[petrolhead_neel]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

A credible update on BlueBolt after ages!

Got the alloys and the ORVM painted to matte gun metal shade. This has been on the cards for a very long time, and finally pulled my socks up to go get this done.

Very refreshing to see updates on this thread!

BlueBolt looks stunning. Do please share the costs involved in both painting the ORVMs and the alloys.

Also, what I wanted to ask was, did you change the calipers? Or did you paint them too? Is the paint able to withstand the heat generated?

Thanks in advance!

Neel

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by NiXTriX2004

The car looks smashing with the gun metal color alloys. Can you please share how much it cost you? Also, did you get it powder coated?
I have recently acquired a pre owned Fiesta S in Panther Black and was looking to do something similar.

Thanks for the appreciation. I was told this is power coating, but not too much of an expert to identify paint or metallurgy anyway, so believed him
Alloys - 7.5K and 1K for the ORVMs

Originally Posted by DRIVE_ADDICT

I had taken a break from TBHP for a while, so missed few updates in your thread. I was a silent follower of your thread.

This gun metal alloys makes your car drool worthy!

Regarding your ICE upgrade, how did it go?

Fiesta/Figo OEM ICE is far superior than many OEM's for sure. Even a speaker upgrade will make it sound better. The setup in my Figo left many after market units a run for their money. Front components and a sub woofer in the trunk with 4 channel amp driving both and no damping done.

Thanks for your good words. I just upgraded the front speakers and got the front doors damped. I asked for deeper, punchier bass - and I sure did not get that from the 12K I spent. The bass I hear is still from the OEM speakers in the rear.

Fiesta OEM was a class apart in its heydays, so it still is decent. But sadly, the upgrade did not do much to improve it.

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

Very refreshing to see updates on this thread!

BlueBolt looks stunning. Do please share the costs involved in both painting the ORVMs and the alloys.

Also, what I wanted to ask was, did you change the calipers? Or did you paint them too? Is the paint able to withstand the heat generated?

Thanks in advance!

Neel

Hey Neel, you got an amazing thread boy!

Cost is as mentioned above, and calipers were just painted - not changed. Till now in the few hundred kms I have done it hasn't faded or peeled, so lets wait and watch as to what happens to it

[Thanga_RS]

Hi Arvind,

Please do congratulate me as this is my first post on our very own Teambhp forum.Also I congratulate you on owning such a wonderful and beautiful Fiesta that too with 1.6l engine and the "S" variant with that lovely "Aquarius Blue" colour which normally runs in my dreams.

I have been following your thread thoroughly as I was in the lookout for a pre-owned 1.6S. But well maintained ones in Chennai are hard to come by after the Dec 2015 floods. Still scorching the classifieds for any used 1.6S. Fingers crossed. Hope to meet you in the forthcoming teambhp meets in Chennai and please do drop by in your Fiest(y) 'S'.

Thanks,
Thanga

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

...

Hey Arvind, Howz the car doing! How much has the car clocked?

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Thanga_RS

Hi Arvind,

Please do congratulate me as this is my first post on our very own Teambhp forum.Also I congratulate you on owning such a wonderful and beautiful Fiesta that too with 1.6l engine and the "S" variant with that lovely "Aquarius Blue" colour which normally runs in my dreams.


[/b]Thanks,
Thanga

Thanga, I am extremely sorry I missed your post - and hearty welcome to T-BHP ( better late than never ) Thank you for your kind words, and I really hope you get to own a nice 1.6S real soon. Yes we should catch up on one of the upcoming Chennai Team-BHP meets.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Hey Arvind, Howz the car doing! How much has the car clocked?

BlueBolt is doing well, and has clocked a little over 35k kms now. And by May 22nd, she would be 5 years old too, so planning on some nice Birthday gift for her (power upgrade) but not many seem to be willing to work on the 1.6 Duratec - too old I suppose. Have contacted RRP, Tune-O-Tronics and few others, all of them have been discouraging me, and also trying to sell some Cold air intake systems, claiming a sizeable power increase

Oh, and yes - I recently moved into a new house, and BlueBolt has her own closed garage now!

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

....Have contacted RRP, Tune-O-Tronics and few others, all of them have been discouraging me, and also trying to sell some Cold air intake systems, claiming a sizeable power increase...

If it were me, I'd leave the power upgrade since both these guys are not giving a green signal. Both of them are quite reputable and I doubt they would let go of a genuine opportunity to encash some money.

Hows your service experience and parts availability? And the range of cost for each service?

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

If it were me, I'd leave the power upgrade since both these guys are not giving a green signal. Both of them are quite reputable and I doubt they would let go of a genuine opportunity to encash some money.

Hows your service experience and parts availability? And the range of cost for each service?

Yes, the fact that these guys are not readily accepting my case, is a big deterrent. But I keep getting the thought that the car's dynamic capabilities deserves at least 15-20 bhp more than what Ford has given it.

Service experience has improved vastly these days - after Ford started all those campaigns. And costs are extremely competitive too, my last servicing cost me INR 4,6xx , while Honda charged INR 7,xxx for routine servicing of a tiny Brio my sister owns!

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Prodigy07

Can I join? I have a 1.6 too! It's a Silver 1.6Zxi customized with OE 'S' body kit, Lenso Samurai 14 wheels and Cosworth End can.

From where did you get the OE 'S" kit?

[akshay380]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

From where did you get the OE 'S" kit?

You can get it from friendly dealer if someone provides a S VIN

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

... But I keep getting the thought that the car's dynamic capabilities deserves at least 15-20 bhp more than what Ford has given it...!

I think there is a thread in the modifications section where someone from MH has been tweaking a 1.6(?) Fiesta. Quite a detailed thread, I doubt you missed it.

Between, when are you letting go of the beauty?? There is a an Acquarius blue Fiesta in HDFC bank @ L.B Road, Thiruvanmiyur and I stay next to it. Its damn impossible to stop looking at the car when you walk past it. And your heart starts beating faster everything you gaze at it, just like having a glimpse of the girl who you wanna propose!!

[Keynote]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Its damn impossible to stop looking at the car when you walk past it. And your heart starts beating faster everything you gaze at it, just like having a glimpse of the girl who you wanna propose!!

I can certainly relate to that swiftnfurious....saw a similar looking rare breed a few months ago in one of the Bangalore roads and started following it. Couldn't stop admiring the beauty for a good 5 kms and then parted our ways silently thinking when would Ford bring such cars to India again. To my surprise next day found the same beauty (same number plates) parked in our office basement and trust me the whole experience was similar to seeing that girl in "12B" bus who becomes your crush and then wanting to see her after that everyday again and again. Though I bow down to my tusker everyday faithfully, never shy away from blowing kisses whenever I get a chance to see the 1.6S in that aquarius blue shade.

aravind.anand sir, this is a fantastic ownership report of the last Samurai

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Between, when are you letting go of the beauty??

No plans for that any time soon. Even ff the government imposes a ban on fossil fuel powered cars or on cars older than 15 years, I still plan to keep this as a show piece at home. And maybe, go for secret late night drives to enjoy the Fiesta's handling and to hear that lovely petrol snarl when the roads are empty - Stupidly in love with the 1.6S..

Originally Posted by Keynote

Though I bow down to my tusker everyday faithfully, never shy away from blowing kisses whenever I get a chance to see the 1.6S in that aquarius blue shade.

aravind.anand sir, this is a fantastic ownership report of the last Samurai

Waah.. what a love story! and thank you very much for your compliments Keynote.

In other news:

Changes the tyres on BlueBolt around two weeks ago. The old Yokohama S Drives were getting more noisy with age, and worse still was the rock hard and jittery ride quality. To put it very politely - it was rather harsh and uncomfortable and it even made the AC vents rattle! So I had been contemplating and researching on tyres for quite a while, and a tyre blow-out I suffered while on the highway acted as a catalyst to throw the Yokos away.

BlueBolt on the dock, with all wheels removed



Found this monster of a thing inside the punctured tyre - absolutely no idea what this tyre-shredding apparatus actually is... Just hope it is not a tool to make money from highway drivers at night!



The monstrous rod managed to even damage the alloy.. Yikes!



So despite some tread left, the Yokohama S Drives were shown the door, because of their rude and harsh nature



And the nice, and soft-looking Conti MC5s were welcomed, that too in 195/60 R15 size (stock is 195/55 R15), to keep things smooth and calm..



So very happy that BlueBolt is riding very smooth and with faaar lesser road noise finally!



And found this Blue Ford corner at the office parking lot



PS: You would have to ignore the dirty looking car, and imagine that it is clean!

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Found this monster of a thing inside the punctured tyre - absolutely no idea what this tyre-shredding apparatus actually is... Just hope it is not a tool to make money from highway drivers at night!

Attachment 1673983

The monstrous rod managed to even damage the alloy.. Yikes!

Attachment 1673982

Wow! Thats nasty!!
The thing that punctured your tyre is a drill bit, a spade bit used for boring wood.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Wow! Thats nasty!!
The thing that punctured your tyre is a drill bit, a spade bit used for boring wood.

Feeling a bit relieved now, since it is not a mugging attempt. Saving grace about that nasty drill bit is that it acted as a catalyst to help the procrastinator in me to go and finally get the tyres replaced

[antonjeeper]

Hello Aravind,
Great to see your Last Samurai in good condition! I was on the hunt for a blue 1.6S but was not lucky enough. I do own a Silver though. Im facing some steering rack issues, could you help me out please.

After facing some steering issues and checking out at some FNGs I found out that the steering rack is not doing well and will eventually fade out and Im planning to source one from an authorized spares dealer. Any chance you know the part number or do you have any access to getting it? Planning to source one and get it replaced at a FNG.

I dont trust the Ford authorized dealer where I live in Kochi as they claimed this car does not have a different steering rack system🤔 Dont want them to replace mine with a normal fiesta steering system. I seriously doubt their work experience on this model.

Please, any help will be much appreciated!
Thanks