[RavynX]

I'm interested to hear if the Fiesta hitch will fit on the Fiesta ST as well. I refuse to use roof-racks for bikes and I prefer to use a hitch. Has anyone tested yet?

 

[RavynX]

Typical load for a camping weekend. I bet the whole rig weighs around 500 pounds and the miata barely knows it's there except when climbing steep hills on side roads. On the interstate the cruise control handles things fine in 5th gear.

Hah, nice! I had a similar setup for going to the track.

 

[RavynX]

According to Post #13 here ( http://www.fiestast.org/forum/fiesta-st-discussions/480-any-hitch-luck-yet-2.html ) the hitch from AutoAnything fits onto the ST but the exhaust rattles against it.

I can shed some light on this subject. I too wanted a hitch mount bike rack for my Fiesta ST, so I bought a Curt hitch from Auto Anything. It said it fits all 2014 Fiestas. It did bolt up to the car quite easily and was well made. The only scary part was that I had to cut off part of the heat shield between the muffler and the gas tank. Problem is, the Fiesta ST has a different exhaust which kept knocking against the hitch, so in the end, I had to remove the hitch and send it back for a refund. I actually did speak with the folks at Curt Hitch and made them aware of the problem. They said if they ever made a hitch specifically for the ST, they would let me know. Then I had to buy a new heat shield ($30) from Ford and install it. Live and learn.

^ Posted -> 01-18-2014, 08:47 PM

 

[RavynX]

etrailer.com made an answer page with additional information. You can see it here:
http://www.etrailer.com/question-68687.html?fb=yes

That's good to have confirmation from one site. On the other forum one person has installed the Curt hitch and another has installed the Draw-Tite hitch. Both fit the 2014 Fiesta ST with no problems with bumper clearance but the while driving and especially in turns the exhaust tends to hit the hitch bar.

 

[RavynX]

I got mine installed 2 weeks ago. I had to get an exhaust shop to weld in a stiffer hanger to prevent the exhaust from bumping it.

 

[RavynX]

Here's the hanger they welded that replaced the OEM hanger.

 

[RavynX]

Shipping weight of the Curt hitch is 39 lbs. Do you have any photos of the hitch you built vs the manufactured one?

The Curt hitch is rated at 150lb tongue weight. The Draw-Tite and HiddenHitch models are rated at 200lb tongue weight since they have the square tubing. I believe all the weight in these hitches are the flat plates that wrap up to the car's frame.

 

[RavynX]

The Vette hitch was more out of curiousity than anything. I figured it wouldn't fit the ST.

DreadlyST posted this person's photo from Australia...
http://www.fiestast.org/forum/fiesta-st-discussions/480-any-hitch-luck-yet-6.html

 

[RavynX]

See, my idea of where to have the hitch is a good one. I bet it could be made far lighter, my experience with hitch manf is they simply just go for mass instead of cleaver design and low weight. On the Vette I had the received very deep between the exhaust tips, a bit harder to get to but allowed less weight and stronger for the weight. I used a 1.25" long ball mount and ball, it was fairly heavy but only on when towing.

Mass productions are what sell. You gotta remember that different people have different priorities. Some like easy accessible hitches rather than getting on their knees or back to install a ball-mount for the hitch. Some people don't want to cut up their bumper to fit a hitch like in the pic I posted.

For those of us wanting clever designs, we are left to our own accord unfortunately.

The one poking out of the grating will be much lighter than the standard hitches that are already out since you won't have to weld in those large plates. I'll be curious to see a DIY post on creating a hitch that goes through the rear bumper grating like that one in Australia.

 

[RavynX]

So is that all you had to do to prevent the exhaust from hitting the hitch? Just make a stronger hanger? How much was the hitch?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, pretty much. Hitch was $120.something.

 

[RavynX]

Yeah, that's the only issue with the DrawTite and Hidden hitches, they prop up those tabs on the bottom bumper. The Curt hitch clears everything but it's not quite as hidden as those other two.

You can see the tab being pushed up clearly in MightM's photo from the other forum...

 

[RavynX]

Here are photos from my car and how the Curt hitch looks. I thought I posted them here on FiestaST but I guess not.