ST170 Mods

[bac]

Greetings All,
This is my first post in the Focus forum - my previous posts have all been to do with selling my KF Laser TX3 Turbo. Although the Laser is not yet sold, an opportunity came up at the right price and so I'm now the proud owner of a Focus ST170.

I've only had the car for a couple of days, but love it already. While it doesn't have the sheer grunt of my turbo Laser, it's a damn site nicer inside and does play a nice song as the revs rise.

Of course, I won't be able to leave the car alone for long and have already done a quick trawl through the forums to find out what the best bang for the buck mods are for the ST170. Two of the most popular seem to be underdrive pulleys and an ECU reflash with a more aggressive tune. Before I go too far down either path, I'm hoping some other been-there-done-that ST170 owners can help me out with a bit of their combined wisdom.

Firstly, after trawling the web for a while, I came across these pulleys. Are they the right ones for the ST170, and/or is there something better available elsewhere at a similar cost?

Secondly, what's the consensus on remapping the ST170 ECU? The only product I've found that is available at a reasonable price is the BlueFin. I take it I can't borrow a BlueFin unit from another ST170 owner as they're software locked to a particular car somehow?

Is there something better out there I should consider? I've read that the DreamScience Stratagem has better tunes than the BlueFin but it is very pricey. I also thought I came across a post on these forums from someone who said they had access to Ford factory development tunes for the ST170. Is this right or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Sorry for all the noob questions but you've got to start somewhere...

Cheers,
Brian

[Piotr]

Dreamscience is currently having a sale until 13 January

The savings are around 100pounds so might be a good time to buy. I hope to buy one for the xr4 soon

[melbzetec]

Congratulations on the purchase Brian, and welcome to the forums.

And what a desirable car you have. Blue I assume? (Sorry...couldn't help myself)


IMHO, Underdrive pulley's are a waste of money and give the worst bang for buck, ECU tune the best.

I'd avoid Bluefin....lot's of bad stories. Dreamscience will be your best best. (You get what you pay for)

No need to muck around with intake or exhuast header.....your car has the best available.

Rather than an UDP, I'd maybe check out a vernier cam gear....but only on exhaust cam. Have it dyno tuned in and you may release some more ponies depending on how "in spec" it was from the factory. Can't do it on the intake cam because of variable valve timing if I recall.

Check out Ford Focus Owners Club in UK (www.ffoc.co.uk). Worth the 20 pound to join. There will be an absolute tonne of info about tuning the ST170 from other owners. In fact joining FFOC would probably be the best money you'd spend on the car.

Good Luck


p.s. Where are you located?

[Tj-zetec]

sorry to hyjack the thread but, steve, that head is a thing of beauty.

[bac]

Hi melbzetec,
Thanks for the welcome.

Originally Posted by melbzetec

And what a desirable car you have. Blue I assume? (Sorry...couldn't help myself)

Apparently I have the only purple ST170 going around - or at least that's what the missus and a few others seem to think!

Originally Posted by melbzetec

IMHO, Underdrive pulley's are a waste of money and give the worst bang for buck, ECU tune the best.

I was mainly reying on a post from orsest170 where he said the underdrive pulleys were the most noticeable and cheapest mod that he made. Does anyone else on the forums have personal experience with UDPs on an ST170?

In any event, I's still like to know if the UDPs I referred to in my previous post are the correct ones for the ST170.

Originally Posted by melbzetec

I'd avoid Bluefin....lot's of bad stories. Dreamscience will be your best best.

Happy to consider other options, it's just the Bluefin was the cheapest product around at the moment (around $600 delivered).

One thing that does have me confused - are the Dreamscience and the SCT the same product with the same ECU maps? The programmer units look identical and a post on the SCT forums claims that Dreamscience are the Euro distributors for SCT products. The SCT is way cheaper (around $850 vs. $1200+) so I'd prefer to go with that if it's the same thing.

Also, when the guy I bought the car from last had it serviced, the "next service due" reminder sticker the dealership put on the windscreen said they had "upgraded the car's computer software for increased economy and driveability". Does anyone have any inside info on Ford factory service update ECU maps for the ST170 and what the changes are?

Originally Posted by melbzetec

p.s. Where are you located?

I'm in the sunny southern suburbs of Melbourne.

Cheers,
Brian

[photn]

if you need any spare parts for the st170 apart from the gear knob (dont have 1 :( )

let me know. ive got an st170 sitting in my back yard. just email me @ spc_fruit@yahoo.com.au with what ya need and ill let u know. lots of stuff going to other peeps on here but still have plenty to go around.

[orsest170]

Well for me at least, the UD Pulleys were far and away the best bang for your bucks mod. I got more performance from those than I did from a high flow cat, which was nearly three times the price. Those pulleys in your link are the same ones I had.

The cam gear definitely made a difference, but there was a hell of a lot of tuning and testing involved to find the best position (I think I ended up with it set at +4 deg), and it ultimately didn't give the same gains as the pulleys.

There were no real discernible gains with the 65mm throttle body, so I'd put that well down the list. The K&N Typhoon made a slight difference to performance, especially in the cooler weather, but heat soak can be an issue on very hot days if the filter isn't well shrouded. It sounded fantastic though!! You'd be better off with a full CAI, and just be extra vigilant around deep puddles!

if I was in your position however, my first mod would definitely be the Dreamscience tune. When I had my ST170, the only ecu flash tuning options seemed to be from the US, and you couldn't get a tune for the Aussie versions which apparently had a different ECU code to the American cars (well at least that's the story I got when making inquiries). Yes the flash unit is the same, just re-badged and with different maps. I think you will need the Dream Science unit though, as I think the SCT is for the American versions (SVT), and the maps might not work on an Aussie ST170.

I think the ecu remaps fix some of the ST's inherent problems too, like the erratic torque delivery (especially when cold), and some even disable the traction control completely when you turn it off. This makes a massive difference to the launching of the car.

I pulled the TC fuse out (it controls the ABS too so you can't leave it out unfortunately) , one cold night to see how much of hindrance the
TC was, and instead of the car bogging down, it really launched out of the blocks and the front tyres lit up big time, and just kept spinning until I backed right off. Despite losing traction, the launch is still much quicker than when the TC intervenes.

I assume you have also discovered European Parts? Some very nice stuff on there.

[melbzetec]

I will bow to Orsest's knowledge here on UDP's. They are not much chop on a standard Zetec, but obviously he has experience of good results on an ST170.

The SCT and Dreamscience units are the same architecture, but the Dreamscience units are compatible with the European Focus, the SCT units are not. It really is the one you want.

ps I'm in Bentleigh

[melbzetec]

ps. Bac, you should come along to Small Ford Sunday...the first Sunday in February, held in Bundoora. It is a great show of all things Small Ford, plus you get to meet up with some of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable Focus owners in the country. Check it out here:

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11240151

[orsest170]

bac, not sure if you are aware or not, but Dreamscience have just announced their Christmas specials, and the Stratagem for the ST170 has been reduced to 389 pounds - a saving of 100 pounds.

This is very good value compared to Bluefin, when you consider that you get 5 different tunes which you can make adjustments to yourself, live data logging and fault code reading.

[bac]

Originally Posted by orsest170

bac, not sure if you are aware or not, but Dreamscience have just announced their Christmas specials, and the Stratagem for the ST170 has been reduced to 389 pounds - a saving of 100 pounds.

Link please?

Plus does anyone have any info about what's in the updated ECU maps Ford dealers are flashing as part of regular servicing?

[orsest170]

http://www.dreamscience-automotive.c...agem-st170.php

[bac]

Originally Posted by orsest170

bac, not sure if you are aware or not, but Dreamscience have just announced their Christmas specials, and the Stratagem for the ST170 has been reduced to 389 pounds - a saving of 100 pounds.

Unfortunately, the DreamScience web site has this disclaimer:

"Please note the Xmas Deal Price and RRP prices only apply to customers within the EU region"

Grrr...

[photn]

email the dude - he extended the price to www.fordfiestaxr4.com which is aus based.

http://www.fordfiestaxr4.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=862

you also dont pay VAT

[bac]

The other option would be if someone on these forums has a DreamScience unit for the ST170 that they are no longer using. DreamScience will do a reset for a tick over 100 pounds so that would make a secondhand unit at the right price an attractive proposition.

Any past/present ST170 owner out there want to offload their unit?

[Romulus]

When you refer to ST170, which model focus is that? LS, LT or LV? XR5T I assume?

I'm interested in getting the SCT flash tuner but I'm hesitant in generic tunes. Unfortunately it doesn't appear anyone in Australia does custom tuning. Or do they?

Apparently Sniper Tuning have someone coming over beginning January to BPT Motorsport here in Perth to do a tuning seminar and I've been told they may be able to tune the LV Focus XR5T. Will try to firm this info up.

[BlackLS]

ST170 is a LR with a NA Zetec engine labeled as a Duratec. The XR5T is known unofficially as the ST225 in Europe to differentiate it with the old ST170

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by BlackLS

ST170 is a LR with a NA Zetec engine labeled as a Duratec. The XR5T is known unofficially as the ST225 in Europe to differentiate it with the old ST170

Thanks. So the LV XR5T is a ST225 in Europe?

[RJO89]

Originally Posted by TVS Super Pursuit

Thanks. So the LV XR5T is a ST225 in Europe?

Correct. As is the LS/LT XR5T.

[melbzetec]

Originally Posted by TVS Super Pursuit

Unfortunately it doesn't appear anyone in Australia does custom tuning. Or do they?

Rob Herrod does SCT Custom Tuning

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by melbzetec

Rob Herrod does SCT Custom Tuning

If Herrod does SCT custom tuning they would also sell the SCT XCal 2 boxes to suite the ST170/ST225 then, wouldn't they?

[melbzetec]

Don't know about XCal2, but I bought the original SCT box from Rob and had a custom tune for my 2.0l LR Zetec Focus