I was wondering if someone could offer me an opinion..

Basically the other month I picked up a rearly tidy ST170, I have a budget of about £3k to spend on her, with another £1k a month.. but I am now thinking of getting Christmas out of the way.. and picking up a nice ST2 in or around March.

Which do you think is best for tunning, my head says an ST2, but my heart has fallen in love with my ST170 already

 

The ST170 is pretty much tuned up already apparently - you'll need to throw lots of money at it to see any significant increases.

The ST2 is much better "out of the box" and much easier to tune being turbo-charged. For example, a little stage 1 remap will cost £2-400 and transform it.

 

6 grand will get you a tidy ST. To be honest my old st170 was the most disappointing car I've ever owned, it handled well but was so slow. A few mechanical issues too, Ford never really did get the VVT right.

The ST is miles better than an st170, although in standard form they dont feel that fast, by the time you've had it remapped and breathing a bit better it'll chuck out a reliable 300bhp which is enough for the road!

 

double post

 

If i could save that much a month i think i'd rather save a little, bun the 170 and get a Mk1 FRS instead.

 

st170 is a good car on a budget but if I had that sort of money I would step up to a st2/3

 

I have not owned either, but with an educated opinion I would say the MK2, the ST170 isn't really a performance car, plus they never actually make the claimed power, and as said there is no tuning scope, they are also known for being thirsty.

The 225 however has a lovely FI 5 pot engine and is faster.

Martin

 

Thanks for all the advice, and yes my ST170 will return 16.2mph if I push on a little, at best I get mid 20's.. but it's a fun car. I just wasn't sure of the best way forward in terms of mods.

I suspect I will get myself an ST2 early next year as it's newer, and has more options.

 

It's also more powerful and faster as standard

Martin

 

As a previous ST 170 owner and now Focus RS owner.

Ditch the ST and just buy an FRS.

 

Would you choose an FRS over a ST2 ?

 

some people are badge followers with ford and although the mk1 frs is a top car its not a daily driver where as the st2 is and has the ability to throw out some horses when required

 

We have a customer at work that has his FRS serviced with us, and it's a mighty nice car, very low mileage.. I think he is the first or second owner. He isn't a young chap and has lots of work done on his car.. but it is already showing signs of rust underneath

Last yeah it was offered to us at £10k, this year it has dropped to around £8k, I suspect next year it will fall to below £6k.

The thing is when I look at some of the "Ford" auction prices, a nice ST2 goes for a lot less than that..

I suspect I will take a closer look at the ST2 in the new year.

Having said that I was offered a 1/2 tidy Mk3 Escort cabriolet today.. if it was a hard top I would of bought that

 

Thats because the ST is a much more of a mainstream car, the FRS is rare and they were not that many made, plus it has the RS badge.

Martin

 

bin the st, and get a mk1 rs,

why would you plan to spend 3k on it plus a grand a month on an st170, when you could have a nice rs that will probably be a better all round car than an st thats had a daft amount of money spent on it.

plus you'll have a car with an RS badge.

 

Rs anyday!!

 

ST2, remap and get it breathing, then sit on a time bomb before the block goes.

I wouldn't buy either

 

The block won't go unless you start to push it over 300bhp.

 

Ones around 08 were weak, either side of that and you'll be fine. Mines been around 300bhp for 20,000 miles and not had an issue.


The only thing that would worry me about a FRS would be using it as a daily driver, panels are so hard to find now, a little bump would give so much grief.

 

Well I had saved up a good few grand and was planning on getting an ST2 through work (I work at a Ford dealership), but then a really "cheap" ST170 came up and I thought "what the heck".. and I bought it

I do really like the car, and have had lots of little jobs done to it, but I have now reached the point where the actual car is 99% fixed.. So, my mind will soon turn to tuning it early next year, I have about £3k in my car fund account but have now started to wonder if the money would actually be better invested in a quicker car to start with.

The RS as you say is looking like the better option, I just wondered if the ST2 would offer better long term options over the RS ?

I guess I should of said that my commute to work is only 5 miles so fuel costs don't really come into it, also if I have to travel some where because of work I can use one of our "site" cars..

My car is only really for pleasure, or taking the other 1/2 to the super market of her choice so practicality isn't high on the list either.

Any advice will be gladly taken, as I don't want to turn around and order my exhaust, intake system, uprated coil pack etc... and then spend money on suspension, brakes, bushes etc to come away with a car that still leaves me wanting more.

 

if it were me i'd sell the st170 and make profit on it, then put some cash to it and buy a nice rs.

 

Wouldn't touch a mk1 frs over a st225
Nasty interior
Horrid driving Position
Diff is terrible
Ride quality nasty
But because it has a rs badge on it it's the best lol that's just blinkered snobbery

IMO it like choosing a spam sandwich over a steak sandwich lol

Back o the op's question buy a st 225

 

That's right there fuckin Nasty as mines done 110k the last 40k at 320 bhp gets the shite kicked out of it everyday never burns oil you'll find it has lot to do with bad mapping hard on high comp that has caused issues