How many Focus ST owners on here

[Nasher]

Why did the mountune upgrade only produce 260 when it had other mods to go with the remap? A simple remap from Collins is supposed to take it to 265 and Revo claim 270 tested on a rolling road to back it up and that’s without a performance exhaust or intercooler etc which the mountune upgrade included did it not?

The power curve on the Mountune maps are better though. There are 3rd party maps that have higher peak HP, but most of them aren't actually as quick when you race them side by side. The MR290 upgrade removed the boost limit. But it wasn't covered by the Ford warranty.

But you'll find you also need to upgrade the suspension and roll resistor because with more power the car starts to feel really..wobbly.

 

[Vita]

I've been looking at tunes etc. Mountune 260 is about £1k which I think is a lot of money for the power. Though reading reviews it's how that power is brought in and it seems to be of decent quality.

I think between 260-280 is more then enough for me personally. Though, for parts I'm more likely to go the second hand route as there seems to be loads for not much money. Excluding tunes. I'd have to budget for a RS Clutch + flywheel (if needed). I've seen an exhaust for £300 + need a quality tune. Not sure who to check out, dreamscience or collins appeals to me the most out of the rest. Does anyone have any experience of these two? Superchips bluefin doesn't seem bad either as you can get free map upgrades depending on mods which is nice. I've always found their customer support to be good.

Block mod is happening before all that just for peace of mind. I know it's a preventative measure and not a cure as it can still occur, though it's a good excuse to freshen the engine up a little. Maybe it was the wrong car to buy as due to bad experiences in the past I am sort of worrying. Though I read of issues with the mondeo st tdci I have as well as my leon, and bar the usual boost leaks and total abuse each had received they never let me down.

 

[tl45]

I'd highly recommend the Collins maps, have always found them to be very well developed with a really good linear spread of power and an emphasis on driveability but still delivering good power figures too. Plus have known Gary there for many years and the service he provides is second to none.

Short version - highly recommended

 

[slick rick]

A 3" inch downpipe will make a bigger difference than a cat back and if you want a nicer sound you can replace the resonator on the standard exhaust with a pipe, it' well worth doing.

Personally I would go dreamscience over bluefin as you can flash the car back to stock and sell the handset on if you sell the car, the bluefin would be worthless. You have more choice of maps with dreamscience also.

 

[matt100]

I used to drive my ST2 around on race+ from dreamscience.. really liked it, just that noticeable extra blob of urge in the mid range and a bit more frantic at the top.

I ought to unsubscribe from this thread.. I still miss mine if I didn't do 30k a year I'd consider another.

Used to love the effortlessness of it all.. I used to often drive in 2nd, 4th and 6th.. sometimes even 2nd and 6th

 

[Dav4]

Thing is with the dreamscience the newest device with various maps costs something stupid like £450-£500 which is double the price of the Bluefin. Even a proper remap with rolling road printout from reputable tuner Like Collins or Revo is only about £300

 

[slick rick]

Yeah I have heard nothing but good things about Collins to be fair. I suppose it depends if you want a one shot map or a handset with more generic maps but that you can flash if you add more mods like RS injectors or a hybrid turbo or something.

 

[Vita]

Yeah....so I have the car.

One issue which I think is Intermittent 3rd gear or above boosts to a quarter from 2k. Then 3-4k raises to half. I noticed when I changed gear it did spike on lift off to 3/4.

Guessing boost solenoid?

 

[slick rick]

Congrats mate, i hope you enjoy it. That sounds about normal for a standard car if i remember correctly.

 

[Dav4]

Yeah....so I have the car.

One issue which I think is Intermittent 3rd gear or above boosts to a quarter from 2k. Then 3-4k raises to half. I noticed when I changed gear it did spike on lift off to 3/4.

Guessing boost solenoid?

Get some pics up
sounds normal from what i can remember. When my boost solenoid was buggered the boost would kind of spike all at once into the red then run out really quickly at around 4.5k rpm. It was really noticeable kind of like it was strained over 4K. If youre handy with a spanner just change it anyway it’s only about £35

 

[Vita]

Get some pics up
sounds normal from what i can remember. When my boost solenoid was buggered the boost would kind of spike all at once into the red then run out really quickly at around 4.5k rpm. It was really noticeable kind of like it was strained over 4K. If youre handy with a spanner just change it anyway it’s only about £35

Ordered one anyway may as well change it to eliminate it.

I'll get pictures up this week sometime. It feels very soft compared to my Leon. Sound is very different and the seats are comfortable. Does pick up well, just need an exhaust system and map now.

Booked it with dreamscience next month for the block mod.

 

[Phil W]

Is it orange?

Where are you based? Near dreamscience?

 

[Vita]

Is it orange?

Where are you based? Near dreamscience?

I really wanted orange. The more I thought about it the more I decided not to. I went with blue instead as it was a safer choice.

I'm in w Yorkshire so dreamscience isn't far.

 

[matt100]

I really wanted orange. The more I thought about it the more I decided not to. I went with blue instead as it was a safer choice.

I'm in w Yorkshire so dreamscience isn't far.

Safer? Safer than what?

I wanted orange.. bought red.. totally regretted it and ended up going orange for act 2. Loved it..

 

[Dav4]

Safer? Safer than what?

I wanted orange.. bought red.. totally regretted it and ended up going orange for act 2. Loved it..

I had performance blue on mine which I really liked as it still stands out and is a noticeable ST colour compared to your average black or silver etc but i always wanted Orange. When i was looking though it was so hard trying to find a good example in Orange. It’s crazy how different the paint can actually look from one car to the next. You can see one that looks faded and washed out and you see another that looks like a really deep burnt orange.
I’m sure the facelift 2008 onwards had a deeper more metallic looking tone on it as whenever I see it on them it always looks better than pre facelift.
Anyway I’m planning on buying another ST soon and i will try my hardest to find one in Orange this time

Booked it with dreamscience next month for the block mod.

You might aswell get the Cambelt, Aux and waterpump changed at the same time as you will save quite abit of money. It’s easier for them to change them when stripping bits out to do the block mod.

 

[slick rick]

My first one was orange and I really did love the colour but it did have drawbacks. It did draw a bit to much attention, but the worst thing was matching the paint colour, that may have improved by now however. Insects and flies used to like it too lol.

My current one is blue which I now prefer for some reason, maybe because I am a bit older.

I would assume a new cambelt would be part of the procedure to install the block mod, not sure about the water pump and aux belts though.

 

[Dav4]

My first one was orange and I really did love the colour but it did have drawbacks. It did draw a bit to much attention, but the worst thing was matching the paint colour, that may have improved by now however. Insects and flies used to like it too lol..

See that was my concern when trying to find a good orange example thinking will it draw to much attention from boy racers when driving or if it gets damaged will I ever be able to get a paint match as I’ve heard it’s near impossible to get a proper match. I seen one for sale a while back for 3.5k that was worth at least 5k but it had been keyed down both sides and the owner obviously realised he wasn’t going to get that repaired to a satisfactory standard due to the colour so he was just selling it off cheap.
What have you got now the mk2 or 3?

 

[Vita]

You might aswell get the Cambelt, Aux and waterpump changed at the same time as you will save quite abit of money. It’s easier for them to change them when stripping bits out to do the block mod.

Yeah I'm doing everything that involves carrying it out. This was my reason as it's due a cambelt change etc as it's been over 10 years though mileage hasn't hit the threshold for the change. So thought it'll be best to do. Going to see what my tuning options are also.

 

[slick rick]

See that was my concern when trying to find a good orange example thinking will it draw to much attention from boy racers when driving or if it gets damaged will I ever be able to get a paint match as I’ve heard it’s near impossible to get a proper match. I seen one for sale a while back for 3.5k that was worth at least 5k but it had been keyed down both sides and the owner obviously realised he wasn’t going to get that repaired to a satisfactory standard due to the colour so he was just selling it off cheap.
What have you got now the mk2 or 3?

I had the side skirts pinched off mine and took it to Ford to get sorted and the match was terrible, trying to blend the paint on the keyed example that you mentioned must be an absolute nightmare!

Yes it did attract a fair few idiots mainly driving Corsas, Clio's and Fiestas.

I have got another mk2, ST3 this time my orange one was ST2.

 

[Vita]

Orange is just a pain like others have said. The blue is more sedate and sort of blends in with the crowd. Plus orange ones do command a high price in 5 doors and also seem rather rare.