[rista]

okay, so i got a good chunk of change saved up and am plannig on turbo charging or supercharging my focus svt. grant it, i'm not the best at knowing all the real technical aspects of internals and that what-not, but my question is how much boost can this engine handle from either a turbo or a supercharger? if it helps a lil i'm deciding on either the gude turbo or the jackson racing supercharger. thanks.

 

[tropiccougar01]

Jackson Racing SC has been tested up to 9psi on a ZX3 with stock internals. I wouldnt want to run over 7 though. However, everything from a aftermarket crank to pistons is avaliable for the Focus Zetec motor.

 

[StreetConcepts]

you would have been better off to buy a zx3 b/c the svt has high compresion. There are alot for kits out there for the focus but boosting the svt is going to be risky unless you stay ~5 psi.

Here is a site that carries focus turbo kits
Focus Power

This kit shows 9 psi. I'd hesitate to run that much boost without swapping out the rods and pistons. Supposedly the focus rods are weak.

 

[rista]

can anyone explain to me what kind of internal work the svt has done on it???

 

[Seawulf]

Allow me to chime in, as I'm the resident Zetec turbo expert.:biggrin: :cover:

The Zetec rods are not weak and the engine can easily double the stock HP with proper tuning and decent gas. However, the engine will not tolerate any knock/deto at those figures and will blow if not tuned properly. I believe the SVT rods are better than stock but don't quote me on that.

The SVT is not the best candidate for FI cause it has 10:5:1 compression vs the 9:5:1 compression of the stock Zetec, but the SVT has a better flowing head and intake. But since the higher compression, depending on what you get, you won't see more HP out of the SVT, FI'd than a FI'd stock Focus.

DON'T BUY ANYTHING WITH THE NAME GUDE ON IT! Gude has a **** rep in the Focus world and you will be laughed at if you buy it. The Jackson Racing kit is decent and gives you good CARB compliance but it has no TQ. A turbo at the same psi will give you 40+ more wtq and will spool FASTER than a supercharger. The Vortech is a better buy, as it gives you more HP and TQ as well, but it also dosn't give as much wtq as a turbo will at the same psi.

Turbo Tom's kit, the one in the focus-power link, is the best on the market, bar none. It is also the most expensive kit, but you get what you pay for. That is the best kit. It will do 240whp on street gas(9-10psi max) and 300whp on 100+octane(15-17psi max), on the stock block. Check out the Focaljet and you'll see I'm right.

 

[rista]

i was hoping you would post seawulf i'm pretty much wanting to stay under the 3000 mark for the kit. i can see the turbo that craig posted has awesome specs, but it's a lil out of my price range. but since there is speculation on forced induction for my car what would you people do?? i wanna beef this car up pretty good, but just don't know where i should start.

 

[Seawulf]

The jackson Racing kit will give you a good 200whp and 150wtq and will be totally street legal. The Vortech will give you about 20-30 more Hp and a bit more TQ. JR is the cheapest and is the easiest install. It will still do only mid 14s to low 14s though, either way. JR is cheapest and will give you a good AF on the stock computer with just their piggy back fuel controller.

I'd personally save up for a turbo or do a custom homemade job. You aught to look in SCT tuning software. They don't have burners for the SVT ECU yet but they can reflash the stock ECU. So a Gude kit with the SCT chip would work, but don't just buy the Gude kit and take anything they say at face value.

 

[1TURBOFOCUS]

Gude has nothing for the SVT . Vortech has a kit we carry it for 3795.00 and i would not even think of the jrsc id go NA first you would come out at about the same power for $

Now my turbo kit is 2nd to NONE if you want HP/ TQ and reliability 325HP and 331TQ at the wheels but at the cost of 5800.00 but like he said you get what you pay for . My kit will make a good 220HP as a daily driver on pump gas and 320+ for the weekend racer on higher Oct

There is NO WAY to safely go boosted on a Zetec for 3000.00 and even at the vortech to go more power later you will need a pulley,injectors,massair,more tuning and dyno time at the cost of about 1000.00, Most have found out its less money and more power to go with my kits but most done find this out till they have spent more somewhere else and have less power and TQ

Tom

 

[rista]

so your saying at first i should start building up this engine. okay, i can do that. what parts would you recommend?? cams, pistons, rings, etc??? again, i'm not the best at the technical side of things on internals, but do know my way around the engines internals, i just have no idea on how to translate 10:5:1 and 9:5:1 to english. if i can get this car to the 200 mark or above with just the engine work, AWESOME!! but this is a daily driver and although fuel economy isn't my concern, reliability is.

 

[1TURBOFOCUS]

No with my turbo kit there is nothing you need to do to the internals to handle 300+ reliable HP with better Oct

I dont think you will reach 200HP at the wheels with boltons 170ish yes 200 no

Tom

 

[Seawulf]

Nice to see you here Tom, long time no see and you'll notice I did say you were the best. I should have said the Gude kit COULD work with the SCT software, but you'd probably have to do some fabbing to make it work.

Stock internals will do 220-230whp on both the SVT and ZX3. With RACE gas, stock internals will do 300+ HP on either car. Tom was the first guy to figure this out. This is to me why the SVT isn't as good a buy as the ZX3. When you also add the extra weight, the SVT suffers even more. The main thing to ask yourself is how much HP do you want and how much can you spend for it.

Here's a post from another forum from a guy called P-51. Him and Tom are the smartest Zetec guys around. Though P-51 isn't a tuner/builder like Tom is, he custom installed his own turbo kit on his ZX3 and is a former Ford Engineer and tuned the car himself with a Pectel. He was one of thefirst guys in North America with a Pectel and he even found some flaws in the software. This is what he said about a Jackson Racing Supercharged SVT Focus:

Yeah, the JRSC is a little weak. But I've come to a bit of newfound respect for it after looking at an installed kit and test driving it, and taking some time to reflect.

I'll start by saying the power is completely underwhelming. I left thinking, "Damn, what a rip off". It doesn't have any "surge", there's no torque... it just pulls and pulls all the way to redline like a larger N/A engine. Which is the point...

Yes, it's not as powerful as a turbo kit, no question. It doesn't give you a rush. But on the SVT, 200fwhp should be pretty nice.

The main thing about it though, is it really is a great solution if you're looking for 200fwhp. The install looks very very professional, with no "loose ends" or NVH issues. But the most important thing is the JRSC "black box" seems to work very well. I tested it with an A/F gauge, and it had perfect A/F. It was 14.7 at cruise, and drops into the 11's under boost. Just about perfect. It does rise up to mid 12's at high rpm, which is a little higher than I'd like, but I didn't hear any detonation.

When you consider you're getting about 50hp, for $3000 including fuel management, that's a pretty good deal. IF that's what you're looking for. If you want to make a real monster, then look elsewhere.

As for the SVT itself, again, at first I was completely underwhelmed, but it's grown on me.

The problem is, it's overpriced. It's a damn nice car, but at $20k they want for it, forget about it. You can do way better.

If you're looking for performance, the SRT-4 kills it. Or for a few thousand more you get much more car in the WRX.

If you're looking for a "nice communter car", there are better deals. Heck, for just a few thousand more you can get a 3-series, and if you factor in depreciation, the bimmer is probably cheaper overall.

But if you can get your hands on one for 17-18k, then I think it's a good deal. It's a nice blend of performance and luxury, in a VERY practical package. You can get washing machine, or a 25" TB in the box in the back of a Focus hatch. Can't say the same for any of the other car's mentioned.

If you can live with only 200whp then the JRSC is the way to go. If you want 230-240, then Vortech is the cheapest, but I don't know if the Focus jackshafts wouldn't fail like the Duratec V6 kits did. If you want 230whp on the street then 300whp at the track then Tom can't be beat...UNLESS you can do it yourself and get a cheap/competent tuner to do the chip. But Tom is the best tuner out there, period.

 

[hamill]

get a short block or long block from SHM and you're good to go

 

[Seawulf]

When it comes to Long or Shortblocks, the only Zetec builder, I'd trust is TurboTom. If I ever get the cash for a build up, he's the one I'd use.

 

[1TURBOFOCUS]

I dont like any of the blowers thay all are lame on TQ and i like TQ lots of it

The SVT will do 300+HP at the wheels or 180HP at the wheels all day long with the proper tune and fuel

Dont allways look at the HP you have to look at both turbo with 240 will and is doing 248tq svt blowers are doing 240 and 18? TQ 60pound foot of TQ IS A LOT

Tom

 

[Seawulf]

Let me see if I can expand on Tom's last post as it might be confusing for those not versed in Tom Type. Sorry Tom, that's the only thing I can really rag you on is your typing.:kick:

A turbo, especially Tom's kit will KILL any supercharger for the Zetec in both HP and TQ, ESPECIALLY TQ. You will see a minimum 40wtq more with a turbo and as much as 70 wtq more at the same boost levels as some superchargers produce. A turbo will also produce boost FASTER than a supercharger.

Here are the listed specs

JRSC SVTF kit: 231hp and 170tq at the CRANK at 6psi

Vortech SVT kit: 276hp and 179tq at the CRANK at 10psi

Tom's turbo kit: 282hp and 267tq at the CRANK at 9psi(239whp & 227wtq, early tuning figure)

Cheapest kit is the JR at around $3-3500K and then the Vortech at around $3500-4000, then Tom's kit at $5800. JR has a better track record than the Vortech, but Tom's track record is even better. You get what you pay for. How much HP do you want and how much do you want to pay for. TQ though is really important as well and it's what you feel more than HP. Ultimately though your budget will be your main consideration.

Damn, after this post I really hope you make me a MOD as I'm being really helpful to you guys.:rofl:

 

[rista]

so instead of doing any internal work i should just start saving for the turbo eh? if that's the case, cool, i can do that, may take a few months to gather around 5000 bucks, but i can manage. but what about tranny work?? can the svt tranny hold this turbo kit you guys talk about?? or is there more beefing that needs to be done?

oh, and thank you so much seawulf and 1turbofocus for helping me out, i appreciate it

 

[Kinger]

Your going to want a Quaife/clutch at a minimum to handle the power. I guess the getrag 6sp is supposed to be weaker then the MTX-75 so does anyone know at what point things start going wrong with the trans?

 

[Seawulf]

I'm pretty sure it would handle anything upto 9psi. My stock clutch and diff did 276wtq with no slipping. Tom would know the definite answer. TOM, give us the benefit of your wisdom!

 

[naynay]

I have a Turbo manifold that would work on your SVT Foci............Fmax/external wastegate for $455.00

:biggrin:

 

[1TURBOFOCUS]

The Fmax wont fit the SVT the head is Diff and it will burn the hood on every one i have ever seen

The getrag is holding 325HP and 331TQ at the wheels with the Quaife LSD and the Fidenza/Flywheel and stage 4 clutchmasters ,I have a kit with the Fid and CM4 for the SVT for 820.00 the LSD is like 980.00 both + freight

Tom