Recently bought my first car, a 99 Festiva with a B6. Where should I start?

[Dankitis]

Hi all, I am quite new to the car scene and have picked up a Festiva for a bargain price of $200, it has a B6 from a 91 Laser with 190 000 kms. I want to invest a thousand dollars or so into turning it into a sleeper, but my knowledge is limited to how a car works and the basic parts a car has. I want to use this car to begin learning more.

So my question is, where should I start? I know that it still has the stock 1.3L fuel pump and I was told that being a 1.6L engine the fuel pump needs an upgrade, but apart from that I don't really know what would have the biggest impact for the cheapest price.

I do want to upgrade the exhaust, not just for performance, but also because the car sounds like a lawn mower. However, I have no idea which is best for the festiva, and I don't know whether I should go with a cat back or just upgrade the rear muffler.

[TominMO]

Welcome to the forum!

You don't necessarily need a new fuel pump. I also have a B6 and the stock Festiva fuel pump works fine for it.

The most fun and bang for buck will be to get it to handle well. Tires, wheel, suspension. So check out those threads.

Make sure your exhaust has one or two resonators, that will help a lot. Maybe a better muffler too.

[w4rkry]

What Country are you from, and is it a SOHC or DOHC B6?

$1000 CAD/AUS is a lot different from $1000 USD haha

[ryanprins13]

Hi all, I am quite new to the car scene and have picked up a Festiva for a bargain price of $200, it has a B6 from a 91 Laser with 190 000 kms. I want to invest a thousand dollars or so into turning it into a sleeper, but my knowledge is limited to how a car works and the basic parts a car has. I want to use this car to begin learning more.

So my question is, where should I start? I know that it still has the stock 1.3L fuel pump and I was told that being a 1.6L engine the fuel pump needs an upgrade, but apart from that I don't really know what would have the biggest impact for the cheapest price.

I do want to upgrade the exhaust, not just for performance, but also because the car sounds like a lawn mower. However, I have no idea which is best for the festiva, and I don't know whether I should go with a cat back or just upgrade the rear muffler.

What country are you in?
If you want it to be a sleeper youll probably keep the stock 1.5in exhaust and get a resonater and any muffler that gives a bit of noise. I had a 2inch cherry bomb glasspack that i thought sounded nice on the b3.
If you want a sleeper and a fun car i would suggest putting your money into suspension and tires, not the engine. The car will be amazing with good suspension, nice exhaust and 14in tires even with the b6 left alone.

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[ryanprins13]

Check out the build thread of pedro:

https://fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55279

Its an n/a B6 with good suspension, quick car. Heres a video of it with a 320hp miata on a track a few years ago:

https://youtu.be/Vx4nqsJlNb4

Here is a video of a b6t (turbo) with nice suspension against cars like corvettes and bmw's: https://youtu.be/7Z7yXQRj2Uk

As you can see the engine is important but suspension and tires are importanter.

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[mikemounlio]

!00% do the advanced suspension and get good tires and rims. I have a writeup on the suspension. I list every part you need to buy. In america its about 500$ i dont know where your from so adjust for your area.

I would do the resonater and a muffler. but the suspension is the key.

[Dankitis]

What Country are you from, and is it a SOHC or DOHC B6?

$1000 CAD/AUS is a lot different from $1000 USD haha

That is in AUD. Unfortunately it is only a SOHC.

!00% do the advanced suspension and get good tires and rims. I have a writeup on the suspension. I list every part you need to buy. In america its about 500$ i dont know where your from so adjust for your area.

I would do the resonater and a muffler. but the suspension is the key.

**nevermind, that was easy to find** Could you please link me to the writeup?


Is there a specific muffler/resonator that would be best suited to the car?

[w4rkry]

That is in AUD. Unfortunately it is only a SOHC.

That makes it a much easier swap. A SOHC B6 can be run completely on B3 ECU and electronics. I believe all you have to do it an injector swap for certain years of B6. The information should be on here somewhere.