headers usually help up top not low end. Get a Throttle body or UDP for response. Short ram intake will also help the low end.

 

short ram intake may help but not on the hot days, go cold air or some sort of boxed intake like the svt set up or a volant

 

If it has a Zetec motor, the JBA headers adds torque below 5000 RPM. A tune for premium fuel should add some low end also.

 

JBA Headers!? Your crazy to pay that much for shorty headers. If you go shorty headers, go mac. I personally plan on doing a long tube header setup into a svt cat.

 

low end torque? change the timing... UDP is okay...

but getting some adjustable gears would make more of a difference in teh low end than a CAI or Exhaust...

i would still recommend a CAI and Exhaust... but timing change will definitely boost that dead stop power.

 

TB, SVT Headers with a high flow cat, cams and gears.
Then get a tune.
I had all that stuff before I boosted, there was a big difference.
After you do all that, you usually want more. (I did)
I got a JRSC.

 

The ONLY header out there that has proven to get fair gaines is the SVT header , all the reast were not worth changing for

UDP all I can say is this is the most worthless mod out there , it might add 1-2 HP on a good day

What I would do is take the head off surface it and reinstall it with a TB and adj cam gears this with the SVT header then a good tune will pick you up about 30+HP and 30+TQ and wont set you back a bunch of $ $ $ $

Tom

 

How difficult is it to install a TB and adj. cam gears. I would think you need a perfomance shop with a machine shop to surface the head right?

 

Whatever!
There are plenty of good headers out there worth the $$$
Focus Sport 4-1 race header is where its at.

 

If you live in Ca and kiss randys butt yes , If you want the best performance for your Focus the SVT header is it , the fs 4-1 only wishes it would perform as well as the Ford 4-2-1 header , I think and have backed it up on my dyno that Ford/Cosworth knows a bit more about building a header then the guys at fs

Tom

 

The cam gears are a great idea, especially with dyno time. A long tube header will provide much more overall gain than a shorty header. The JBA is expensive for what it does. I am not trying to disagree with most of the advice given here, it is generally solid advice. I just want to explain why I suggested the JBA header.

Here is where I got my info...

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/projectcars/0105scc_project_ford_focus_zx3_part_1/photo_17.html

It is shown to add 4-5 ft/lbs below 4500 rpm (not that ridiculous 7.8 ft/lb peak that they identified). The Ford Focus Performance Handbook shows similar results. Notice that no peak HP is added, hence most people are going to be disappointed. It would probably have no affect on 1/4 mile times either.

What I don't know is if you could actually notice 4-5 ft/lb increase, maybe not. It should increase MPG somewhat, again I don't know how much. I also don't know if the MAC header would show similar results, I've never seen a dyno result for one. I do have a JBA shorty that I bought for torque and MPG increases, but I haven't installed it yet. I bought used for about half of what a new one sells for, so for me I hope it turns out to be a good deal.

 

turbo!!!!!!!

 

Again I'm not looking to go to Turbo or FI. I'm not trying to get to the same power I get on my 335i just a little bit of better torque in the low end.

 

ur not going to gain too much low end no matter what you do!!! I am making a boat load of hp and tq, but it is all at top end!! there is only so much u can do w/o going F/I for low end, prolly not over 150 wtq and that is all top end!!

 

quit thinking about the motor and look at the tranny!!!!!!!!!!! throw a set of 409/408 gears whatever tom installs for the kit and have some more pep on the lower end!!! i think the actual kit he has is less than 1000 bucks but he charges 400$ to pull the tranny

 

I'm not disagreeing w/ you, its just that the 4.06 gears, while giving you more torque, you loose a little driveability as ur rpm's are alot higher at crusing speeds and at highway speeds ur running like 4k!! so it just depends on how much u want to sacrafice. If it was a 6 speed then he'd prolly b ok, but a 5 speed is a bit much.

 

I wish I had taller gears. I think in '05 they went to a 3.4-3.5 ratio, IIRC. The Zetec is already torquey for a 4 cyl and would pull those longer gears really well. Right now, I shift too soon and too often. Maybe the taller gears would make your car "feel" more torquey. (and probably help MPG)

 

is the car a auto or stick cause if its an auto then your gonna have trouble increasing lowend torque i had an auto and it was always slow of the line even with the common boltons i only increased my 1/4 mile by like .7 seconds from stock but i also added tons of weight to the car also with the stereo setup and wheels i had on the car.

 

^^Its a stick shift.

Thanks guys for all the input[thumb]

 

Yeah, i went with pretty much all of the bolt ons myself, TB, headers, high flow cat, 2.25in FS exhaust. and an AEM true CAI. I have more high end and am totally missing out on the ow end. But at least she sounds nice, and I can feel the difference. But at times i think my car just keeps relearning and my ecu reset isnt holding or what not. maybe im just used to the new drive of it. but it used to seem better.

 

For a daily driver, shorty headers might do the trick for you. They are not the best for top end and won't give you more than 4 or 5 ft/lbs, but it's a step in the right direction. Also, they are frequently for sale here in the forums for dirt cheap as people trade up to the svt setup. SVT setup= much better all around, more involved conversion, much more expensive.
Shorty header=low end grunt increase, OEM replacement install, very cheap used.

 

Turbo isint going to do shit to his low end.

 

I just think it's a little funny he's aiming for better low end than a 335i, which has a 3l inline 6 with twin turbos, and develops an underrated 300hp and 300lb ft. of torque. There is a rwd v-8 conversion for the Focus, but other than that, you'll have a tough time approaching the performance of the Bimmer.

 

^^ He said he's NOT looking for the same power.

 

if you want more low end, you should do something to raise your compression, along with the adj. cam gears as tom has stated twice already. tq is directly related to compression. low compression= low tq and vice versa. just do what tom said and get the head decked, slap on some cam gears, get an svt header(if not then a shorty), and then go to a dyno and get your gears dialed in. presto, more low end tq.

 

1) turbo does help torque across the rpm band
2) do some people just post without reading? He said NOT like the BMW and NO FI.

 

Easy and cheap low-mid range grunt?
Crane stg2 cams
Or ford racing stg 1 or stg 2 cams,
Or comp stg1 or 2 cams.

Udp does almost nothing, headers will hurt your low end, intakes help a LIL bit, 65mm TB really only greatly improve throttle response, but the cheapest and easiest way to improve the specific rpm range u want ur powa in, is cams.
ALSO a diablo tuner, or sct flasher or chip; will increase performane in that range. Aswell as turn off the o2 sensor code u will get with header.
Get sct flasher, buy cams, Install yourself, or with someone who knows wth they are doing, and get them dyno tuned immediately.

Just remember unless u use the economy tune or havbe a mpg tune on ur fkasher/chip u will be hurting the mpg of the focus.
And i am assuming thats why u drive the focus since u apparently have a 38,000$ 330hp bmw.

Good luck