Considering buying an ST but have a few questions

FocusRST · Sep 7, 2006

Hello, I'm new to the boards (obviously) but ive been lurking for a while trying to get info on the new ST becuase I'm thinking about buying one. Right now i drive a 99 Civic Si, before that I had a 94 ex, and before that i had a 93 Probe Gt. I had always wanted another Probe but I could never seem to find one with low miles and/or not all riced out.

Anyways down to the main question.

Whats a good year to buy for the ST model. I'd prefer to buy a brand new one, but I've read that only the 05 can be chipped/tuned effeciently and that the Cosworth I.M. only fits on the 05's becuase they moved the p.s. resivour.
(is this a hard task to retrofit? I know my friedns RSX-S intake came with a custom slim resivour so tat the intake would fit.) so i was wondering if i could just buy an 05 and put it on there and it would work?

but yeah what are some pros and cons to each year model as far as tuning and performance goes? Cus like I said I'd really like to buy a brand new one (they arent that expensive) but if its better to get an 05 or 06 from a performance standpoint I might consider buying a used one too.

SuperFocusMan · Sep 7, 2006

Well pretty much any year ST will work for you. try and find a 05 if you can.
alot of ST owners will jump on here rather quickly and give you the pros and cons.

FocusRST · Sep 7, 2006

SuperFocusMan said:
Well pretty much any year ST will work for you. try and find a 05 if you can.
alot of ST owners will jump on here rather quickly and give you the pros and cons.

well see thats what i mean, i always saw ppl saying get an 05, but ive never seen all the reasons why in one spot. thats why i asked

Egz · Sep 7, 2006

The big thing the '05 has going for it is it still uses the same suspension design as the 00-04. 06, they changed it, so nothing in the front works without a major retrofit of parts.

Duffman355 · Sep 7, 2006

yeah, 06's had a minor suspension change hence making previous kits null and void. There are now suspension kits out for an 06+ now. Other than that, they are the same car. They introduced the street appearance package for the first time on the 06, check my gallery for pics. Basically, it really doesn't matter what year you get cuz except for the suspension, they are the same car.

FocusRST · Sep 7, 2006

what about the 00-04 front end like massive has, how hard is that to do?

Zyghot · Sep 7, 2006

FocusRST said:
what about the 00-04 front end like massive has, how hard is that to do?

That involves exactly what it looks like. The whole front end to be swapped. You'd need Fenders, hood, lights(all of the ones up front), bumper, and any extra hardware to mount it up. It'd probably take you a weekend to do the whole swap yourself.

FocusRST · Sep 7, 2006

Zyghot said:
That involves exactly what it looks like. The whole front end to be swapped. You'd need Fenders, hood, lights(all of the ones up front), bumper, and any extra hardware to mount it up. It'd probably take you a weekend to do the whole swap yourself.

but it all bolts up to the frame the same? its not like a whole front clip right? just all the outer parts that you mentioned?

as in no modifications to the fenders, hood, etc or frame need to be done? just unbolt the old stuff and rebolt the new?

Zyghot · Sep 7, 2006

Yeah, pretty much bolt on. You have to modify the passenger fender a little since they moved the windshield washer reservoir. The headlights need to be wired up, but it's actually easier to wire up, since the turns are right there by the hi/low beam instead of in the grill like my ZX3.

FocusRST · Sep 7, 2006

allright thanks. that covers aesthetics now back to the performance issue

nomoreavril · Sep 7, 2006

i think marcy motorsport is coming out with a new intake manifold that will be cheaper/better than the cosworth one, and it deals with the power steering

Ripped_06_ST · Sep 7, 2006

I have an 06 Ford Focus ST and yes they did change the front suspension but Eibach makes springs for the 06 now... I was one of the first few to get them... so I was told by a guy at Eibach. It lowers it 1.2" in the front and 1.6 in the rear... perfect stance and once they settle it gets rid of almost all the wheel gap.

As for the power steering resivour yes they moved it to like right on top of the intake manifold but I got an early 06 and it has the old style P.S resivour but the new style suspension... go figure. Other than that everything is pretty much the same other than the cosmetics like the street appearance package.

If and when you get an ST I would suggest an 06 or 07 so that you can have the new car you want... and not worry about the P.S resivour because you can get the hardware off a junked 05 and use that. The suspension on the ST's use the SVT shocks/struts and they are pretty sturdy so when lowering your car you won't have to worry about the dampers. When you start modding.. intake(marcy or Focussport), Exhaust(focussport stealth system if your staying naturally aspired), and then the Cosworth header, and after the header you will want a tune to turn off the annoying check engine light the header will trigger.. [

]

Hope that helps a little. [thumb]

FocusRST · Sep 7, 2006

allright then, if the ps isnt a big deal, and theres suspension parts available for the 06+ ill probabbly just get a brand new one.

I had forgoten about the clutch failure thing, yal say its been fixed. Are you sure? or is it just too soon to tell if the 07s are effected too?

babyface · Sep 7, 2006

yeah, i musta gotten an early 06 also, i think? hell, i ordered it in like december.

my PS resevoir is right off to the side of the intake mani?

is that old or new style

Ripped_06_ST · Sep 7, 2006

babyface said:
yeah, i musta gotten an early 06 also, i think? hell, i ordered it in like december.

my PS resevoir is right off to the side of the intake mani?

is that old or new style

You have the new style.... my car was built in Sept. 2005... thats why I have an old style p.s resivour.

tdkaye1 · Sep 7, 2006

Got mine in July '06, though it was built in March. No problems to speak of really. Got 1500 miles so it's still green. Only issue I had was the gas mileage, which MAY have a TSB for the ST's and 3 times I've had a long crank. Other than that, it's been perfect. Nice solid acceleration, I personally think the brakes are weak but meh, comfortable, takes corners REAL nice too. You won't see many complaints and the ST is starting to get a good aftermarket following too. Turbo kits are out with S/C on the way hopefully. You'll get a good buy in an ST.

[thumb]

FocusRST · Sep 8, 2006

tsb is like a recal right? or am i off?

are there anyother parts that are going wrong prematurely?

would puting an aftermarket clutch in solve the prolblem at all?

FocusRST · Sep 8, 2006

oh and also if i do get a new one, am i going to want to ge traction control or no? ive heard both good and bad things about it.

also about the interior, i dont like how its not like a solid color. id rather it be like the svt interior. So i was thinking about the leather option, but ive heard stories about ppls leather cracking and stuff and the car not even being that old.

y2kpedo · Sep 8, 2006

well, i have an 05 ST and i love it. with just Intake, i was taking the Si like nothing. with I/H/E and a good tune you will be quick. not super fast but quick. i say this because my 1st impression about the ST was that, it was not that fast out of the box. then i got an intake, and man i just loved the way it sound and the way it run.

as far as T/C goes, it is not a problem for me. i just press the botton and boom, problem solved. sometimes i run with traction control at the autoX and sometimes i get better times.

about the interior, i've seen both, leather and black w/red, and i personally like the red/black combo better. my buddys ST has leather interior and i think its starting to crack.

get an ST 05, because of the suspension problem. i think there has been mayor reaserch and as a result the 00-05 focus have better suspension option on the market right now than the 06-07.

and finally, if you end up getting it (if u have the money) get a FS turbo stage II, and a good exhaust, and you should be around 220-240WHP. add some pistons and rods, and perhaps a intake mani, and be over 350WHP.

tdkaye1 · Sep 8, 2006

FocusRST said:
oh and also if i do get a new one, am i going to want to ge traction control or no? ive heard both good and bad things about it.

also about the interior, i dont like how its not like a solid color. id rather it be like the svt interior. So i was thinking about the leather option, but ive heard stories about ppls leather cracking and stuff and the car not even being that old.

You could put in an aftermarket clutch and yes, that should solve problem number one. Traction control is up to the driver mainly. I turn mine off in dry weather, but as soon as the rain comes, it goes back on. I have cloth interior so I can't say about the cracking issue. I've just never been a fan of leather and it eventually will crack unless you maintain it real well. The car really is deceptively quick. It has good torque, and a decent power to weight ratio that helps it keep up/beat alot of cars out there. It's only a hair off the SVT in 0-60 and 1/4 mile times and it has 19 less ponies but 9 more ft/lbs torque so it's a sleeper alright.

Considering buying an ST but have a few questions

FocusRST

SuperFocusMan

FocusRST

Egz

Duffman355

FocusRST

Zyghot

FocusRST

Zyghot

FocusRST

nomoreavril

Ripped_06_ST

FocusRST

babyface

Ripped_06_ST

tdkaye1

FocusRST

FocusRST

y2kpedo

tdkaye1

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