Wow looks like you've got....everything covered. Rollcage? Haha.

I imagine some people would say "why don't you just by an Evo instead of spending all that upgrading?" but I imagine the whole point of it is the process...

 

personally i'd go with the xcal2 tuner, get it from tom on the forum, he can explain the benefits of it over the predator, and he sells his custom tunes. he spends a ton of time testing focii on his dyno, so he'll get you something suited to your exact needs

 

You forgot the Force Induction part!

 

why not eibach or h&r for the suspension?

id trust those names over saleen.

 

I've driven the n2o focus a few times and like the feel. Also, the cost of the kit. And I know that sounds dumb when you're looking at nearly six thousand dollars in parts, but..it adds up. Trust me. 200 here..300 here..and you're down from an $8,000.00 build to well under 6. Means the difference between it getting done because I'm close enough to start, and thinking of the build in the same terms as..oh.. a 1956 Ferrari Barschetta. Beautiful dream. Yeah right.

So..the Saleen/Racecraft kit it is. Where else will you find struts, springs, front and rear sway bars, and urethane bushings in a single kit for under $500.00?

Also, the n2o is based on a stock duratec zx3, and the quality of the handling will be enhanced by the fact that the SVT is set up to receive a good lowering kit. If you look, one of the differences in the setup is that the SVT comes with different spindles, which make a world of difference once the vehicle is lowered. Allows your roll-center to come back to normal horizontal level, eliminates some of the bump-steer that can be a problem with stock spindles. Plus the SVT is lighter, I beleive, and much faster without the nitrous and will make better use of the damping and higher spring rates the racecraft suspension offers. I didn't wanna go over the top with coilovers and such..which..is really easy for me to do. I didn't even wanna look at the cost of Tein Basics, or K-Sport GT's because I know they're not that far off price-wise, but I just don't want it to ride that hard. The object is to firm up the car, get it properly braced so it can really...really corner fast.

As far as F/I...well... if wishes were fishes... But again, as much as I'd love to.. (and trust me.. my heart beats faster when I hear a ball bearing turbo spool and blow-off as much as the next crazy, red-blooded gearhead) the cost of kit is the problem. I've got 5 grand budgeted..not ten. And I wouldn't want to be that guy that takes an otherwise entirely stock car and slaps a turbo on it. ..Just don't wanna be that guy. I'd rather have everything else maximized, and if the sponsorship rolls along that says "Hi, Rob. I'm Joe Schmoe, from Turbonetics, and I'd like to offer you this free turbo, timer, intercooler, custom tune, dyno time, and all the neccessary plumbing if you'd just let me take some photos of your ride and slap some decals on the side..." then I'll be all over it like white on rice.

But until that time comes, I'll take my SVTF with a side of natural aspiration, and keep my eyeballs peeled for the Boost Angel descending from the heavens. LoL. I think I've definitely got a better chance of landing the sponsorship if I've already shown the initiative to go after my own parts and build the car right anyway, instead of knocking on a sponsor's door with a stock ride and saying.. "Hey..I'm poor...will you pimp my ride?"

Anyway, I'mma get off this horse and get some sleep. Just got off a ten hour shift at the airport. Adios, everybody.

- Rob

[headbang]

 

I'd Ditch the Steeda Short RAM, for a simple drop in filter, the flow is actually better with the drop in, and due to heat soak in the engine bay, the air will run cooler with the stock setup!!! And you can also simply make your own grounding kit with help from any stereo shop that sells lengths of power and gauge wire, do some research, it's quite cheaper than the Sun Auto kit!

Just a few suggestions to save money and gain performance too!

Clif

 

That, I might just do. Still wanna do the throttle body though, so I'll have to figure out how to adapt the stock intake to a 67mm throttle body. I've been thinking about heat soak though with this car, and it seems like it might be pretty bad, considering the placement of the cone with that intake. Albuquerque sees enough flash-flooding that I have no desire to run a full cold-air either though, so I think your suggestion might be the winner. And you're also probably right about the grounding too. Have you done this? Does it make a decent difference?

Gracias. I love this forum. Everyone's been really helpful. you rock. LoL..Right then. Off to bed for me.

- Rob

[race]

 

Id scratch the ignition stuff. Grab up some Taylor Thundervolts from jegs/summit and put some copper core azfs22c's in her. The stock coil is plenty good. No need for a grounding kit either, especially for the holy shit price of 120 bucks.

Also, just my opinion, ditch the HFC and little exhaust and do a full 3" header back. I mean it looks like you're really wanting to do this thoroughly, so why not just go all out?

I havent read too many good reviews on centerforce clutches. I'd wait a month or two for either a spec or clutchmasters. Its totally up to you on that one.

Lastly, see Tom for your tuning needs. Lifetime NA tunes to boot.

 

All fair advice. I may yet scratch the ignition stuff, though I've heard the SVT benefits decently from it as far as throttle response and overall smoothness in the powerband. I hate seeing a dyno run where the HP line spikes up and down like the front range of the rockies in colorado. LoL. I like nice smooth, tractable powerbands that are predicatble in corners and allow you to really use the car as an extention of yourself. So.. for a couple hundred bucks..I'm willing to give the ignition stuff a try. But when it gets down to that, I may yet scratch it.

I don't think I'll do the 3" though, since I'm non-turbo, and I'd like to keep a little backpressure and street legality, again for the sake of corner drive and torque. There's no sense in suspension prepping a car for road-cource if your exhaust leaves you with zero power in the bottom end when you're apexing out of a hairpin. It would be a worthy suggestion if I were either turbo or straight-line racing, but that's not what the focus was built for, and that's not the direction I'm aiming for in this build.

I'm pretty wary of the centerforce clutch myself, actually, and that's the first part that's going on, along with the flywheel. I really really wanted the Fidanza three point two, but it's not done in R&D. I've been trying to figure out which stage two clutch is better for my application between spec and clutchmasters, but I haven't seen enough really clear information... any sagely advice?

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. Looking forward to talking to you more.

Adios.

- Rob

 

In regards to changing the exhaust:

It has been long reported that there are little to no gains with any aftermarket exhaust with the SVT focus. If you're in the business of saving money on this build, is there a reason that you are going to change the exhaust?

 

I suppose that's more than valid, as points go. I've heard conflicting reports of exhaust doing something for the car, and exhaust not doing anything for the car... and that's a particularly well-priced exhaust, so it seemed like less of a stretch than some others I've seen and briefly considered (ex. Thermal R&D, Billy Boat, etc.) I suppose what settled me on replacing it was looking under my car and seeing the enormous, ungainly exhaust assembly under my car, and knowing that even a stainless steel aftermarket exhaust will considerably lessen the weight of my car, and that if it stayed close enough to stock diameter, wouldn't murder my back-pressure. I know the high-flow cat will result in some gains, so I would imagine a better-flowing exhaust would be additive to that. And for $260..I'm willing to find out. Not for 600 though.

 

as far as susp. i might do a little research on here first before setting it in stone, these cars are finiky enough at the stock limit, the aftermarket kits just decide how hard you get bit in the A** when you fool around, go read about my accident

 

Check out WD40's suspension set up. He put the KYB AGX shocks and the 22mm progress rear swaybar... and that's it. He's the points leader in his SCCA region. For the motor, go for a supercharger. I think you can get the kind of performance for less money than you have in your parts list.

But hey, if you got tha dough and just want to spend it... throw a little my way bud!

 

For the motor, go for a supercharger. I think you can get the kind of performance for less money than you have in your parts list.

But hey, if you got tha dough and just want to spend it... throw a little my way bud!

[rofl] Yeah, see..again, I'm not really wanting to drop my wad, so to speak, on forced induction and not touch anything else. Which..inevitably..is what would happen. I have $2,600.00 budgeted for the performance side of all the parts, and $3,200.00 budgeted for handling, including the wheels.

If I hear back favorably from turbo tom, I'll keep my stock wheels, go with stock-size BFGoodrich g-Force Sport's, and add cams to the performance side. But that's if I can acquire the NA cams and his custom SCT XCal for under $1,300.00 That keeps the money side balanced.

I plan on doing the vast majority of this work myself and with the cunning aid of friends and cervesa, except maybe dropping the transmission for the clutch and flywheel. The rest is fairly well within my own personal comfort zone to do. Certainly the cams if I get them will end up professionally installed, as I have no great desire to pull my SVT's head off in the garage.

But...either way, with the cams included, I have about $3,400 budgeted for all my performance parts. If I get the pro-charger (which I really do like) I won't be able to replace the clutch and flywheel within the limits of the build, and that actually needs to be done.

The cap on this whole thing is $6,000.00 you understand, and I'm going for a well-rounded approach to it. Correcting the car's flaws. Throwing horsepower at the problem will fix a lot of things... but not everything. Staying NA and working through every side of performance comes a lot closer, I think.

 

I like your way of thinking in certain regards, but I don't understand why you have so much money set-aside for suspension. I come from a VW background and those cars have some nice handling characteristics from get-go, but after owning my SVT I find that while being in stock form it handles amazing! Instead of my VW where I dumped a crap load of money into suspension only to have it handle 1/8% betters then the SVT. I might opt for a rear sway and tires are always important as I upgraded my tires to the BFG G-Force T/A KDW-2's and love them, but find the stock wheels to be perfect. When I first purchased my car I had every intent to say N/A but the more and more I look at it, I keep leaning toward a supercharger kit for the money. Seeing how the SVT is pretty much a factory modded out base Zetec already pushing the limits on the N/A side, all the bolt-on mods are going to net small gains. It's all opinion and I respect your final decision as in the end its your car, but I feel with the money your about the throw down on this project you would be much happier just going F/I, crap even the JRSC (lowest rated supercharger kit) will net better gains then all these mods put together…

Random Technology High-Flow Cat - C-f-m - $340.00
MBRP Stainless Cat-Back Exhaust - Mbrp - $260.00
CFM 67mm Billet Throttle-Body - C-f-m - $200.00
Steeda Short-Ram Air Intake - C-f-m - $200.00
Firepower Ignition w/ Brisk LGS Plugs - Steedafocus - $180.00
CFM 2-Piece Crank Pulley Kit - C-f-m - $120.00
Sun Automobile Hyper Ground S-Type Kit - Speedelement - $110.00

For only a couple hundred bucks more, then I would use your extra cash for a few tweaks to the suspension and the brakes! Just informing, not trying to flame you!

 

You will not lose bottom end with a 3" header back exhaust. You will, in fact, net some extra HP/TQ down low, and more up top. There is a dyno sheet floating around to prove it, and I've seen Tom recommend it FOR more torque down low for autox etc.

 

Don't remember if you had an LSD on your list of mods, but that should be one of them as well. The SVT is a one legger... you can really feel it when you are in a right hand turn and step on the throttle before straightening out the wheels a bit.

At least that's the mod I want to do, once the stock clutch goes.

 

A limited-slip differential has been on and off the list about 6 different times. i can't seem to make up my mind on whether I want to go for it, or not. I'd love to, but I've fought myself over the monetary limit of the build and the justification of the LSD. What I'd really want to know, and can't seem to find out, is if anybody's done the Phantom Grip LSD and how it stacks up against the Torsen, and how they both stack up against the Quaife. It's more than likely I'd want the Torsen T2 if I were to do it, and I really think I am.

It's more than fair, as long as I keep the stock wheels which I like anyway. I love the OZ titans, but the difference between stock tire size/stock wheel and OZ titan 18's with 18" rubber is a thousand dollars. There's nothing wrong at all with the stock wheels, or the way they look on the car. I just think the titans are really sexy and look flawless on the SVT. But so wheels have come off the build sheet.

The thing I've played around with in my head is the Phantom Grip. Because at $300.00, it's right where we'd all love to be for an LSD. Plus all the reviews I've read that were in-depth all said it was pretty good. all the negative reviews I've read just say.. "Oh, the Phantom Grip sucks. It just sucks." No further information... just that it seems to create a vacuum. What worries me is that I can't seem to find a medium review that gives you good and bad points. I always worry about all-positive reviews because it's like they're getting paid, and all-bad reviews are more often than not morons who don't even own the product.

I know the ups and downs of the quaife, but I'm not dropping 1200 bucks on a diff. I don't care if it's made of gold. I won't run the car hard enough to justify the quaife. The torsen is a good middle-of-the-road choice I might yet go with. But the Phantom Grip is really tempting and I'd really love to see a detailed pro/con review of it. If it can't be found...well..it fits into my budget, and I'll take one for the team and slap it on, see how it runs, and either give you guys the green light on it, or tell you to avoid it like the plague.

Anyway, I'mma do a little more research, and head for bed. Catch you later. This forum has been such a tremendous help in tweaking the build so that I don't make mistakes and buy the wrong parts. For example, I will no longer be using the centerforce clutch. I found out that Competition Clutch manufactures a wide range of clutches for the SVT, so I'll be using a stage-2 clutch from them at $450. I've also decided to go to a local performance shop and have a custom intake made that matches my TB diameter, and have it stay up top in the engine bay, just run further forward, to about where the snorkel is now. May relocate the battery to do this, but that way I minimize heat soak in the intake, and straighten out the flow without making me paranoid about hydro-lock.

Right then. Night.

- Rob

 

Sounds like you're looking in the right direction for your intake... I've tried stock with the K&N drop-in, full cold air, and short ram... the short ram was the worst by far, with very noticeable losses once the engine's warmed up. Stock was a fine setup, but I love my CAI now that I've got it to stop sucking water (bypass valve, 90 degree upward bend at the end, and outerwearz pre-filter).

I can't speak for the Phantom Grip, but I can testify that Torsen gets the job done. I love mine. Weather it's worth $600ish is your call, mine was installed by the guy who owned the car before me... heh. He did most of the mods I'd have wanted to do if I had the money, so I'm grateful for that.

Another mod that came on mine was Koni's adjustable sport suspension... closer to $700, so you might prefer to stick with saleen's, but the thing was incredible... you can drop the damping so it rides like coil-overs, or get it squishy as stock if you're doing long freeway rides. About a minute and a half to adjust all four corners however you like 'em. Other thing is, the SVT is actually about a hundred to a hundred and fifty pounds heavier stock than everything but the wagon. Just something to consider.

Regarding the exhaust, noting that the stock setup is stainless and very well-tuned for our rides, you might do really well with the high-flow cat, and if you desire to drop ten pounds and get it a bit more audible, hack the lunchbox muffler. Several of us have done it, and it's largely a subtle difference. Bear in mind, I have the stock cat in place so there might be a more noticeable sound difference with more flowing through there.

Finally the tires... haha. You might have a different experience than I have, but I was forced into getting a pair of G-force Sports at the end of last summer when they were the only z-rated tire available to me on short notice. With those on one end and Eagle F1 GS-D3's on the other, whichever end has the BFGoody's slips out much more quickly in every direction I ask the car to go. The $23 price gap isn't a horrible thing to consider, especially if you're looking for top-notch braking, lateral g-loads, and clawing grip for acceleration... not to mention hydroplaning resistance. I have nothing naturally against BFG, but I can't wait to get away from the G-force Sports.

Sounds like you'll have a sweet build once all this is on... our input on the site might be valuable, but above all make sure you have fun with it... haha. If you end up needing to try different stuff for yourself, it's just part of the sweetness that goes into making your rig exactly what you want it to be. Good luck!

 

Another mod that came on mine was Koni's adjustable sport suspension... closer to $700, so you might prefer to stick with saleen's, but the thing was incredible... you can drop the damping so it rides like coil-overs, or get it squishy as stock if you're doing long freeway rides. About a minute and a half to adjust all four corners however you like 'em.........

Finally the tires... haha. You might have a different experience than I have, but I was forced into getting a pair of G-force Sports at the end of last summer when they were the only z-rated tire available to me on short notice. With those on one end and Eagle F1 GS-D3's on the other, whichever end has the BFGoody's slips out much more quickly in every direction I ask the car to go. The $23 price gap isn't a horrible thing to consider, especially if you're looking for top-notch braking, lateral g-loads, and clawing grip for acceleration... not to mention hydroplaning resistance. I have nothing naturally against BFG, but I can't wait to get away from the G-force Sports. Good luck!

See...and as much as I do really want and have tremendous respect for the koni suspension... I'm not willing to drop the extra 300 for shocks and springs...and still have to buy upgraded sway bars to get the car to handle the way I want it to. I've been looking for a C-pillar bar for this car to stiffen the upper end of the rear section, and posssibly a B-pillar bar to run behind the front seats and bolt in the seat-belt mountings. more likely than not I'll have to get those custom fabricated, but I have a major pet peeve for chassis flex in a turn.

I'm not so concerned about ride quality as I'm single, 21, no kids, so I don't have anyone riding in my car that gives a rat's ass about ride quality very often. My girlfriend is a semi-pro drag racer anyway, so she likes a hard ride. No pun intended. Heh. I'll probably go with the saleen kit simply because I've experienced it first hand, and it makes the car handle like a proper track car, which I love. The SVT kit is just soft enough to get on my nerves from time to time, because it teases you with the kind of spring rates that almost feel like coilovers, but fall short.

This car has soooo much potential..and I think if I tweak it just enough, it'll overcome it's build flaws and really become a great car. That's the aim of this build..not to make it a tire-smoking monster, or to make it feel like the axles are hard-bolted to the frame and be a drift car, or anything like that..but to make my SVT focus handle and sound, and perform like the perfect road car. Like what you think about when you imagine the Mille Miglia race in italy, or the french Grand Prix, the way Ferrari used to design thier cars, or Alfa Romeo. The car that just begs and pleads to be thrown at high speeds through corner after corner on a mountain road.

The tire thing concerns me a little more, because by all reviews it's a rockin' tire, and a guy I know here runs 'em and absoloutely adores those tires. As my car stands right now with Kumho Ecsta ASX's on it, I can't get it to squeal or chirp through the gears right now. It feels like more tire than the car can challenge. Kind of depressing, knowing it's all-season rubber. And the g-force sport has been reviewed over and over again to be god's gift to road cars. Could be that your suspension setup and alignment just is wrong around the tires, or that it's not matched up right? I don't know. That's sucky though. I have a couple other tires up my sleeve... Yoko Parada Spec-2, for one..but I know that tire is noisy as all get-out, and I have a penchant for driving with my windows down.. Hm.

Anyway, i'mma hit the sack. night.

[sleeping]

- Rob

 

uprgrade tire width to 225/35 maybe...??? and sticky speed rated tires of course... its what i gots on mine with stock rims and i love the traction the larger contact patch adds

 

I've really only heard about the Torsen and Quaife LSDs. The cheap one's seem like rolling the dice in a part of the car I don't want any dice rolling... If i was to do it I'd go for the torsen since I'm a middle of the road kind of guy.

The other thing is about the brakes. This is a hotly contested subject on this site. Cross drilled rotos are prone to cracking and slotted rotors simply remove surface area for the pads to grab. The racer guys on this forum buy stock type rotors and use hawk pads. I've had too many beers to remember the exact pad name though.

 

Yeah. Chances are I'll end up with the Torsen, even though the phantom grip looks pretty bulletproof, and by all reviews, it doesn't sustain damage easily due to design. They've apparently had one in for like..100,000 miles or some shit, and haven't seen any damage to it. But by what I've heard it's more designed for straight line drag than it is turning, which is what I'd want it for, to pull the car through a corner, so a helical LSD would be the best choice for me.

As far as the brakes.. what I'm trying to do is get some rotors that cool a lot faster and sustain heat better than stock, which is why I'm going with slotted rotors, so that there's a channel for that heated gas to escape through. I'm trying to avoid the situation I've got where the rotors warp after a few days of intense usage at high speeds...braking from 100+, or continual use coming down a mountain that's a long series of hairpins. I'll definitely go with Hawk HPS because it's ferro-carbon and not ceramic, not quite as hard on the rotors, not as much dust, and greater tolerances for heat and cold. Definitely braided lines, and yeah, I'll stick with slotted rotors, because they don't ruin your structural integrity. If only I could find some two-piece rotors, I'd be set. But I don't know if anyone even makes them. ECS Tuning makes two-piece rotors for the Mk. IV GTI 1.8T that I just adore, but I haven't seen anyone make them outside a big brake kit for the focus. Sad. Very sad.

 

I'd consider a magnaflow catback.You can get them in different tube size and they sure sound sweet.I've got one on my ZX3 and love it.Now what I did for the cai was went with Volant the filter is protected and theres heat isolation and no fear of water.I too live in ABQ up in the hieghts.And I know the rain when its running downhill and your driving uphill lol.Plus it will fit a larger TB no prob.Check out New Edge performance one of the vendors here for parts.TonyD takes care of the members here and has some really good prices on top of the line parts. Yes a shamefull plug and I have spent some money there but its all good.

 

Wow, lots of info. My car has been my daily driver for the last 5 years and 115k miles. I also do 4-8 weekends a year at different road courses.

If I were you I would:
plain rotors from zeckhausen. $60/side for front are rears are cheaper
hawk hps or hp+ pads
progress 25mm rear sway bar. leave the front stock
no need for front or rear stress bars
rear dog bone mount only. I like the one from c-f-m.
rota 17" rims with bridgestone or michelin tires
koni shocks with steeda springs
c-f-m high flow cat. I'd stay away from the random tech.
for intake i'd get the focussport cool flo.
lsd is torsen or obx. I have the torsen and love it and much needed with only 170 crank hp. I bought the obx for my spare gearbox and after checking out the neon forums it looks like the belville washers and bolts need to be upgraded.

 

And most impotantly change out the power steering fluid with redline synthetic. Good brake fluid is the ate typ 200.

 

I looked through the thread and didn't see anyone point it out but just FYI.. the Fidanza fly is 12lb not 9...

I personally think the Steeda suspension kit is overrated and you could do better, but you seem pretty stuck on it so I won't argue.

Also did you put a short throw shifter on the list? Much better than stock...

Also, you said you wanted to keep some street legality, for the exhaust... You do realize that the MBRP is probably the LOUDEST exhaust on the market... Even if you don't want a 3incher look into a 2.5 inch from Trubenz with whatever muffler combo you want...

I think you could also save a few $$ and maintain the turning radius by going with a set of lighweight 17's compared to the 18's.

The stock rotors are fine too... I'm running them with the same pads you're going with...

 

Not Steeda's kit I'm goin' with, it's the racecraft setup taken from the Saleen n2o focus. Much much nicer than the SVT kit I have currently.

I haven't been able to find trubenz website, as far as catbacks go, and I've heard a bunch of them. There's a guy here that has the magnaflow on his SVT, and it sticks out WAY too far. I also don't really like the sound. A little too smooth and ricey. I'm going with MBRP for the sound (which is a lot rougher, and more defined) and for price as well, as literally the least expensive catback I've seen that reviewed well on that infamous catback shootout over at focaljet. The MBRP fits the car better, too.

By street legality, I meant emissions legality, and I was referring to the cat. after some careful research, I decided to go with the random tech metal cat because it offers higher flow, and it's a well-researched, longer lived brand than some of the knockoffs. CFM carries a lot of great parts, but I'll trust a brand that's been there for a few years and will go into detail on how the cat is made and why it works. The CFM cat just claims to be "high flow" and doesn't tell you anything else.

Also... the motor mounts and energy bushings that are on the list will tighten up the shifter enough that I don't feel it's neccessary to have a short-throw on the list. I like where the shifter on this car sits, and I wouldn't want it to be any lower really. It fits the position I drive in rather well, so I'll stay with it.

And... I've since hacked the wheels off the list in favor of a limited slip. As it appears, the entire performance market ran out of Torsen differentials all at once, so I'll more than likely have to go with the quaife, unless torsen starts restocking them. They're the exact same ATB worm-gear type differential, of equal toughness and identical materials, just the torsen lacks the warranty of the quaife. Don't know if that's worth an extra $400, but oh well. We'll see when I get to that point.

I've seen two weights for the Fidanza flywheel online..a couple people who have actually gone and built SVT focuses with that flywheel say it's 9, but..I don't know. I'll throw it on a scale when I buy the thing here in a week or so and let you all know.

And... eh. My stock rotors have warped pretty fast.. I'm trying for a harder rotor. I'd love to see two piece rotors which dissipate heat faster and resist warping.. how many motorcycles with floating rotors do you see warped iron on? LoL. I've never had my bike's rotors warp, no matter how fast or how hard I was braking. Car rotors though? Warp like hell. Pisses me off. I want two-piecers! LoL. >.<

 

Hey, awnuts, your sig says you have the firepower ignition (screamin' demon and live wires) How do you like it?

About the intake, I'm getting the huge 67mm TB, so I'm just gonna have somebody make an intake custom that fits the TB exactly, and runs all the way past the battery to the front of the car, at the top of the engine bay, so the cone sits just back of the radiator. That way it gets a feed of cool air from the front of the car without being low enough to get flooded in all these damn flash-floods we get here. What color is your focus anyway? We should meet up at sonic on monty at some point. Alright man, catch you later.

- Rob

 

Promise you the Volant will fit it uses a 3inch rubber spacer thats clamped over the TB and it will stretch.As for the screamon demon everyone here says not to buy it because its a waste of money.It doesnt do anything to your car.Now as for the SVT I dont know I have the ZX3 yes its a zetec like on the SVT.As for my experience I had a small vibration in the engine or whats known as a nervous engine at idle even.When I put the coil on it smoothed the engine out.Plus it seems a little more peppy.Myself I say it works.I dont think your going to get any HP gains but it does run smoother.

 

EDIT: double post due to work comp....

 

I kinda like raspy. Maybe it's my background with triumph 3-cylinder sportbikes, which sound raspy and...by the way...amazing and wonderful at all RPM's.. but I like that sound. Maybe why the MBRP is addictive to me.

As far as the suspension not being "focus oriented"...well..that's on you, but the racecraft setup was engineered for the Saleen n2o focus..the exact same basic car, made specifically and tuned by saleen's engineers for the explicit purpose of being on that specific car, where any aftermarket setup is.. "Oh, those are good shocks, let's adapt them to fit this car" I've driven a saleen focus by the way, and the ride quality for me is perfect. About 15-20% firmer than stock. so..I don't know where you came up with that, but... ..... yeah. anyway. I like that kit, and it's the one that goes on this car. I'm sure you like your AGX's..and a lot of people like Koni's.. some people have Bilstein PSS9's, and some people probably even have the Spax kit. And I'll be that one guy with the Saleen/Racecraft kit. And that's how it's gonna be, pilgrim.

If you've had that flywheel, cool. I'll write an email to ultrarev and tell them the weight of the fidanza flywheel on thier website is wrong. Still the lightest flywheel for my car I know of, so that's the one I'm going with.

And..as far as brakes... well..the rotors were probably well on thier way when I got the car, but nevertheless, I hate that pulsing feeling when you're on the brakes more than I hate lambchop singing the song that never ends. So I'm gonna try for a harder rotor and hope it lasts for a good long while.

And on an ending note..try not to be so hostile. It is, after all, my build and my car. You could complain about the suspension setup if I was inferring that I was about to go over to your house and mount it on your car.

 

Btw Mines a sangria red with AWNUTS on the plate and sure we can get together at the sonic no prob.I'm not working right now.Looking but not working lol.

 

Alright so... here's the plan for the build and when stuff's going on the car.

August, 2007:
Competition SCC-2100 Clutch Kit - Competitionclutch - $450.00
Fidanza 12-Lb. Aluminum Flywheel - Ultrarev - $340.00

September, 2007:
BFGoodrich g-Force Sport 215/45/17 Tires - Tirerack - $430.00
FocusSport Front & Rear Tower Braces - Focussport - $160.00

October, 2007:
CFM 67mm Billet Throttle-Body - C-f-m - $200.00
Custom Mandrel-Bent Cold Air Intake - Speedlab - $170.00
Firepower Ignition w/ Brisk LGS Plugs - Steedafocus - $170.00
Sun Automobile Hyper Ground S-Type Kit - Speedelement - $100.00

November, 2007:
Saleen/Racecraft Suspension Kit - Saleen - $450.00
Energy Hyperflex Master Bushing Set - Ultrarev - $110.00

December, 2007:
Random Technology High-Flow Cat - C-f-m - $340.00
MBRP Stainless Cat-Back Exhaust - Mbrp - $260.00
CFM 2-Piece Crank Pulley Kit - C-f-m - $120.00

January, 2008:
PowerSlot Front & Rear Slotted Rotors - Ultrarev - $290.00
Russell Braided Steel Brake Line Kit - C-f-m - $140.00
Hawk HPS Front & Rear Brake Pads - Tirerack - $140.00

February, 2008:
VF-Engineering L, R, & Lower Engine Mounts - Focussport - $400.00
SCT SF XCalibrator 2 ECU Flash Tuner - Focussport - $380.00

March, 2008:
Quaife ATB Limited-Slip Differential - Ultrarev - $1,100.00




And there you have it, folks. The entire build in 8 short months from bone stock to some kind of n/a twisty-carving machine. Knowing me, the mod bug won't stop there, but that's not within the limits of this particular build. This stage is set to acheive some specific goals which are... to give the car a healthy increase in power without opening up the head or adding forced induction or nitrous. To make the powerband as smooth as possible and maximize throttle response. To stiffen up the car's handling without making it impossible to live with. To make the car corner with aplomb at any speed around any corner. All this should be done while maintaining emissions-legal status, and without visually changing the car to attract police attention. The streetability of the car should not be compromised so that the car is resaleable further down the road with the modifications adding, not detracting to the value of the car to the proper enthusiast.

Anyway, so... I wanna give props to everyone that responded to this thread with suggestions and information. It's been helpful in tweaking the build, making it really perfect. I think I've finally got a formula that works for the car, and will do everything I intended to do, while staying under $6,000.00 in parts cost. Parts came out to about $5,700 and change. After all this is done, I might replace some stereo components, but I don't really think so. The factory blaupunkt audiophile 9000 system is really good, and having the factory original equipment in there can be a good thing if I go to sell it in the future.

So there's the whole plan laid out. apart from next month, and march 08, I'm trying to keep the amount of money spent per month around $600, simply because I'm an army reservist/working part time/going to college, and this car and the build is my outlet from the rest of my busy schedule, and I'm trying to get it done without setting impossible standards for the schedule of it. I'm also not trying to eat top ramen for the next 8 months, so there needs to be a little slack in the system for my own personal use.

Right then, lemme know what you guys think. Catch you later.

- Rob

 

It looks pretty good to me, except for a few nit-picks.

Ignition/electrical - turbotom and 03orangesvt run their setups on stock igntion coils. Here's a quote from 03Orange, "
EVERY big power Focus (300whp or more) is running the stock coil and FRPP wires..... if the SD setup was worth a shit dont you think we would use it??"
Waste of money.

Grounding kit - these can be made with heavy gauge wire for less than $20.00. I did it on my car and didn't notice any improvement whatsoever. There's even a how-to. The general consensus on the forum is that grounding kits for the focus are a waste of money.

Slotted/drilled rotors - i've read numerous articles that say that this is mostly hype. here's a good forum discussion: http://www.mustangforums.com/m_2547493/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm

and a quote from that thread, "Brembo is trying to sell you something, of course!! Several years ago I built and ran a brake dyno when I was in grad school. I have personally tested many different combinations of rotors (drilled/slotted/solid/dimpled) and various pad formulations. The research project was funded by one of the big automakers (I am contractually disallowed from revealing who) who wanted to study how to improve braking on their cars. The bottom line is that drilling and slotting had negligable effect on brake torque (braking power) or brake fade, except with the drilling was "extreme". In that case, the fade got worse, mean temps went way up, and the brake torque went down as the pads failed due to heat."

IMHO it's another waste of money.