Hello from North East NC
- Thread starter Tw1g007
- Start date
Thanks man.. And yeah, it is really helpful, or it will be at least lol. I was also told that a 4 cylinder 626 transmission bolts right on. So, if you can't find any Proteges, you could look for one of those too. That's what I'm doing, I don't mind either way, just as long as it gets my car going reliably again. And I wish you a quick sale on that ST. I'm sure it won't be too hard to be rid of. Thing is a sexy car... Are you sure it's not just a Lemon? Like, defective I mean.
It may be a lemon. It has several issues but Ford service is terrible and either can't or won't fix it. Several STs on the forum have been bought back as lemons. I will try to sell it, but if not drive it little and keep miles low while I pay on it and hopefully I can get to where it values over what is owed then trade it or just sit it out and wait for some new sport compacts. Mazda has stuff coming, as does Honda supposedly.
It is very possible it's a Lemon. If I'm not mistaken this is still the Gen 1 of the ST. The real ST that is, not the sedan from a few years back lol. Usually Gen 1 cars have issues, seems like the Achilles Heel of the Focus ST is poor electrical. As for upcoming sports compacts, despite the STs problems, there is a new Ford Hot Hatch I'm waiting for. The new Focus RS, it's a gen 3 or 4 now, and it's coming to the states. 350 hp AWD... It's gonna be epic.
It sounds amazing but I question the build quality of current fords. The STs do have electrical issues, but also transmission and clutch issues. Just not a reliable vehicle. The new RS is going to have the 2.3 liter ecoboost which hasn't been on market very long and a complicated new AWD system. It may work out down the road but I would stay away from the first batch of them. I got a second year ST and still have issues. If I would be interested in another ford it would be the speculated new Fiesta ST. I liked the Fiesta ST when I drove it, but it had 3 glaring problems for me. It just didn't feel fast. It isn't slow but it still needed more oomph. Both it and the Focus ST are heavy for their size. Another was the foot well space was too small. I'm not tall but it still felt constrained. Third issue was the clutch. It engaged way to close to the floor to be comfortable to use. It made pulling out even remotely smooth very hard. Made it downshifting smoothly hard as well. I suppose one could adjust to it, but I didn't like it. Rest of the car I loved. The styling, the fluid shifter movement, steering feel, quick handling, its rev happy nature. Just those few gripes landed me in a Focus though. I'm excited for a new MS3, MS6, or RX series car. Possibly a new Si too Honda actually tries at it.
Considering that the Fiesta ST is boosted. I'm sure you could take the approach a lot of MK4 GTI owners do. It likely has a lot of potential power locked away, so getting a tune, maybe some minor mods, would really wake the car up. And what kind of clutch is in it? Hydraulic, Electric? Because you could probably adjust it to raise the engagement point. As far as the RS, that's a fair point. I hope it isn't going to have problems, but it'll probably have some kinks to work out. I hope it reaches the status of the old Escort Cosworth RS. Those were mean little cars, and the engines were superb.
I love the old cosworth escorts. I wish we had gotten those. I'm pretty sure it was a hydraulic clutch. I'm sure it could be adjusted and I'm not one to shy away from modding, but I'm reluctant at times on a brand new car. I've seen some Fiesta STs with serious mods and they certainly do have more potential and if I had as an extra car and didn't need the warranty I would be all for it. Thing about the 1.6 ecoboost though is that getting extra torque is easy but HP not so much. One with several mods on the Fiesta ST forums had 299 lb ft of torque on a dyno but only gained about 15-18hp. I think the small turbos on those and the Focus ST are a choke point. I'm guessing if ford does a Fiesta RS it will not be the 1.6 though they could extensively change it just for that car. It would kind of make sense to just use the 2.0 ecoboost in a Fiesta RS and leave the 2.3 in the Focus RS. I heard the new Si would be a turbo. Possibly a version of the 2.3 turbo In Acura SUVs.
How new is the 1.6 Ecoboost? People should be able to do a lot with it, like, the cylinders/pistons are small due to the low displacement. That should mean that, with the correct countermeasures, you could raise the redline to at least 9k. I feel like HP is hard to get because the engine hasn't been really "opened up" so to speak. I don't know a lot about Hondas though, but that would kind of make sense. Would upset some Honda Fanboy Purists ("they're supposed to be N/A, gosh you're ruining my life!!")
The NA Honda fan boys will have to get over it! Haha. I've seen tons of turbo and sc K series and B series Honda engines. That is when they make real power. Sure built NA Honda engines do make good HP/liter for a non FI engine but can't compete with boosted cars. I think Honda is finally realizing this. Also NA Honda 4 bangers have no torque. My Si was a pain to drive daily in town for that reason. I was revving to 4500 rpm just to keep up with traffic. Sure if I opened it up to 7000 It was reasonably quick but I can't drive that way everywhere. The 1.6 ecoboost debuted in the US in 2012 I think. It may have been in Europe longer. In stock form in the Fiesta ST it redlines at 6800 rpm I think. The HP and torque coming on higher up in the rev range than the Focus ST. The 1.6 has been downsized in the Fusion to a 1.5 I'm not sure about the Escape. The Fiesta ST is still at 1.6 litres. I'm sure with the big budget and the right know how it could make 300hp but idk how long that would last. The 1.6 has had a lot of issues in the Escape, but I haven't heard much complaint in the Fiesta. I'm kind of curios how much is possible out of the 1.0 ecoboost 3 cylinder. When the exhaust is opened up on one it sounds awesome. The 1.6 sounds like a rally car with a good exhaust. The 2.0 in the Focus ST sounds kind of farty lol. Have any future plans on your Protege once the basics are fixed?
Issue resolved! 
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http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ings-(With-A-Question)!&p=6366566#post6366566
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http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ings-(With-A-Question)!&p=6366566#post6366566
@Tw1g007
Someone parting out a protege5. Might be helpful to you
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123847235-Parting-out-my-Protege5
Someone parting out a protege5. Might be helpful to you
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123847235-Parting-out-my-Protege5
Once it's fixed I want to get a header, catback exhaust, full cold air intake, and coil overs. That's the top of the list. I have been flirting with the idea of a KL-ZE swap further down the road.
Probably would. But I like the KL-ZE because it has a forged crank stock and is a hella strong, and light block. Hoping there'd be room for a turbo. I wouldn't do much else other than dress up at that point though. A boosted KL-ZE is looking at at least 100 hp over the stock Pro5. That seems like it'd be enough haha. Well, I say that now, before I start chasing Dynos lol
If you can find a good one from a MX-6 and just a some bolt ons you could have over 200hp. That would liven up a protege. Old civics run great with 200hp. Turbo is always tempting though.
It would be nice to liven the car up a bit haha. But yeah, turbo is always super tempting
How's the Protege coming? Making any progress?
I got the brakes done. It's weird, because the brakes feel nonexistant when I first start the car, but once I move it the pedal feel is normal. But they're done, and I topped the oil off (was below L, need to check more often, I'm only halfway to an oil change) also tightened the oil pan plug, looked like it was leaking...
Hopefully it was just the plug leaking. I'd hate for you to have some more unfortunate leak of oil. That is strange about the brakes. Is there excess pressure in the brake lines? I got my RX7 cleaned up and the tachometer fixed. Short in the wiring to the trailing ignition module.
