit extra and have a better car. The 1.0L can be found in any old fiesta van, if you want something special then get an ST engine or you may aswell just buy a 1.0L ecoboost van and save yourself the hassle and money.

The ST is a 180hp engine although can easily be tuned higher. The 1.0L comes in 100, 125 and 140hp variants. Don't be fooled by this, a 'stage 1' remap on the 100 and the 140 will both make 160hp ish. The biggest weakness of the 1.0L is the gearbox. They're not made to handle much more than 140hp so are limited in first and second.

As for MPG, well it completely depends on what sort of journeys you do and how you drive.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

As Luke mentions, the gearbox is an issue on higher output 1.0 Ecoboosts often reported on here. Some members have done diy 6 speed conversions and Pumaspeed offer one (at a price) but if you're going to that amount of work/expense you may as well try the 1.6 route anyway. Although one other thought on the 1.0 is that some Mk 8s (which have a 6 speed box) may have found their way into scrappies by now. The box is not the same as the ST box, but is stronger than the old 5 speed (not broken mine yet, anyway!😃).

As the 1.6 turbo is also found in the Mk 3 Focus and Mk 2 C-Max (with a 6 speed box) in150 or 182ps varieties those may be another source of engines/boxes to look at.