samg91

Ive recently bought a 2002 focus 1.6 and im looking to get an engine conversion but aint sure on which engine would be easiest/best to fit. Im fitting Cosworth brakes at the weekend, so stopping shouldnt be a problem lol. What suspension would you recommend??

Help from you guys would be appreciated.

danme1987

the only easy option would be the 1.4 which obviously is not an option. the other all need a full transplant. most would just say sell and get the other but its cheap if you can get a smashed one and do it yourself. which is my plan with an st170 lump. but as far as im aware you need all the engine etc with loom fuel pump etc

samg91

yeah i was hoping to do the full conversion to put a bigger engine in like the st or rs. i hear the rs conversion is real pricey so at the moment im leaning towards the st engine. do you know a ruff idea on how much the conversion would be ? Cheers

danme1987

well thety seem to be going for around 800ish with majority of parts needed. RS is very pricey. looking at nearly 3000 ish

hogdog

Cosworth brakes on a Focus?! That's a new one on me.

Why not ST170 brakes? They're alot bigger.

As far as suspension goes either buy some really good coilovers or Eibach springs.

BTW If you haven't already invested lots of money in the 1.6 just sell it and buy one with a bigger engine when you're ready, it's much cheaper to buy and insure than a converted one.

samg91

cheers dan. hogdog my mate had the cosworth brakes laying around in his garage and asked if i wanted them as he reckons they would fit on my focus, not 100% it will work though. Ive been told the st170 brakes fail to work on occasion thats how some bloke who lives opposite me wrote his car off. i think im going to give an engine conversion a miss as just mod the 1.6 for insurance purposes as im only 19 i wasnt going to tell them about the converion. ive been told from a 1.6 its possible to hit the 190bhp if you get ported head, cams, remap etc, is this true ?

hogdog

Erm, no they won't fit the focus without lots of work. The hub knuckles on the focus are completely different to anything fitted to other cars unless someone knows otherwise and you can't fit standard type calipers to them. The ST170 uses standard type caliper fitment. You'll see what I mean ass soon as you take the wheel off and look at the hub knuckles.

The brake failure on the ST170 is to do with the ECU and the master cylinder, this only happens when the engine is cold so you need to wait a few seconds before setting off...Ford did an ECU remap to sort the problem but obviously not every car would have had it. Fitting them to another focus immediately gets rid of the problem as it's nothing to do with the calipers or discs.

I don't know who told you that you could get 190bhp out of a 1.6 with those sort of mods. It would take many thousands of pounds to get to that level, it would be almost undriveable on the road (very peaky power, narrow power band) and it wouldn't have the torque to haul the heavy focus around. A standard 2.0 would probably be quicker.

If you want to mildly tune the 1.6 (exhaust, ST170 induction, ST170 brakes, 17's, Eibach springs) then go for it as it will be fun to drive but remember that a modified 1.6 will almost always be more expensive to insure than a standard 2.0.

Sorry to be a kill joy, I always try and encourage people to mod but I don't want you to be burning money only to be unhappy with the results.

samg91

your not a killjoy what youve been telling me is very helpful so firstly id like to say thanks. you have a very good point i think im just going to save the money i wouldve spent over the months modding the 1.6 and eventually upgrade around summertime.

Once again thanks for the help.