Hello everyone, I was just browsing around the web and came across this site. I must say, lot of cool looking focuses, which is why ive came to ask you guys a few questions as being a newbie to the car/community and (Yes i have used the SEARCH option to look for questions haha) Recently I was involved in a scam by my VW dealer, as they did follow warranty and regulations etc which is why we will be taking legal action against them, but enough with the story, I have been interested in mainly two cars since my lifetime departure from VW and anything german for the time being. The focus and the SRT-4, now I know this post may spark alot of opinions and thoughts which I hope can be narrowed down in simpler terms. But I was curious to know which would be prefered... as one of the cars I do wish to purchase is the Focus. Now many maybe asking what I would be expected of the focus and what my plans would be, and I guess you can say im the type of guy that would want to be outside on a nice spring day under the car installing a new product and tweaking every little thing to make this car top notch and good in performance and at the same time not having to worry about a transmission blowing up like what occured with my VW. My main focus is not to be drag racing or street racing or track, although I would like bring the car to the track every once in awhile and run a few, but other then that it would be my daily driving car as well. Now I am a fan of FI, and im not too familiar with the focus + FI = ? .. and how it runs which is another thing I would like to ask as well, and exactly how the car performs with FI along with the aftermarket items which I have been researching like companies such as Focussport etc. Would the focus have better gains and perform better with a rebuilt engine or FI or the best of both worlds togeter etc. Just throwing some simple but questions out there. Hope the community would be kind to reply. [cool]

built engine plus fi will net about 250-350 whp depending on your set up anything over that will need a return style fuel system

SRT-4 cars are great out of box cars but most people who drive them are 18 year old kids who drive like [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]s and think their car is the best thing since god created earth. not to say your one of those people but thats how most seem to be. If your looking for something more outta the box i like the WRX and im sure you could find one on forums for a decent price. As for the focus, its an awsome car! great gas mileage, great people who mod them, and people underestamate them all the time which is great if you plan on going FI. There are a bunch of foci that run 300+ hp but that is only through a turbo setup and you have to build the internals. The great thing about the focus is now they are selling the 2.3 ltr engine in the focus and when turbo kits are put on them, there is some serious power output. There are a bunch of SC's that can be used for the focus that are resonablely priced. The powerworks SC is $3000 and makes a stock focus put down 220 whp. You can buy a used focus and build the engine and put a turbo on it for cheaper than a SRT-4 and it would have more power. Also the focus is a great car around corners. Some cars have more power stock but on the auto course we kick ass ! Its all what you want to do and how much money you wanna spend. If ya need any help....everyone here is mad friendly and will help ya out. have fun with the test drives [;)]

definatly bro thanks alot, I have just been debating which one to choose, I mean the whole thing about insurance because of "sports car" has made me lean more towards the focus, I really like the focus and its a sexy looking vehicle. I know both vehicles have alot of parts on the market which is good, but I would like to reach at least 350+ if possible. Has it been achieved yet, and is it possible with the focus?

oh, that mark has been way surpassed...lol
turbo tom has one putting down 514whp i believe it was. several people are in the 300whp range on the forum, just look around a bit.

the thing is i have been trying to find used SVT's and no one is selling them in my area at all, except for one thats like 99 thousand & something miles, which im scrared to even purchase lol. but hmm.. do you think if I just buy that one, I can just rebuild that engine? oh and ive tried searching for SVT Turbocharger kits and cant seem to find any market kits, unless this is just like the regular 2.0 litre duratecs??

thats another thing too, what differs a regular duratec focus to a SVT? As far as performance / aftermarket etc, as well as do the different models / years differ from each other etc, for example MK1 compared to a MK3 etc etc, is everything still the same as far as engine wise.

oh and another thing.. how are the transmissions in these babies?

Well, if you like the new style Focus's (05 +) and like sedan's I've got a ST for sale[:D] <---shameless plug. LOL.

Thanks chick but I actually cant decide yet exactly as to what I would like to purchase, because both hatch and 4 door are both great looking cars :)

well the svt isnt a duratec. its a built up 2.0 zetec and if u wanted to do fi, then that is the car i would do it with. at the time, the regular foci put out 130hp at the fly and the svt was rated at 170 at the fly. if u havent already, look through the fi forums and look in the focus power forums(turbo tom). TONS of info in there.

(no offense to you 4doorers) im a huge fan of the hatch, but i guess it depends onhow many people will be in and out of the car, day in/day out. they are great little cars, off the lot, their handling is excellent (i hit highway turns at 95+ mph with no problem) and they have awesome pick up. im not a huge fan of ford, but the 2.0 duratec has absolutely blown me out of the water and i am in love with this little car.

Yea ive looked at the turbo tom info and stuff, but is there an actual kit on the market, like that comes with ecu programmed and everything needed, I would really like to save the hassel of ecu problems etc.

As well ive looked at Focussport which seems to be the only site I can find aftermarket parts for SVT and Duratec, and there as much offered for SVT from the looks, most of it is Duratec, but they do offer SVT parts,

Yea ive looked at the turbo tom info and stuff, but is there an actual kit on the market, like that comes with ecu programmed and everything needed, I would really like to save the hassel of ecu problems etc.

Depends on what model Focus you go with.

well if I were planning on going with a SVT zetec.. I really havent found anything.

well if I were planning on going with a SVT zetec.. I really havent found anything.

Power Works is a complete SC kit and Xios has a complete Turbo kit. The Xios kit is due out in a month or so. The Power works kit is available now.FYI not everything for a Zetec fits an SVT. The TB are in different locations.

Power Works is a complete SC kit and Xios has a complete Turbo kit. The Xios kit is due out in a month or so. The Power works kit is available now.FYI not everything for a Zetec fits an SVT. The TB are in different locations.

yea thats the thing thats confusing me while I was doing some research on aftermarket parts, they list everything by engine but not by model so I wouldnt want to purchase the wrong part, but the XIOS kit does not come tuned or with any tuning options right? or so I read, how would anyone come about calibrating the ECU and tuning the settings correctly and accurately? And with that in mind, would any CEL codes be of concern that I would assume be thrown at the dash?

It comes with the Xcal2 tuned by Focussport.

4 Grand, hmm, and the SVT engine would be a prefered engine for FI?

im on the focussport website and I keep seeing

Ford Focus 2.0 litre 16v Zetec ->>> is that SVT because then I see other parts that are listed as.
Ford Focus 2.0 liter 16v Zetec/SVT , are all the parts for Zetec SVT engine same with Zetec 2.0L 16v engine. Like for example if I wanted to puchase an item for the SVT and the part is listed as application of (Ford Focus 2.0 litre 16v Zetec) would it fit the SVT?

Not necessarily. Some stuff you can swap around. The SVT engine is a modded version of the Zetec, but in reality they don't even share the same block. If it doesn't say for SVT than don't buy it. The biggest difference in part swapping is the induction system. The TB is located in a different spot. Thats why things like CAI and Turbos are not interchangeable

oh ok so for example

http://focussport.com/cosworthblock.htm

that would be applicable with the SVT?

i believe it would be ok for both the SVT or reg Zetec. Its a different block so you can use all the orginal car parts but some parts you would have to change no matter if you have a SVT or not. I believe you would have to change the pistons and studd like that cause the bigger bore

hey bruin do you know of any sites that offer only SVT parts, etc?

oh ok so for example

http://focussport.com/cosworthblock.htm

that would be applicable with the SVT?

Thats an Engine block and would be the start of building an entire new engine. A good example is the SVT header. Add an SVT header to a regular Zetec then you can run any SVT compatible exhaust on your Zetec.

Here is a better site. http://www.mcnewsautomotive.com/

because I wouldnt mind rebuilding the whole SVT engine, but if I just rebuilt the whole engine I mean replaced parts with aftermarket and such would I be looking at high hp? or are we talking somewhere in the 200's

If you get into internals and such you could get 200hp N/A.

just a 30 hp gain??

the great thing about the CGI block is that its stronger so you can run high boost levels. Its what the WRC focus uses. Your best option would be to buy a ZX3 Zetec and put a SC or turbo on it. That way you get cheap insurance and its a sleeper. As far as a strictly SVT site....svtsalvage has svt stuff used. Most proformance stuff that is new is labled as either NON-SVT/NON-Zetec or Zetec/ SVT. One thing you have to also think about it that the focus is a light car and therefore gets going faster than other cars that come stock with more power. just a thought

If you want to find a good selection of Focus parts check out Central Flordia Motorsports, they've got A LOT of parts and I think they are better priced than Focus Sport. Worthwhile to check out. Also, I personally think that an SVT focus or even a regular ZX3 is much more of a drivers car, I'd say the focus is the way to go if you want a fun, nice car, if you want a track beast then the SRT-4 maybe better directly out of the box for you.

(I'm biased but I'd still choose the Focus bro)

just a 30 hp gain??

I'm talking whp. It's more of a 50hp gain. You can go further than that, but you asked if you could get 200hp.

Your best option would be to buy a ZX3 Zetec and put a SC or turbo on it. That way you get cheap insurance and its a sleeper.

Doesnt the SVT come with a Zetec?? And wait?? The insurance will go up with the SVT????? It doesnt have any FI or anything to consider it a fast/sport car?

*bump*

Doesnt the SVT come with a Zetec?? And wait?? The insurance will go up with the SVT????? It doesnt have any FI or anything to consider it a fast/sport car?

Six speed tranny , performance suspension ,higher out put engine. All that plus the SVT badge is enough for them to raise the insurance.
"The SVT engine is a modded version of the Zetec, but in reality they don't even share the same block."

oh ok because I mean if I do end up purchasing the SVT, it will have about 40,000+ miles on it already and I would like to start rebuilding the engine, then go FI after completing the core components needed that will not put the engine on the line, and especially when I know it can be safe and wont take chances like a few friends of mine have done,

I have a friend who has boosted his Scion TC, and has gotten a huge performance gain but has not touched anything internally, I mean nothing that I can recall, and is running 13 pounds of straight boost into his engine. The only thing I can recall that has been replaced was his injectors , which came with the turbo kit. Other then that hes put water meth, a pulley, and other then that nothing, and that is not the route I would like to take although FI is fun and a procedure that takes time and effort and of course money.

What I plan on doing, if I do purchase the SVT is, I would like to be capable of rebuilding the engine, and as I can see there looks to be a wide variety of both Zetec/SVT and Duratec aftermarket products. What has really caught my eye was the Cosworth Engine Block. The focus sport website as well has a variety of items but as you can see by my annoyingly compulsive questioning regarding the engine is becuase I would like to make that right decision on what I would like to purchase, and not be a couple of months down line like "Damn I should of gotten the duratec or damn I should of gotten just a regular Zetec" which Is why I have came for assistance by you "the owners of the cars/engines yourselves" If I can work more on a regular Zetec then should I purchase the zetec, or if I can get more on a SVT Zetec then should I stick with the SVT? Sorry if I wasnt clear on exactly my expectations. But If I had to make a goal HP for the future, I would like to get at least to 400 with this engine, and especially with all the products I see on for example Focus Sport, I cant SEE how you cant make numbers like that. I mean dont you think?

honestly the svt has very good internals, a guy on her has stock internals ans is running 19 or 23psi and has 341 whp, and i beleive toms svt the 540whp also is all stock internals, the internals are pretty stong in the svt, and my sister works at insurance place, and said svt was only like 5-12 bucks more a month then a stock zx3

overall svt is a great car, more bang for the buck the the srt-4, srt-4 only has the turbo, svt is an all around package

yea I am leaning more towards the Focus SVT at the moment, But I mean thats if the SVT I plan on purchasing isnt sold by the time I sell my current piece of garb car I should have never gotten in the first place. Im trying to sell my vehicle and thought it would be easy but turns out not to be :(

Well, if you like the new style Focus's (05 +) and like sedan's I've got a ST for sale[:D] <---shameless plug. LOL.

Here's a thought, start with Chick's 2.3L Duratec, Nice platform with possible turbo addition. And now that ford is running strictly duratec in 06-present, the parts will be availible. Just my opinion. Plus chick your owe me 10% commison is he buys it[hihi]

she plugged it first, but like focusvet said, the 2.3 motor is a great motor and has lots of potential

Back to topic at hand...I have a SRt-4, I only wanted a Focus because of cheaper payments, nothing more, powerwise, its not going to compare. Your base power of 130 to the wheel compared to about 205 to the wheel, plus the srt was designed for power and upgrades, not sure the focus was designed to go from 130hp to 400hp to the wheel like the srt was.


Srt is about 230hp stock, for 3k you can push 300-350hp, put down 5k your looking about 450hp, reliabley also.


Only reason I went with a srt is because it runs 14s stock and is under full warranty.


Both cars are nice, if you want power I say go srt-4, if you want good gas milage and a nice looking car, go for the focus.