Dean is a picky guy when it comes to customizing his car. As a discerning Kiwi gentleman, everything’s got to be just so, and that makes shopping for an exhaust a challenge – an obnoxious loud system would be too crass – so a refined tone was in order. After much deliberation, he set his mind on a Milltek Sport exhaust system for his Ford Fiesta ST, and got in touch with Senior Mod Expert Elliott Goodman to order the system and coordinate the install.
The Milltek Sport exhaust system is available in two flavors- resonated, and unresonated – unresonated being the freer flowing of the two, resonated being the quieter. Since Dean’s lady often drives his Fiesta ST, the sound level needed to “pass the wife test” so to speak – forgive the terminology, but the point is the sound shouldn’t bother your significant other, regardless of whatever your orientation/relationship is. Slightly louder than stock, the Milltek SportResonated Cat-Back Exhaust for the Fiesta ST was the perfect choice for Dean’s goals.
The Milltek Cat Back Exhaust is a high quality system offering top-notch fitment and ease of install – though it is worth noting this is a euro system, and as such the bumpers of Euro cars are shorter – so if you want your tips to poke out, you’ll need to extend them out a bit, but we didn’t find it necessary here.
After talking with ModBargains resident ST Vehicle Expert Nick Gregson, Dean opted to have the car fitted with a Cobb Rear Motor Mount for Fiesta ST to firm up the shift action and make those 1-2 and 2-3 shifts a lot gentler, and Sr Mod Expert Elliott was able to coordinate getting that installed while the car was up in the air – normally we wouldn’t be able to get an extra unplanned install fitted in but as one of our other techs had some free time, we had one tech fit the exhaust while the other replaced the Rear Motor Mount. It also helps that we’re an AUTHORIZED COBB stocking dealer (as well as many other brands), and we have quite a few ST goodies on hand ready to go, though some things need to be ordered in advance.
Since we have this RMM in our own daily-driven project Fiesta ST, we can tell you from our own experience that the Cobb Rear Motor Mount is a good choice for a “daily driven” Fiesta ST, as it’s not race-car firm and the marginal increase in vibration is hardly noticeable in real world use and it’s working out well for Dean.
After having the system installed for a few weeks as well as the Cobb RMM in his Fiesta ST, Dean tells us that, “The wifey drives it more than I do, but seriously, its BARELY louder than stock. You guys exceeded expectations, and I’m an anal SOB.” We’re also told he’s seen a 1.5mpg increase, but of course, your mileage may vary.
As a Fiesta ST owner/enthusiast myself, I take particular pride in living up to the expectations of my own enthusiast community, so that makes me happy to hear that, and on a personal note here, I have to say Sr Mod Expert Elliott really killed it by getting the RMM installed at the same time with zero notice – not to mention Master Tech Dave & Tech Juan for getting it all done perfectly, and right on schedule.
Thank you to Dean for trusting us with installing the Milltek Exhaust system- the sound’s a bit crisper and performance is sharper without drawing any unnecessary attention, and that rear motor mount will make driving the Fiesta ST much easier to deal with in the driving conditions we face out here in SoCal – and knowing how things go once the mod bug bites you with a Fiesta ST, I’d bet a fiver this isn’t the last set of tweaks this handsome little Orange & Oxford White Fiesta ST will see.
Interested in modding your Fiesta ST or Focus ST? Not sure what to do next or what your options are? We invite you to talk to the Mod Experts – from wheels to suspension to getting the most out of your forced induction, our experience expertise and enthusiasm is yours to help you get it done. Call us today at 714-582-3330 (x8009 for Elliott)
Story & Photos Nicholas Gregson
Are you in SoCal? Are you an ST enthusiast? Join us here at ModBargains in La Habra, CA every Third Wednesday from 5-9pm. Come check out the shop, meet other enthusiasts and of course, show off your mods! Our next meet is Weds Jan 21st, all Ford ST and EcoBoost vehicles are welcome, but open to all Fords and Ford fans open to turbo fours.