Ford Focus ZTS, Looking for Performance Help

[sicbeing]

For those of you who have been following my never ending Eclipse problems, I got rid of it. The car just had way too many problems, after I gave it to the dealer for a week for the motor swap, the car was picked up by me with a broken axel bearing and the AC blowing hot air.

So, I tell them the next day I'm bringing it back in and I'm looking for another car. I search around their lot and see nothing too good, but I saw Ford Focus sedan with a spoiler with a very nice black paint job (never seen a focus sedan...)

I test drive it and it feels great. It handles the manual transmission MUCH better than the eclipse ever did. It also felt much lighter, was better on gas, looked better (IMO) and was cheaper. So the next day I signed the papers and now I have a new ford focus ZTS.

Equipment
Air Conditioning Power Steering
Leather Seats Air Bag(s)
AM/FM CD System Power Windows
Power Locks Power Mirrors
Alloy Wheels Cruise Control
Rear Defroster

Specifications
Manual
2.0L Engine
4 Cylinders
4 Door
2WD
EPA Mileage 25/34
135 Torque@4500rpm
130 Horsepower@5300rpm


Anyway, I like it a lot better than the eclipse surprisingly. It has a DOHC (whatever that means) and it also feels a lot faster and smoother.

I'm looking to upgrade the performance and was looking into the more basic smaller cheaper upgrades and I just wanted to make sure I had my stuff straight.


Catback exhaust.
-To my knowledge this is an exhaust from the (misspelled) cat-a-lack(?) converter to the end. I read that these can improve gas mileage as well as peak horse power anywhere from 5% to 40%(?). I'm not sure where I would buy one, but what brand should I look for? I heard from my rice-ee friends I should get a flowmaster, but my race-ee friends told me "why would you get that brand? for the sound?" So I'm not sure which way to go on this one.

Headers.
-I believe these are the pipes that go in the front of my engine area. Not sure what points they connect to. I read these can improve performance the same way the exhaust system can, but they seem to be more expensive (I look at summitracing.com and found they can be near 700 US). I wouldn't know what brand to take with these either.

Cold Air Intake.
-Ok this one I'm more familiar with. I believe I can install this one myself, although on my focus it looks a bit different (there's a wiring harness connecting to where my tube connects to the air baffle). Now I'm pretty sure I'd want to go with an AEM kit. These are pretty cheap/expensive whichever way you look at it. I read about how these actually imrpove performance, and in Florida I think they'd have a good effect. I'm still confused about the different between a Cold Air Intake and an Air Intake. I'm guessing the Air Intake isn't as good as a Cold one?

Lowering Kit.
-Now I figured there'd be a "kit" for this where you can lower or rise the car however you want once the kit is put on, but all I can find are lowering springs. Do these lowering springs act like the "kit" I have in my head? I figured these were just coil overs that have been cut. I only want my car lowered maybe one inch, so I am skeptical about buying the lowering springs.

Chip.
-I am totally lost on chips, how to install them, what brand to buy, what price range I should be looking at, or etc. I heard they can be from 300-1000 dollars. Now does that mean there can be a huge difference as to which ones add more performance?


For now my goal is to reach 200HP peak power. Do you guys think I can/should do this? Until I take it more seriously and start to look into tires and anti-roll bars, this will be mainly for road use (not "street racing"). I want to take it to the next level and try for 300HP and use it for autocrossing.

What do you guys think?

 

[Burnout]

1. Lowering Kit.
-Now I figured there'd be a "kit" for this where you can lower or rise the car however you want once the kit is put on, but all I can find are lowering springs. Do these lowering springs act like the "kit" I have in my head? I figured these were just coil overs that have been cut. I only want my car lowered maybe one inch, so I am skeptical about buying the lowering springs.

2. For now my goal is to reach 200HP peak power. Do you guys think I can/should do this? Until I take it more seriously and start to look into tires and anti-roll bars, this will be mainly for road use (not "street racing"). I want to take it to the next level and try for 300HP and use it for autocrossing.

So:
1. The lowering springs you speak of, similar in nature to coilovers, are part of the "package" you're talking about. There are two things you'll need to successfully lower your car:
Shocks designed to be lowered
Lowering Springs or Coilovers

You can't put springs designed to lower the car on the stock shocks/struts. Reason? Well, without shocks designed to use springs at a higher spring rate, you'll end up with a really bouncy car, and shortly thereafter, blown shocks. They can't handle being compressed that much.

2. This is going to be hard without going for something like a turbo. Going from 135 to 200 with the modifications you listed really isn't going to happen. You may be able to get it to 160-170, but since Ford already "performance tuned" the car, I wouldn't expect too much without going forced-induction.

On that kind of car, my personal suggestion would be to take the power you have now and use it more efficiently. For example, get a nice clutch/flywheel, get a good suspension set up, nice shocks and springs (not cheap stuff from eBay, name-brand is important here), get some nice light rims with decently fat tires, slotted/drilled rotors and nice brake pads, and do a few modifications to let the engine work more efficiently (cold air intake, exhaust).

In a straight line you may not be the quickest car, but with such a small car, if you improved upon the already light and zippy handling you speak of, well, turns would be fun.

 

[xcsti]

Congrats 👍

Burnout is pretty spot on.

 

[sicbeing]

Edit.

Links don't work. I found most those parts on summitracing.com. I'm not sure how these parts are different than stock, nor do they say if the struts I picked out are meant for lowered cars. I'm sure a lot of this stuff will be expensive as all hell to install. Better start saving my money..

 

[Jay]

Burnout summed it up pretty well, you wont make your power figure of 200 with exhaust(full), CAI and chip. Bolt on Forced induction kit would be required unless you strip down and rebuilt the engine with higher compression and more aggressive camshafts(for NA tune). 300hp will just require a more aggressive Forced induction and possibly a lower compression but most likely not.

On that kind of car, my personal suggestion would be to take the power you have now and use it more efficiently. For example, get a nice clutch/flywheel, get a good suspension set up, nice shocks and springs (not cheap stuff from eBay, name-brand is important here), get some nice light rims with decently fat tires, slotted/drilled rotors and nice brake pads, and do a few modifications to let the engine work more efficiently (cold air intake, exhaust).

I agree, but bit of a pain replacing the clutch and flywheel on a Focus.

 

[sicbeing]

I know where to find a clutch, but I can't find a flywheel.

Should I just take my car to a racing shop and see what they have to say? I'm a bit lost as to what brand or price I should be looking at.

 

[skip0110]

I think you are jumping the gun a bit on performance parts. Before you go all out, lowing it, getting full exhaust, etc., take care of the little stuff. Replace the filter with a high-flow paper or cloth in the stock size (cone kits don't do much at all). Put in synthetic oil. Get new, sticky tires (new rims/taller rims will most likely degrade performance, only wider rims would be helpful, and then you will run the risk of tearing up your tires/wheel wells).

See how that works out, drive the car for a bit, then decide what it needs next.

 

[Jay]

I know where to find a clutch, but I can't find a flywheel.

Finding them isnt really the problem replacing them is, a fair bit of work.

 

[sicbeing]

Replace the filter with a high-flow paper or cloth in the stock size

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

 

[skip0110]

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

http://www.knfilters.com/filtercharger.htm

Or, go to AutoZone, tell them you want a "K&N replacement filter", give them the year/make/model and they will 99% chance have it in stock for about $45.

It's a stock-size high flowing filter. Not a "cold-air kit" or "CAI", which arent very good usually.

 

[sicbeing]

Oh ok, like the normal Air kits, but just the filter. I kind of thought those only added noise under the hood when accelerating rather than actually doing anything.

 

[sicbeing]

Also, will sticky tires lose grip quickly? Like, will they wear out much faster and will I be in the market for tires real soon afterward?

 

[skip0110]

For $45 (instead of a $15 paper filter) you are getting slightly better flow (maybe 2-3 hp) and also you can clean the filter and reuse it. It makes the engine sound slightly louder but barely noticable.

The CAI's give that "intake bark".

As to the tires:
Depends on the tire. I made a tire thread and got some good suggestions; read ///M-Spec's post at the end. I am going with Kumho ECSTA ASX's. Most tires have a sticky outer layer and a stiffer, less sticky layer underneath for tread life.

 

[sicbeing]

Well i mention that because I figured I'd wait on the tires until I actually want to take it on a track, whether it be autocross or drag etc, because then I can just switch the tires for racing so I don't wear them out in everyday driving.

 

[Burnout]

I would wait on tires until you got new rims, pressuming you plan on getting them.

 

[sicbeing]

I have thought about lighter rims, they aren't too high on the want list, but lighter rims can help (I won't be going above 16inch) and can look better.

 

[Burnout]

I have thought about lighter rims, they aren't too high on the want list, but lighter rims can help (I won't be going above 16inch) and can look better.

Well, you could get wider rims, making it possible to get wider tires.

 

[sicbeing]

Well if I go for the new filter, should I go for the new tube and etc also?

 

[Young_Warrior]

slap in a st170 engine.

 

[skip0110]

Well if I go for the new filter, should I go for the new tube and etc also?

Thats a waste of money IMO. Just do the filter.

I forgot 2 other things you can do for under $5 that will probably free up another few hp and also improve fuel economy.
1) Fuel injector cleaner
2) Clean the MAF (to do this, you need a tamper proof T20 torx on Fords, rubbing alcohol, and Q-tips. Carefully unplug the MAF, and loosen the 2 torx that hold it in. Without touching the wire to anything or touching it with your fingers, wipe it very, very gently with a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol to pull off any black carbon deposits on it. Reinsert, give it an hour to dry, and plug the MAF back in)

 

[sicbeing]

Thats a waste of money IMO. Just do the filter.

I forgot 2 other things you can do for under $5 that will probably free up another few hp and also improve fuel economy.
1) Fuel injector cleaner
2) Clean the MAF (to do this, you need a tamper proof T20 torx on Fords, rubbing alcohol, and Q-tips. Carefully unplug the MAF, and loosen the 2 torx that hold it in. Without touching the wire to anything or touching it with your fingers, wipe it very, very gently with a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol to pull off any black carbon deposits on it. Reinsert, give it an hour to dry, and plug the MAF back in)

Can I get these at the local autozone or etc? I don't know much about cleaning etc the stuff, should I pay to have someone do it for me?

 

[skip0110]

Yeah, fuel injector cleaner can be had at AutoZone, WalMart, even some gas stations. You pour it in the fuel tank after you fill up with gas.

As to the MAF cleaning, you could pay someone to do it (although the MAF is normally considered something you just replace)...but if you are paying more than $15-$20 you are getting ripped, since the actual cleaning takes less than 10 minutes. It's really not that hard, if you google for "clean MAF" you should find some pretty good directions with pictures and stuff. 👍

EDIT: Yeah, these directions are very good http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=44679

I use what they call Method #2 (with the q-tip)

 

[Joey D]

For an intake, AEM or K&N are both good bets. Be sure its a CAI and not a short ram, you just get the noise with a short ram. You want it to suck cold air, not hot.

For springs Eibach is cheap and good. A Bell Tire can even install them with a warrenty. But if you want to really get some high end stuff...err I would say Tein but I don't really know.

For tires get something with good wet and dry traction, you don't have to worry about snow.

Brakes are a very important part of upgrading a car, I stress brakes HIGHLY!

 

[sicbeing]

Yeah, fuel injector cleaner can be had at AutoZone, WalMart, even some gas stations. You pour it in the fuel tank after you fill up with gas.

How often should I add this after a fillup?

 

[skip0110]

How often should I add this after a fillup?

Well I am guessing it's probably never been done before on your car...which is why you would see significant improvement. Beyond that, once every 8,000-10,000 miles seems like a prudent decision. But then again, the cleaner is only $4 or so, so you could do it every oil change or every other oil change (to help rememeber when to do it).

 

[sicbeing]

For an intake, AEM or K&N are both good bets. Be sure its a CAI and not a short ram, you just get the noise with a short ram. You want it to suck cold air, not hot.

For springs Eibach is cheap and good. A Bell Tire can even install them with a warrenty. But if you want to really get some high end stuff...err I would say Tein but I don't really know.

For tires get something with good wet and dry traction, you don't have to worry about snow.

Brakes are a very important part of upgrading a car, I stress brakes HIGHLY!

If I were to buy a CAI, what measures could I take to make sure water doesn't get into it? I had a buddy have that happen to him and it cost him an engine. He has something to block water now but I'm not sure what it is, or if the blocker decreases the air flow, negating the point of the CAI.

 

[sicbeing]

Well I am guessing it's probably never been done before on your car...which is why you would see significant improvement. Beyond that, once every 8,000-10,000 miles seems like a prudent decision. But then again, the cleaner is only $4 or so, so you could do it every oil change or every other oil change (to help rememeber when to do it).

Would my local oil change service have Mobil Synthetic oil (once every 7000~ miles) if I asked for it? How much more would I be paying from my normal cost (of about 20~ dollars for normal oil change)?

 

[Joey D]

If I were to buy a CAI, what measures could I take to make sure water doesn't get into it? I had a buddy have that happen to him and it cost him an engine. He has something to block water now but I'm not sure what it is, or if the blocker decreases the air flow, negating the point of the CAI.

AEM has a watertrap kit I do believe...my buddy has one on his ION

 

[sicbeing]

AEM has a watertrap kit I do believe...my buddy has one on his ION

I would have to buy this seperatly?

 

[skip0110]

Would my local oil change service have Mobil Synthetic oil (once every 7000~ miles) if I asked for it? How much more would I be paying from my normal cost (of about 20~ dollars for normal oil change)?

It's been a looooong time since I have had an oil change done at a quick-lube place, but they all have some sort of synthetic. I think a regular change is about $30 and the synthetic is abotu $50...maybe someone else could give verification on this.

If you shift over 4000 RPM more than half the time I would say change the oil at least every 5000 miles, even if it is synthetic.


Oh and BTW with reference to brakes (and I'm not trying to contradict you Blazin) but a good way to tell if you need better brakes is if you can't trigger the ABS (after hard driving and whatnot).