How Can I Make My Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.2 Faster?

[mactell]

Hi all,

How can I make my 2006 Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.2 Faster?

Any ideas and pricing welcome.

This shape:

[FOCA]

How much faster do you want to go and what is your budget?

You may be better saving up, building up some more no-claims and simply buying a faster car in the long run as the 1.2 does not really have that much tuning potential and you could spend quite a lot of money upgrading it without getting much of a return in terms of increased power, you could do the inlet, and exhaust, and a remap, but its still not going to be much faster (though it may be more responsive/ sound better/ rev better - so nicer to drive) - you could reduce the weight a bit and that will help - ultimately you may be better starting with a larger engine (1.6L or bigger- a transplant or another car)

[mactell]

Just a bit, nothing massively. and nothing to expensive.

[Marcr1]

You'd be best with a k & n air filter, sports exhaust system and maybe a remap. But again it won't do much. You could also try to reduce the weight of the car?

[mactell]

Can you link me to the one i need on eBay or something, thanks :).

[volts]

Press the pedal on the right harder. Sorry couldnt resist :)

[FOCA]

Ok - you could fit a K&N, Pipercross etc panel filter, (about £27-£35) only makes a slight difference but will make the engine note sportier/ deeper (induction roar) easy to fit, lasts longer than a stock filter, as it is a "consumable" you do not need to inform your insurance (allegedly)

I dont recommend "cone" type filters as they can draw warm underbonnet air (loosing power) and the stock air intakes on modern cars are often well designed / made to boost torque in the low-end/ midrange - if you must have one - better with an "encapsulated" one or use extensive cool air intakes feeding it

Some people have fitted airboxes/ parts of mountune/ ST - i have removed the "webs" from my airbox / "gas flowed" it

Spark plugs - you could fit high- end spark plugs - (eg - NGK platinum tipped) this is not going to increase your power,(much, anyway) but will help protect your engine / electical system and be consistently perform well/ be more reliable.

Catch tank - you can fit a catch tank between your breather/ air intake - this will help stop oily spray and warm air going into the cars' inlet, you can pick - up a catchtank for under £30, again just a small improvement

Loose weight/ reduce drag - take a cardboard box and fill it with all the junk from the glove compartment/ cubbyholes you don't need and leave it at home - ditch the sub or fit a lighter one, remove the spare/ jack and replace with tyreweld/ a pump (you have to think carefully about that as you may need the spare some time my spare/ jack weighs 20kgs (a lot of weight) and this also helps front end traction, as well as tyre weld/ a "floor" pump, i have "premium" get-you-home insurance, and a set of spate wheels

Wheels/ tyres can represent a lot of weight/ drag on a small, low powered car, narrower or "eco" tyres can give you more speed/ acceleration in a straight line, wider/ "sports" tyres better off the line/ cornering - but the difference the wider tyres make (to grip/ handling) may not be as great as you think, and you may be better off with the smaller/ narrower/ lighter wheels/ tyres all round

You can pump the tyres you have up to their recommended max (for laden/ high speed) this will help reduce drag.

If you are ever in "convoy" with another car (on a long trip etc) get the other car to carry the weight (luggage/ extra passengers etc) or you could carry the lighter passeengers etc - this will help slow them down/ "speed you up" and improve your MPG,

If you have to carry "kit" (eg tools) you could lighten that too, don't leave anything behind you need, but do you need 3 different hammers/ 2 different socket sets/ a load of junk in the bottom you never use/ will never need? also - instead of sticking the stuff in the boot to slide about/ ruin the traction/ handling you could put it behind the seats or in the passenger wheel well

Wieght is often underestimated or overlooked, addind subs or wider / heavier wheels etc is liable to slow the car down

Remap - a remap does not make such a big difference to a NA car as a (petrol or diesel) car, a Superchips Bluefin remap for a turbo is about £320, and £170 for a NA, - the gains on a turbo could be upto 30% and the gains on a NA, 10%, (you need 10% gain to notice a difference) the Blufin may be transfered to a different car in the 1st year, FOC, and a catchtank and filter could also be switched, - so can be considered investments, in a way

All the small gains/ mods can add up together to make a bigger gain, i have found

In the end you know you will have to ultimately go for something with a bigger engine/ faster

[mactell]

Can someone link me to a new air filter I should get? I tell me where it needs to be fitted exactly?

Also Foca thanks very much for all the suggestions I am reading through them now.

[FOCA]

Can someone link me to a new air filter I should get? I tell me where it needs to be fitted exactly?

Also Foca thanks very much for all the suggestions I am reading through them now.

Here is a link to the pipercross filter (note its the same as the 1.4 & 1.6) -

http://www.aktivperformanceparts.co.uk/fiesta-2002-2009/pipercross-ford-fiesta-mk6-performance-air-filter-032002-2010-2120648-396378-715081.php

You may be able to get a better price if you shop around (eBay?) the Pipercross foam filter is probably better than a K&N oiled cotton filter, in my opinion, (at least the foam filter is less liable to contaminate your MAF sensor with oil) its just like changine the stock filter, (you could buy a Haynes manual or find an online guide)

Another thing not mentioned is an oil and filter change - regular changes will help protect your engine (especially if you are driving hard) and engine may run/ rev smoother (esp. expensive synthetic oil)

A performance cat-back exhaust is liable to give you a noticable power boost, but, is expensive, if your old exhaust is needing replaced though, its worth fitting a performance one instead of a new stock one

Watch out for exaggerated power claims from "dodgy" sellers - (eg - cheap "resistor" tuning boxes that fool the ECU) reputable well- established companies may claim less power gain but are probably more accurate

I don't know your background or if it is your 1st car/ have just passesd your test, or you have been driving for years and find the 1.2L a bit underpowered, but - with/ without (budget) mods, its never going to be truly quick, even ordinary famly cars are going to be quicker, trying to race them / keep up with them is liable to end up in embarrassment/ get you into trouble better to "cruise" around, / not drive fast / stay well within the limit

Also better to spend the money on servicing 1st- eg - frequent oil changes - good tyres give you extra grip and each bald tyre could cost you 3 pionts/ a fine - + good discs/ pads - could also be a lifesaver - than neglecting the servicing to spend money on mods - the mods are probably only going to add about 10%- 15% to your power - not a lot really

Not just for yourself but I know these posts are read by a lot of new drivers

[mactell]

Do you happen to know where the air filter is under the hood?

[FOCA]

Do you happen to know where the air filter is under the hood?

i found this -

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/13259-14-fiesta-duratec-53-model/

the air filter is under the engine cover -

[b1g_dav3]

Go faster stripes!

I would have posted something meaningful, but it's about covered :P