As some of you well know, I was hoping for this day to be a joyful one. My original plans were to call up Focussport and order the FS Stage 1 (or maybe even Stage 2) turbo kit for my new 07 ZX5.
However due to circumstances beyond my control, the financing I was hoping for did not aspire to be what I expected.
So this puts me in an awkward position about either saving for the turbo kit, or spending in some other mods.
I've been doing a lot of thinking, shopping and looking around for what I could do and here's what I'm thinking of doing:
Stuff I'd like to get right away:
- Focus RS Spoiler
- MBRP 2.5" Exhaust
- FS intake
- XCal 2
- Car Alarm
- Diamond Floor mats (I'll get you the pics soon hardkore)
Stuff I'm really thinking about:
- RS Widebody Kit
- Quaife LS Diff
I'm not really interested in going with a new clutch ATM since there is no Turbo, I feel it would be a waste of money.
In case you are thinking of lowering springs, they're sitting in a box in my kitchen. :D
Feedback is welcome.
And for any of the naysayers who would begin the line "It ain't worth it modding the Focus", I would gladly appreciate donations for my 2008 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 fund.
Get the stuff you would use if you were still getting the turbo.
do you have dampers for your lowering springs? if not, you may want to look into that.. make sure your suspension is well balanced.
You may also be able to save some money by going with the F2 widebody kit over the RS...
Also, if you're going monster turbo, you may be going with a 3" exhaust... check what you expect to go with for the answer to that question...
FS intake -- you can resell if you go turbo kit, so that's not a bad upgrade.
Buuuuuut -- if you want some FI friendly mods for while you wait -- the things that'll make your car fastest (all around driving) for the money (and in order I'd go with..)
- dampers to match your suspension
- Quaiffe Diff
- Sticky tires
- performance driving class.
then you can start thinking about some mild brake upgrades (SVT brakes or stickier pads).
then it's time to save, save, save, save for that turbo kit!
NOS actually showed me the F2 page a while ago. They're getting my money for the RS stuff for sure, hard to beat 75 bucks for an RS spoiler. They also had a nice duratec intake as well, with a KN filter which I like. :D
As for the dampners, its tough to find something that fits the 07, there's not much out there.
And I'm not going crazy monster turbo, I just like the bragging rights to say "I have a Turbo. Whooosh!"
mbrp. i love mine. im not turbo and prob. will not be tho
Oscar The Grouch,Feb 27 2008, 03:17 AM Wrote:turbo kit
financing
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IMHO.. it may not seem like it, but that financing falling through is the best thing that could have happened....
heavy modification + debt just seems like a recipe for financial disaster to me...
anyway.. re your orig question... if you really want turbo i recommend saving money for turbo. whether its turbo kit or factory turbo car.. if you want boost.. go for boost. anything you purchase in the meantime to add power is just going to be a waste of money (you won't stop wishing for a fast car ever.. trust me)
i'm a broken record i know.. but you can't go wrong with a set of azenis sport, re01r, kumho mx, etc. instant noticeable performance increase!! sticky tires never go out of style are and always necessary.. great (best?) place to put your mod $$$s i've been rocking stock car plus sticky street tires for over 4yr now and i definitely don't regret it
i have 3 of the 4 fender flares you'd need for the F2 kit .. all you'd have to buy is the LF flare and your spoiler ... but let me tell you, dealing with F2 was the WORST experience of my life ... it took mea year and a half to get a complete set of flares out of them
so if your interested let me know and i'll gladly sell you these for a good price
otherwise, like puppet said get a set of dampers to match your springs, or return your springs and get a nice set of bilsteen coilovers if you plan on taking your car to the track
i don't know what included in the stage 1 kit .. but you could also get a new cam, cam gears
as some people said sticky tires
swaybars front and back
LSD
good clutch
3" Trubands catback
then turbo kit (that i think comes with Xcal2 already)
don't spend money on something that u don't really need
If you want an X-Cal2 and a FS intake, you know where to come. I just flashed back to stock last night.
I'd do the intake/exhaust/X-Cal2. I think with that and maybe a set of cams you'd be more than happy with the car.
In my list would be:
Proper Suspension
Good set of Tires
LSD
Clutch
Exhaust
Cosworth Intake Manifold
Turbo
Don't waste money time on a XCAL2 now, the turbo kits come with an XCAL from FS and you will not save the cost of the XCAL off the price. They may knock off 100 bucks, hardly the 400 you spent on the XCAL to begin with. My advice would be to wait on any tuning until the turbo is done. You can do regular N/A mods until then. And yeah what naz said...don't go into debt for this.
hardk0re,Feb 27 2008, 09:15 AM Wrote:don't go into debt for this.
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This isn't debt, its my yearly bonus. :)
NOS2Go4Me,Feb 27 2008, 08:48 AM Wrote:If you want an X-Cal2 and a FS intake, you know where to come. I just flashed back to stock last night.
I'd do the intake/exhaust/X-Cal2. I think with that and maybe a set of cams you'd be more than happy with the car.
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Unfortunately, that xcal should be locked to the VIN of your car NOS...
Not when it's flashed back to stock it's not.... which is what it is now. He should be able to upload a new tune for his car (different ECU code, manual transmission) and be good to go. People resell XCals all the time :)
hardk0re,Feb 27 2008, 08:15 AM Wrote:Cosworth Intake Manifold
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thats a lot of work, not to mention relocating the power-steering reservior.
id say for now get an intake/exhaust and and lsd. drive it till u get bored then get some tires then some suspension upgrades etc.
Okay so here's the plan.
- FS Intake (coming from NOS)
- XCal2 (also coming from NOS)
- Rear wiper (also coming from NOS)
- RS Spoiler from F2
- Quafe LSD from FS
- Front and Rear Stress Bars from FS
- MBRP Exhaust
- Diamond Floor Mats courtesy of Hardkore
- Car Alarm from my friends at Shark Mobile
I'll leave out the widebody kit for now. Still can't find anyone who does good shocks for the 08.
NOS2Go4Me,Feb 27 2008, 11:15 AM Wrote:Not when it's flashed back to stock it's not.... which is what it is now. He should be able to upload a new tune for his car (different ECU code, manual transmission) and be good to go. People resell XCals all the time :)
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Yes but there is still a trick to it in that you can only change VIN's on the Xcal2 a total of five times and after that it's locked to the last VIN (I found this out when I bought mine, my Xcal2 is now down to 4 VIN changes)
NefCanuck
Oscar The Grouch,Feb 27 2008, 08:23 AM Wrote:hardk0re,Feb 27 2008, 09:15 AM Wrote:don't go into debt for this.
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This isn't debt, its my yearly bonus. :)
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Pay down the house. It's not romantic. It's not flashy. But when you become mortgage free early in life, it opens up all the possibilities that you thought were unatainable.
I know it's not what you want to hear.
But if I had it to do over again, I would lightly modify a car and pay down my mortgage. Take 25% of your bonus for fun and the rest is for bills and mortgage.
NefCanuck,Feb 27 2008, 01:32 PM Wrote:NOS2Go4Me,Feb 27 2008, 11:15 AM Wrote:Not when it's flashed back to stock it's not.... which is what it is now. He should be able to upload a new tune for his car (different ECU code, manual transmission) and be good to go. People resell XCals all the time :)
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Yes but there is still a trick to it in that you can only change VIN's on the Xcal2 a total of five times and after that it's locked to the last VIN (I found this out when I bought mine, my Xcal2 is now down to 4 VIN changes)
NefCanuck
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Good to know then, bud. I'm in the same place... so he'll be fine and will have 3 more potential buyers after himself. Not too shabby.
you can't go wrong with the XCal2, Cossie Intake Manifold, or maybe even a cat back exhaust. if your thinking about going turbo, then you have think what can i buy now thats going to benefit the turbo when i get it.