Got a new car, what to mod!?

People seem to be getting a bit caught up on the engine lol.

I'm happy with the 1.6 and sure i would have got the 2.0 given a choice, but as i explained it was offered to me by someone trustworthy and i knew it was in great condition so was a bargain for me.

That being said if there was something available to give me more power at a decent cost id have probably considered it.

As most people suggested otherwise i have now accepted this fact several posts ago, so you can stop with the 'buy a new car' posts. Not interested.

Hmm one of the exhaust systems would interest me actually - Begbie what sort of gains does a new system give me mate? liking yours and the other guys ideas of some St styling, but was a bit concerned about trying to make it look like an ST with a 1.6 engine, not a good look lol. But stuff like the wheels etc is a good idea and seems to have benefits to handling.
 
My advice, just leave it as standard and put £100 away a month for repairs / servicing, dip into it when you need to, and you'll end up with a nice saving.

As others have said, if you modify loads of things on it, it will reduce it's resale value (for the future)

If you must do something to it, then perhaps get a K&N filter for it, cheap simple mod. May increase performance a bit, not everyone likes them.
 
Yeah thanks for the advice, im not looking to mod loads of stuff on it, maybe i gave that 'wannabe pimped' impression but i was only after a few suggestions for possible upgrades, things that a lot of people do to their cars etc as i wasn't aware of any.

Doesn't seem to be anything standard that people seem to mod and it looks like most of it is personal taste anyway, no go to mods that are a must have anyway (which is what i wanted to find out).

Only thing im interested to know more about are these K+N filter things, what exactly are they for and what are they supposed to improve? Oh and the exhaust system someone mentioned.

cheers
 
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From someone who modified his last car with a small engine I wouldn't bother on engine stuff, it doesn't add much at all. An exhaust is a good start as althouh you will be lucky if it gives you more than 2BHP the extra noise it makes will kid you into thinking its faster. Try not to go for anything to loud or garish, something that gives it a nice subtle growl is going to be better than a 4" bean can.

After that suspension upgrades are definately worth it, if you can stretch a nice shocks and springs kit will transform the handling without going quite as full on as coilovers. If not a nice set of eibach springs as others have suggested will help lower the car and certainly improve the handling.

Something else that might be worth considering is uprating the brakes, you don't need to go all out on this, just uprated pads (something like green stuff pads) should only set you back about £100 for all 4 corners, or you could stretch out and get some uprated discs as well, though on a 1.6 its probably not worth it.

After that I would probably leave it in all honesty, although the springs and exhaust wont make it go much faster the harsher ride and slightly louder nosie should make it "feel" that bit quicker.
 
thanks for the post mate.

I like the exhaust idea as ive always wanted a proper system but a bit concerned on the noise levels as you mentioned - not interested at all in something loud - you hit the nail on the head tbh, a deeper growl would be awesome. I'd prefer something that's only a subtle difference, something for me to appreciate rather than the neighbours! Hate those loud exhausts on slow cars. Any suggestions and ideas for cost of fitting? cheers
 
As much as I expect I will get slated for it, I would probably take it to somewhere like powerflow and ask them to quote on a cat back system, you should be able to give them an idea of how loud you want it and have it tailored to your specification. Don't go anything bigger than 2.5" piping with a 3" backbox and keep it resonated and it shouldn't be too loud. To be honest I imagine you could go smaller than that, probably 2" or 2.25" piping with a 2.5" tailpipe. Couldn't tell you how much it would cost though and unfortunately powerflow can be a bit hit and miss as there franchises so its worth trying to find out if the closest ones to you are any good. They do have a quote form on their website as well so worth giving that a try.

If you are after a deeper growl its probably worth coupling an induction kit with the exhaust as well as you get a nice induction noise from the front as well as the growl from the rear. Might even knock on for adding you 6 or 7bhp if its a good system / induction kit. Wont make it any faster in reality but the extra noise coupled with suspension will make you feel its much quicker.

The only problem with all this is by the time you do a cat back system / springs / induction / fitting it wouldn't surprise me if you have spent nearly £800 and you have to ask yourself if its really worth it.
 
Is a full exhaust system really worth it on a 1.6 focus? Not only will it cost you a fair whack, but you will devalue your car in the process.
 
If you want more power buy a more powerful car. You can make a car much more fun to drive with:

Decent Tyres £2-500
Uprated Discs/Pads/Braided Lines £150-300
Coilovers/Lowering springs (£100-1000)

This will mean you can brake later and courner faster which imo is as fun, if not more, than beasting it in a straight line.

If you're going to **** with the engine, perhaps a remap if it's worth it but on a 1.6 Focus I'm not sure you'll notice much difference. I know with certain cars you can improve torque curves and bring more power/torque into the lowe rev range and make it more driveable. You can also potentially remove some of the 'restrictions' that the factory will have put in place. Usually a couple of hundred for a remap and a few dyno runs.

Looking and doing something similar for my 182 which will be £250 for a custom remap with 2 dyno runs before and after. If I want it removed when it comes to sell £50 + VAT.
 
A lot of people get either the 2l snorkel or an induction kit, which will give you a nicer sound but neither will give you much of a power increase, if any. That isn't really possible from a 1.6l.

Other mod's are things like de-tangoing (like I've done below), eibach springs, new alloys etc. Best thing to do is have a look on FFOC, ton's of mod threads.

Zi6_0197-1.jpg
 
If it was me and using links purely for that site (just for easy examples) this is what I would be going for.

http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=880
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=714
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=167
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=625
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=384

Adding up all the fitted costs would bring it to just over a grand but I'm sure if you got the whole lot done at once there would be some room to haggle.
 
LiE said:
Is a full exhaust system really worth it on a 1.6 focus?
Click to expand...

Not at all.

Don't waste the money on engine mods, you really won't gain anything for your large amount of hard earned put down.

Maybe look at some ST alloys or a stereo upgrade, but most importantly learn the car, get used to it and improve your driving. There is more to drving than wasting money on pointless mods for your car and what good are they if you have a severe lack of talent! :)

BinnsY said:
If it was me and using links purely for that site (just for easy examples) this is what I would be going for.

http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=880
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=714
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=167
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=625
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.jsp?productID=384

Adding up all the fitted costs would bring it to just over a grand but I'm sure if you got the whole lot done at once there would be some room to haggle.
Click to expand...


Complete waste of a grand. Hoses won't do an awful lot, exhaust will sound loud and the K&N will just sound loud too, that's it really. Better brake pads are an idea but do some research into them first as there are many manufacturers.

If I had to spend some money on mods to 'scratch that itch' then invest in some better brake pads and put teh money away for some better tyres if it doesn't already have them. Then maybe do a few simple cosmetic mods and then just enjoy the car.

Spend money for the sake of it really is not much fun, even though it may seem like it when the bits first arrive.
 
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The 2.0 has a different gearbox and offers little additional performance over the 1.8. The 1.6 is just a little lacking.

I bought the 1.8 because I felt it was the best compromise, retaining the 1.6 power delivery/gearbox combo but having better power.

Most of you are looking at paper figures no doubt without having driven the cars most likely.
 
I'd get some ST alloys, 2nd hand would be best, unless you want to fork out £660 for new ones. Please don't get some barryboy specials from a mail order catalogue. Ohh and some decent tyres for them as well.
 
It's an N/A engine, very little point in engine modifications to gain power.

Keep it to styling if thats your thing, if not put the money towards other ownership costs such as servicing or tyres.
 
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