SVT Engine Upgrades *personal opinion*

[BlkThunder]

Well im extra bored today and want to try and help the FJ community!

So you're thinking about getting more power out of your svt huh? Theres a few options you have... Naturally Aspirated or Forced Induction.

Naturally aspirated (aka non-supercharged, non turbo'd, non nitrous) is a path chosen by many in the Focus realm mostly because initally its cheaper and overall much more reliable. Not to mention out of the factory our cars were NA. Normally the mods for this catagory dont raise hp and tq levels all too much but they overall give you a much more pleasant driving experience. Here is a few examples of NA mods.



Intake - Offers moderate gains. Mostly a noise upgrade offering only a few extra horsepower. Dyno tests have proven that the stock intake box with a highlfow panel filter makes the same power.

Cold Air Intake - draws air from outside the engine bay close to the ground. has issues with water injestion. Can be cured with a bypass valve
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=142
http://www.pipercrossdirect.com/show...969&desc=Focus - Viper Intake

Short Ram Intake - essential a cone filter located in the engine bay. Has issues with heatsoak on warm days and during stop and go traffic. IAT's become dangerously high when the engine is warmed up. Some companys such as Focus Sport help alleviate this problem by providing a heatsheild but I personally would choose a different route. Problem is compounded when used with a roots type blower.
http://focussport.com/coolflo.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=144
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=613
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=901
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=381

Panel Filters
http://focussport.com/filters.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...PROD&ProdID=61

Throttle Body - Mostly a driving style upgrade. on naturally aspirated engines there is little to no gains however the "throttle response" which is a result of the different butterfly design that reaches WOT faster. Gains are significantly better with a roots style supercharger.

65mm Focus Central Throttle Body - industry standard! Description above.

67mm C-F-M Throttle Body - will work well with the JRSC. Better flows with a 3" maf tubing housing (76mm) providing a less restrictive intake passage.
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ProdID=83&HS=1

Ported Stock Throttlebody
The ultimate compromise. The SVT TB is about 63mm so slightly porting a small lip and grinding down the wedge shaped stock butterfly results in similar performace gains as the 65mm tb.



Exhaust- Some users have noted that an Offroad Pipe with the stock exhaust sounds raspy and "ricerish" so the catback is normally a tone altering device to go with the HFC or ORP.

High Flow Cat
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1125

Off Road Pipe
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...PROD&ProdID=76

Cat Back Exhaust
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=441
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=472
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...PROD&ProdID=82



Engine

Performance Tune - The absolute first mod that should be done to the svt. it helps drivability, increases power over the entire powerband and has the ability to grow with your car!
http://focussport.com/chips.htm
http://focussport.com/sct_flasher.htm
http://focussport.com/sct_proracer.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=869

*added 1/4/07*
Electrical - These mods have more to do with drivability than overall gains. Most are considered DIY mods but if you want to pay someone to do it, they'll be more than happy to take your money.

Coil Pack -
MSD
Screamin Demon

Performance Plugs -

Performance Wires -
MSD
Screamin Demon

Grounding Kits - 4 gauge wiring that is used to replace your pre-existing electrical grounds. This mod is useful with underdrive pulleys and with any upgrades that require a large amount of electrical draw (nitrous, stereos, neons, etc...). Dyno results have not shown any visible gains but there are supposedly gains in the performance of some electrical equipment.
Big 3 Upgrade - DIY Style
Hyperground Kit
Or PM yellowfocus for a custom kit... thats what I'd do.
*/added*


Adjustable Cam Gear - good for adjusting the powerband to suit your driving style. Can only be used on the exhaust cam. some have claimed increases of 5-8 hp from this but it must be taken with a grain of salt. Must be installed very carefully or will result in issues with the Constant Variable Intake Cam.
http://focussport.com/camgears.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=752
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1101

Camshafts
Custom Order. Not enough info for any judgement. SVT's have already got some pretty aggressive cams.

Cylinder Head Porting
In R&D phase from CFM. Many prominent Focus Tuners have claimed that the SVT head is already pretty much perfect but there are some pretty convincing flowcharts out there that show room for improvement especially on the exhuast side.

Higher Compression Head Gasket - ZX3 headgasket will raise compression resulting in more power. A good upgrade to go with the ported cylinder head. No dyno numbers available.
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1110

Forged Internals - a must for any real build. is a safeguard to protect against detonation and potentially increased displacement.
http://focussport.com/cosworth_connecting_rods.htm
http://focussport.com/cosworthblock.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1053

Underdrive Pulleys - a controversial upgrade. typical gains come from reduced rotating mass and an actual underdriving of accesories that reduces parasitic drag on the motor effectively increasing whp without actually increasing engine horsepower. Controversy comes from the lack of harmonic balancer reducing engine life. I'll not go into this but note that there have been no documented catastrophic engine failures do to this.
http://focussport.com/udp.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...PROD&ProdID=19
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1102

Custom Intake Manifold
Custom unit that will help in High RPM race engines.



Transmission

Lightweight Flywheel - Reduced rotating mass. Quicker throttle response and acceleration. Due to reduced rotating mass the engine will be quicker to rev and also to fall thus allowing for effective engine braking and a more sport feel to the car. Reports of gas milage loss due to higher rpms needed to start and keep up engine rpm. Is said to help reduce turbo lag yet has issues with idling with belt driven superchargers. (not enough mass to keep an idle with the extra parasitic loss from the blower)
http://focussport.com/flywheel.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=923

Limited Slip Differential - a must for anyone putting down serious power. uses tq biasing to spread power equally to both wheels. Incredibly helpful with turning while accelerating.
http://focussport.com/quaife.htm
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1162

High Torque Clutch - *someone wanna give me a good explination on these cuz i really dont know*
http://www.clutchmasters.com/shop/?p...02&ToYear=2004
www.specclutch.com



Weight Reduction - of any kind is beneficial to overal performance of your cars performance. Below is a list of weight reduction mods that are commonly found on the focus. LINK

Daily Driver Friendly
Lightweight battery, Carbon Fiber Hood, Carbon Fiber Hatch, Wheels (most important), Flywheel (2nd Most important), Front Race Seats, Rear Seat Delete, Receiver only with only the front door speakers

Track Oriented
Remove the AC stuff, Remove the Powersteering stuff, Remove the Dash accept for the gauges, Swap all of the glass for Lexan, Remove the wheel well guards, Remove the rear bumper support, Remove both the air bags, scrape off all the sound barrier stuff, Remove all interior panels





-----

It is my personal opinion that there are a few "beginner mods" that anyone should follow. I say beginner mods but it would be more acurate to call them "build up mods" from NA to FI with the minimal loss in investment. (ie... less wasted money) They are as follows.

Performance Flash Tune... I prefer the SCT with the Pro Racer Package so you dont have to rely on someone else. only use this if you're comfortable with your abilities to keep it within reason. its your car, nobody else will care about it as much as you do.
Panel Filter of choice... I prefer ITG
Ported Stock Throttle Body
Highflow Cat... for the somewhat environmentally conscience.
2.5" Catback Exhaust
Gap fresh spark plugs - start at 0.065 and work your way down till you get no mis-fires.

and for good measure (aka no power gains)
Rear Engine Mount
Short Throw Shifter
Big Three - For better electrical grounds. works well with all upgrades.
Weight Reduction - Lightweight battery, Carbon Fiber Hood, Carbon Fiber Hatch, Wheels (most important), Flywheel (2nd Most important), Front Race Seats, Rear Seat Delete, Receiver only with only the front door speakers

[ArmyFocus]

I think FRPP has the Torsen T-2 LSD, don't forget to add XIOS on there for FI.

Jason

[BlkThunder]

workin on it... just got bored and started something else
trust me im nowhere near even started yet!

[jr_psychologist]

/Applause

Well done!

[Spatakula]

sticky??

-spatakula

[SVTF4243]

Sticky x2

May be you should be bored more often

[ArmyFocus]

Don't forget J&S for FI builds. http://www.jandssafeguard.com/safeguard.html or http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1159

Jason

[BlkThunder]

wilco! and any more suggestions are highly appreciated

[ArmyFocus]

XIOS turbo kit: http://www.xiosmotorworks.com/xios_svt_focus_turbo.html

PW kit: http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=1011

ProCharger kit: http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=858

Here's also some very nice package deals from CFM, most of which are for the SVT:
http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?Pag...S&Category=333

[BlkThunder]

Now for the fun Stuff

Forced Induction (Supercharger) is a path chosen by a few in the Focus community. I chose to go this path becuase it seems as though the available supercharger systems are simple, effective and least likely to need urgent maintenance work. Not to mention everyone assumes that all SVT's are supercharged... I'd hate to disappoint them

Jackson Racing Supercharger - Old Faithful.
http://www.supercharger.com/Shop/Vie...eIndexID=37672

The Jackson Racing Supercharger is the oldest of the bunch. It is an Eaton m62 blower on a focus specific intake manifold with extremely short runners. It is the cheapest and lowest yielding of all the forced induction options. Not saying its bad, but with the addition of the Ford Big Boost Kit the blower is pretty much maxed out. It is un-intercooled and maxes out at about 10psi. Some have tried, with disasterous effects, to up the boost and have had good effects until the IAT's were high enough to detonate the engine to failure or melt a piston. Due to the inefficient nature of the roots blower, the JRSC is prone to heatsoak. This can be solved by both lowering the temperature of the engine bay and chemically by water meth injection.

Would be a good idea to upgrade...
Clutch for increased tq capacity.

Works well with beginner mods...
Could benefit from the 67mm Throttle Body.
Functional Hood Vent, removing the cowl-hood seal to release heat, creative ducting to introduce cool air onto the blower itself.

Typical Output
220f whp
180 fwtq


PowerWorks Supercharger - great kit if u can swallow the asking price.
http://www.powerworks.net/focusforce.html

Big Brother to the JRSC in output, refinement, and $$$ price. It is a m62 eaton blower with *key difference* factory intercooling. The kit includes a bbk 65mm tb, short ram induction, Tune and a factory warranty. Aside from the initial tune being a tad too agressive, there have been no real downsides to the PWSC. Some say that because the intercooler obstructs the airway after the blower and due to the nature of roots blowers (not really compressing the air, more stacking air on top of air) that it is an inefficient design as well. I agree with this statement but i have yet to hear anyone complain about the kit.

There was supposed to be a big boost kit available for the PWSC but IIRC it was dropped from production. When adding boost to the base kit stronger internals are a highly suggested. This option can be done with overdriving the crank or the blower itself but IMO its not worth it.

Would be a good idea to upgrade...
Clutch for increased tq capacity.

Works well with beginner mods...
Brakes!!! Brakes!!! Brakes!!!

Typical Output
250 fwhp
???200??? fwtq


Procharger - My personal favorite. Is a stealth option... from the top of the engine it only looks like a Cold Air Intake.
http://www.procharger.com/SPORT_COMP..._compact.shtml

The ATI procharger kit is only sold as a tuner kit meaning upon purchase you'd also have to buy Injectors, a bigger MAF, and get it dyno tuned. The kit makes power by adding 8-10 psi of boost via an intercooled centrifugal superchager model c-1b. Since the centrifugal style supercharger is more efficient than even an intercooled roots type blower there is a much higher power potential. The power delivery is quite different than both the JRSC and PWSC in that the tq and horsepower are more progressive... ie building with RPM. Some say that output is "peaky" and that may be true regarding low rpm tq, but my arguement is... in a drag how often are you below 4k rpm anyway? This kit can give about 24 psi max (theoretically)

Would be a good idea to upgrade...Clutch for increased tq capacity.
Injectors... 42+ lbs per min
Bigger MAF... or MAF converter to increase stock MAF capacity (Diablosport MAFia)
Wideband Air-Fuel Ratio Gauge
Knock Sensor Enhancer (J&S Safeguard)
Colder Range Spark Plugs

Works well with beginner mods...
Intercooler placement is lower than desired. Could benefit from a custom Front Mount if you plan on lowering the car any.

Typical Output
Highly Subjective due to the Tuner-Kit Nature... we'll take the conservative guess and say
240 fwhp
190 fwtq

[ArmyFocus]

^^Your conservative guess is about right from other people running ProChargers, esp the TQ. Also, the intercooler is no lower than the lowest point of the car, in fact, it's not even quite that low, however, it's the splash guard that sits too low. Like you said, a FMIC is really a better option, but out of the box, this kit offers far superior and efficient cooling than any of the other supercharger kits. Also, beware, apparently as of this year, some of the piping in the ProCharger kit has fitment issues. The pipe coming from the throttle body on my kit was resting on the battery box and would not clear it. However, the piping from the AEM cold air intake actually works very well with the ProCharger and so the piping from my AEM CAI was used in place of the piping in the kit. A call to ATI, however, should remedy this problem and they should be able to send the right pipes and fittings. I wanted the AEM piping because it was powdercoated blue.

Jason

[Ray]

No info on the vortech (because they discontinued it?)

[BlkThunder]

yeah pretty much... i just wanted off the shelf kits. If you'd like to add some info on it though Id be more than happy to add it into the post.

[Scottie_Talent]

all that is great info, but here's a bit more =] ~ leave the lower intake tube that leads to the grille in place, but take out the resonator [side] tube. use your favorite drop in filter, and then heres the fun part...[i used different grades of sandpapers and files, but a dremel will work also]

get rid of all the plastic webbing inside the lid of the box, smooth out the inside of the MAF housing as much as possible, then re-insert the MAF tube into the airbos lid and smooth transition into a horn shape, then port out that side hole about 1/16 inch wider all around.

now you'll have the little power increase, your car will pull a little more consistently through the rpm range, and i'm sure it will improve with additional performance mods.

also, put your car in fourth gear at around 30mph and open the throttle body, hehe, it growls with a nice deep sound. i have actually had people question my number of cylinders and all i have done is this intake mod, and a ceramic coated stock header. hehehehe i love my SVT

[svtguy21]

i didn't think our cars had a harmonic balancer, thats why it is ok to use them on our cars

[Rodewaryer]

Nice work BlkThunder. Now if people will just read this.

BTW, it would be nice if we could get some of the documentation on the NA mods or links to same. I've seen many separate little threads on the coil pack, the short ram vs the long, the off road pipe etc. All had dyno results that showed improvement. I've even heard some say a bhp or two came from the ground upgrade.......all told there are some bhp to be gained all around......with little risk.
I should think an SVT NA could stand to gain 20 hp or so and in the unreliable world of the SVT that's a good balance of realistic with little downside.

[BlkThunder]

yeah, the coil pack is a pretty much useless upgrade being as there are very little gains to be had with the electrical system... i guess i could add them though... lemme get on it.

soon to come...
Coil Pack, Grounding Kit, Plugs, Wires

[BlkThunder]

bump for updates...
weight reduction, updated intakes, and some electrical mods

[johnprewitt]

Good luck with all that, I've been working on #609 for 5 years now. Abit at a time. I found a great mechinic to help with the heave stuff.
the goal was an above average daily driver; high reliability, great handling, good fuel milage currently 120k, miles commute 100 mpd rain or shine.
We did all the chassis/power train mods before the supercharger.

[CaysE]

Taylor ignition wires, and we can't forget the Diablo Predator tuner.

[AirPower!!]

I should be getting a dyno done soon for custom cams. After that you will have some empirical data for that option. It really isnt that expensive if you do the work yourself.

[BlkThunder]

awesome.... id love to see what they do. and my time is really valuable to me, therefore, expensive WoW takes up tons of time.

[3rdon5]

hi everybody i hope u can help me out here i want to get a performance tune fo my car it is a 04 svt focus with a 67mm cfm tb and a k&n intake what would be the best and if i do change the tune is there a way to change it back if i have to take it to the dealer

[COSVT03]

Originally Posted by 3rdon5

hi everybody i hope u can help me out here i want to get a performance tune fo my car it is a 04 svt focus with a 67mm cfm tb and a k&n intake what would be the best and if i do change the tune is there a way to change it back if i have to take it to the dealer

Pm'd

[europitchblacksvt]

Great write up.