Ihave the 1800 zetec and being fairly new to the Focus scene, what the power differences between the two?

Is there a massive spec difference I have the zetec version, heated wing mirrors, air con etc.

Is there anyone local to the Preston area who is willing to let me have a look and maybe a run out in one.

I am thinking of either moding the 1800 to a 2000 turbo, or just buying a ST 170. Not purely after power, the complete package, reliability comfort etc etc. Times come to make a choice, none of the local dealers have one in for a look see, so thought I'd try here.

 

if im correct the 1800 zetec engine is 115 bhp an the st is 172, if u want relaibility i woud go for the st engine but neithe engine is as straight forward as a simple engine swp but the turbo build is much more involved an expensive as u need alot of aftermarket bits where as the st u will be able to use stock parts from a scrappy or buy a crashed 1 an sell bits u dont need

 

you can also get the st170 up to 180-185bhp pretty easily/cheaply

 

with the st you do get alot of car for your money

climate control
heated everything
electric seats
300mm brakes
17s
lather
some times xenon lights

there a good car ive recently bought a 1.6 focus just to test the focus water and wish id got an st now lol

 

dont think the st170 makes near the power stated iv yet to see one hit 165bhp on a rolling road but the diff in standard 1.8 and the 170 is massive

 

I've had an st170, to be honest it was the most disappointing car I've ever owned. Slower than a clio 16v, about as quick as a mate's 1.6 rover. Save your cash and get a focus ST, can get them for about 10k these days!

 

where in the preston area are you? i am local , i work in preston on red scar business park.

 

ST170s rarely make 170bhp. Better of with a 2.0 with a few mods.

 

I love my ST170. As a family car for me it is an ideal compromise between practicality and performance.

I got it in November and have loved every minute.

However as soon as the ST is available for about Ł5-6K ill be selling this to get one. I normally keep my cars for 3 years.

 

Thanks for the input guys, I still can't decide.

SCORTPOWER: I am based in Leyland, but do drop the missus off at Fulwood industrial so use the 31a Junc, close to the Red Scar park.

Each have pros and cons. The modding wouldn't stop just because I had the ST, but the 1.8 already has a stainless cat back, induction kit, springs, 17"s, and a couple of cosmetic mods. Things is I want something a little less boy racerish.

Seriously thanks guys, i need a good look round a real ST, then I will make choice, for those people wondering, no I have never actually stood next to an ST.
As for the new ST, just bought a house and cannot afford a ten grand motor.

 

If you geta good ST170 then they are not that slow. I have a few of the usual modifications and mine drives lovely. Had mine RR'd at 189bhp so it happily passes heavy ass 200bhp golf GTi's and cupra R's.
Make sure you get one with a decent spec, spoilers xenon headlight, climate control etc were not standard. You will always wish you got one with Xenons if you get one without.

 

yerr most people seem to slag them and mine drives really well also.
what mods are u running?

 

I'm not slagging an st170, mine was a great all round car. However, if you want a fast car, then don't be under any illusion that the st170 is the car for you!

 

If the figures i have just seen are right and an ST2 has a kerb weight of 1437KG
BHP per ton of ST2 with 225bhp = 156per ton
ST170 with 170bhp = 147per ton
There is not allot in it really.
Mine is pushing 164bhp per ton so i should upset a few ST2's

 

and what about the 100 odd flbs of torque advantage the st2 has??

my 1.8 is running about 160bhp at ford fair i was runnin same 0-60 times as st170 but no where near the 6's the st2's were doin.

on the open road there's nothing in it between my car and st170 if i played wiv a st2 id get hammered.

 

hi pal ive just sold a st170 there a really nice car to drive the suspention is lower than a standard focus so they handle well they also have much better brakes than a standard model too for sure mine wasnt very quick on the 0 to 60 time around 7.5 ish on a good day and it was heavy on fuel for what it was really my friend had a st225 and it was a lot quicker evan standard 0 to 60 it was really nice but i still preferred my st170 to drive as im not a fan of the mk2 focus it feels bigger i like the size of the mk1 focus myself its kinda like astra to vectra if you get what i mean both good cars but id have a astra over a vectra any day if i had the choice my mate played with his st225 he got a front mount exhaust remap wolf filter etc it was on the good side of 300 bhp then so it was in another league to my 170 no point evan trying in the dry so for tunability the st225 wins everytime im afraid

im not tryin to upset anyone here this is just my personal opinion hope it helps you

 

I think you are forgetting torque too. Trust me, I have had both, and an ST would absolutely screw an st170 round a track, in a straight line, on the road, everywhere.

With a simple remap and a filter, mine now runs 270bhp/330lbft, which is more than adequate! Compare that to a standard st170's torque output of 143lbft, I think you will see that in a tug of war contest, I will happily pull 2 st170s down the road

 

ive had a st170 class motor forget a st go for a mk1 focus rs

 

I like that this thread has gone this way, it seems to have given you guys something to debate, Thing is I never said anything about an st it was always an ST170, I cannot afford anything more.

Current update, I still have not looked into the 170, but now have to look into churches, rings etc etc that wedding date is now comming fast. A new car will have to wait, on the up side, the honeymoon will be abroad and Im looking into renting an RS while Im there.

Thanks for all your opinions and I am thinking that with the mods and repairs I have already done to the Mk1 I will be keeping it and tweeking it, then when money allows either a new ST not 170 or a MK1 RS.

Again thanks, Mark.

 

I agree a Mk1 FRS over the focus ST,its smaller and easier to chuck about! As for the ST170,i have one & love it to bits but agree they are still no match for the power of the Focus ST! Still a cracking car no doubt!

 

Agreed, however you still sit up too effin high in all of them without seat mods

 

unfortunately st170's arent all there cracked up to be. dont get me wrong they are very nice cars but they are heavier than a standard model although they do have urated brakes and suspension including anti roll bars.

i have a mk1 2l zetec with pannel filter, uprated air feed to box, 4-2-1 and milltec cat back. on the drag strip running escort size 195/50/15's i was beating st170's with cat back systems and bluefin!!! not bad considering i was a good 30 bhp down!!

mind you running those small wheels is crap for every day use and you cant fit the st170 brakes undernieth them...which is a good mod btw 8)

 

i dunno you lot saying the 170's arnt that quick, no its not going to set the world on fire but driven hard enough it will torque steer 1st 2nd and 3rd and get to 140 with ease. its not a straight line car put it on a twisty road and it soon makes sense, it has to be thraped to give its best but what N/A car doesnt? on one hand its a fun B road blaster on the other its a practical every day hack. ive had two 1800 focus's and there alright but slugish past 110 and the interior in the 170 is a much nicer place to be the 6th gear is great for fuel consumption aswell, i can potter around at 40mph and the engines practically idling. the ST170 i have now uses pretty much the same amount of fuel my 1.8's used to. its great on motorways aswell as you rarely have to change gear it still pulls well in 6th and goes fom 70 to 140 fairly quick once the cams adjusted. if you cant afford to insure/run a foci RS and you find the 1800 a bit slow the 170 is a perfect compromise.... and with regards to vags ive got one less cylinder and no turbo and still leave them for dead especially in the corners

 

id go the 2.0 turbo route myself ive driven lots of st170's that have come in through work, while the handling is good the power or lack of left me feeling a bit dissapointed plus the turbo conversion will be much cheaper than an st170

 

What were you expecting? It only has 160 odd HP. I think they go really well for what they are and love to rev.

 

We have been spoilt for choice since the EP3 CTR arrived in 2001, before that point a hatchback that could attain a 0-60 time between 7 and 8 seconds was considered a quick car, think williams clio, pug 205 etc etc
The ST170 is in good company and even the mighty new FRS with its sub 6 second times and mountains of torque can only go as fast as the car in front on a B-road (it will be mine).
The 170 is about being a Focus firstly and speed or percieved lack of it is secondary.
The Focus in any guise is a well engineered well balanced piece of kit to hustle along the road, I enjoy the other halfs 1.8 as much as any other variant ive driven. To put it in perspective my FRP wasnt fast, however the road holding and communicated info was excellent and for that reason it excelled as a drivers car, speed is for pub talks, Im interested in the way a car brings my senses to bear on a twisty bit of black stuff.
I have recently aquired a 170 in the unpopular capri blue colour, I really dont care how fast it is or whether I get overtaken by a chav in a saxo, my priorities are obviously different to the main opinions on here, my old CTR lost me my licence for a month and had awful steering feel

 

I got a fully loaded one with Leather Recaro's and Xenons etc and i love it, true it's not the fastest car in the world and i have 19's on mine which kinda hinders the speed thing but i don't really drive it hard.The money you ned to spend on engine mods compared to what you get in performance is not the greatest either but just the same a lovely car.
As said before i would go for a MK1 RS before an ST.

 

The ST170 is a really nice car, I don't think it was ever built to be that quick, just quick enough.

If you're talking about power to weight then looking at the wrong cars. Anything over 1000kgs is starting to get reasonably heavy really.

My Ka is 900 kgs, probably a bit more if I'm honest. Still, at 195 bhp, It's 210-220bhp per ton.

I can vouch for ST170 brakes though, they're very good, but don't have to work as hard on my car. I have the full set up.

St170 can provide a lot of comfort and reasonable power for the money today. If you want more speed, would have to be an ST225. But don't think just about now.. If you think you might want more eventually, you'll spend more money in the long run but changing later probably. Get an ST225 in this case, that volvo engine has good tuning ability!

P.S. I'm after a MK1 Focus RS engine, if anyone comes across one for sale! Need more power to weight

 

I agree with allot thats been said, i would love an RS focus or ST225 but at the time the prices were too high, i could easily afford one now but i have spent money on my ST170 and im happy to stick with it for another year. As standard they are not pin you in your seat rapid but with a few good mods they are allot of fun to drive. Came up against a 2007 civic Type R the other evening and saw him off no problemo. Im getting 0-60's in the 6's now which aint slow. My advice is test drive as many as possible as there are some shit slow ones out there

 

the difference here is a normal aspirated or a turbo. thats fucking simple. theres the logic.????????????

 

It's looking good for a turbo conversion, buying everything for a st 170 engine conversion, people know how much 170 items are worth and will charge, a turbo conversion will be cheaper, and for me was it was always down to driveability, reliability (daily driver), and fuel / running cost. There are pros and cons to all the above, but i have a decent MK1 1800 and at this point cannot afford to shell out on a ST170, full car or just engine conversion.

Thanks for all the insights and comment, feel free to carry the pros and cons of various foci.

Mark.

 

Get a mk1 frs, cheap at the minute

 

I had an ST170 and it was a great car. There's faster stuff out there but as a warm hatch for the daily commute it was pretty cool. Its like someone above said, they're fast enough when your last set of wheels was a 1.8. Personally I wouldn't bother with modifying an St170 as your gains will be minimal, unless you switch to lairy cams and throttle bodies, but then it gets expensive so u might as well switch to something with a turbo. Mine was standard, but a mate spent a fortune on cams, filter, exhaust and a remap and he gained summat like 15bhp for around a Ł1000 - Ł1200. The engines are so highly tuned from the factory in N/A guise you wont gain much.

The talents of the car are pretty subtle, if you go hurtling round Windemere in one you'll kinda twig on that the power is really well balanced to the grip and suspension. I did get bored of the power at times, but down back lanes the 6 speed box kept the power in the VVT band (between about 5-7k rpm) and stuck like shit to a blanket. Mine was a bit temperamental, needing work every 6 months for something or other, like brakes, ECU warning light, tyres, all sorts. But i'd buy another, it was easy to live with, fast enough to be fun, ok-ish on juice. The interior is just a focus with half leather seats, its not that exciting, have a look at one and see what u think i guess.

But yeah, you will get bored of the power eventually. Its only on track days or down country lanes that the whole thing comes together I think.

 

may be on my own here but why not a 2.0 focus mk2 tdci i have a 1.8 tdci 115 bhp remapped to around 150 155 bhp thanks to angel tuning and it dont hang around ive beaten many a boy racer who thinks hes got a easy win from the lights ok bit of turbo lag at start but put it in 2 bout 3000 revs turbo kicks in and its cya m8 keeped up with a scooby till about 110 mark but every one whos been in it cant beleave how quick it is its all stock body work too apart from the black and chrome 18 st 220 wheels get a front mounted intercooler could see 200 bhp so ive been told

 

How did you fit the ST220 wheels,? thought they were 5 stud?

 

The MK2 is 5 stud

 

yup wheels was 5 stud as well dude

 

So just wondering is the ST170 not a turbo??? Just i was told they were???

 

the ST170 isn't a turbo as standard, and is fairly tricky to turn into a turbo (no that i'd know)

 

The Focus ST170 is not turbocharged.

The later focus ST from 2005 onwards is turbocharged.