Aaron Slater is a USN Veteran Submariner, and like many folks coming from challenging careers in our military, Aaron has a few injuries that keep him from operating a proper stickshift, saddling him with the non-turbo version of the Ford Fiesta in order to get an automatic, as the Fiesta ST is available ONLY in 6-speed manual trim. Non-Turbo Fiesta Mods are surprisingly easy to come by, and plenty of Fiesta ST bits bolt right on. Though he may be stuck with an auto, that hasn’t stopped or slowed Aaron down at all, and after his latest round of upgrades, this is no longer your average non-turbo Fiesta.
Aaron’s Fiesta Titanium wasn’t exactly stock to before coming to us either- Aaron’s, like our Project Fiesta ST, sports a set of German-spec OEM Ford projectors imported from the UK with a subtle ST180 type front spoiler from Puma Speed – yep, that’s a spoiler, rather than what we might otherwise call a front lip. Aaron has already gone through a host of other upgrades to get his Fiesta up to hang with the Fiesta ST’s, including a Mountune Lower Airbox Intake Upgrade for Fiesta ST (re purposed to fit an NA car) from Mountune USA and New-Take-Off Fiesta ST front Brake Calipers with Drilled/Slotted front rotors – the rear drum brakes will eventually get converted over to discs like the ST models. The front license plate number is a reference to Aaron’s title in the US Navy and a proud declaration of his having been a Submariner. Now it was finally time to give Aaron’s Fiesta an exhaust upgrade to match – which also fell to a Mountune USA upgrade with a Mountune Axle-Back exhaust, giving the Fiesta a throater tone than stock and much better throttle response to make better use of the POWERSHIFT 6-speed automatic.
The new muffler is actually fairly straightforward to install, just cut off the OEM exhaust pipe at the right spot and the Mountune muffler will slip right on, much like a motorcycle Slip-On exhaust.
Though working on a Fiesta Titanium is a little outside our usual wheel house, it was not at all outside of our comfort zone. The techs over at Mod Auto made quick work of the OEM exhaust.
Aaron was rather impressed by the personalized service the Mod Auto shop offers, and yes, if you schedule an install at Mod Auto, you’ll see your name there too!
That stock tailpipe leaves a lot to be desired, drooping like a flaccid… um, you know what, nevermind. The bright dual-tip exhaust should give Aaron’s Fiesta a much sportier character, perfectly appropriate for the Euro rally stripe theme.
With the OEM Fiesta exhaust out (and good riddance!), Mod Auto’s Senior Install Tech got to work getting the fitment just right so the dual round tips on Aaron’s new exhaust would line up where they’re supposed to. While we had it in the air, we also installed the front and rear suspension from a Fiesta ST, which had been fitted with a variant of Eibach’s Fiesta ST lowering springs with special rates chosen specifically by Mountune, giving Aaron’s Fiesta a significant drop.
After checking to verify the muffler lined up to his satisfaction, the Mod Auto techs tightened down the muffler in its final position.
Back on the ground after installing it all, you can already tell the car has a much lower profile than it did rolling in. Aaron loves the sound of the new exhaust system, and a bit later on that day, we got Aaron, our Project Fiesta ST and another local Fiesta ST owner, Derek, together for a quick group photo shoot so the Fiesta guys could get together and geek out over our latest Fiesta ST mods.
Sitting low on the new springs and shocks and with that sporty set of dual exhaust tips poking out from beneath the bumper give this Fiesta Titanium a look that gets closer and closer to an ST every week.
With three Fiestas all in Performance Blue (or Spirit Blue if you want to be Euro about it), the details that differentiate the three really stand out. Aaron’s painted grilles and fog light bezels stand out in contrast to the plain textured plastic used on the ST models.
If you look at the lower grilles between the three cars, you can tell which of the three Fiesta STs has a Front Mount Intercooler hiding in there…
Love that euro stripe package, it really makes the car stand out and though it is Euro, I can’t help but feel like it does harken a bit to the look of Shelby Mustangs of the late 60’s.
(For what it’s worth, two out of the three cars pictured actually DO have handicap placards… Aaron, as we’ve mentioned is disabled and your author has one as well from injuries in a motorcycle accident and we did not obstruct anyone’s use of the spaces while we quickly snapped our group photo)
Looking to Mod your Fiesta? Whether you’ve got an ST or a standard Fiesta or Focus ST, we invite you to talk to the Ford ST & EcoBoost experts at ModBargains.com and the expert installation of the Mod Auto shop next door. Talk to an enthusiastic expert today for advice on your next mod – chat live at ModBargains.com or Call 714-582-3330 to speak to the Mod Experts. Thanks for reading!
Story by Nicholas Gregson
Photos courtesy Aaron Slater, select photos Nick Gregson