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around $500 to spend... what would you do?

3K views 48 replies 17 participants last post by  rob99rt 
#1 ·
So I DD my 2018 ST1, and currently it has some pretty basic mods (one-step colder plugs, shifter cable/trans-side mount/shifter base bushings, 3" catted DP and no resonator plus some other stuff in my sig below). I'm going to have about $500 to spend on it pretty soon, so would like some opinions. I'm probably more interested in things to make it a more enjoyable daily driver, and just so you know, my speeds are typically in the 45-50 mph range with only a few miles at 70-ish mph on the way to and from work.... there are some days when there's lots of sitting in lines of traffic waiting for idiots to move, too...

First, I live in CO, so we deal with a bit of heat in the summer, so I'm thinking about getting a depo 3.5 to install. I figure after the t-bolt clamps and a couple various other items (locking nuts) I'll have about $400 in it. I realize it won't do anything really for performance since I'm not tuned, but it will help with heat-soak in the stop and go traffic I have to deal with between May and Sept when it's 85-100+. With the current temps, though, it's a non-issue... Another item I've looked at is getting a better shifter for it since I don't like the stock height or throw, such as a JBR or Boomba short shifter. JBR has the weights you can throw on it to help, but a lot of folks like the Boomba... I do have a 500 gram weighted knob I use from time to time on the car, although in the winter it's freaking cold to grab onto and in the summer it'll burn your hand. That would probably leave about $320 for other stuff if I go the shifter route, too.

I could just skip those things and get a tune from Stratified or JST, but I'd still need the FMIC at some point to be safe about things, and I'd rather have the supporting mods in place first before I got a tune (since I'd have to pay for a revision at that point anyway). I could get a 3" exhaust for it, which may help with flow and efficiency, but for the cost I'm constrained to it would mean an MBRP 3" using aluminized pipe. Some folks have reported drone with the 3" systems, and I rather like the quietness of the car now and the lack of drone. It really wouldn't bump up the performance much either with the stock turbo (and I have no plans of going BT).

I'd rather stay away from suspension mods since the roads here suck and if the idea is to make the drive nicer, a stiffer ride wouldn't be a great thing for me... I've got back problems already.

So what would you guys do next?
 
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#2 ·
If your looking at intercoolers, look at mishimoto j line intercooler. Its cheaper and does a really good job, down side is its universal so you'll have to fab up mounts.

Short Throw shifters, look at breedt shift arms it replaces the whole piece makes it lighter and doesnt just add weight to the factory arm. You'll want to use your weighted knob with it though.

But if it was my car. I would get an intercooler, which ever you prefer.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
#3 ·
I'll second intercooler (I'm looking at the Depo 3.5" or maybe the Vibrant), and add a gas pedal spacer as well. I like the placement of gas/brake much better since I swapped one in. Since this a DD maybe stick with a 2.5" exhaust. My car came from the dealer with a Cobb CBE installed and it was waaaay too loud. Great tone, just too loud. I swapped in an AWE and I'm going to be adding a resonator to that to chill it out just a bit more. As Deuce and others with more experience than me will tell you, the only real reason to swap the exhaust is if you really want a more aggressive tone or are looking for big power. One thing that helped me quiet things down a little is using Dynamat/Hushmat in the interior. I like the shifter idea as well, but maybe get a knob in CF or composite so it's not quite so cold in the hand.
 
#4 ·
So I DD my 2018 ST1, and currently it has some pretty basic mods (one-step colder plugs, shifter cable/trans-side mount/shifter base bushings, 3" catted DP and no resonator plus some other stuff in my sig below). I'm going to have about $500 to spend on it pretty soon, so would like some opinions. I'm probably more interested in things to make it a more enjoyable daily driver, and just so you know, my speeds are typically in the 45-50 mph range with only a few miles at 70-ish mph on the way to and from work.... there are some days when there's lots of sitting in lines of traffic waiting for idiots to move, too...

First, I live in CO, so we deal with a bit of heat in the summer, so I'm thinking about getting a depo 3.5 to install. I figure after the t-bolt clamps and a couple various other items (locking nuts) I'll have about $400 in it. I realize it won't do anything really for performance since I'm not tuned, but it will help with heat-soak in the stop and go traffic I have to deal with between May and Sept when it's 85-100+. With the current temps, though, it's a non-issue... Another item I've looked at is getting a better shifter for it since I don't like the stock height or throw, such as a JBR or Boomba short shifter. JBR has the weights you can throw on it to help, but a lot of folks like the Boomba... I do have a 500 gram weighted knob I use from time to time on the car, although in the winter it's freaking cold to grab onto and in the summer it'll burn your hand. That would probably leave about $320 for other stuff if I go the shifter route, too.

I could just skip those things and get a tune from Stratified or JST, but I'd still need the FMIC at some point to be safe about things, and I'd rather have the supporting mods in place first before I got a tune (since I'd have to pay for a revision at that point anyway). I could get a 3" exhaust for it, which may help with flow and efficiency, but for the cost I'm constrained to it would mean an MBRP 3" using aluminized pipe. Some folks have reported drone with the 3" systems, and I rather like the quietness of the car now and the lack of drone. It really wouldn't bump up the performance much either with the stock turbo (and I have no plans of going BT).

I'd rather stay away from suspension mods since the roads here suck and if the idea is to make the drive nicer, a stiffer ride wouldn't be a great thing for me... I've got back problems already.

So what would you guys do next?

Well...

I'd rock the depo 3.5, and get a JBR shift arm for the trans. That will get you more safety/usable power, and the JBR shift arm is the best arm on the market currently(yes better than a Breedt).

As far as the interior shift lever goes, You hear more about the Boomba because it has been around a lot longer. JBR only released their lever like a year ago, Boomba has had theirs out for over 6 years at this point. I really love the boomba, but if I was starting from scratch, I'd probably rock all the JBR shifter goodies.

Tuning is still the best performance to dollar, but it sounds like you can be patient and do the fmic first, which is preferred.

Get a neoprene shifter hat, or a knit one, to insulate your hand from the extremes in temperature that the shift knob can experience. I also found that a thicker powder coated knob is easier to live with than a bare metal knob.
 
#12 ·
Get a neoprene shifter hat, or a knit one, to insulate your hand from the extremes in temperature that the shift knob can experience. I also found that a thicker powder coated knob is easier to live with than a bare metal knob.
Was in the teens when i drove to work today, my 2" sphere stayed ice cold the whole time. :LOL: :LOL: The heat has never bothered me in the summer though, tinted windows and front sunshade keep temps on it bearable.
 
#5 ·
I second the intercooler. For the money I run Depo 3.5. shift arm greatly improve shifting. Jbr is a great unit I run torque solutions it works fine I run it at the lowest setting 40% reduction. And for shift knobs irana shift solutions hybrid shift knob. its 540 g stainless steel. Will a delrin sleeve that threads over the top so it's not hot or cold in the extreme weather conditions. That would put you around $500.
 
#6 ·
IC all the way.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Guess I could work some extra overtime over the next month or two and get a few more bucks to spend. Then I could get the JBR shift arm and short throw shifter along with the Depo. The mishimoto is an interesting thought, but by the time I fabricated some mounts and got piping to hook up to it, I bet I'd be in the same ballpark as the Depo 3.5.

I like the shift arm idea as a cheaper alternative for getting the throws shorter, but the height bugs me, too. The Neon was easier since the shifter wasn't threaded, so I just saw-zall'd about 2" off of it to get the height down to where I wanted it...It somewhat shortened the throws, but at that time I didn't have an option for a different shifter that changed the geometry at the pivot point... Anyway can't do that with the threaded rod of the Focus without taking it apart and running a die on it to thread it further down and then cut it off... Actually... that would only cost me about $10 for a new die, which I could use to cut the threads further down the rod, then just cut off the rod once I got it where I wanted it. That, plus the shift arm, would only be about $105 and would reduce the throw to a bit more than 40% because of the decreased height.... I'd need to re-do the reverse lockout, but that'd be easy... just put a zip tie between the lockout "pull" and the actuator... would just need to shorten it the same as how much I cut off the rod. Maybe I need a weekend project this Saturday to shorten up the shifter. :)

So, a die (10), shifter arm (95), Depo FMIC (350), and some T bolt clamps (20) would total up to be $475. What do you guys think about that plan?

ETA: Just thought of something... does the stock shifter have a "shelf" below the threads that is much wider than the threads, or is it pretty much the same width rod all the way down? I can't remember and I can't get to the car right now to check.
 
#9 ·
Improve your intake flow if you live at high altitude in addition to the bigger FMIC. High altitude creates significant issues with the intake, turbo, and FMIC. Unfortunately, these negatives compound each other. I live at 5500 ft in the Denver area (Lakewood) and work in Boulder by commuting on Hwy 93. So here's how it affects me:

Let's start with the turbo and FMIC issues. With having only 12.1 psia atmospheric pressure here, the turbo inlet pressure is lower. This means that the turbo has to perform a higher compression ratio to achieve the mass air flow target, which generates more waste heat. And since the stock turbo is small, it's being pushed into a less efficient range that also generates more heat. These two extra sources of heat are good reasons to get a higher performance FMIC.

Now why the intake is important. The stock intake section that wraps up and over from the airbox has a major restriction. Compared to low altitude, the less dense air has to flow at a higher velocity to deliver the same amount of mass flow. The higher velocity results in a larger pressure drop through the intake, which is especially bad due to that restrictive part of the intake. The result is that the absolute pressure is now even lower at the intake inlet, which makes the heat generation issues even worse and ultimately limits how much mass air flow that the stock turbo can deliver, especially at 4000+ rpm. The bottom line is that the other performance upgrades can't provide their potential benefit if the turbo is breathing through a straw.

So yes, at high altitude a better intake is needed just to hit the stock tune's mass air flow (= peak HP) target, let alone a performance tune...

I suggest staying with a closed air box for cooler intake air plus so that you can add a cold ram air scoop like the Velossa Tech Bigger Mouth. The Mishimoto intake looks good and goes for about $300 on eBay. I scored a deal on the Mountune cast aluminum intake with high flow elbow and filter. And you already have a high flow filter, right?
 
#13 ·
Not yet on the filter, but that's going in this Spring as the stock filter has about 19K on it right now... Going to grab an AEM dry filter for both the Focus and Escape since they use the same part... I am running a closed airbox, but I opened up a hole in the plastic/rubber stuff back inside the grill that feeds to the air intake... not quite big mouth air scoop, but I did see the intake temps go down about 8 degrees by doing that. It's basically the same width/height hole as the big mouth intake in that rubber stuff and you can easily see the intake hole through it.

You make a good point about the lack of air density up here... I'll have to consider an intake then to help it breath a bit better. Thanks for the insight on that.
 
#21 ·
Depo 3.5” IC. If you got luck maybe a used one and a used AP for $500. Didn’t see the AP in your signature. Down pipe and no tune? If you had the AP I’d say also get a E30 tune.
 
#22 ·
Nope, no AP yet... It's on the distant horizon, sure, but not for a while. At the speeds I am stuck driving the car, the extra 100 ft/lbs of torque would be pretty wasted since it already has traction issues in 1st and 2nd around here.

The car came with a 3" catted DP and resonator delete, so apparently the previous owner decided on that over an intercooler for some odd reason.

At this point, a bit better efficiency through heat dissipation from an IC, an intake for it to breathe easier at this altitude, and some shifter mods seem like the immediate way to go for making it a better daily driver.
 
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#23 ·
So I DD my 2018 ST1, and currently it has some pretty basic mods (one-step colder plugs, shifter cable/trans-side mount/shifter base bushings, 3" catted DP and no resonator plus some other stuff in my sig below). I'm going to have about $500 to spend on it pretty soon, so would like some opinions. I'm probably more interested in things to make it a more enjoyable daily driver, and just so you know, my speeds are typically in the 45-50 mph range with only a few miles at 70-ish mph on the way to and from work.... there are some days when there's lots of sitting in lines of traffic waiting for idiots to move, too...

First, I live in CO, so we deal with a bit of heat in the summer, so I'm thinking about getting a depo 3.5 to install. I figure after the t-bolt clamps and a couple various other items (locking nuts) I'll have about $400 in it. I realize it won't do anything really for performance since I'm not tuned, but it will help with heat-soak in the stop and go traffic I have to deal with between May and Sept when it's 85-100+. With the current temps, though, it's a non-issue... Another item I've looked at is getting a better shifter for it since I don't like the stock height or throw, such as a JBR or Boomba short shifter. JBR has the weights you can throw on it to help, but a lot of folks like the Boomba... I do have a 500 gram weighted knob I use from time to time on the car, although in the winter it's freaking cold to grab onto and in the summer it'll burn your hand. That would probably leave about $320 for other stuff if I go the shifter route, too.

I could just skip those things and get a tune from Stratified or JST, but I'd still need the FMIC at some point to be safe about things, and I'd rather have the supporting mods in place first before I got a tune (since I'd have to pay for a revision at that point anyway). I could get a 3" exhaust for it, which may help with flow and efficiency, but for the cost I'm constrained to it would mean an MBRP 3" using aluminized pipe. Some folks have reported drone with the 3" systems, and I rather like the quietness of the car now and the lack of drone. It really wouldn't bump up the performance much either with the stock turbo (and I have no plans of going BT).

I'd rather stay away from suspension mods since the roads here suck and if the idea is to make the drive nicer, a stiffer ride wouldn't be a great thing for me... I've got back problems already.

So what would you guys do next?
We I can attest to the drone on the MBRP XP exhaust with a Dp. It’s crazy loud too when you get on it even a bit at hi way speed. My wife And kids hate going in my car. Good thing I went Catted DP too. They’d hate the raw fuel smell.
 
#26 ·
Yeah, I can't have the car so loud my wife won't want to drive it. It already reminds her a bit of my old neon which she hated (what's not to like about a 4 cylinder with a lopey idle thanks to big cams?)
 
#24 ·
I'm still investigating, but it looks like the stock RS intercooler is adequately effective for the stock ST turbo and just needs some home-made brackets to mount. Those ICs can sometimes be found used for a token price. I've got a friend that will pretty much give me his.
 
#29 ·
The FMIC on the stock tune makes a big difference, you get all the hp ford will let you and it will be the same power every time you put your foot down. That was my biggest problem stock, inconsistent power.
 
#31 ·
$500 is a track day with insurance or a couple autocross style instructed HPDEs.

Driver mods >>> car mods.

If you must buy something that's a good amount towards a set of 200TW tires. I'm liking my RT615K+s a lot for the price. I was about $700 mounted for the set. That's street performamce too, as you can actually mash it in 2nd and not spin.
 
#33 ·
I understand the driver mod vs car mod debate, but honestly, my drive to/from work is pretty boring with just a few locations where I can get it to 80 or so without attracting unwanted attention. I don't have any desire to be "that guy" weaving in and out of traffic. I also don't get to drive curvy roads like I could back in Ohio and West Virginia. Roads around here are relatively boring other than dodging the potholes big enough to wreck a rim or every now and then dodging open manholes that the lids have been popped off of due to semis driving over them. No, not kidding...

The mods I'm thinking about are related to helping the longevity of the engine in this climate (hot/dry/lack of dense O2) and having it be a more-fun-to-drive daily-driver (shifter mods). I suspect that some day I'll get a tune for it as another 100 ft/lbs of torque would just be hilarious, but at the same time, it may be a bit much for the commute given the low speeds I deal with (and the traction problems already). I love torque (first vehicle was a truck my dad and I built an engine for (440 ci V8) that was easily 500 ft/lbs+), but I also understand that in the FWD platform it's a bit of a chore to get it to the ground and make it usable. I don't see the point of me spending $600 for a tune that won't be much use in my current commute.
 
#35 ·
tough call...but if you are looking at bang for the buck, I am gonna go against the grain and say a used accessport would be my first choice. I noticed a slight increase in fuel mileage when I put mine on...at least when I kept my foot out of it ?

Depends on what platorm you are used to, but the 80-ish footpounds is not gonna change your life...as in you will not suddenly be transformed into “the stig” once you download your first program.

FMIC is nice, but on an otherwise stock car I don’t think you are gonna see/feel/notice anything but a lighter wallet...and yes I get the altitude conundrum, I lived in Divide, Co at just over 9,000 feet ?
 
#36 ·
Yeah, I know that an intercooler is just going to make my wallet lighter right now, but it should help in the summer when heat soak in traffic just kills it. It also sets me up for a tune at some point.

I've also considered a meth injection kit for it, but I need to do a lot more research on it before I pull the trigger.
Better fuel mileage would definitely be nice, but I think it would take a long time to make up for the $600 AP and tune.
 
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#37 · (Edited)
Just ordered the JBR shift arm, so that'll be on its way today or tomorrow, hopefully. Also going to order the M12X1.25 die from Amazon, so hopefully I can thread/cut the shifter handle this weekend if I get a chance. I'll try to take pics and do a go-by, too. From the looks of things, I can take almost 2" off of the shifter, so that'll definitely drop it down a bit closer to where I want it. Throw in a 20-40% reduction, and the throws should be nice and short.

ETA: I misspoke... should have said the shift arm, not the short shifter.. my bad.
 
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#38 ·
Just ordered the JBR short shifter, so that'll be on its way today or tomorrow, hopefully. Also going to order the M12X1.25 die from Amazon, so hopefully I can thread/cut the shifter handle this weekend if I get a chance. I'll try to take pics and do a go-by, too. From the looks of things, I can take almost 2" off of the shifter, so that'll definitely drop it down a bit closer to where I want it. Throw in a 20-40% reduction, and the throws should be nice and short.

Since you're well under your $500 budget. some adjustable rear anti bind sway bar links may be a good idea since they are known to bind and bend or break. And if you add a rear sway bar later you can still use those end links
 
#42 ·
Elliot specialized performance has a real nice FMIC that's like a levels copy, it's really nice and I prolly wouldve went with it if I hadnt bought my levels already. And for the price 350 to 400 cant beat it in quality.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Never heard of ESP before, but I'll check it out. It comes with the upgraded T-bolt clamps, which I'd planned on getting when I picked up a Depo unit.

ETA: Looks like with shipping, though, it'd be about $80 over the Depo unit which ships free...
 
#47 ·
It'll be light enough that it probably won't matter much. I ended up doing the same thing (painting it car color) to the face of the gauge pod in the center of the dash. The previous owner jacked up the "carbon fiber tape" on it and I got tired of looking at it... So I took it apart and painted that area that had been covered with that cheap tape stuff to match the car's color with about 6 coats of light blue metallic and then fogged it with several layers of clear coat. Looks decent, but I may take it apart at some point and wet sand and polish it to make it look "deeper". I can't leave anything alone.
 
#49 ·
Got the depo intake and aem filter installed last night, but that was a bit of a pain... Had to tweak the mounting bracket, drill the hole a bit bigger, and grind some off the passenger side edge of the mounting bracket where it was slightly contacting a sensor, but got it installed.

Overall, the power seems to hit a little harder than it did before, probably because the stock intake tube is tiny compared to the Depo unit. It's definitely louder than it was, too.

Going to fill up tomorrow on the way to work and see if the mileage changes any thanks to it breathing easier now. I'll let you guys know.
 
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