Hello everyone,

In a year or so I plan on going with the FocusSport Stage 1 or maybe even 2 Turbo kit. I have a 2007 Ford Focus ZX4 SES with the auto tranny sadly. I'm wondering what the cheapest way to either build the tranny to withstand the beating the turbo will give it, or to replace the tranny with a Lentec or is it cost effective to drop in a 5 speed?

I want to go the cheapest route possible because going FI costs enough, and I don`t want my transmission blowing up on me going down the track. Will the ATX hold up stock? Is it better to get a Lentec torque converter and valve body? I really don`t know im not an expert by no means with a car :P Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cole

you need to ask turbo tom for his expert opinion and specific parts and details you need to know but he will probably tell you to stick with the auto and build the crap out of it. turbo and auto go together hand in hand. manual tranny is great with higher hp N/A and low boost turbo and superchargers but if you are shooting for 270+hp you will want auto. the stock tranny will NOT hold up to much over stock. you might hold an extra 20hp with it. if i were in your shoes i would either build the auto i have or buy the one tom/1turbofocus has for sale. its the same tranny he used in his drag car. very very nice. i think all you would have to do to make it work would be changing the bellhousing.

Stock tranny will not hold up. The "bolt-ons" help, but still won't take boost. Internal clutch bands are the place to start. A Street Terminator from Lentech is a good model build up. The ATX is an expensive penalty when it comes to having any real performance.

yes the ATX is a big hurdle to get over if ur gonna do any big performance mods such as a turbo. hell ive got the bolt ons and mine started giving me trouble. just got my car back yesterday actually from a complete tranny re-build plus some beefed up parts. an upgraded valve body and an external cooler for starters.

one word I've always heard for auto trannys is Lentech. I'm in the same boat as you my friend since I'll have my kit together by the end of the summer. The most money I'll be spending to boost my car is on getting it tuned and on upgrading the transmission.