Hey all,
I've been enjoying my '07ST since last December. I love the driveability, the power/torque and overall aperance of the car.
Beeing a former '99 cobra owner, I still have the need for more power.
I'd like your honest opinions on the folowing:
I can maybe get my hands on a FS stage 1 turbo for a little over $2,000.
It has about 10K Km on it. this would surely bring my St up to about 210whp.
I would also be getting the MBRP 2.5" flex back system like Adam did.
I guess I would need a new flex also, right? (EDIT--- Flex comes with turbo!)
Is it a good idea to buy a used system like that?
Would it be driveable during winter? this is my daily driver (25,000Km per year)
I wonder how much support I would get from FS when buying a used system?
Will I have to get it dyno tuned or is a flash from FS suficiant? If not, then where do I go?
The reason I want a turbo is mostly for quick accelerations, not high speed driving and the joy to be able to say I got a turbo under the hood ;). I keep my racing on the track.
My ultimate goal is to have a fun quick car that will still be dependable in 5 years!
Well that sounds cool I wish I could do that to my car but like you I put on a lot of km's (32'000km a year) so im worried about breakdowns. I also got the extra warrenty so I dont want to void it just yet. I guess Im stuck with the basic mods. SRI exhaust(from nos2go4me) and the XCal. Oh well best of luck.
You're kind of in a pickle there bud. The car is supported by FocusSport but the original owner gets tuning for life (AFAIK). If it's sold to you, you might be able to work something out with Randy at FS. I'm not sure if the free tuning carries over or not - if it does, that'd be sweet!
Stage 1 is 8PSI and no FMIC, so you're safe once tuned properly and the turbo will likely survive as long as the car does.
Here's the thing - I've discussed things at length with Vik at FS and the new kit comes with the braided SS return line (you no longer need to buy it as an immediate upgrade), so you might want to see if the braided line comes with the kit.
Also, for better reliability yet again, get the coolant lines upgrade pack that routes coolant to the turbo to better cool it.
If you do the datalogging via the XCal2 (hopefully that comes with it, too!), you can tune it 100% safe and 95% power remotely via Randy. That's going to require a wideband A/F meter too, however, to get all the parameters you'll need. FS has the Innovative LC-1 wideband - I'll be buying that in the spring or over the winter.
Hey Adam,
It does come with a custom made prestone line that goes to the turbo.
This system used to be on a '05 2.3D
It does come with the SCT also. Probably umlocked, just wondering if the engine code will be the same.
There is also a catch can and a manual boost controller included.
Not sure abot the SS return line. Is this the main oil line that goes to the oil pan?
I wouldn't worry about "custom made" unless it's braided S.S.
The return line is the one that takes the hot oil from the turbo and returns it to the oil pan. It used to be that their kit came with a rubber hose, same as the feed line to the turbo. It requires replacement every 8-10k miles and the braided steel hose negates that need.
The thing is your ECU code may be significantly different than the 05 (changes were made to both engines, although I'm not sure how different they are) and you may need to retune from scratch. Any custom tuning on the XCal2 might be rendered useless. You'd definitely want to bounce your ECU code off FS and see what they think about it relative to the current owner.
The catch can and boost controller are nice bonuses, but the MBC shouldn't really be used from what I was told by FS because the wastegate spring does a good enough job keeping you at 8 PSI for max boost. Anything higher and you should be using the FMIC to cool the charge first.
What about the Bosch fuel injector harness adapters over at C-F-M.com? It saves you from having to splice into the stock injector wiring harnesses, making reverting to stock even easier if need be. I'll be buying those as well.
Anything else I should be concerned with?
My gf gave me the green light... I love you babe ;)
in all honesty.. for about another 1k you can get a nice clutch and LSD... this will make the car MOVE... better traction and handling especially when exiting a corner... and your not going to fry your stock clutch...
Gravter,Aug 4 2007, 12:54 AM Wrote:Anything else I should be concerned with?
My gf gave me the green light... I love you babe ;)
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Bye bye warranty! :lol: :lol:
You would need a new clutch and a LSD most likely if you installed your turbo, but on a stock engine thats overkill. I've had my car around some crazy tight corners and never had wheel spin. But double the power and you would.
ZED_not_zee,Aug 4 2007, 02:12 AM Wrote:in all honesty.. for about another 1k you can get a nice clutch and LSD...ÃÂ this will make the car MOVE...ÃÂ better traction and handling especially when exiting a corner... and your not going to fry your stock clutch...
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Yeah, LSD and clutch would be great, but I think I'll abuse the original one untill I can replace them (aka:$$$$) lol.
As for the warranty, thats whats kinda stopping me... for the moment.
The person selling this kit is getting his motor replaced under waranty.
From what I heard, last winter his PCV valve froze closed and blew his crank seal.
He's been attempting to get Ford to replace the motor under warranty and aparently they have told him this week that they will honor it only if he does not re-install the turbo.
Well, I emailed Randy at FS and he pointed out to me that since it would be a used kit, the warranty would not be valid anymore (kinda knew that) and would not include product/tunning support. To be able to have the "support", it would cost me 400$US... YIKES!!! :o :blink:
Kinda steep if ya ask me, don't ya think?
I thought I read some places that it would cost 100$US to get a new tune from them?!?
I guess only for the original owner!
This is 300 more than I was expecting... That 300 is supposed to be for my 2.5" flex-back :( :ph34r:
My bubble just got popped. :unsure:
turbo focus would be lots of fun, go for it if funds permit (ie you can replace the motor if something blows up) or if you just really love the focus and want it to go fast
another thing to consider is that there are now many cars for sale that have those same power levels for a reasonable price. in '00 a 210whp turbo focus would be incredible.. there wasn't anything with that kind of performance except maybe super expensive stuff... but these days there are a lot of compact cars with 210whp in stock form, full warranty, factory reliability, and potential for even more power.. is it worth it to go after market?
also, for the price of that turbo kit, tuning, clutch/lsd and other supporting mods, you could also purchase your choice of 600cc race replica motorcycle.. 210whp is quick, but it has no chance against a bike.. that could be another way to get your speed fix....
Well, the used turbo is about 2,000$ Cnd.
I'm not much of a speed freak per say, but I like going to the track.
I'm totaly not a bike guy, never was, never will.
I chose the Focus ST because I found it cheap for what it had to offer.
4 doors and space for 5 (uefull with my two boys).
I'm not looking to be the fastest car on the road, but simply want a "quicker" Focus.
Lets face it, alot of us like it becuase we like to thinker with our rides to make it that more special/different than every other one out there. It's a hobby, which can get expensive real fast.
I owned 2 mustangs before I loved them both. One was an '83 that I got the motor rebuilt "mildly" that ran the 1/4 in 14.02s @ 100mph.
This car from factory had only 175hp, at the motor!
Then I got my '99 cobra that ran 13.82@103.2 in stock form but was expensive to maintain (tires, insurance and those damn 800$ monthly payments!) and I parked it during winter, so had to get a winter beater!
So, this focus with this kit should get me near the 13.9 in the 1/4 which would make me realy happy & proud. All this for half the price of my ex cobra!
I know there is a potential for me to screw up my motor, but thats part of the game.
Ford doesn't have to know :ph34r: lol.
if you pop the motor take it to ford with the turbo removed they might replace it ... depends on the dealer and how much they check it out... most places are busy and they get payed well from ford for warranty repairs so theyll just pull the engine and give you a new one.
Well, the deal didn't happen.
Another guy had some parts that the seller was looking for so he traded with him and some cash.
Oh well, I was kind of hesitant of buying a used turbo but I'm sure it would of been good.
Maybe next spring I could get a new stg 1 kit from FS but that will depend alot on our new baby which is due in April ;)
In the mean time, I think I'll order the 2.5" MBRP exhaust just to cheer me up :)
There is so much I want to do to my ST... like lowering the sucker but not too much because I don't want to be the neighbourhood snow plow, 17's (still don't know which ones though), audio stuff and of course more ponies.
Good stuff man... you'll get there. AFAIK I'm still going turbo in the spring.
hey got a question for you guys.. when you go with the after market turbo setup.. does whatever piggyback the kit uses back out ignition timing when there is knock and also make the fuel trims more rich? (ie does it do the stuff a factory turbo PCM would do to try to protect the motor from deto in the future?)
naz,Aug 7 2007, 09:02 PM Wrote:turbo focus would be lots of fun, go for it if funds permit (ie you can replace the motor if something blows up) or if you just really love the focus and want it to go fast
another thing to consider is that there are now many cars for sale that have those same power levels for a reasonable price. in '00 a 210whp turbo focus would be incredible.. there wasn't anything with that kind of performance except maybe super expensive stuff... but these days there are a lot of compact cars with 210whp in stock form, full warranty, factory reliability, and potential for even more power.. is it worth it to go after market?
also, for the price of that turbo kit, tuning, clutch/lsd and other supporting mods, you could also purchase your choice of 600cc race replica motorcycle.. 210whp is quick, but it has no chance against a bike.. that could be another way to get your speed fix....
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He has a fairly new car, if he were to sell it the hit he would take would be monstrous. In his situation its better to boost the car if hes looking for power.
D-Dub,Sep 4 2007, 12: Wrote:He has a fairly new car, if he were to sell it the hit he would take would be monstrous. In his situation its better to boost the car if hes looking for power.
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i was thinking more along the lines of just keep it stock but another car later.. :ph34r: