Guys.....

In need of more advise!!

Firstly. Would a performance panel filter like K&N or Pipercross make a difference to performance on my 2001 2.0 Focus Zetec? I have modified the airbox in that there is a direct cold air feed......Just wondering about a performance panel filter now.

Secondly. I have a hole in my exhaust. It is mid section of the exhaust, its not bad as in it making a terrible noise but you can hear it and when I jack the car up and felt around I could feel a slight blow.....Would this effect performance??

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

none at all im affraid, the exhaust leak may be causing problems though. The only real benefits from your car will be very costly, both require programmable engine management;
turbocharge or throttle bodies

 

A full cat back system and a 4-2-1 manifold from Piper, Millitek or the ST170 manifold WILL produce noticeable gains. A panel filter would produce negligible gains but I always feel it should be done in conjunction with an exhaust.

 

i've got a k&n pannel with uprated cold air feed from the lower grill. think it sharpened the throttle response a touch and does allow the engine to breath a little easier but realistically you get 1-2bhp gain max. i do like the fact i can clean it though when it gets dirty!

definately sort the exhaust leak, you'll be amazed a how they can screw your performance (depending on the severity of the leak and its location).

other performance increasers are a cat back exhaust (preferably swap to a better manifold too removing the cat, but then have the hassle of refitting the cat for mot) cams and you can ge the standard ecu remapped to optimise those mods. Neil @ fast ford has just done these mods and got around the 160bhp mark wich is roughly st170 performance. throttle bodies would take that further to about 190bhp but thats really the limit n/a unless you build a screemer of an engine that will rev to 9k.

personally though i'm going to go turbo route with aftermarket management. the standard engine (bar fitting some uprated valve springs) can happily be boosted to 240bhp, certainly thats what the powerworks supercharger kits took them to.

 

what is noticable? the std injectors wont have more than 10-15bhp overhead in them, and thats hardly worth it imo

 

a full exhaust system on mine which consisted of milltek cat back and focus central 4-2-1 manifold (which decats aswell) along with my uprated cold air feed and k&n pannel took my 2l to a very reliable 145bhp. the standard injectors have way more in them just another 15bhp!!

 

As Phil mentioned.

My 2.0 Focus has- Stainless Mongoose exhaust, K&N cone, Cat Cams and it made give or take standard power, doing 137bhp (the cams i had fitted made no gains at first when tested) THEN i took it to Jamsport. Jamie remapped the stock ECU to make the most of the new cams and it transformed the car, giving 160bhp and 150lbs.ft.

It made it far better to drive in every way and feels much more pokey than the numbers suggest. For the amount of work and mods, i am well happy with it.

If i was going N/A for the nest step, i would consider bike carb conversion, just becuase it is a bit cheaper and tuning N/A is always pricy. If wanting more than 190-200bhp, as said....look at turbo, it just works out so much better on the pocket for the gains you will see.

 

Bike carbs are not the answer, its hard enough tuning bike throttle bodies for a smooth and fuel efficient drive with programmable efi (i should know im in the process of doing just that) let alone carbs that have very little tunability, Turbo is a far better solution, better fuel economy and drivability, even upto 200bhp on std internals (done that too, twice) 145bhp from a 2 litre petrol car is poor, most are 150+ out of the factory (clio sport, cav red top, escort rs2k for example) what are they std? 130bhp? i doubt you would really feel 15bhp increase in power tbh

 

I have been in bike carb converted cars and found them ok, i would do it as a tuning exercise personally, because even paying top whack, it should still work out about half of what TB's will cost.

and as for turbo, i am a massive forced induction fan, always have and will be. Just too good value to ignore. The price of gaining say 30bhp of N/A power, would easily see a 100bhp gain in turbo form

I am currently considering a super pikey conversion that i recon would work. JS can map the stock ECU for it, i would use an ERST manifold and turbo, stock engine and see what happens....this isn't a public recommendation, more of what i want to do just to see. The thing that stops me, is buying a suitable clutch would cost me probably more than the conversion will

I KNOW Blacktops can take abuse and good power on stock internals, because i have definatley proved that with my Mk1.

10bhp you don't feel, but the 23bhp gain i saw from cams and remap was suprising, my "feel" for speed and performance is a touch warped, but i genuinley felt it and was suprised with it

 

the 15bhp increase is definately noticable. even just the 10 from the manifold is. i've had to put my standard manifold and cat back on and it now feels flat and utterly shite at the top end


Neil, could you do a break down of your engine mods please and costs? i feel that would be very usefull for a lot of people as i've not come accross anyone who's gone down your route of tuning.

 

If you're going down the Carburettor route whats wrong with a pair of 45 Webers/Dellorto's? Rather than bodging carbs onto a manifold and they look God awful IMO. Nothing like a pair of Webers at full chat. Cheaper than both Turbocharging and Throttle Bodies. (Unless you can do all the mapping/wiring yourself) and 45's give you just as much gain as Throttle Bodies.

 

I would look out for a focus rs manifold, a t25 (can both be had cheap) use or make a downpipe from a focus rs, make your own oil feed and return and water pipes (easy enough) and make your own boost pipes. The ignition map will be safe enough as std, The use of a mappable fifth injector will see 170-180 bhp on a std engine for around Ł500-800, you will pos need a walbro fuel pump, and i would also recomend wideband to set up the fifth injector.

 

because webbers are a thing of the past and are god awfull to set up and live with, not to mention expensive, and you will not get the same gains as boddies

 

I am with Phil on this one.....Neil in need of your price guide!

I am pleased with the performance on my 2.0 Focus but as usual......I need more power! So the Black top Zetec engines are a good engine??

 

Here is a low boost turbo set up i made with STD engine and management on an e30 bmw;

And here is one on a zetec escort (on MS with 204bhp) Although i ran it for a while on std management;

 

with the x-over removed;

 

excuse the welding on the manifold, it was made by myself and i was forever repairing cracks, and most of the welding was done while it was still on the car!

 

you are excused

 

The turbo was had for Ł30 from my local scrapyard, the manifold cost less than Ł50 in weld "t's" and "l's", i made the down pipe and as you can see the oil feed was a modified escort rst one, the water pipes are all copper and the oil return was from power steering pipe (it takes the heat no probs). The turbo was off a subaru legacy, i also used its side feed injectors after the management change (444cc/min)

 

I haven't time to double check everything, but as a very rough guide.

Current spec- 160bhp.

K&N cone- Ł70...not essential IMO, but it makes a nice noise
Mongoose Stainless exhaust- Ł300
Cat Cams- Ł400
Jamsport remap (essential to see the gains) Ł300

Gives a solid, usable and pokey little road engine.


Now...my plan is something i reeeeally wanna do for shits and giggles. I have most bits kicking around.

If i didn't have an ERST manifold i would totally source a FRS manifold. What are they? Ł50-80?

so, for arguments sake....bearing in mind the whole point for me is scrapyard tuning and an experiment.

FRS manifold Ł60
T3 turbo....Ł80-Ł350
Stock inlet and ECU....no cost, Jamsport have used these before.
Ebay intercooler or Saph one- Ł60-150
random silicon hoses i have in a box and as a very very basic list, that's about it, if required i have some FRS injectors at home too.
Jamsport remap Ł500

I would put 10psi in it and see what happens and i would fully expect to piss out 200bhp

 

Ummm. Bike Carbs go out of balance all the time, the needle jets wear out, they're awful. Webers are good, yeah, they need re-balancing every so often, just like Throttle Bodies. Yes you do get the same power gains, the better thing about Throttle Bodies is they can be mapped all through the rev range and Carburettors can't. They also Carburete the fuel at higher RPMS but on standard bottom end Zetecs, they're just as good. 30-40BHP gain on Carbs and exactly the same for Throttle Bodies.

 

Also, tell Joss Ronchetti that Webers are no good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxK7uWP4eGg

 

Boys crawl out of your sheds and see the light, there is more to tuning than carbs yes they work, but they are not ideal, nor modern. In the same way you can make a call on a nokia 3310, its not the done thing anynore!

 

Can't you fit the ST170 airbox bits to a normal Focus? Heard of a couple of people doing that and said it seemed to help. Though I suppose some of it can be pricey second hand perhaps.

I'm sure a 15bhp gain is going to be noticeable on a car of that type. A 15bhp gain on a 400bhp car might be far harder to spot, but gaining 15bhp when you only have 130bhp to start with is definitely going to be something you'd notice in my opinion.

Neil, are your exploits from Anglesey going to be in the mag? I'm afraid I was there and did spot what happened

 

You're right, carbs aren't ideal. But I shouldn't think your low budget turbo conversion is ideal either? No doubt there would be several compromises in those builds, the same as in a cheap carb set up.

At the end of the day, people work to budgets, or try and do things a certain way just for a bit of fun or as an experiment. NA tuning is really quite poor from a VFM point of view in most cases, be it carbs or TBs, but if they owner has a bit of fun, and gets what they want from it, then it's all good

 

Not sure, high and low boost on my car is the difference between 180bhp and 270bhp, yes you can feel the difference, but its not that wild.

 

Yes of course there some comprimises, but a fully programmable efi turbo set-up is really not very comparrable with a pair of webbers, and tbh they probably cost similar money. Try getting your car through a cat mot with webbers on

 

Chaffe......Amazing work you have done putting a turbo on a Zetec

Whereabouts are you and would you carry out private work?

 

I'm not saying Carbs are the best way to go about things, but they're cheap for the same gain in power. That video in the Championship he races in, he could quite happily but Throttle Bodies on it, but it doesn't need them.

 

It's MassiveWangers! Ahmotorsport from EVO here

 

Hell yeah!

It happened, I don't care, it made me laugh and was one of the many highlights of the day

I wiped out my daily driver, so i may as well get some mileage and pages out of it, i can certainly laugh at myself and not cry over spilt milk.

I need a 2.0 engine loom or injector loom, bit of plastic hose from TB to MAF, some leads and it should run...will have a proper butchers to check where the oil come from. Was either from cam cover or the crankcase breather.

Will be cheap 'n easy to fix....when i can be bothered.

I very nearly stripped it to transplant a 200SX engine and running gear into it as a daily drifter, but i need another big project like a hole in the head.

It is currently in "dead car alley" on my driveway with the rest of the wounded sheds me and my housemate have between us, i need a "cooling" off period before i decide to-

1. Break it
2. rebuild as it was
3. Pikey turbo
4. Go spastic and build something a bit mad and different with RWD....i considered Cossie running gear and ZT engine...but Cossie stuff is rubbish as standard IMO

 

Im in bonny scotland mate, so a bit far away! plus im soo busy i dont have time these days for anything other than my own stuff, thanks all the same
I am taking in what your saying, but please listen when i say they are not cheap, the average diy tuner will have to spend fortunes on jets and air correctors and all sorts of other carb black majic to get them running right, and even then they will only work well at full chat, the drivability and economy will be a severe comprimise. Plus on a modern car like a focus will need a cat and closed loop to be legal for the mot and on the road, and these days you cant take the risk of failing a roadside emmisions check, plus its a dialy driver, who wants a manual choke these days

 

I seem to remember my missus got a couple of snaps of it. Wasn't the breather a bit on the pikey side Unless I'm thinking of something else. You didn't look too worried about it anyway, I'm sure most would have been moping and moaning about it!

Gotta keep it and RWD it, would be pukka. Don't see enough modified saloons, so a lairy engine and RWD would be ace!

As for all this tuning business, from Chaffe's point of view, a low budget turbo conversion is perhaps easy enough if he can map it himself. 99% of people couldn't do that, so they'd end up paying someone else to do it, so it would be just as expensive as having carbs set up. You might get bigger gains from the turbo conversion, but both are going to be expensive to Joe Average when you take into account set up costs.

 

breather was stock mate, nothing bodged or pikey....it was a stock engine and layout with just cams and a map, but i DO suspect the breather is the prime suspect

Yup, i really wanna RWD it, but i am a knobber hooligan anyway and i reeaaaally don't need a big project, but i want too...so who knows, sensible rarely features in my life lol

Nah, i burned out my daily, was stranded in the furthest point of wales and needed to go to Manchester to collect the dog and then to the southwest, but crying and being a little bitch wouldn't have helped. It was funny, soooo laugh! I rarely get upset about any damages with cars, as long as i was having fun in the first place....having to replace a bearing or battery from a-b daily grind in traffic pisses me off more than binning a car into a hedge at speed.....least i was enjoying it


Pikey turbo is a doddle, been keen to do it since i got the car, but the Fiesta's will always come first in my affections, time and money

 

And i take in what you're saying, no they're not as ideal as TB's, but they are cheaper and if you take it to someone who's done it, they will know what Jets etc to use and as said, it's a bit of fun! I really don't see what the problem is with a manual choke? "Oh no, i have to pull a handle then push it in again a bit furter down the road" When it comes to MOT get your wiring loom out and put your standard management on And btw, i want a manual choke Repping it up in my '76 Hillman Imp hell yeeee!

 

Not if you use one of thos fifth injector jobs, any joe bloggs could map that mate, just a matter of twiddling pots

 

Out of interest here as we are going in depth on the modification side of the Zetec engine.

Mine is a black top 2.0 Zetec engine that has been serviced by ford every 8,000 miles with stamps and receipts to prove......So would my engine be ok for modding, she has done 114,211 miles and just had another full service! Also 1 previous elderly owner......When I took the rocker cover off to do the gasket the cams gleamed like mirrors......I was most happy

Thought I would add some pics!!

My engine.....

 

I think my point still stands. The vast majority of modified car owners wouldn't even attempt that!

 

I am learning a lot from this thread about modifying cars. I really would not have a clue where to have begun! So a K&N panel filter, exhaust with uprated manifold, cams and a re-map to start with.

I do like the look of chaffe's turbo job........Would not have a clue where to start on such job though.....Would a normal engine need low compression pistons for a turbo conversion?

 

Yes it would, you'll hear of some people using de-comp plates, but i wouldn't personally.