Hi guys and girls, I’m quite new to the site and I have a quick question.

I currently have slight lag/Delay of power when accelerating, both hard and smooth, I was told a remap would sort this out or a carbon clean, I’m not expert by any means on fords so I thought I’d come here and ask those who know a lot more about them than I do, so basically I have a 2005 1.6 petrol MK2 focus and I want it with a little more power, I was thinking about putting a 4,2,1 manifold, exhaust and a proper induction kit on it, now I was told if I were to do that I would need a remap, so 2i have a few people and they have 2 different opinions, 1. A remap for a petrol isn’t worth it as it would only add roughly 6-8 bhp and another was I would need a remap if I were to add those mods as it would lose power? So what I’m asking is would I be better off with a remap or no? Sorry for the long winded story and apologies if I’ve missed anything out 

You would be looking at adding about 9bhp, unless you have the 115bhp and then you are looking at adding 13bhp. I can’t answer the other question though, sorry.

9 hours ago, Jonro2009 said:

You would be looking at adding about 9bhp, unless you have the 115bhp and then you are looking at adding 13bhp. I can’t answer the other question though, sorry.

No problem thanks anyway

Nothing noticeable to be gained from remapping a small non-turbo petrol.  You'll get a bit more noise from an induction kit and exhaust but that's it really.  The money would be better spent towards a car with a more powerful engine.

Yeah not much increase you can get from a naturally aspirated petrol. If you had the 1.6 turbo diesel engine you'd be able to get around 20 - 30 more horsepower. 

14 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Nothing noticeable to be gained from remapping a small non-turbo petrol.  You'll get a bit more noise from an induction kit and exhaust but that's it really.  The money would be better spent towards a car with a more powerful engine.

 

4 hours ago, zain611 said:

Yeah not much increase you can get from a naturally aspirated petrol. If you had the 1.6 turbo diesel engine you'd be able to get around 20 - 30 more horsepower. 

Thanks for the advice guys, I’ve recently been looking into Ford Focus ST’s but not sure which one I should get Any recommendations? I love the Focus I always have ever since my dad owned the sports edition I fell in love with the focus range 

Your budget will probably determine which ST you can get lol...  They hold a huge premium over the 'lesser' models.  

I like the mk2 ST mainly due to the 2 litre 5 cylinder turbo engine. Sounds nice being a 5 cylinder. Yeah they start around 3k but I think good ones are going for around 4 - 5k. 

11 minutes ago, zain611 said:

I like the mk2 ST mainly due to the 2 litre 5 cylinder turbo engine. Sounds nice being a 5 cylinder. Yeah they start around 3k but I think good ones are going for around 4 - 5k. 

2.5 litre!  So they are ridiculously thirsty lol.  £305 a year tax too.  But only 225bhp for all that engine which is pretty low, but it's got a decent chassis so the handling and noise compensates for the lack of power. 

If you want a decent Mk2 facelift without silly miles you're still looking at over £6k.   I've wanted an Electric Orange one ever since they came out but can't see I'll ever be able to.  I could probably afford a prefacelift but I just don't like them.

 

@TomsFocus lol I had a feeling I was making a mistake somewhere. Horsepower isn't everything if the 0 to 60 is low. 

The facelift looks nice. Im sure also the front is unique to the ST. I'd look at 0 to 60 time, mpg and tax. The car which ticks those boxes for me is a F80 BMW 330D or 335D Xdrives. 4.8 or 5.3 secs, claimed around 58mpg and tax around £140 - 155. Only problem is they are going for around 18k if your wanting one around 2015 and I don't have that sort of money yet. 

Another BMW you could look at which I'd say is affordable is a E90 BMW 325i. 7 secs, claimed around 48mpg and tax is £315. 

I wouldn't touch an xdrive they aren't worth their money imo of course. I'd rather spend the money on an Audi, they 'urinate' all over the BMW, again that's just my opinion.

12 hours ago, Jonro2009 said:

I wouldn't touch an xdrive they aren't worth their money imo of course. I'd rather spend the money on an Audi, they 'urinate' all over the BMW, again that's just my opinion.

The main thing I don't like with audi are that they are overpriced. A 2015 330D Xdrive are going for around £18k with about 70k miles whereas a audi A6 3 litre TDI for the same price has around 100k miles or over. The BMW is a second faster also. Xdrive versions are about £1500 more compared to the ones without it plus shave off about 0.5 secs from the 0 to 60 time. My dad really likes the newer A6s but since we saw the BMW 3 series stats and prices it looks better to get that then. The 330D also is not subjected to the ultra low emissions zone charge if made from 2015 so might consider getting that. 

My budget for a decent ST MK2 is between 4K

ive seen a few on the market with good low mileage for what they are and someone have been mapped to have around 300+ bhp with a few mods, I’d love a black or white ST 

20 hours ago, TazO said:

My budget for a decent ST MK2 is between 4K

ive seen a few on the market with good low mileage for what they are and someone have been mapped to have around 300+ bhp with a few mods, I’d love a black or white ST 

If you go to check them make sure it has service history and proof of any mods and remaps done. The previous owner of my car said its had a mountune remap but couldn't find any rolling road print out of it and he said he lost it. I messaged mountune direct and they said they don't have any information that the car had been mapped by them. 

 

Obviously test drive it to see and hear how it drives 👍. 

If you buy a mapped one, make sure it's had the block mod done.  £4k should get you a decent prefacelift ST2, might struggle for an ST3 with low miles on that budget.  Depends how much spec you'd be after.

If you can afford the insurance and the running costs, the ST will be a massive improvement over the 1.6.  

 

Sorry for the late response but you both have given brilliant advice, I’ve seen a few that stated “receipts for mods and proof of dyno” etc I’ve been looking around at insurances for both mk2 and mk3 ST’s which is affordable I was told by a close friend that if I were to get an ST with block mod and other upgrades that it would need servicing twice a year is that true?

You might be able to insure a Mk3 ST but won't buy one for less than about £9k.

The block mod doesn't change the servicing amount at all, it just stops the cylinder liners cracking.  I wouldn't service a simple stage 1 mapped car any extra either, but if it's a highly modified, big power car then it's worth servicing twice as often, but that goes for any big power car, not just the ST.

I'd say it comes down to mileage. Probably every 4000 - 5000 miles depending on the power increase. An engine won't wear itself whilst sitting off. 

You can't really trust anyone when buying a car. Never rush into it and go when your not busy. Also if the seller says he doesn't have receipts on him just walk away. Thats exactly what the previous owner of my car said. I'd message him about when he'll send the receipts but he'd just makes excuses that he's busy doing this and that. I'm happy that he only owned it for 6 months. 

Thanks for the advice I’ll be sure to ask for proof of the mods/power that they claim it has and if they can’t provide any proof I’ll walk away, like any car enthusiast I love power bit won’t be careless when it comes to driving, I current own a 05 mk2 1.6 petrol focus the only issue I have is that it’s the same litre as the Saxo VTR I owned a few moths back and the acceleration and power seems different, the Saxo I had when putting your food down the power was here with no hesitation unlike my ford it’s got a slight delay in power, I’ve had a carbon clean and service but it hasn’t really made any difference