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Power Works Supercharger

12K views 62 replies 26 participants last post by  Chick 
#1 ·
Hey all. Im planning to go forced induction pretty soon so Im gathering ideas and possibilities to get the best for my money. Ive been thinking of going turbo whether with a custom kit or buying one. OK here's the thing my ZX3 is ATX. I was wondering around the focussport website and I saw their superchargers. Thing is the one that I like which of course was the powerworks SC says for 5 speed only. This may be a noobie question but here it goes anyway. Could it be installed on an ATX?
 
#3 ·
The issue with the Focus ATX tranny is it can't take a lot of torque.

Most SC and turbo's out there will work on an ATX but the ATX can't handle the TQ.

If you're not going to do any tranny upgrades, it would be best to get the JRSC since it's low on TQ but has some decent HP.
 
#5 ·
^^^ Most know that any Turbo or SC can be installed on a Focus with an ATX tranny but how much sustained TQ can it handle before it breaks/causes damage is the concern.

Without doing some ATX tranny upgrades, you might damage your tranny if you have too much TQ.
 
#7 ·
At a minimum I would do a tq converter and valve body on the ATX if you go FI. From what I got from talking to the Powerworks guy during a test drive of the PW car, the main difference is the tune.
 
#9 ·
^^ Yup, as long as you don't dog it alot you should be fine. but to be safe, get build the tranny up a tad.
 
#11 ·
Sweet. Then if it can be installed Im definately might be heading the supercharger way. If I can install it yep if it's possible and by your replies sounds like it I might go with the powerworks supercharger. Of course safety is priority so you can count on the fact that I will upgrade my ATX tranny to handle the increased load. If they are in the process of making a tune which can work around the stock atx tranny then I will definatelly keep an eye out for more info.

Thanks for your replies up to this point. Looks like I might go with the Powerworks supercharger.
 
#12 ·
im not sure if u have read this...but...there is a great article in Focus Fanatic magazine about the powerworks supercharger. it shows and tells u how th instal which is really helpful for learning everything u need to kno about the kit.
hope it helps
 
#16 ·
belacyrf said:
Tom.. is that really fair??? Your car is built and hardly an "out of the box" turbo!! Your car is a beast. I think a turbo would still be prefereable over an SC, but I think a fairer comparison would leave people still wondering... your car isn't exactly a fair comparo (which I'm sure you know :D )
Bela , I took the SVT not the beast , The SVT has the EXACT focus-power kit as shipped nothing changed in the kit 100% ALL stock engine

They had there "BIG BOOST" kit there and so did I , I gave rides on low then high boost and almost evey ride was 3 other people in the car to PW 1

Yes the ATX will need to be addressed no matter what boost you go with , after seeing a ATX SC in action i now see whay they say nothing needs to be dont to the ATX , because it makes no TQ

Sure im trying to make a buck , that does not change the fact that my statement was true !

Tom
 
#17 ·
As Tom said, I drove ALL the powerworks cars this weekend when we were at jetfest in Indiana, one of them being a bone stock ATX. Yeah, it was somewhat "zippy" but the torque was inexistant. Was fun to drive but for $4700 or whatever, not worht the bang for the buck IMHO. Also after driving the big boosted powerworks car and the svt and regular zetec cars, they are very smooth and linear and drivability is great, I suppose if I were in the market for a SC they would be my first choice, BUT, they still dont have the torque OR the hard ass kick in the ass from the gobbs of torque my car or Toms car makes.


Scott
 
#19 ·
Well i too was in all the power works cars/driving all and rideing all. (minus driving the SVT) I went in all teh cars with another person in there, I also went for a ride in Toms SVT he had there. Honnestly i enjoyed the Big Boost car more than Toms. I Enjoyed the power that the BBK made lower and across the powerband, compared to Tom's kicking in around 4k. If i had the choice to buy eather kit, i would go with the PowerWorks S/C, with the BBK.
 
#20 · (Edited)
zx3focusguy said:
As Tom said, I drove ALL the powerworks cars this weekend when we were at jetfest in Indiana, one of them being a bone stock ATX. Yeah, it was somewhat "zippy" but the torque was inexistant. Was fun to drive but for $4700 or whatever, not worht the bang for the buck IMHO. Also after driving the big boosted powerworks car and the svt and regular zetec cars, they are very smooth and linear and drivability is great, I suppose if I were in the market for a SC they would be my first choice, BUT, they still dont have the torque OR the hard ass kick in the ass from the gobbs of torque my car or Toms car makes.


Scott
Sooo what exactly does that mean? The fact of the matter is that you cant change the laws of physics. We do a complete dyno program including engine mapping to tune the engine to it's peak pressure limits NOT to it's maximum power output. We also ran 300 hours of durability on the engine and our components to prove that it was safe and reliable. I have over 20,000 miles on my car with the kit installed (the white Powerworks big boost car) on top of the 46,000 miles that was originally on the engine. The silver base car has close to 30,000 miles on it post kit install and is driven weekly across the country to potential distributors. I'm constantly running at track events and dragstrips with my car and except for snapping a halfshaft doing a burnout with my slicks (after a couple of hundred runs) and changing the oil on a regular basis the only parts I've had to replace are brakes and tires. I personally drove my car in the autocross event at jet fest and my last run was a 54.99sec. Wasn't the fastest but it was the first time I've ever auto crossed. I've also driven my car to the west coast and spent time making sure the calibration was safe at altitude and all climates

Tom's comments about turbo efficiency are correct as far as power vs boost pressure. Our goal was not to build the "Baddest" car on the block, but to build kit that would "Enhance" the performance of your base car to a "SAFE & DEPENDABLE" level of performance running on 91 octane pump fuel while not hurting the emissions capability or driveability of the vehicle.

I'm definately not knocking Tom's efforts for his turbo kits as I wish we could "legally" build illegal cars but we can't. Atleast not to sell.
Stock SVT? That would be stock without a catalyst and by the gray color of your flaming tailpipe probably 110 octane?? I think I also noticed that your "closure hose" or vent hose for your PCV system was hanging under the car, not to mention there is no way any of the cars they were demonstrating would come close to passing a pass-by noise test.

The auto is currently running road durability loaded to MAX GVW to ensure that the trans WILL live. The car had 20,000 miles on it when we installed the kit and has since accumulated 3 or 4,000 more miles since the install. The transmission shift schedule and pressures have been re-calibrated for this application. We also reduce the torque on pull aways and shifts to avoid hitting the limits of the transmission. This is what we do for a living in our normal jobs. If we sell it to you, it will be safe and dependable. The auto car was also ALL stock including the cold end exhaust system which was behind the stock manifold and catalyst. There are a few more ponies just in making the change to a high flow exhaust.

So what exactly does this mean? Absolutly nothing! There is no comparrison. If you don't care about any of the things we design and calibrate for then buy whatever you want. You can get more out of our base kit and even more out of the big boost kit if you want to tune it on your own but it will VOID the warranty

Bottom line..... Powdered metal rods and cast pistons! I've got a desk full of bent and broken ones!

I don't really understand where all of the knife throwing is coming from. They are what they are and there is NO comparrison!
 
#21 ·
chaneyzx3'04 said:
Well i too was in all the power works cars/driving all and rideing all. (minus driving the SVT) I went in all teh cars with another person in there, I also went for a ride in Toms SVT he had there. Honnestly i enjoyed the Big Boost car more than Toms. I Enjoyed the power that the BBK made lower and across the powerband, compared to Tom's kicking in around 4k. If i had the choice to buy eather kit, i would go with the PowerWorks S/C, with the BBK.
Kevin not sure what tach you were watching but my turbo comes on hard at 2600 and i have the dyno to show that

Tom
 
#22 ·
Having had the honor of driving the PW car then riding with Tom in his SVT, I would have to say that Tom's turbo kit is bar-none the way to go, especially considering the small price difference you must pay. I mean, if you are already spending $4750 on a PW SC the extra $500 you spend is made up in the measly $750 cost of installation AND tune that Tom does compared to the cost of installing the PW then waiting to get your ECU back tuned properly for your particular application.

Just my .02
 
#23 ·
mab351 said:

Tom's comments about turbo efficiency are correct as far as power vs boost pressure. Our goal was not to build the "Baddest" car on the block, but to build kit that would "Enhance" the performance of your base car to a "SAFE & DEPENDABLE" level of performance running on 91 octane pump fuel while not hurting the emissions capability or driveability of the vehicle. !
My kit also "Enhances" the performance as well as makes it the "baddest" car on the block so you get the best of both worlds , As for "SAFE & DEPENDABLE" I am making 2 times the power and almost 3 times the TQ on the all stock SVT engine and could do this on 91 ( have done over 300 on the SVT on 93 ) "IF" i so chose to with the SVT hitting 18,000 miles of nothing but pure beating like Sat and Sun as well as over 800miles at VIR (3.2 mile track) out running most everything in the 2 classes i run in there over 285 1/4 mile passes and 360 1/8 mile passes , both my cars can run over 130MPH and has seen 152.2 MPH at VIR front stretch

mab351 said:

I'm definately not knocking Tom's efforts for his turbo kits as I wish we could "legally" build illegal cars but we can't. Atleast not to sell.
Stock SVT? That would be stock without a catalyst and by the gray color of your flaming tailpipe probably 110 octane?? I think I also noticed that your "closure hose" or vent hose for your PCV system was hanging under the car, not to mention there is no way any of the cars they were demonstrating would come close to passing a pass-by noise test.
Yes Stock , stock engine , suspension , There is NOTHING illegal about this car you may want to pick you words a little more closely , I can " legally" pass a NC safety check and inspection that makes it legal for my state and if you had got down and looked you WOULD of seen a CAT in place there , Yes i had 110 in at the event but again by my choosing not because i have to , I get a lot of my fuel free from 110 to C16 so i use it , i also can go buy 110 at the pump here for 3.59 a Gal so why not use it , As for my noise , I do this because i WANT my car this was and dont like the ricer sound of your and many other 4 cyl Exh so i do my own and this is what i choose , I can make just as much power from a Borla CAT back and keep it quiet , As for the valve cover breather , yes i vent it out because of how much HOT OILY air it has and again that is for me not that it has to be done , you will have to come up with much better excuses than those

mab351 said:


The auto is currently running road durability loaded to MAX GVW to ensure that the trans WILL live. The car had 20,000 miles on it when we installed the kit and has since accumulated 3 or 4,000 more miles since the install. The transmission shift schedule and pressures have been re-calibrated for this application. We also reduce the torque on pull aways and shifts to avoid hitting the limits of the transmission. This is what we do for a living in our normal jobs. If we sell it to you, it will be safe and dependable. The auto car was also ALL stock including the cold end exhaust system which was behind the stock manifold and catalyst. There are a few more ponies just in making the change to a high flow exhaust.
Come on you make it sound like you are making the ATX stronger by changes we all can make with the SCT ProRacer , it comes down to the ATX we have is a POS and the only way to add stuff and the ATX live is adding something with little TQ and a SC fits that bill fine if some one wants to spend 4500+ $$$$$ to make that little TQ ?


mab351 said:

So what exactly does this mean? Absolutly nothing! There is no comparrison. If you don't care about any of the things we design and calibrate for then buy whatever you want. You can get more out of our base kit and even more out of the big boost kit if you want to tune it on your own but it will VOID the warranty.
What does it have to do with the things you calibrate and design , I also do my own calibrations on my in house Dynojet and would bet have 3 to 4 times the time in on tuning these sence 2000 that you have and have designed MANY parts for all the Foci , but again what does that have to do with anything AND you can turn mine up to 20PSI and it WONT VOID any of the warranty

mab351 said:

Bottom line..... Powdered metal rods and cast pistons! I've got a desk full of bent and broken ones!
If this is the case you need to get a different tuner , we havent broke any rods or pistons yet and at 2 times the power , The stock engine ZX3 , I my self have had to 320+ at the wheels and the SVT to 340 at the wheels but stays at 326 all stock engine not even a TB on it


mab351 said:

I don't really understand where all of the knife throwing is coming from. They are what they are and there is NO comparrison!
Why does it have to be knife throwing why cant it be called facts "They are what they are and there is NO comparrison" I couldnt agree more

Tom
 
#24 ·
mab351 said:
Sooo what exactly does that mean? The fact of the matter is that you cant change the laws of physics. We do a complete dyno program including engine mapping to tune the engine to it's peak pressure limits NOT to it's maximum power output. We also ran 300 hours of durability on the engine and our components to prove that it was safe and reliable. I have over 20,000 miles on my car with the kit installed (the white Powerworks big boost car) on top of the 46,000 miles that was originally on the engine. The silver base car has close to 30,000 miles on it post kit install and is driven weekly across the country to potential distributors. I'm constantly running at track events and dragstrips with my car and except for snapping a halfshaft doing a burnout with my slicks (after a couple of hundred runs) and changing the oil on a regular basis the only parts I've had to replace are brakes and tires. I personally drove my car in the autocross event at jet fest and my last run was a 54.99sec. Wasn't the fastest but it was the first time I've ever auto crossed. I've also driven my car to the west coast and spent time making sure the calibration was safe at altitude and all climates

It means that as far as the best "bang for the buck" Would be a turbo. I have over 60K miles on my 100% stock engine, I too am constantly running from the southeast to new england and never think twice, and make twice the torque of even your big boost car.

Tom's comments about turbo efficiency are correct as far as power vs boost pressure. Our goal was not to build the "Baddest" car on the block, but to build kit that would "Enhance" the performance of your base car to a "SAFE & DEPENDABLE" level of performance running on 91 octane pump fuel while not hurting the emissions capability or driveability of the vehicle.

My car is more then "SAFE & DEPENDABLE" like I said before, has been for over 60k miles. My car has all emmissions intact and like Tom said, it passes the OBD2 test with flying colors. As far as drivability, my car dirves far better then a focus in stock form.

I'm definately not knocking Tom's efforts for his turbo kits as I wish we could "legally" build illegal cars but we can't. Atleast not to sell.
Stock SVT? That would be stock without a catalyst and by the gray color of your flaming tailpipe probably 110 octane?? I think I also noticed that your "closure hose" or vent hose for your PCV system was hanging under the car, not to mention there is no way any of the cars they were demonstrating would come close to passing a pass-by noise test.

The auto is currently running road durability loaded to MAX GVW to ensure that the trans WILL live. The car had 20,000 miles on it when we installed the kit and has since accumulated 3 or 4,000 more miles since the install. The transmission shift schedule and pressures have been re-calibrated for this application. We also reduce the torque on pull aways and shifts to avoid hitting the limits of the transmission. This is what we do for a living in our normal jobs. If we sell it to you, it will be safe and dependable. The auto car was also ALL stock including the cold end exhaust system which was behind the stock manifold and catalyst. There are a few more ponies just in making the change to a high flow exhaust.

So what exactly does this mean? Absolutly nothing! There is no comparrison. If you don't care about any of the things we design and calibrate for then buy whatever you want. You can get more out of our base kit and even more out of the big boost kit if you want to tune it on your own but it will VOID the warranty

Bottom line..... Powdered metal rods and cast pistons! I've got a desk full of bent and broken ones!

Agree with Tom, if you have bent and broken rods, you need to change your tuning styles.

I don't really understand where all of the knife throwing is coming from. They are what they are and there is NO comparrison!

My orignal post wasnt throwing knives. I was just saying that the best bang for the buck would be a turbo kit...IMO....and thats all this is....MY OPINION....this isn't me throwing my knives....just stating MY OPINIONS.
 
#25 ·
1turbofocus said:
My kit also "Enhances" the performance as well as makes it the "baddest" car on the block so you get the best of both worlds , As for "SAFE & DEPENDABLE" I am making 2 times the power and almost 3 times the TQ on the all stock SVT engine and could do this on 91 ( have done over 300 on the SVT on 93 ) "IF" i so chose to with the SVT hitting 18,000 miles of nothing but pure beating like Sat and Sun as well as over 800miles at VIR (3.2 mile track) out running most everything in the 2 classes i run in there over 285 1/4 mile passes and 360 1/8 mile passes , both my cars can run over 130MPH and has seen 152.2 MPH at VIR front stretch

Never even indicated that your car wasn't safe and dependable. I don't know anything more about your program than you do about mine! Great speeds by the way and again your only proving my point that there is no comparrison between your kit and ours so why do you keep making the comparrison?



Yes Stock , stock engine , suspension , There is NOTHING illegal about this car you may want to pick you words a little more closely , I can " legally" pass a NC safety check and inspection that makes it legal for my state and if you had got down and looked you WOULD of seen a CAT in place there , Yes i had 110 in at the event but again by my choosing not because i have to , I get a lot of my fuel free from 110 to C16 so i use it , i also can go buy 110 at the pump here for 3.59 a Gal so why not use it , As for my noise , I do this because i WANT my car this was and dont like the ricer sound of your and many other 4 cyl Exh so i do my own and this is what i choose , I can make just as much power from a Borla CAT back and keep it quiet , As for the valve cover breather , yes i vent it out because of how much HOT OILY air it has and again that is for me not that it has to be done , you will have to come up with much better excuses than those

So there is nothing illegal about your car "technically" in NC. is an IM-240 test part of the inspection? Our cars are 50 state legal and come with a carb sticker which means we have passed both tailpipe and evaporative emissions. This is the price of having access and support from the factory. Fortunately for us, not everyone lives in NC and these things are important to some of them. Again, this kit is designed for everyone! AND Again......No comparrison!


Come on you make it sound like you are making the ATX stronger by changes we all can make with the SCT ProRacer , it comes down to the ATX we have is a POS and the only way to add stuff and the ATX live is adding something with little TQ and a SC fits that bill fine if some one wants to spend 4500+ $$$$$ to make that little TQ ?

The stock ATX can handle 270 ftlbs of torque. (make sure you also include the torque multiplication factor of the torque converter. Installing a high stall converter may push over the limit) Since we are keeping the engine/torque converter output below the physical torque threshold of the input shaft and other hard parts, the only thing that needs to be protected are the soft parts. (bands and clutches) We have re-calibrated the transmission in a way to help reduce the wear from excessive slippage. No one said we were making the transmission stronger, just working within the physical limits.
FACT: I've used your SCT tool and it has very limited capability. We use the factory software and calibration tools which have much more functionality and ours are real time tools. We also have access to the factory strategy and calibration guides. YOU can not accomplish the same job as we can with your SCT pro-Racer. If you want to tell people your stating "The Facts" then state the facts NOT your opinions.


What does it have to do with the things you calibrate and design , I also do my own calibrations on my in house Dynojet and would bet have 3 to 4 times the time in on tuning these sence 2000 that you have and have designed MANY parts for all the Foci , but again what does that have to do with anything AND you can turn mine up to 20PSI and it WONT VOID any of the warranty


Thats really cool! So what cylinder pressures are you running? What is the cylinder pressure limit on the base 2.0L ztec and what is the limit of the SVT before the rods start to fold ? (they are different) These are facts you need to know as a tuner before making the statement that it is safe. Won't void the warranty of your parts, but do your customers know the potential (NOTE: the word potential means that it could happen, I'm not stating that it will happen) of what happens to the engine while running over that limit? No one said you didn't design your own parts, and, since you don't know me or my back ground you have no idea what we are capable of. Again full engine mapping on an engine dyno, full vehicle driveability calibration at altitude and different climates, full dyno engine durability, and continuing vehicle durability on multiple cars. Again, there is no comparrison!
Fact: we do engine dyno mapping, Altitude testing, hot/cold climate testing, engine dyno durability (300hrs) and continued vehicle durability and for everyone else out there, we still make less power than Tom!



If this is the case you need to get a different tuner , we havent broke any rods or pistons yet and at 2 times the power , The stock engine ZX3 , I my self have had to 320+ at the wheels and the SVT to 340 at the wheels but stays at 326 all stock engine not even a TB on it


I haven't broken any rods on the Zetec either, however I have shortened the rods and the pistons cracked at the second ring land. We noticed a lot of hot oily air coming out of the breather hose and decided to tear the engine down, but it was making great power. I NEVER said I blew one up, just said I had parts at my desk! Your making it sound like the base engine is indestructable. It's not! I'm sure I could get 400hp out of the engine ONCE! All I would expect is one run. Again go back to the FACTS which are the base engine has physical limitations and we CHOOSE not to exceed them. This has absolutly nothing to do with the tuner, it has to do with true engineering judgment based on hard data gathered through a controlled testing process to give our customer a safe product. Again, NO comparrison!



Why does it have to be knife throwing why cant it be called facts "They are what they are and there is NO comparrison" I couldnt agree more

I'm waiting for the facts. All I've seen from you is that you still don't understand the difference between your facts and the real facts. No one said your car didn't make more power, or was faster or was louder. (I should write poetry) All I said was they are different in every way that you could possibly imagine, so why would you compare your fabricated tubular turbo kit with air to air intercooling to our cast aluminum supercharger kit that comes with an EO, safe drivable calibration (with less performance than yours) air to water intercooling, new throttle body, coolant pump, all the hoses, hoseclamps and pump, coolant bottle, all the electrical harnesses which make it plug and play, lower front radiator, and includes a complete new induction system, oil filter relocation kit, basically we supply everything but a new oil filter and oil, and coolant for the IC system.

Facts: (I know I'm setting myself up here for ya pal)
If you want an EO certified package that drives like a regular car everyday with some extra zip, you can run at the track if you wanted, has the depedability, driveability, and reliability of your family car, is made of high quality castings and has an OE appearance under the hood, then take a look at our line of kits

If you don't care about any of that, and all you want is pure power, go with what ever makes the most power and is priced within your budget.

Pretty simple facts, and again, there is no comparrison!


Tom
 
#26 ·
Originally posted by mab351 [/i]

I'm waiting for the facts. All I've seen from you is that you still don't understand the difference between your facts and the real facts.
[/QUOTE]

Fact Focus - power makes more HP
Fact Focus - Power makes more TQ
Fact Focus - power is easier to make more power and TQ with as for up more boost
Fact Focus - power Turbo parts carry a LIFETIME WARRANTY
Fact Focus - power kit has the potental to make 170HP to 300HP with the same kit , With the same tune and with the flick of the switch
Fact Focus - power kit is easier to install
Fact Focus - power kit can have tuning changes made Email if customer adds more mods
Fact Focus - power kit you can add mods to your engine and our kit and have the tuning support not some one telling you it must stay OEM for our tune to work

Originally posted by mab351 [/i]

All I said was they are different in every way that you could possibly imagine, so why would you compare your fabricated tubular turbo kit with air to air intercooling to our cast aluminum supercharger kit that comes with an EO, safe drivable calibration (with less performance than yours) air to water intercooling, new throttle body, coolant pump, all the hoses, hoseclamps and pump, coolant bottle, all the electrical harnesses which make it plug and play, lower front radiator, and includes a complete new induction system, oil filter relocation kit, basically we supply everything but a new oil filter and oil, and coolant for the IC system
[/QUOTE]



Thats all well and good , Mine also comes with hoses , clamps , piping , manifold , Turbo , bolts , injectors , A properly calibrated mass air and proper tuning , You are trying to make it sound like my kit does not come with an EO, safe drivable calibration , The comments from ALL the Ford guys that have drove it and that drove it at FJ were how well it drove like stock with the exception of how well the TQ felt and how hard it pulled , One of the main Ford guys drove it for about 20 miles from 35 cruise to full WOT , My kit is safe , durable , powerfull , very driveable under any condition

Fact you dont need a oil relocation kit , new throttle body, coolant pump, all the hoses, hoseclamps and pump, coolant bottle, all the electrical harnesses which make it plug and play, lower front radiator,

As for the tuning , I also dont use the SCT but as long as i can make my kit run , drive , as reliable and run stronger who cares what tuning is used

Originally posted by mab351 [/i]

If you want an EO certified package that drives like a regular car everyday with some extra zip, you can run at the track if you wanted, has the depedability, driveability, and reliability of your family car, is made of high quality castings and has an OE appearance under the hood, then take a look at our line of kits
[/QUOTE]

Dang you kit is just like mine but with less HP and TQ , harder to install and more parts to deal with !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom
 
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