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finally starting my journey to 450whp

64K views 686 replies 26 participants last post by  focusmaniaczx3 
#1 ·
EDIT: im editing this to give a quick hopefully short summary of what i want out of this thread. i would like some help finding some things and maybe learn some things.
i would like to locate a billet oil pump gear for high revs like what CFM had. unfortunately CFM no longer sells those. if you have a lead please tell me
cheap vband waste gates around 46mm.
somebody should sponsor me since im going to be at the track alot! that means give me $$$!!!! lol joking?
im getting the borgwarner/bullseye s258 unless you know of something better
i need intake manifold options other than topspeed. i dont like theirs.
what EXACTLY do i need for a return fuel system? cheapest way to do it? i know very little about this other than that it needs to be done.
help me with pick out a clutch. i want to spend under $700 for one to hold 450whp/tq every day and maybe 50-75 dyno pulls ONLY (no track or street) at 600whp during its life. no twin disk unless it can last for at least 25k-30k miles.
teach me about anti-lag. ya know? shooting massive fireballs out the tail pipe and making lots of racket. can it be done with the focus?
help me hook up (traction)
help me locate wheels that look like SVT 5 spokes but are at least 8 inches wide or wider that will fit under rolled/slightly flared fenders without rubbing when turning. a rub when bottoming out the suspension is completely acceptable.

now you can read the rest of the post if you want. i think its funny because i typed it up while jacked up out of my gord on sleeping pills and nyquil and i will ramble horribly when i get on here in that state.


well i always like getting input. i have a thread basically asking how to get to 450whp. i know how now and im going for it and i will be at least part of the way there in about a month or two, God willing. this thread will serve as a bit of a documentary i guess. im going to take lots and lots of before and after pics and ill see if some can maybe get snapped during the process as well. unfortunately i wont be present for the build since this is being done a few states away.

a certain somebody is going to have possession of my car for a little while to fabricate a brand new type of turbo kit for the zetec and duratec focus. in the process he is going to do a complete rebuild for me to get the engine in shape to handle the power. at the very least i will be sitting on between 300 and 330whp when he is done.

the main issue is going to be coming up with all the $$$ i need between now and then. which is why i am now accepting all donations! im just joking about donations unless you just feel compelled to give your money away or you want to sponsor me. i have no problem with putting a few bigass stickers on my car for some help getting this thing done. it WILL be at the track quite a bit..... just saying. anyhow back to serious stuff.

im going to need a bigger turbo than the turbonetics super60 that i currently have which will set me back quite a bit along with a return fuel system. i am also in a fuzz over the intake manifold. sorry but i just dont like topspeed's manifold. they are overpriced and i dont like the idea of a partially plastic manifold under high boost. that being said i know the stock manifold can take over 400whp/tq worth of boost so i might stick with it until/if it busts.

for turbo, i am currently leaning in the direction of the bullseye s256 or s258. or call it a borg warner [eek] unless someone has a cheaper turbo that can make the same power and be as reliable. i still want to crest 600whp on race gas occasionally hence the need/want for such a big one. that might run be around $1300.

im still open to any and all suggestions for what clutch to run. i DO NOT want to spend $1200 for the twin disk clutchmasters unless somebody can prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that im going to be able to squeeze at least 25k miles out of it. i know im about to spend a crap ton of money but it doesnt make me any less cheap. i want to get a lot of mileage out of this thing if at all possible. if i can find a $500 ish clutch that will hold 450whp/tq on a day to day basis and MIGHT hold 600ishwhp on a dyno once or twice every few months that would be preferred. for the record i have been known to dream from time to time.

open for input on BOV and WG too. im going to try the greddy type RS BOV and see if it works out for now since i already have it. ill probably buy a precision 46mm vband waste gate unless somebody knows of a vband WG that will do the job for cheaper. im looking at $315 for the WG just FYI.

i have not got a clue in the world what intercooler is being used. i am quite curious about that since unless im mistaken the master fabricator doing all of this wonderfulness is providing it.

the rest is pretty standard stuff. eagle rods, supertech pistons 8:7:1 compression i think with a big overbore to make sure the block is ship shape. i look at it like this. you may say that i shouldnt bore the block out all the way because i wont be able to bore it out any more in the future if it needs to be cleaned up for any reason. well i say that if something happens where i need to get the block cleaned up again then picking up another junk yard block for $100 wont be an issue. ill be using all arp fasteners obviously, stock head unless the machine shop that is going to get my head and block cleaned up can do some P&P and a 3/5 angle for a little extra. the head will get a rebuild, new timing set, water pump, every gasket will get replaced.

unfortunately i will NOT be using the c-f-m oil pump since they dont have any more and i seriously doubt i will stumble across one in the next month. but if somebody somehow has a lead on one of those boogers then for goodness sake please tell me! i want it bad!

i already have a torsen LSD. really wish i would have spent the extra coin at the time and had a quaife installed instead but oh well. we will see if it holds, i plan on running slicks. [shameful]

and speaking of track stuff. anti-lag... anybody have anything to say about that? the whole deal where you stick the car in gear, clutch pedal to the floor, mash the gas pedal to the floor, make lots of racket, shoot flames out the tail pipe, build boost, and then take off like a bat out of hell. whats up with that? can we even do that with a zetec? if so then how? i dont even think i know for sure how its supposed to work.

im also open for suggestions on techniques for hooking up. i think there's going to be lots of spinning in my future but i would at least like to try and cut back on wheel hop if at all possible. what can i do for that?

and this car isnt going to be a super comfy really quick daily driver im afraid. im going to gut it. sorry but i have the SVT to be comfortable in. the only things staying in the interior will be the dash, maybe center console, racing seat for driver, stock seat on the passenger side only for when someone wants a ride along, the radio, 2 front door speakers, and i might even go wild and run a infinity minisub in the back. what? i like my tunes! and any interior braces i can find to stiffen the car up without going to a roll cage unless i can find one that i dont have to climb through to get into the car. ill probably even remove the roof liner.

dont know for sure what wheels and tires im going to run yet but the ugly boogers i have now just aint gonna happen. 17x7 wont help either. what i would REALLY like to do would be to find some 5 spoke SVT wheels to run in back and some 5 spoke 17/16x8 SVT replica wheels with a 40-45 et on radials up front. i found some 16x8 svt cobra replicas but the only offset available is 15 and 25 that i could find and i dont like that look. they need to be tucked. i refuse to have tires bugging out of the fenderwells looking like a [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)] unless im running slicks at the track. if anyone has a lead on anything like what im looking for please let me know. otherwise i might just run some team dynamics 17x8's or wider if i can get them to fit well if i cant find some SVT 5 spoke style wheels like i want. either way i guess i need to get a front wheel off and take measurements to see what is the absolute widest tire i can run and tuck with some mild fender rolling/flaring without rubbing the shock in the front. im going to need the traction!

as far as appearances go im going to put the car in black primer sometime before i take it down and i may leave it that way. i like flat black. it will either be flat black or factory red. im going to stick with the roush front bumper, cobra style hood, and roush back bumper. i dont know about the wings west side skirts, those might have to go but we will see. im also sticking with the roush top wing. i will never run a mid-wing again though. been there, done that, thought it looked stupid. i may change out headlights and tail lights at some point if i cant stand not fiddling with it in the coming months. it might make me nuts just being "done" with my little zx3. ive always been fiddling with it but after i hit my power goal i dont think there is much of anything else for me to do other than get rid of the MTX for a lentech ATX, get a much bigger turbo and shoot for tom's old drag car record. but that would pretty much turn it into a track only car at that point so i dont know if that will ever happen or not. we will just have to wait and see if guess. only time will tell. i will update as things progress, this should be pretty epic you guys! especially when this thing is done and you see pictures of my car before hand so you can see what i started with, how far it fell, and then how far it came thanks to a guy in alabama. and in case you are wondering i have been mysterious about this man's identity for a reason. i dont know if he is ready to step into the light just yet or not but im sure if he is he will pop in here with a few words after he spends the next month reading this book i just wrote.

and on that note let me finish this epic post with this... i really gotta stop getting on this forum after work in the mornings AFTER downing 2 shots of nyquil and sleeping pills. unfortunately if i didnt do it then i would never have time to get on here. wish me luck gentlemen, the race is on!







[hatchet]
 
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#31 ·
Like I said mine is a custom setup. but the comp turbo i have for the drift car is suppose to be the same just with a billet compressor wheel. And i think its a c-2558 turbo. call comp turbo The guys name is Justin. I think the turbo is about 1k for the one i have for the drift car. And About the oil seals zxthrizzle. Just like any journal bearing turbo (and i discovered this the hard way) you have to have an oil restrictor in there to prevent it from flooding it with too much oil. Do it correctly and the turbos are great. Get it wrong and youll blow the seals. journal bearing turbos are a bit sensitive to oil pressures.
 
#32 ·
Keep in mind maniac. My turbo wont get your car to 600whp. if you do the math which my car has been pretty consistent at all the diffent levels. At full boost capabilities of my turbo i would only get to just above 500whp If i got lucky. But like i said in my email to you. I can turn mine up but until i can get mine to hook there is no point.
 
#33 ·
im starting to think awfully hard about just running the slightly smaller turbo and on dyno day making up the difference with nitrous. ive got a kit that ive been trying to sell for a few months with no success and i understand that it would probably be better to spend a little extra on a bigger turbo to get me there and sell the nitrous. HOWEVER now that i think about it let me pose a question.

would it not be better to run a smaller quicker spooling turbo to get me to ONLY 450whp to run on the track and street (which is all i really want and WAY more than i really need or can even use) and then on those rare occasions when i want to turn it up a notch on dyno days just throw a 150 shot of nitrous to it? or hell if i could squeeze over 500whp out of a turbo like dan is running i wouldnt have to run a shot that big. and im sure the engine would be able to take it wouldnt it? and once again i seriously doubt i would EVER run that power level on the track or street unless i did it on the street just to do some rolling freeway burnouts or something stupid like that. and the thing is im not sure if i would even need 600hp to smoke the tires at 80mph. dan what say you on that note? i seem to remember you saying that your car spins tires at 80mph just from punching it in 5th but that may be someone else im thinking of...
 
#35 ·
yea with my precision journal turbos I run a restrictor for the same reason. some idiot at a local tuning shop kept telling me with journal turbos there is no need for restrictor and I laughed in his face. I run a .065 size
 
#40 ·
my turbo was a garrett 50 trim t3/to4e .63ar 360 journal bearing

i made this return set up how to a long time ago

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159613

a regulator like the aeromotive has 2 pressure/feed fittings and one return. on that type you could put feed fitting to the pump and the other to the rail and cap the end of the rail and then the return fitting on the bottom of the regulator. but doing it this way is not the best routing and is kinda useless. best way is to feed one side of the rail from pump, then go to the regulator from the other side of the rail, cap the extra feed/pressure port, and then put return on the bottom. this is best for making sure air is not in the rail
 
#42 ·
that's a lot of work there tim. and did you have to pop the hatch to fill the cell still? id still rather do an in tank one and not deal with wiring a new fuel gage and modifying the filler hose
 
#44 ·
yeah i just stuck a off the shelf fuel cell in and went through no effort on the fill or finding a sending unit that would work with stock gauge. with a little more work you would be able to make both work.

Tim
 
#46 ·
yeah i agree it is a pita. sucks that ford is so stupid lol. then again this is suppose to be just an economy car.. even though it doesnt get that great of economy lol
 
#48 ·
Yes maniac that was me that said that. Even with my street drag radials at about 75mph on my high setting if i just roll into it it roasts the tires to about 100mph. Unless you want to run street slicks or you can get a big fat tire under the front of that car then i think anything more than about 350whp and same wtq on the street is worthless. Even my low setting which is about that roasts the tires deep into 3rd if im not careful. It takes some tricky pedal work to make it hook and pull really good. but even a 350whp and 350wtq focus will destroy just about anything youll find on the street. with good driving that is.
 
#51 ·
Driving is 90% of the battle. I used to be able to out run cobra mustangs to 90mph when i was na.. Just due to better driving skills than most. But with good driving. 350whp/wtq will take out vettes (in stock form including z06) Porsche 911 twin turbo, viper, cobra mustangs, Skyline GTR (though that one is close.. they are damn fast for a stock car), and just about any car you will ever see. 450whp/wtq will take out sport bikes. hehehehe.. all from a roll. from a dig is a much different game. And no matter how hard we try from a dig will never be the focus strong point. At least not in fwd form.
 
#54 ·
Its rather amusing. Usually i get the same response from all... "thats just not right.. a focus isnt suppose to move like that" hahahah. Corvette guys get mad. Most others all say that line... lol
 
#55 ·
here's an idea... im just being stupid at this point probably but bear with me because it could be epic. what about running 2 tanks? would it be possible in any way shape or form to run the stock tank and lines with a BAP for say 350-380hp on low boost and ALSO have a small 5 gallon fuel cell where the spare tire goes for race gas on a return system for high boost? this way you can still use the stock fuel gauge and fill from stock location. and with the flip of a switch and a minute to swap tunes with the xcal it could make some ridiculous power.

i dunno maybe im just being dumb but its a thought. i think it would be interesting. and yep i just hit the sleeping pills again in case you're wondering lol
 
#58 ·
To be completely honest. Hate to say it but if all you want is a fast car there are much better cars out there that can be done alot easier and ALOT cheaper than the focus. Even going an expensive car like my fd LS1 RX7. (which if you ever look into cars is a very expensive car to own. you could be faster for alot less.you can pick up a ls1 swapped fd for lets say 20k. Slap a cam some heads an intake and a tune your out say 4k (thats going high) and your already putting down 450whp on a 2800lb car. the say take another 5k and dump a turbo kit on it even remote mount and your at say 650whp and your still under 30k. I quit counting at $27k in parts on my focus. that doesnt include the thousands spend on tuning, or having to redo stuff, Or the labor ( i did all moy own labor) or the headache of trying to source parts or trying to fit all the stuff under the hood. Dont get me wrong i love my focus. But even a 450hp fd rx7 would destroy my focus. My fd is only putting down 362whp and 363 wtq and it will hang with a sport bike from a dig and walk a 650 in the top.
Now get something cheap like a 240 for $500 rolling chassis (and ive seen them alot cheaper). slap a ls2 with t-56 for say another $10K (full swap if you do it yourself that includes everything you need to make it easy $4500-6k for motor tranny, $1k for plug and play harness, $1k for swap kit, $2k for miscellaneous crap you might run into. And all these prices are high) bam you have a 10 sec car. that easy. start modding the ls2 and you have a 9 sec car. Or hell if you dead set against v-8 (not sure why you would be) a stock kade with a good tune and a good turbo kit will produce over 500whp all day long. build the block itll take 700whp all day long.
The point is if you just want a fast car there are cheaper easier ways to go about it. But If it has to be a focus dont expect it to be cheap and be ready to work on it for a long time to come. It took me almost 10 years to get mine to where it is. Of course at the time i built mine there was only a couple around over 350whp let alone 450whp. To be honest and im sorry if i offend anyone. If i could do it again. I wouldnt.
 
#60 ·
Could not said any better!! Exactly how I feel, you grow to love it but yeah wouldn't do it again, that said in the next couple of weeks I'll be over 450 @ 20psi, 580 @27-28psi.
 
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