hi guys,
im pretty new to this car game and an old one at that,was wondering if i change my panel filter for a k&n and replace my spark plugs with the ngk iridium plugs,would it make my 07 st run smoother,?
as at the moment the tick over is up and down slightly.
cheers,
rob.

Is this just on warm up?
I believe an earth strap to the engine makes it run smoother, theres a post on it quite along time ago now

I've heard something about this earth strap before, might be worth a go. Not too sure that the air filter would really make that much difference though...

I heard that if you get magnecore leads its supposed to help this to?

Found the post
http://www.fordfiestast.co.uk/showflat.php?Number=151005

yeah its bad on warm up,but once thawed out it seems fine,cheers.its having a service in a few weeks and thought of the plugs and filter upgrade.

I have the earth strap fitted and the ngk's and its as smooth as a babies bum.

better plugs, leads, air filter all help the car to fire up a bit better and idle better, standard ford plugs/leads are good, I have Denso Plugs and Magencor leads and have earthed my cyclinder head to the suspension top mount. Keep all your earth leads in good conditions, spray of WD40 now and again too.

cant work out where you put the earthstrap,pictures would be gratefull,thanks,
got NGK iridium on order + k&n panel filter,having it serviced on the 11th sept,buy the way im in my 40s and love this car to bits,bit of an old boy racer,lol:-)

back of engine on right is a lifting hook, use the bolt for that point and then across to the suspension top mount bolts, instead of undoing one I just found a nut to go ontop. Earth strap from Halfords I used big thick one with plastic casing.

My old man is 60 this year and he drives an 08 plate black civic type-r so being 40ish and having one of these is nothing mate!

thanks for the nfo stevethewhizz,will have a look sunday morning and nip down to halfords for the earth-strap,also there seems to be a slight delay when pressing accelerator pedal,seems the revs are slightly behind,any ideas???

it is a fly by wire throttle so yes it does catch up a little, providing it's generally idling ok and performing well should be fine, however 07 would be 3 year service and fairly sure it will get plugs and maybe a filter change (filter will be dirty anyway), better ask Ford what changes it gets, also tell them about the throttle, there are updates to fix that I think, could also be a dirty throttle body if it has had a lot of local running.
Let Ford service it before you start adding mods, if still in warranty they might not be too keen if you point out problems when you have added KN & Plugs etc.

once again thanks for the advice,could i clean the throttle body myself?
is it easy to reach/remove?

yes you can clean it yourself, I am sure there is a post on here on how to do it, remove the electrical connector then the four bolts and clean with some carb cleaner.

Does this earth strap really work? Is there a picture of where you attach it to on the engine? I supppose I can't see the lift eye becuase of the airbox?

in theory supposedly although probably better moreso for the electrics than any great noticeable difference on tickover. My car fires up everyday without fail and ticks over super smooth.

The earth strap didn't do anything for me unfortunately