[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Hello all new and existing members!

I'm new to this (just registered). A little disclaimer: I'm not a native English speaker, so please excuse me for any misunderstandings/confussion, etc. Also please correct me if I'm ever wrong (which I think is a default option for anyone )

I'm currently planning to purchase 2016 Ford Fiesta ST w/ Recaro seats. After test driving (finally locating a model with Recaros, it's such a pain in the rear exit to find one, dealerships won't give me one w/o dealer trade) one I fell in love with seats. I'm 6'-)', ~ 195 lbs, not sure my width but when I'm in the seat I have about a thumb space left on each side of my body/ribs, so I felt comfortable. A quick question: does anyone who has one with Recaros notice of the seat kinda "adjusts" a little bit to your body shape after a while?

Another question: do you think it's worth to get ST Protection Package? The car I set my eyes on (kona blue w/ Smoke Storm Recaros + ebony black rims) comes with it, but dealer said they can exclude that if need be.

Just read a thread like 10 mins ago regarding red-painted brake calipers: I haven't checked during the test drive, but is that true that regardless of your rim choice (standard or optional ebony black) the brake calipers should come red-painted standard? Couldn't find a more/less clear answer. Thinking about calling Ford for clarifications.

Thank you for reading, and happy Thansgiving!

 

[Sil3nt611]

The seats do break in after awhile. I have something like 3,300 miles on mine in about 2 months and the seats feel more formed to me. Not that they were uncomfortable to start with. During long drives I end up pulling my wallet out of my back pocket because of where it is in relation to the bolstering it kinda starts digging in.

ST protection package is up to you. I prefer the carpet floor mats so I didn't want the rubber mats or to pay for them. If you live in an area where you may get a lot of mud/ice in the car then you may want to keep the rubber mats. There are aftermarket mats that may protect better, so if you don't want to go for it and then want to later you still can, and possibly for cheaper (don't quote me on that, that's just a guess because Ford generally charges more for stuff like that than an aftermarket product would cost).

From what I understand based on the option list and in the past on the 2014-2015, the higher optioned wheel choice (ebony black) should come with the red calipers, and the rado grey standard wheels should come unpainted. The Rado grey were the higher option wheels on the previous MYs and they came with red calipers. The silver wheels were standard with unpainted. They had a mix up at the factory at the beginning of the 16 MY and the black wheels came with unpainted calipers and the grey wheels had painted. My 2016 that was ordered in June and arrived late Sept came with grey wheels and red calipers. It has been reported that this was fixed at the factory and cars shipping now should get the correct config, however I'm not sure if the car you are looking at was built before or after they fixed the issue. If it doesn't it can be a possible bargaining chip for you. Red calipers honestly aren't that big of a thing to have and I really would rather not have them. So if you can get the price down a little on the extra cost of the wheels because they were supposed to come with painted calipers I'd roll with that and live with the unpainted calipers. Of course come armed with proof that they should be painted according to the Ford build website because dealers and salesmen generally don't have much knowledge of these cars.

 

[tubbyaz]

A quick question: does anyone who has one with Recaros notice of the seat kinda "adjusts" a little bit to your body shape after a while?

I'm a fat tub of goo, (230 lbs, 6 ft.), but I like the Recaros just fine. I have found the drivers seat has "loosened up" a bit, and I just like the way the seats hold me in place behind the wheel.

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Thanks for the replies!

I have found one with Recaros, but it also has sunroof and navigation. While I'm kinda meh-okay with navi, I don't like sunroofs. I just don't, I like a solid piece of roof over my head (even though it might sound stupid). The dealer is giving me the car subtracting the price of navi and sunroof options, so I'm essentially getting them for free. Here's the question: does anyone own a FiST w/ sunroof? Did you ever encounter any leaking problems? I know sunroofs leak after some time, so even coming off as paranoid still wanna know. Thanks!

 

[tubbyaz]

I ordered my 2014 a week after the order book opened. Only three options, Recaros, Green Envy paint and a sunroof. So far, no issues with the sunroof after 2 years. HOWEVER I live in Arizona, and the car is garaged at home and work. So I expect it will seal just fine for years. I think where sunroofs get a bad rep is when they spend several years outside in the sun, where the seals get dried up and rotted out.

Did not order the navigation, as I tend to only need it when travelling. My TomTom works fine on the dash, and I am not beholden to Ford for their expensive updates.

 

[Sil3nt611]

The problems I have seen with moonroofs is that the tracking system breaks or doesn't work right which means the glass doesn't fully seal.

The moonroof car I owned had a bad track assembly when I bought it. Everything seemed all loose when I pulled the assembly out and one side of the glass was moving at a different pace from the other side so it obviously wouldn't close completely unless you really screwed around with it. I replaced the track assembly and that fixed that issue, but I noticed when washing the car with a power washer at the coin wash water would drip from the moonroof onto the seats. Not an excessive amount, but it was there. That was probably more due to the rubber seals being old, but the thing about it is I plan to keep my car for 10+ years and as such naturally the seals will age with the car.

My uncle has a 2006 Escape and his moonroof is held on with a plastic track piece. It goes without saying, the plastic junk broke and the moonroof no longer will go up and seal on it's own. For the past couple years he's had a block just to hold the glass in place so it doesn't leak, but it still leaks some so he's considering fixing it with an aftermarket metal piece I had found back when it first broke on him.

I opted for no moonroof on my factory ordered car. Moonroofs are cool novelties when the weather is nice, but a big pain when you have leaks in your roof you have to fix down the road. And where I live the weather isn't moonroof open weather most of the year. I had enough small leaks on my previous car with frameless door windows, so I'm happy to get rid of those as well.

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Thank you for replies!

I have checked with multiple dealerships around SF Bay Area regarding ordering a FiST with the options I like, and unfortunately no one was able to beat the price and monthly payments that this dealership that has kona blue FiST with Recaros, navi and sunroof offered. There was one more FiST I've located, w/ smoke storm Recaros, navi and black wheels, no sunroof. But the exterior color is also black, and I really don't want a black car. So I guess I was destined to get a kona blue FiST with Recaros, navi and sunroof (wheels are rado grey though, which I think look better with kona blue than black wheels).

I guess the question I have is: will buying car cover help in preserving the sunroof rubber and seals for a bit longer before it goes bad (I mean nothing lasts forever). When I get home the car will be garaged, but I work in Pittsburg, CA, and during summer every day is like 93% of the time cloudlessly sunny with temps hitting 95-100 degrees easily, and that deadly sun shining on the car straight from above almost whole day (shade doesn't come until like 3-ish pm). I don't know, maybe I'm worrying way too much, but I just wanna have some basic things that help make the car as a whole last longer and keep it running.

 

[Sil3nt611]

I wouldn't want a car cover on my car because I don't want to scratch up the paint. I'm also trying to do everything I can to minimize any microscopic paint scratches though such as washing the car using the two bucket method and not taking it through an automatic car wash. With that deal it would be kinda hard to pass up if you don't want to wait for a special order. I saw a really discounted 2014 that had been on the lot for awhile back when I couldn't afford the car yet. It was a fully loaded one in orange with the moonroof obviously. But had I had the money at that point that would have been a good buy as it would have come out cheaper than special ordering my car without the options. But I do like not having a moonroof so it will pay off for me in the end.

 

[Ronbo]

Just a suggestion but try contacting Galpin Ford in Los Angeles, as they tend to keep a large selection of FiSTs on hand. I bought mine there and had exactly what I was looking for (Perf. Blue, Recaros, navi). When I bought mine they had over 40 FiSTs in inventory.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[tubbyaz]

I had an interesting thing happen when I rented a Volvo XC70 last year for my annual drive to South Dakota for a cycling event. I had the sunroof tilted up in the vent position most of the drive, but on my way home, just west of the Eisenhower tunnel on I-70, the sunroof exploded above my head, showering me and the car behind me with glass fragments. My speed was pretty low at the time, under 60.

Yes, I quite nearly soiled myself. But no injuries.

I had read that older Volvos had this problem, due to cheap, thin, poorly-manufactured Chinese glass panels, but had "fixed" the problem before the model year of my rental (actually it was a brand-new car with less than 2K on the odometer). I dunno, change of pressure, drop in temperature, glass damaged in manufacturing, no idea. My insurance paid for the new glass after they said no to my claim of manufacturing defect.

But the Volvo was a very wide, large piece of glass, unlike the FiST.

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Thank you for replies!

Yeah the offer is really good, it's really hard for me to pass on that. And oh man, if only I knew about Galpin Ford in LA earlier They have 2016 molten orange w/ molten orange Recaros, oh maaaaan... But then I really have no time to drive down to LA to check out a car. Oh well, I already left a deposit at the dealership, getting my car on Saturday, the deal was great, and I'll take the sunroof.

If all hell breaks loose, I'll just seal that sunroof with some nice light gauge metal lath for good haha

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

So I finally did it

 

[OrangeFist]

Hello all new and existing members!

I'm new to this (just registered). A little disclaimer: I'm not a native English speaker, so please excuse me for any misunderstandings/confussion, etc. Also please correct me if I'm ever wrong (which I think is a default option for anyone )

Thank you for reading, and happy Thansgiving!

Your English is better than that of most Americans :rotfl:, and Seasons Greetings.

 

[Ca5p3r]

My 99 dodge neon has a sunroof. I've only replaced the motor and the plastic sliders with metal ones. Never had any leaks in the... I think my family got her in summer of 2006. She's stayed outside.

I love having the sunroof (moonroof or factory leak or what ever else you want to call it). I can have all the windows down, roof open, and heater blasting with the outside temp being around 10-20 degrees.... Maybe a little warmer but you get the idea.

 

[SilFister]

I factory ordered my FiST with the moonroof as I like them. i had one on a Honda for many years and never had an issue (I do garage my cars). I will say, however, that the FiST moonroof is positioned further back on the top and doesn't have the same open effect I had with the one on the Honda's.

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Thank you for replies!

I already forgot that I have a sunroof until I looked through replies lol. I don't even used it, and only tried opening it twice at the dealer when I was purchasing the vehicle. I don't really need it, rolling the windows down does everything I need.