[missmysubie]

... well, new to me in February.

Posting to say hello. Great to see the strong community here, and I've been pretty happy with the car so far. Pretty clean ST3 that spent its life in TX and OK, and I think I got a pretty decent deal considering 2022 car prices. I learned to drive stick in a parking lot near my house when it arrived.

Have a few mishaps so far - clogged cat, leaky tire, and front air deflector ripped off on a highway trip and was dragging on the ground.

My main goals -
1. Get great MPG while still having fun
2. Improve driving skills
3. Make fun OEM+ livability mods
4. Still be able to drive the car to trailheads.

I don't know how common goal #1 is. Inb4 "then you shouldn't have bought an ST," to which I'd say - that's why I didn't buy a Forester XT. Love my 33 mpg highway trips.

Besides a ram-air intake/MBRP exhaust/Konig Ultraforms/the clogged hi-flow cat, not sure what mods are on the car. I haven't had the chance to investigate carefully yet, and I'm new to modding so it takes a concerted effort to learn. There is a Mountune badge on the rear though.

AGS is definitely gone which screws with goal #1. It sounds like this is heresy on this forum, but I might buy a set if possible and put them in (unless an FMIC is installed that blocks it... not completely sure yet, but I think the previous owner may have put the stock IC back in.)

Anyway - looking to buy some stuff on the marketplace, so I'm getting the ball rolling on posts! Current plans for upgrades:

• Fog lights, one is dead, other seems oddly dim (@EVH... I'm interested but I can't post!)
• Sync 3 kit from Naviupgrade
• Possible muffler, since the car is a bit loud for my 9 hr drives to the parents
• All season tires. Probably DWS06+, maybe CrossClimate 2 for winter capabilities, but considering others. Mainly want something moderately performant that won't tank my MPG. (Let me know any recommendations...)

I'm a student so the autocross budget isn't gonna happen for a few years, but it's crossed my mind. I might go 17" or 16" wheels for DD in the future for MPG + gravel road reasons.

Thanks for reading my essay. Here's a picture or two from the Cars and Bids auction:

 

[TurboGT]

Welcome and clean car!

The AGS really doesn't provide a noticeable change in real world MPG. Maybe they could prove some CoD change in a wind tunnel but it was mostly installed for greenie points with the EPA. Leave AGS off and install an intercooler.

I will say that it's important to have the AGS Connector sealed and the best way to do this is to have an AGS motor taken from the shutter assembly to plug into the plug and tie out of the way.

If you take some pics under the hood, under the car, through the lower bumper opening, etc we can help you with identifying mods.

Also note that If your car is a 13 or early 14 with the 320mm front brakes you will be able to clear 16 inch rims. If it's a late 14 with 335mm front brakes you will absolutely need 17s.

Make sure you search LSPi on here and make sure you avoid it!

 

[SSgtjrobertson]

Welcome aboard

 

[missmysubie]

Thanks for the thoughts Turbo. Read a lot about LSPI already, I've been lurking here before I even won the auction. I'll come back with some hood/bumper/underbody photos sometime in the next couple weeks.

The car only specifies 12/13 as the manufacture date, I assume that means December 2013. The spare is a 16" if that makes a difference.

On AGS - any thoughts on improving warmup time in the winter? I have a relatively short commute and I figured adding AGS back might keep the engine healthier.

 

[missmysubie]

Another photo grab from the auction post:

 

[TurboGT]

Yes the production date as well as spare means it has 320mm brakes (unless they've been changed out). Test fit the spare before you buy a set of rims to confirm.

This engine warms up faster than any other vehicle I've ever driven. I live in the north and daily this car. Coolant gets up to temp very quickly thanks to the low overall volume of the system as well as the fact that this engine uses an integrated exhaust manifold.

Only thing to watch is oil temps, doesn't matter what you do. They take a long time to climb. Although the gauge isn't hooked to anything (it's all inferred), watch the oil temp gauge and don't run it hard until oil temp has risen some. With your short commute you'll need to take this car out at least once a week and take a long trip with it (30± minutes at full oil temp) to start burning the fuel buildup out of the oil. Fuel dilution is a huge issue with all GDi engines of all makes an models. Your only other choice is reduced oil in change intervals.

Also looks like your coolant is a little low, make sure to top that off. Like I said the system only holds a gallon and a half or so. So make sure it's always full.

 

[ddfred]

On AGS - any thoughts on improving warmup time in the winter? I have a relatively short commute and I figured adding AGS back might keep the engine healthier.

The engine has a water jacketed exhaust port and a water cooled turbo; the engine comes up to temp quickly even in winter without the grill shutters. I live in Kansas and get to zero and below on occasion; I never had an issue with not getting up to temp and have had the shutters removed since the car's second winter. Now the car sits in the garage mostly in winter/foul weather and I drive my truck.

 

[missmysubie]

Thanks all. Good to know.

I drive pretty gingerly except on long road trips, but I'll make sure I add in the weekly fun drive. A commute this short is still new to me.

 

[Kyio]

Welcome!!

Some people I have seen have MPG tunes, so no foul there at all. Everyone here is cool, if you have an ST you can do whatever you want to it! Lots of help here, more than you can get in an owners manual or Ford tech book. In fact, some of the drivers here are techs at Ford or in some other related field.

And people like me who are complete noobs and learned everything about how cars work from this site over the last 8 years 😂

Where abouts in CT are you? I love just over the border in NY. Love running into more ST bros and broettes. I'll keep an eye out for a clean white PFL ST 😎👍

 

[missmysubie]

Southern CT. You might see me driving around NYC occasionally.

MPG tunes are interesting. As far as I’ve read, they mostly just keep you out of boost. I don’t really believe in throttle remaps but maybe it would improve clutch modulation. More aero underbody? Seems pretty flat already. Higher compression ratio with different piston heads? Seems like an option but $$$. Gotta learn from the hypermilers.

Also my next tire choice - DWS06+ will be a nice 3 lb drop per wheel. I drive a fair amount of stop and start, so there could be nice gains.

 

[Smokin' Joe]

Aero benefits will depend on the speeds you're going. If you have a 'short commute' that is all fast highway, then sure. wheels and tires will help. MPG tunes are indeed programmed to limit boost levels (and thus fuel injector duty) to keep it closer to a base model focus. I can't stay out of boost unless I'm in cruise control, but I can verify that staying out of boost does dramatically increase MPG (I average 22-24mpg, but when driving 'gingerly' I get 27mpg or more. Mixed HWY and city).

 

[Sobro]

Big turbo owners report better fuel efficiency. But you have to drive 200,000 miles to reap any financial benefit, same with most gas saving mods.

Driver mod is the cheapest and most efficient financially.

 

[missmysubie]

Yeah I should clarify. The interest in efficiency isn't purely a financial one, it's also a small minigame within owning this car.

@Smokin' Joe Base 2.0 Focus has compression ratio 12:1. Non-boost CR could be increased to 10:1 with some Mahle pistons.

@Sobro big turbo MPG gains makes sense, larger volume can mean same compression increase with lower backpressure. (edit - I think I might be thinking this through incorrectly, but I'm at work)

Pricey. But it would be fun to see an ST getting some very high average MPGs!

 

[TurboGT]

.

@Sobro big turbo MPG gains makes sense, larger volume can mean same compression increase with lower backpressure. (edit - I think I might be thinking this through incorrectly, but I'm at work)

I've logged about 15,000 miles on my Garrett. Averaging 1.5 to 2mpg Increase over stock.

Figure I'll tell you now to save another thread about this topic. MPG plummets on this car when the weather cools off. The speed density fueling strategy is super sensitive to higher air density. Just an FYI. You'll notice it but there's nothing wrong with the car.

 

[missmysubie]

Forgot about that. With things running rich with the clogged cat, I was seeing 18 mpg highway when I first got the car. After replacing I started seeing ~ 25 mpg. But yep - good lookin out.

 

[missmysubie]

BTW - forum newbie problem here, I cannot figure out how to PM someone for the life of me. I think ddfred said there's a 7 post requirement. Are replies posts, or do only new threads count as posts? I don't want to spam posts just to get the limit.

 

[ddfred]

BTW - forum newbie problem here, I cannot figure out how to PM someone for the life of me. I think ddfred said there's a 7 post requirement. Are replies posts, or do only new threads count as posts? I don't want to spam posts just to get the limit.

10 post, of any kind, to send a PM. You should be able to hover your cursor over the members user name, which will bring up a box with "message" in the lower right hand corner. If your using your phone, I have no idea how it's done, but I'm sure you can figure it out.

 

[missmysubie]

Aha, it just popped up. Thanks.

 

[Red5_FoST]

Forgot about that. With things running rich with the clogged cat, I was seeing 18 mpg highway when I first got the car. After replacing I started seeing ~ 25 mpg. But yep - good lookin out.

What keyed you into the cat being clogged? What’s the symptoms? Is there a general X miles = clogged (or potentially) clogged cat?

 

[missmysubie]

P0420 code. I knew the seller had just replaced the O2 sensor and cleared the code when it had appeared previously. So when it came back, I had a pretty good idea that it was the cat.

Followed this to be completely sure.

P0420 How To Diagnose A Bad Catalytic Converter -EricTheCarGuy - YouTube