I was thinking about getting a bluefin performance chip for my ST170. What are everyones general thoughts on the chips?

Are they worth the money? Just want to get rid of the flat spots at low revs.

 

Unless you wanna spend ŁŁŁ on a turbo upgrade or supercharge, its a waste.
i'm a fellow st170 owner.
stainless manifold was the best mod to date.
remap exhaust manifold is all ive got.

Turbo conversion i would say be 3grand+
supercharger 2500 from the states.

decent set of springs and dampers be worth a shot.

im currently going buffy with mine.

 

to turbo a st170 is crazy as you may as well buy a FRS for the money, as for the bluefin I found it did help with flat spots and fuel economy a tad but the st170 is such a dog for fuel anyway it was still lousy even after fitting

 

Welcome to pf. Have you looked on the STOC web site and see if there is any info on there about the blue fins.

A lot of people on here say they aresl slow but imo They arnt. Ok there are probably faster cars than the ST but I defo think they go well.

 

x2
just crap mpg and exspensive tax.
Had mine over year now.. There quick but i personally think decent tyres and suspenion set up.. There great fun in the corners

 

Thanks for getting back to me! I do love my st170 and how it drives. They are crap on MPG that is really what i am looking at improving and if the added bonus of power comes then great! Justin st13: I have a half stainless steel system on mine with a k&n panel filter, my mate recommended getting the exhaust manifold and de-catting it along with a remap for the best benefits at low cost. I have yet to do this.

Think i'll steer clear of the major work like a turbo etc.

My mate warded me away from the online superchips and said he knew someone to do a proper remap on it. He said it would probably bring it up to the 170bhp mark as they all fall short!

Also an exhaust vernier cam pulley retarded at -8 is said to be a good mod too?!

 

Tell me about it! Just paid the Ł280 tax for the year!

 

ive heard de-cats are stupid loud and loss power.
i heard about retarding the vernier pully, but have heard no big gains.
im gonna do when i do the cambelt next month.

Decent service with good quailty oil won't go a miss.

improve the handling more than power. Atleast you can embrasses a few cars in the bends

 

Yeah i thought that to be honest and don't think i will go ahead with it. probabyl still get it remapped and good luck with the vernier pulley. Keep me updated about how it goes.

 

yeah, will do fella.
start a project page up.

 

I was thinking of doing the same but cambelt isn't due to be changed yet. Had a major service around a month ago so all is well on that front. Just want to get rid of the flat spot at low revs as this is a bit of an annoyance! Come 4000+rpm it pulls!

 

Best advice I could give is get rid of the dual mass flywheel, it makes the car rev better and you dont have to worry about it going tits up

 

read a lot about solid flywheels and tbh it will reduce the longevity of the car. You will need to use a sprung clutch plate as this will take the vibration. Thats basically what the dmf does. Without it won't the gear changes be harsh?

 

...also any advice or knowledge around a stainless steel exhaust manifold and whether it's worth getting one?

Read that the standard st170 one is pretty much up to scratch and an aftermarket one would be a waste of money??!!

 

Depends where/what you read, some say that it doesn't need it and the system is pretty much as good as it can be. The grade of stainless on the cat back system is poor though.

Theres not much that can be done to them that will open them up. I've put it on here before, on FFOC someone spent ŁŁŁŁ's on tuning one only to gain something lame like 2.5hp! It had everything, remap, exhaust, pulleys etc..

 

iv got a few mods on mine and will list my opinions on each one.
underdrive pulley freed up some "wheel bhp" and i felt a difference.not mega but an improvement. k and n induction.no differnce. ss exhaust no difference. dreamscience handset on cais 97 map. this again was noticably better but again not mega. exhaust vernier is latest mod set at -6 and i rate this one.a noticable difference that put a smile on my face. on their own they dont mean much but for me if i add up the underdrive pulley, dreamscience and vernier the difference is a fair improvment over standard but can prove costly unless you get them all second hand off ebay like i did.

i have a 5.4kg ttv solid flywheel ready to fit and this is supposed to be the biggy so cant wait to get this on but wont be for a little while

 

Dont believe everything you read. The ST170 engine is just a 2.0 zetec, which runs a solid flywheel. The DMF merely reduces vibration.

The ST170 can be made to go quite well. But in standard form they are not up to much at all. I have both a 2.0 and st170 focus, and if it wasnt for the vct in the ST170 it would have been sold long ago.

 

"Paul" the handling can be improved to give you pace, drop weight to release free BHP. Thanks for the chat over the phone hope i didn't sound hypocritical or condescending.

 

When I had mine it had a k&n induction kit and I made a custom exhaust back pipe (used a tdci back pipe that has no box in and welded a tip on) and got some 30mm springs. I personally feel they are underpowered which is a shame as they are a nice car. I'm not convinced my vct was working right though. My advice is do handling mods as it was the best handling car I've ever had and it has got a decent brake setup as standard too so you can carry the speed well.
From what I read when I had mine the vernier pulley is the key to releasing power. The manifold is a good design already and they have a sports cat as standard so I'd spend the money elsewhere rather than on a manifold and decat.

 

I drove my ST170 for 4 years! It did not let me down once! The only mods I had, were eibach springs, mongoose exhaust and a decat!
My ST170 came with leather recaro's, heated seats, xenon, sunroof... I enjoyed it every second!
It wasn't that fast, but had e few runs against 2 fiesta ST's with even more mods(& bluefin...) and they were supprised what they saw!
It doesn't hold any value, putting too much money in it is useless to me...
Just buy a MK1 RS and you'll be supprised how fast they are with a few tweaks!

 

Thanks for all the advice and replies! I don't think I'm going to do anything too extreme for the moment. Just bought an automatic air deflector, it's got k&n panel filter and a performance exhaust on it. Gonna get it remapped too and see if it does anything.

The alloys need a refurb so think I'm gonna get this done over moddin the engine as they are quite bad! Gonna get them sprayed black I think.

 

Just found that the reverse light isn't working too and the rear wiper doesn't come on automatically when reversing. Think this is a dodgy switch though...

 

I've been speaking to Will Pedley and a couple of other companies about the ST170

i was going to go down the route of RS converting my car because it seems the best way to get power and performance but the costs involved aren't worth it at all.

best things to do are a vernier pulley on the exhaust cam, remap the timing, panel filter and an exhaust. wont give massive gains but will make the car really responsive and nice to drive. Also the best way to get gains out of mapping is to swap the ecu for an omex or similar so the car can be live mapped

Lightened clutch wont make the car nice to drive on the road, sitech advised me against it for a road car.

im going to be taking the engine and box out of mine soon and sorting t properly because its poorly.

 

I've just given mine a birthday with oil and filter change and full Valet inside and out.

The mods I'm going to do is the vernier pulley, 67mm throttle body, panel filter, full system from the cat back. Clutch I will decide on when it goes. Deffo want to get some decent brakes tho! I've been meaning to call northampton Motorsport to see what they offer for this car

 

That's cool. I'm definitely going to get a vernier pulley when I have the cambelt done.

Will different discs/pads fit without altering the calipers etc?

Also is it worth remapping an st170 as I would have thought being what it is ford would have mapped it to the best the could have with the ECU? Been quoted Ł175 for a remap

 

Well here are some updates:

I have mopped my murky xenon headlights and they look fab! Will get pics up on my photo album.

Had the car remapped today by EU Tuning. What can I say...it was well worth it! It's made the throttle more responsive and in every gear the flat spot has gone.
It's currently running at 180bhp with the remap, exhaust and k&n panel filter with auto air deflector. Well happy with that as it was probs running well below the claimed 170 mark! 😄