Joined
·
2,491 Posts
***OFFICALLY STAGE 3 AS OF 11-20-15***
I have been hesitant to start a build thread because of putting mods out in the open like this would make it difficult to procure warranty work. I now mostly think that is paranoia and decided to start a build thread to keep track of my mods and give some reviews as to products I've used/am using. Like the title says, I am a family man, father of two, with a two year old and a 6 month old. My wife is not too keen on my car choice, so most of my mods are done on the down low, not that I have to hide them from her, but its just a source of conflict, so I do most my modding when she's not around and try to do subtle stuff she is not going to notice.
With that said, I have owned my ST3 for a year now and have a little over 10k miles on it. It is a first for me in a lot of ways, first four cylinder, first turbo, and first manual daily driver, first car I've modded. I am still extremely in love with this car, and am positive I have picked the right car and will own this car for AT LEAST 5 years, so I decided a while back I wanted to make it into a car I will enjoy driving for some time.
I have done most my mods with budget in mind, not going for cheap-o stuff, but with the best bang for my buck type stuff. I have to keep in mind that my car also does transport kids from time to time, usually just the oldest one, but have done 2 adults and two kids at times. I have made some poor decisions, but I will get to that.
My initial review and update after 1 year and 3 years: http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-...s-ownership-comparison-vs-old-acura-tl-2.html
Pics as of 2-10-15
Mod List:
Brakes
Wilwood DP6 Front Calipers (Red)
Wilwood "BP-10" pads for street use/Wilwood "Polymatrix H" pads for track use
Stainless Steel Lines front/rear (all above from TCE)
Motul 600 Racing fluid (
EBC Rotors front and rear for track use (from Summit)
Hawk Blue pads for track use (rear)
Frankenbrake rear conversion http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-...t-frankenbrake-larger-rear-brakes-budget.html
VelossaTech Stage 1 brake ducts
Suspension
BC BR Coilovers (bought used)
Mountune Front Strut Tower Brace (from Mountune)
Eibach Rear Sway Bar (bought from a forum member)
Massive front and rear sway bar end links (bought from Massive)
Engine
Injen Wrinkle Red Intake (bought from TTR)
Breedt Intake Manifold Spacer (Red) (from Breedt)
Breedt Throttle Body Spacer (Red) (from Breedt)
Breedt Sound Symposer Delete Plate (from Breedt)
Cobb AccessPort V3 with Randy tunes and Panda Motorworks Tune
Panda Motorworks Front Mount Intercooler
Boomba Blow-off valve (from Boomba)
Boomba two-piece rear motor mount (from Boomba)
JBR Stage 2 Oil Catch Can (from JBR)
JLT oil separator http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-maintenance/30899-why-did-i-install-2-catch-cans.html (from CFM)
CFM Billet Valve Cover Breather (from CFM)
Denso ITV 22 plugs (from Amazon)
Depo Racing Catless Downpipe (from a local ST owner)
Cobb Cat-back Exhaust (from a local ST owner) with Torque Solutions exhaust hangers (from Amazon)
DIY Earl's 19 row oil cooler with Greddy thermostatic sandwich plate (from a forum member)
Shifter
JBR solid shifter base bushings (from JBR)
JBR Red heavy piston shift knob (from JBR)
Breedt quick shift arm set to 39% reduction 25mm forward (from Breedt)
Boosted Designs solid shifter bracket bushings (from Boosted Designs)
Interior
Husky Weatherbeater floormats front and rear (from Amazon)
Lloyd’s ST Logo Trunk mat (from CJPP)
Diono Radian RXT convertible child seat--hey, it’s a mod! (2 of thesefrom Babies R Us)
Lionheart kick mats (for the back of the seats)
Homemade/******* Homelink (like $3 worth of industrial velcro from Walmart)
Muddy’s upgraded lighting—LED puddle lamps and trunk lamps http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-appearance/9065-muddy-s-upgraded-lighting-thread.html (I think this cost $36 total for 4 leds--link is on Muddy's thread)
Triple A-Pillar Gauge pod (from Glowshift)
Street Guardian Dash Cam (bought from Amazon)
Exterior
3M Tint—35% Front, 20% Back (from ProTint of Louisville)
*Removed* EZ Lip Front Spoiler (from ebay)
Boosted Designs black mudflaps
Sparco Tarmac 17” Wheels (for winter) dipped Antique Gold (from dipyourcar.com)
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70’s (for winter) mounted with TPMS ($1240 for the package from tirerack)
AVS Window Channel Vent Shades (on ebay)
Headlight Armor yellow fog covers
Redline Tuning Hood Struts (from CJPP)
HID backup lights (from aliexpress)
Sparco tow strap (from eBay)
Stereo
“AA” coded stock amp http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-electronics/16357-fix-low-volume-sony-stereo.html (used from a forum member)
Rockford Fosgate 8” shallow mount subwoofer in stock location http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-electronics/30418-sub-amp-only-replacement.html (from amazon)
Infinity Kappa 60.11cs speakers (from amazon)
Knu Konceptz Kno Knoise Kolossus Sound Deadening (from amazon)
Cleaning
Zaino
The Rag Company
Porter Cable 7424 Polisher/Sander
Mods I'm currently considering
15/20mm Wheel spacers
Feel free to ask any questions as I am mainly doing this build thread to give others advice on what are good mods and what aren't worth the time/money.
I have been hesitant to start a build thread because of putting mods out in the open like this would make it difficult to procure warranty work. I now mostly think that is paranoia and decided to start a build thread to keep track of my mods and give some reviews as to products I've used/am using. Like the title says, I am a family man, father of two, with a two year old and a 6 month old. My wife is not too keen on my car choice, so most of my mods are done on the down low, not that I have to hide them from her, but its just a source of conflict, so I do most my modding when she's not around and try to do subtle stuff she is not going to notice.
With that said, I have owned my ST3 for a year now and have a little over 10k miles on it. It is a first for me in a lot of ways, first four cylinder, first turbo, and first manual daily driver, first car I've modded. I am still extremely in love with this car, and am positive I have picked the right car and will own this car for AT LEAST 5 years, so I decided a while back I wanted to make it into a car I will enjoy driving for some time.
I have done most my mods with budget in mind, not going for cheap-o stuff, but with the best bang for my buck type stuff. I have to keep in mind that my car also does transport kids from time to time, usually just the oldest one, but have done 2 adults and two kids at times. I have made some poor decisions, but I will get to that.
My initial review and update after 1 year and 3 years: http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-...s-ownership-comparison-vs-old-acura-tl-2.html
Pics as of 2-10-15


Mod List:
Brakes
Wilwood DP6 Front Calipers (Red)
Wilwood "BP-10" pads for street use/Wilwood "Polymatrix H" pads for track use
Stainless Steel Lines front/rear (all above from TCE)
Motul 600 Racing fluid (
EBC Rotors front and rear for track use (from Summit)
Hawk Blue pads for track use (rear)
Frankenbrake rear conversion http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-...t-frankenbrake-larger-rear-brakes-budget.html
VelossaTech Stage 1 brake ducts
Suspension
BC BR Coilovers (bought used)
Mountune Front Strut Tower Brace (from Mountune)
Eibach Rear Sway Bar (bought from a forum member)
Massive front and rear sway bar end links (bought from Massive)
Engine
Injen Wrinkle Red Intake (bought from TTR)
Breedt Intake Manifold Spacer (Red) (from Breedt)
Breedt Throttle Body Spacer (Red) (from Breedt)
Breedt Sound Symposer Delete Plate (from Breedt)
Cobb AccessPort V3 with Randy tunes and Panda Motorworks Tune
Panda Motorworks Front Mount Intercooler
Boomba Blow-off valve (from Boomba)
Boomba two-piece rear motor mount (from Boomba)
JBR Stage 2 Oil Catch Can (from JBR)
JLT oil separator http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-maintenance/30899-why-did-i-install-2-catch-cans.html (from CFM)
CFM Billet Valve Cover Breather (from CFM)
Denso ITV 22 plugs (from Amazon)
Depo Racing Catless Downpipe (from a local ST owner)
Cobb Cat-back Exhaust (from a local ST owner) with Torque Solutions exhaust hangers (from Amazon)
DIY Earl's 19 row oil cooler with Greddy thermostatic sandwich plate (from a forum member)
Shifter
JBR solid shifter base bushings (from JBR)
JBR Red heavy piston shift knob (from JBR)
Breedt quick shift arm set to 39% reduction 25mm forward (from Breedt)
Boosted Designs solid shifter bracket bushings (from Boosted Designs)
Interior
Husky Weatherbeater floormats front and rear (from Amazon)
Lloyd’s ST Logo Trunk mat (from CJPP)
Diono Radian RXT convertible child seat--hey, it’s a mod! (2 of thesefrom Babies R Us)
Lionheart kick mats (for the back of the seats)
Homemade/******* Homelink (like $3 worth of industrial velcro from Walmart)
Muddy’s upgraded lighting—LED puddle lamps and trunk lamps http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-appearance/9065-muddy-s-upgraded-lighting-thread.html (I think this cost $36 total for 4 leds--link is on Muddy's thread)
Triple A-Pillar Gauge pod (from Glowshift)
Street Guardian Dash Cam (bought from Amazon)
Exterior
3M Tint—35% Front, 20% Back (from ProTint of Louisville)
*Removed* EZ Lip Front Spoiler (from ebay)
Boosted Designs black mudflaps
Sparco Tarmac 17” Wheels (for winter) dipped Antique Gold (from dipyourcar.com)
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70’s (for winter) mounted with TPMS ($1240 for the package from tirerack)
AVS Window Channel Vent Shades (on ebay)
Headlight Armor yellow fog covers
Redline Tuning Hood Struts (from CJPP)
HID backup lights (from aliexpress)
Sparco tow strap (from eBay)
Stereo
“AA” coded stock amp http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-electronics/16357-fix-low-volume-sony-stereo.html (used from a forum member)
Rockford Fosgate 8” shallow mount subwoofer in stock location http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-electronics/30418-sub-amp-only-replacement.html (from amazon)
Infinity Kappa 60.11cs speakers (from amazon)
Knu Konceptz Kno Knoise Kolossus Sound Deadening (from amazon)
Cleaning
Zaino
The Rag Company
Porter Cable 7424 Polisher/Sander
Mods I'm currently considering
15/20mm Wheel spacers
Feel free to ask any questions as I am mainly doing this build thread to give others advice on what are good mods and what aren't worth the time/money.