Got a new car, what to mod!?

Ste59w

Ste59w

Ste59w

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Bought myself a Ford Focus 1.6 16v Zetec 2003. Initially i wanted a cheap runabout, not looking to spend big money but as this was owned by a close friend of the family from new and had regular services it was too much of a bargain.

As such i seem to have got myself a nice car, in silver and am interested in doing a few mods to it, something i've always wanted to do but never had a worthy car to spend money on.

Engine has 62k miles on the clock so is a worthy vehicle to care for and do up.

I don't know much about modding so after some advice please?

Is there something that everyone should do to their car?

What mods are available for more power should i want to go down that route and whats the general expense of such a thing?

Is there any particular mods i should stay away from that could damage my car?

I've seen induction kits etc but what are the benefits of using one that wont be overly exaggerated in the adverts.

I'm not looking at Turbo kits or anything that extreme as of yet, but willing to put a few hundred into it.

thanks



Basically im willing to spend some money on the car improving the overall performance. Not really interested in cosmetics, my illuminous gear stick is enough for me! lol
 
Eibach lowering springs - will lower your car by 30mm and will make it handle much better. Theyre also an official Ford aftermarket part, as they used to sell the Eibach spring kits straight from the dealer.

You could also bag yourself a set of 16' Zetec, or ST170 wheels. This will give you the space and ability to upgrade to the ST170 brake setup which offers excellent stopping power.

Internally, you could fit a B&M short shifter gear stick.

Not many engine mods can be done to the 1.6 tbh, you could do the usual induction kit etc, but you wont see much at all from it. Maybe fit a K&N panel filter, but dont expect any gains, however it might make u feel better :D
 
Don't. Tasteful upgrade the stereo if that's your thing. Learn basic maintenance if that interests you..

Your car will return a better value if you keep it good condition and then sell it when you want to get a more powerful car. Would you want a third hand fiesta that has been modified?

If you still want to mod, then you start with uprated air filter and exhaust. Then onto ECU remap, brakes, handling, roll cage etc, all mods will need to be declared with your insurer.
 
You'd spend a grand on engine mods to get to the same power as a 2.0 Focus.

Adam said:
I'd rather keep the 1.6 Focus. The 2.0 offers very little performance over the 1.6 and 1.8 and I find it much thirstier. I certainly don't think it's the best engine in the range.
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Well you get 30BHP more and up to 2 seconds off the 0-60 time depending on trim.
 
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Nothing wrong with a few hundred quid on styling if that floats your boat. Buying an st170 instead would be stupid as they are rubbish for the costs involved.
 
[TW]Fox;17152374 said:
Nothing wrong with a few hundred quid on styling if that floats your boat. Buying an st170 instead would be stupid as they are rubbish for the costs involved.
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They make excellent weekend cars of course, only if you have a 1.6 Zetec as your daily :D
 
[TW]Fox;17152374 said:
Nothing wrong with a few hundred quid on styling if that floats your boat. Buying an st170 instead would be stupid as they are rubbish for the costs involved.
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Yes, yes they are. My two best friends both drive Foci (Focuses? I'm not sure, but you know what I mean) ..one has an ST170 and the other has a 2.0 Ghia ...I can't tell the difference between them really ...other than the ST has much nicer wheels and digital climate control.
 
Adam said:
I'd rather keep the 1.6 Focus. The 2.0 offers very little performance over the 1.6 and 1.8 and I find it much thirstier. I certainly don't think it's the best engine in the range.
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The 2.0 offers enough torque to get up small hills.

(From a ex 1.6 owner).
 
Thanks for the useful advice.

I was not really looking to buy an expensive car as i mentioned and thus was not shopping around for one, especially the more expensive models you mention. So buying a 2.0 litre was not an option.

Family friend buying new car and offered this to me for a good price, and as its in mint condition its an offer i couldn't turn down.

Again not looking for massive upgrades, a few hundred quid on things that make the car nicer to drive/perform better etc.

I like the alloys suggestion as the ones i have on at the moment are quite small and ugly lol - and im liking the lowering springs idea too if it offers nice handling performance for relatively cheap!

any other suggestions advice? all is appreciated.
 
LiE said:
If you wanted power you shouldn't of bought a 1.6 focus.
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Maybe you misunderstood me.

I wasn't looking for a beast or looking for anything particular. I was simply interested in what mods are available to me should i want more power in future. For now my 1.6 is fine for me. I've had the powerful cars in the past and not really interested to be honest.

If my only option is to buy a new car, fine - i'll do that should i want the extra power
 
I would personally only use ST170 parts or similar, most aftermarket kits look awful!

Leave the engine as is.
 
Firstly for performance upgrading, upgrading the driver >>> upgrading the car. Spend a few hundred on a course for a day for yourself with a proper driving instructor. You will learn stuff that will be with you forever, and will automatically upgrade every single vehicle you ever drive.
Most bolt on "goodies", air filters, exhausts give some gains but often at the "top end" and you often lose where you do most of your real world driving (unless you drive around just off the limiter)
Anything that changes performance should be reported to ins company, so suspension, brakes, engine mods.
Anything that changes the appearance should be equally reported, so wheels, tints etc as they can attract more attention.

Stereo as mentioned isnt a bad idea, but for the budget your talking your not going to get a massive upgrade.

If your determined to look for power get it rolling road checked, can often show up minor issues with leads, plugs that sort of thing that when fixed will return you closer to std power and you dont have to declare anything. Plus then if you go to do some other mods you know you have a sound starting point.

See if you can find some mags where people have tuned and upgraded your model, look for subtle diffs like side repeaters, mud flaps, repainted interior trim etc. You can often find upgraded bits from high spec models its just a matter of looking in scrapyards / online scrapyard listsings etc to source those bits.

Always keep removed parts, be they wheels air flow, repeaters, everything!, return to standard when you sell it on, and then sell the removed bits as well. Modified cards are harder to sell than Std anyway.

A really good wax and polish (ie a strip down to bare paint and a build up of quality wax over a few weekends) will make the car look good, and tbh most people will notice that far more than anything else.
 
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