PaulinhoT

Yeah that doesn't sound good I think I will just lower it a fraction and firm up the ride

turbo-herman

Nice cleaning job mate. i do like the colour.

PaulinhoT

Thank you, oddly I enjoy cleaning it should I worry about myself lol

PaulinhoT

Well all I want to do is get outside and wash the crap off my car.. but the weather is so bad...

H3lsing

Well, there's nothing to stop you from cleaning the inside .

PaulinhoT

That's very true good idea

H3lsing

Well you do spend most of the time in there so that's what I would do, should be doing too :P. If you invest in a good wax it will be easier to wash next time when doing a quick detail. I haven't seen a clean car on the road in weeks.

PaulinhoT

I'm thinking about having some of the interior re-done in alcantara, although I'm not so sure on how much this is and how good it will look.

PaulinhoT

Well not much of an update really, and lot's of poor excuses as to why.

But today was my first day off in ages, so I thought I would have a go at painting the calipers.



Above: New discs and pads fitted a few months back, so a light clean on the caliper was needed.



Above: I tired not to paint to much of the disc, but failed lol.





I have done the rears as well, and will try to get a better photo tomorrow. Since I painted them today, it feels like the car has at least 20bhp more, so I'm happy lol

PaulinhoT

This is a little odd, and I wondered if anyone can help. As listed on my video, my car was lovely and warm, although the ambient temperature was very low (hence the smoke), but basically when you listen to the revs drop, it's like they stick a little, then drop ?

Any clues as to why that would happen

PaulinhoT

Well the car is booked in for it's MOT on Friday (28th), although it's not due for a good few weeks yet. I just like to sort it in advance plus it gives me a little time to sort out anything that needs doing

The Underdog

i cant hear anything abnormal in that vid paul.its not the best sound maybe you should film the rev counter instead. are you saying the revs drop down and hold at little high for a second then drop to idle? my track car has started doing this. it will drop to about 1200 rpm for a second or so then go back down to normal idle. iv not had time to properly look at it but i did try reving at the throttle bodie and if i push mine fully back the revs drop as normal. for me its either the cable sticking or the throttle bodie or idle valve. yet to spend any time on it to find out though.

PaulinhoT

Yeah that pretty much sounds like what it is, I will take a look under the bonnet tomorrow Steve

Cheers

PaulinhoT

Well yesterday (Friday) I had my cars MOT done, sounds silly but despite trying to maintain it to a very high standard, I am never 100% sure if it would pass or not.

So I dropped the car off at 8am, and went into work. Now although the MOT wasn't due for about another 3 weeks, well I like to make sure it's done and up to standard This also gives me time to sort any major issues out if needed. Also this may sounds a little crazy, but I had put about Ł900 by encase it needed anything major, but by 1 o'clock I was told the car had gone straight through it's MOT test

Well happy with that

So today, well it's sunny and I have had a bit of a clear out in my garage, making it a little more assessable . I had also ordered myself a cold air feed pipe, as my plan was to remove the resonator box, and as I didn't want the car to suffer from heat soak I would have a cold feed pipe leading to a point near the oem air box.

As you can see below the ST170 engine bay doesn't leave a lot of space to play with.



So maybe ordering a 75mm feed pipe was a little on the crazy side



The idea was to mount the air intake on the lower grill.



So I set about removing the air box and air filter, along with the resonator box.



I also removed this module, although I have no idea what it's for ?



This is my air filter after a years motoring



This is the lower grill removed.



This is the pipe in place, before the lower grill is fitted.



After a hole was cut in the grill.



I wasn't sure if I should go for a flush fit or not.



Mounted and clipped into place.





Above is with the grill slotted back in place.

Below is with it all back in place and the cold air feed pipe directed towards where the resonator was.





I've only taken it for a quick couple mile drive, and the car actually feels more responsive, and the flat spot seems to have gone ?

Very random.

The Underdog

nice. they sound a lot better without the resonater. did you solve the idle issue. im yet to fix mine although it doesnt seem to do it all the time.

PaulinhoT

Well the car felt totally different Steve, although I'm not 100% sure why ? it feels free to rev out, but feels smoother. The idle seems ok, but I will take it on a run tomorrow and see

P.S. Thank you

PaulinhoT

You can't really spot the difference can you ?

The Underdog

i think i may have to copy your grill intake, i need more cold air. the module thingy you moved is the alarm i think. set if off and put it by your ear to check

James1290

Hey mate. How easy was it fitting the cold air feed pipe? Did you need to move anything in order to get the pipe to where you wanted it and does it fit straight into where the resonator box was?

Ps: where did you get your passion ford sticker from? Lol

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

So when remove the resonator box I take it it leaves a hole?? Us that bracket not in the way of the cold air feed.

PaulinhoT

Fitting the pipe up through was a pig of a job, in honesty I should of gone for a much smaller diameter hose The sticker was ordered via this lovely forum

Hi Glen, it does leave a hole in the side of the air box, and yes the bracket does sit in the way. I'm in two minds as to what to do, either I am going to make a funnel "L" shaped part that connects to the air box and goes over and under the bracket, or I may drill some holes in the bracket ?

The other option is to move the battery to the back of the car, although that maybe the most extreme. The cold air feed does make a difference as the car just feels lighter under acceleration, the pick up and go is better.

I'm toying with the idea of having another air box made with a huge panel filter in it, or trying to fit a group A sized cone filter.

Another idea I thought about trying was to have a tiny snorkel/scoop mounted at the back end of the bonnet, near the windscreen, and that would force air into that area, although I wouldn't want water to come in via it, so it would either have to wear a filter sock, or only be used when dry.

James1290

That's brill. Think I will opt for a smaller diameter pipe and definitely get those stickers!
I'm going to get mine remapped soon and upgrade the brakes! Suspension at a later date as money is always an issue!

H3lsing

Looks very well, and I like the cold air feed. I have an ST airbox in my 1.6 but removed the resonator like you have. It does sound better with it removed though. I read that it's a risky move leaving the air box (open) and that moisture could get in but I can't see how. I was going to get a ford transit connect snorkel but it would probably dampen the sound which sounds better.


I nearly went to look at one ST today, but the lads attitude didn't help. Too many time wasters he said, but his attitude didn't help and that really says it all. Totally puts of those that are genuinely interested. Sorry for the rant.

PaulinhoT

I think something must be wrong with my hearing, as my car actually sounds quieter with the resonator off ? or am I missing something here lol.

As for leaving the snorkel off and the possibly chance of water getting in, well the snorkel hole is on the right side of the air box, and the drops of water would still have to travel up through the air filter ? and if that happens, well then you must be driving under water which I can't see happening. Having said that one of our customers at work wrote off a Focus ST2 by trying to drive it through a flood, but the water was coming in over the door bottoms, so serves them right really

Tomorrow morning I will take the long way into work, as the air will be colder and fresh, so I will report back

H3lsing

Ah yes, you can't beat a fresh early morning drive on the roads. I wouldn't say it's louder as such with the resonator removed only when I blip the trottle, and when you hold the trottle and press it firmer it's just an orgasmic sound .

PaulinhoT

So, you know when something isn't right in your head, and you just can't put your finger on it ? well today has been like that all day for me, something has been bugging me all day long, and 1 hour ago I worked out what it was.

My cold air feed pipe was actually going to the wrong location, I was trying to create a cold air feed to go into where the air box resonator was located. Don't get me wrong the car felt better, and a lot smoother under accelration, and oddly so much so it felt less rev'y and more comfortable pulling away from low revs.

It hit me like a wet fish around the face, the ST170 has a cold feed pipe that goes to the bottom of the air box anyway, so why not just route my hose to where that one was situated.

I think what threw me the other day was a few things, I'm over tired, I didn't sit back and look at the job needed doing which I normally do. I just became focused on getting the pipe up to where I needed it, a rookie mistake, but I'm my own worst critic so knew something wasn't well. Also along side that, my 15 year relationship with my other half has just become so boring I'm going a little crazy, I know what I have to do, but doing it is something harder.

Anyway back to the car, this is what threw me,



As silly as it sounds, I looked at the sticker and just thought I would leave it alone as it's something to do with the air con. Yep that's despite working on cars since I was 8 years old in one of many of my dads workshops. So even 35 years on I can still become clouded.

The moment it dawned on me, I took the top funnel off.



I gave the pipe a push, and up popped my air box It was like the sun coming up in the morning.



This is where the cold air feed goes (above).

NOT to where I was trying to put it



So I removed the Ford pipe work.



I then relocated my massive 75mm cold air feed to the bottom of the air box.



This then allowed me to replace all of the covers in the engine bay.



So did I notice much difference, heck yes it was a little damp but the traction control light comes on with ease in 1st and 2nd gear, and the car simply roars and fly's. Well it doesn't actually fly around in the sky, but heck yes, it's made a difference

So I am NOW looking forward to the drive to work tomorrow in the cold air. This still isn't how I want it, and have spent some of my afternoon trying to work out which direction to take it. If anyone cares to offer some advice then please do so, but this is my plan.

1. I will either make or have made a larger air box (carbon or ally) which will allow a bigger panel filter to be fitted, and also for my cold air feed to be physically attached to the bottom of the box. The box could be made massive if I move the battery to the back of the car, but I suspect I may see 1.5bhp ?

2. The other option is to fit a rather large air filter (cone) by removing the actually air box and either use a trumpet or a reducer/enlarger to allow me to fit a bigger filter. If I do this I will make a small heat shield again attaching the cold air feed to the bottom of it. I would try to get this flush fit with the under side of the bonnet thus reducing any possible chance of heat soak.

All a little crazy for a stock 170, but I'm bored and just want to mess around a little.

The Underdog

paul if you want to see some cheap bhp get a vernier fitted. now my car is taxed i can get out in it properly instead of just some sneaky short runs and its flying.in the wet im spinning the front wheels in 2nd and iv never done that before but i have also the dreamscience too. im tempted to do it to my road 170 when i change timing belt.

when i ran a 57i on the road car i left the lower part of airbox in and put the cone in that so the air feed was focused in the lower box thing if that make sense.dont know if it made a difference though

PaulinhoT

Thanks Steve it's something I will look into, although I only just had my cambelt done, well not that long ago to be honest.

My car is all tax'ed and mot'ed for another year now

PaulinhoT

Well this morning I set about cleaning the throttle body on my car, I didn't think it was that dirty, but thought either way I would give it a go.


(above) it's rather easy to get to on the Focus.


(Above) Air box removed

(Below) With the air box removed, you can see that it didn't actually look to dirty.


However when I would come off throttle it sometimes felt like a nano second of hesitation. It looks (below) like the side were in fact dirty.




(Above) This all looks clean.

(Below) As you can see with some carb cleaner and a microfiber cloth and an old tooth brush, I was able to clean all down the sides etc.



The end result was a rather dirty cloth, and a very clean throttle body.



That was the plan, and took no time at all. I used a cable tie to secure the pipe from the air box to the throttle body. This is only a temp thing as I plan on changing all this very soon.

James1290

Hey mate. Lovely example of an st170 you have there.
This is a bit of a random question but you seem to e quite knowledgable. I was wondering what car wax you would recommend to restore the colour/bring out shine in my cars paint work? Is it worth spending lots if money on it?

Thanks James

H3lsing

There's a risk of removing the protective coating on the TB. If you used that toothbrush hard on the sides you could have removed some of it. The purpose of it is to prevent carbon, debris and other airborne particles getting inside the engine.

PaulinhoT

Hi James,

I think a lot depends on what results you want to achieve, my car looks good on camera but honestly close up it looks like it's spent all day/week on a gravel special stage.

At the moment I am using up my Autoglym products that were given to me when I used to run a car parts and accessories shop. Basically at the time I had a rather well established car club in Dorset, and the local rep would often give me boxes of his products to give away at my meets. I couldn't give away the stuff fast enough, and have ended up with about 3 boxes full of the stuff.
Maguires do a nice range as do Simoniz, but these are what I call "off the shelf" cleaning products. Outside of these you will find 100's of specialists company's that sell high end products, next on my list is some Ammo stuff from America

Can I ask, what do you actually think is wrong with your paint ?



As for my T/B I only used my toothbrush lightly on the edges to remove the cleaner and black deposits, but that's a good tip

The car runs a lot smoother having cleaned it, although it wasn't overly dirty to begin with. The other thing I did was manually move the intake system to make sure it wasn't sticking, which it wasn't.

Last night I ordered my filter and hose system, which I should be fitting next weekend, after which I plan on building my own air box

James1290

Hi PaulinoT, well the paint work is generally quite dull and just needs a nice shine to it! Mine is by the sounds of it like yours. Stone chips everywhere, some massive ones are rusting a lot! Especially on the rear wheel arches. I have sanded them down and touched them in from touch up paint I ordered from Ford comes with lacquer too.

Mind you when I do wash the car and its all clean it doesn't look too bad. Just wanted to add a little extra shine to it! 😄

Thanks James

James1290

Ps: nice job on the induction piping and replacing Ford's snorkel etc. I was just wondering how you have created a tight seal from pipe to the bottom of the air box so you don't lose any induction air?

PaulinhoT

At the moment the 75mm pipe is placed up against the bottom of the oem air box. The main reason for this is that I have some more parts in the post, so fingers crossed I will do an update this very weekend

As for the wax, I would steer clear of these car wash and wax shampoos, they do nothing for the paintwork or the car. Try and get yourself a soft resin wax, either in a liquid or a gel like paste. Maybe worth using a clay on the car after you has washed it ? Once you have clayed the paint work, then set about waxing the car, and depending on how much pop you want on the car, well either just wax it once, or do it twice with a super soft wax to finish.

James1290

Thanks for the tips. I will try some liquid/gel paste. Look forward to seeing the updates over the weekend on the airbox. 😄

James1290

Did you take the calipers off when you painted them?

PaulinhoT

Only the fronts, but I wouldn't consider it completely necessary, although a lot depends on the finish. I only painted these to see if you could pick up the yellow behind the wheels, as the other set I have been offered are yellow

The Underdog

paul are you using standard filter? i have a k and n panel on the blue one and its a lot louder with resonater taken off. maybe your standard filter is muting the sound.

PaulinhoT

Thanks Steve, I was using the standard filter, but have just updated it this afternoon, awaiting the photos to upload