[Martin1977]

Afternoon all, quick introduction to myself and my new (to me) 2012 Kuga 2.5T…

Having owned numerous cars with various drama’s along the way, each with their plus and minus points…

Evo 8’s https://www.lancerregister.com/showthread.php?t=199871

Megane 225’s Martin1977 's 'CUP' Adventure | RSMegane.com

Golf R32’s.. Amarok etc etc…

Having been driving this quaint little vitara for the past 3x years, 2wks ago it decided to ‘lose’ a sparkplug electrode into it’s no2 cylinder…

One ruined engine later and my £300 purchase / 24K love affair was brought to an abrupt halt… black arm band day indeed….The car had performed BRILLIANTLY.. Going through deep mud / deeper snow / kid school runs without issue. It was indeed a FINE car.



I decided to take the plunge on this 2012 Kuga with the 2.5T flavouring of engine. I also decided that I wanted the car to be ‘manual’ rather than the ‘auto’ version as I wasn’t sure how the auto box would react to a remap if and when that modification ever took place…

After a few weeks research and a million questions on History / owners / servicing / work done, I purchased this with 24K miles on the clock, FSH and ½ a tank of fuel (i.e- around 50miles). .a day’s flight plus train journey from Aberdeen to Nottingham had this sitting on the driveway..

Before I’d even got home there were a number of things I’d picked up on that weren’t quite to my usual (OTT / anal) standards…

- No Floor Mats…..

- Milky wing mirror indicators……

- A stereo that isn’t exactly intuitive to use….

- Some paint defects (all minor)….

- Some spider web hairline lacquer cracking on the polished parts of the wheels…

- HID lights do work well.. except point to about 20m in front of the car,,,(frustrating that these don’t come with the ability to set the lights ‘height’ from inside the car)….

- Wheels out of balance (vibration around 70mph+)

Plus some other bits that I’d normally upgrade and would need as a matter of course:

- HID fog lights

- LED interior lights

- LED registration plate bulbs

- LED puddle lights

- Mud Flaps (with my local rural roads, I’ve learned the value of having these the hard way)….

- 17” wheels for winter use (we had over 3ft of snow last year)

- Tow bar hitch (detachable) for the kids bikes

- Engine remap because I like to see the trees ‘wilt’ as I drive past…

- Possible exhaust to free up some of that 5pot’ noise…

- Dash Cam Install as you never know what you may ‘see’ up here ( I appreciate that some things can’t be ‘un seen’!!)..

All of the above minor ‘issues’ will be resolved in due course… to assist with these, I’ll be using the advice already contained within the forums further documenting these with photos as I go for owners who are considering undertaking similar repairs.

So… Here goes…..!!

 

[Martin1977]

Having lived with the car now for a few days, a brief review would be that it drives very well with a smooth power delivery… overtaking is easy in almost any gear. It’s a nice place to be..

The car is NO focus ST though, despite their similarities in their power plants…. Handling is compromised as it’s a far bigger and heavier vehicle. Cornering catches you out (often).
I’m most surprised at the muted engine noise... not a big issue to sort but still wasn’t what I’d have expected.

My average MPG is sitting around 30mpg , identical to what the 106bhp, 1.6 16V vitara would do.

 

[Martin1977]

Already the updates have started to take shape... first off... floor mats and mud flaps... followed by LED interior lights / puddle lights... I also changed out the wing mirror indicators for some 'smoked' items which had gone a horrible 'milky' colour..
These replacements were sold as being OEM quality (they're not).. it took 30 mins filing down to get them to seat properly into the wing mirror.. frustrating.. but worth it.
also fitted my dashcam and hard wired this in.

 

[Martin1977]

14x days in and two issues had presented themselves... the exhaust tone (which i knew about) and the brake feel (which I hadn't)..

Off to Turriff Tyres for a custom cat back.... you can buy a FOX exhaust online... this option IS a pricey beast however.. a couple of hours on the ramps and the guys had sorted me with 2(of) 4" slash cut tail pipes... the same style, although slightly smaller tails than the focus RS exhaust.. but a perfect to fit to the existing apertures on my car... i also installed a relatively large silencer to remove any issue of 'drone' .. this remains a family car after all!
End result is pleasing and worth the money paid.

next up was the brakes.. these had been vibrating and squealing as they've been on the car since new (6yrs and 24K miles)... Eurocarparts has (had?) a 50% sale on... so i picked up Brembo disks for £75/pair and a set of red stuff pads to compliment... I also bought a service kit (plugs / oils / filters) for when the time comes.. overall saved around £250.
The new brakes will take a little to bed in, so far silent and vibration free

 

[Martin1977]

HID fogs are the order of the day next... 5000K flavouring at 35W should do nicely..... they look to have a blue (6000K) colour in the photos below.. after they heat up after 30seocnds or so, they match the OEM HID's quite well...

 

[Martin1977]

Tonight I plan to sort the headlight 'aim' issue as its far too low....

Im also painting up the side grills and fog light surrounds to get rid of the chrome on them.....

 

[NigelB]

Looking good.

 

[Ozekuga]

Looks very nice.
The 2.5T was popular here in OZ but we only got it with the auto box.

 

[Martin1977]

Light adjustments complete ?? The aim on the road is much improved. MOT time will confirm compliance, until that check this will suffice

 

[Martin1977]

And the slightly higher aim

 

[davidoff]

Looking good, keep the pics coming.

 

[Martin1977]

Couple of bits of trim (wing vents / fog light trims) de-chromed by spraying Matt black....

 

[Martin1977]

And after a PITA job of removing the standard air box... a custom made ECU stand-off to relocate this item and induction kit went on. Overall, the engine sounds a good bit better without being too offensive

 

[Ozekuga]

Do you have any cold air ducting, under bonnet temperatures can get high enough to hurt the power.

 

[Martin1977]

I’ve retained the standard existing ductwork.. being honest sitting in traffic etc under bonnet temperatures will be high.. out moving however, there should be sufficient airflow to keenthinsg reasonable.

 

[Ozekuga]

Obviously not as much of a problem in Aberdeen as it is in Adelaide.
Under bonnet temps get very high during summer, kills power.

 

[Rathan_aus]

Nice work mate keep up the posts really interested with the mods you are undertaking looks really nice ?.

 

[Martin1977]

The genuine 19" Focus RS Mk2 wheels I picked up last week before a light powder coating in Anthracite...

 

[Martin1977]

And the wheels being powder coated by @platinum powder coating ABERDEEN.

All kerbing and scrapes gone... finish is SUPERB.

 

[Martin1977]

The 19” Focus RS2 wheels fitted with some Pirelli scorpion tyres.
Finish of the anthracite powder coating is first class.