Tuesday 16th July 2013

New Mountune upgrades for Fiesta and Focus ST

The Mountune boys are at it again; get more power and keep the warranty!

---

If there's one thing better than a fast Ford, it's a Mountuned fast Ford. And today sees the launch of not one, but a pair of Ford ST upgrades by the Essex-based tuners.

This with 275hp would be cool, yes?

First up is the Focus ST. Through a larger alloy intercooler, upgraded air filter, a cast-alloy inlet duct and an ECU remap, Mountune claims the 2.0-litre Ecoboost turbo is making 275hp and 295lb ft, up from the standard car's 250hp and 250lb ft. Moreover, if the previous MP260 kit for the Mk2 Focus ST is anything to go by, Mountune's official claims are always a little conservative. By which we mean very.

Officially producing 260hp and 295lb ft, one Focus fitted with the kit made 289hp and 384lb ft on a rolling road. Perhaps it was a particularly healthy press car, but we would be very surprised if the latest Mk3 Mountune Focus ST makes exactly its quoted figures.

Mountune ups the ST's VFM with extra HP

The performance claims are certainly bold given the fairly modest official gains. Over half a second has reputedly been slashed from the Focus's 0-62mph time, now 'under six seconds' and quite a useful advantage on a powerful FWD car. The only in-gear figure quoted is from 50-100km/h (31-62mph) in fourth, which is now down by 0.8 seconds to 4.9.

The upgrade for the Focus ST cost £1,225, or £1,275 with the inlet duct in black. It can be fitted in 90 minutes too; our ST estate is a prime candidate for some work Mountune...

The excellent Fiesta ST has also received some fettling, although those expecting an overhaul as comprehensive as that offered on the previous fast Fiesta will be slightly disappointed.

Currently, Mountune's kit comprises a reflash of the ECU, a custom aluminium high-flow airbox with dual cold air feeds plus a K&N air filter. The tweaks liberate 215hp and 236lb ft on overboost from the Fiesta, up on the standard ST's 200hp and 214lb ft (also on overboost).

Mountuned Fiesta ST makes 215hp

Mountune's performance figures for its ST reveal a 0-62mph sprint time of 6.4 seconds (down by half a second), with 31-62mph in fourth now taking 0.7 seconds less at 5.7.

Reflecting its more basic specification, the Mountune Fiesta ST upgrade costs £599 and can be fitted in less than an hour. Perfect way to spend lunch, no? Furthermore, as Mountune is only too keen to point out, a Fiesta ST with its upgrade is still cheaper than a 208 GTI or Clio RS...

Fitting should cost around £60/hour at a Ford dealer or Mountune, and the standard Ford warranty remains unaffected. Both Focus and Fiesta kits will be available from September.

[ali4390]

From what I hear, the £600 for the Fiesta ST upgrade is worth every penny.

I've pre ordered mine this morning and will be getting it done ASAP.

[greggy50]

The Fiesta ST with that sort of power will be the perfect hot hatch imo a

[Penneth]

Game, Set, Match to Ford.

Bang on the money, they actually know what consumers in the UK want unlike Peugeot and Renault. This explains why the Fiestas are literally flying out the doors of dealerships.

[dukebox9reg]

Id love there to be an official tuning arm for Renault. I think this is what Gordini should be within Renault, not stickers.

The fiesta looks all that more appealing with those figures

[oobster]

Worth considering the Focus upgrade for my 2012 ST-3 if I plan on keeping it for a while.

[CooperS]

dukebox9reg said:

Id love there to be an official tuning arm for Renault. I think this is what Gordini should be within Renault, not stickers.

The fiesta looks all that more appealing with those figures

Your kidding right?

RenaultSport?

If you want to go aftermarket K-Tech are the uk chaps to go to.

[Technomatt]

Take note Renault...............

[ezi]

CooperS said:

Your kidding right?

RenaultSport?

If you want to go aftermarket K-Tech are the uk chaps to go to.

Are K-Tech Renault approved and developed with Renault to ensure reliability? Not heard of anyone in the past upping RenaultSport power outputs by 25%+ and keeping warranty.

Edited by ezi on Tuesday 16th July 15:36

[Gorbyrev]

dukebox9reg said:

Id love there to be an official tuning arm for Renault. I think this is what Gordini should be within Renault, not stickers.

The fiesta looks all that more appealing with those figures

Renault, the man speaketh sense!

[The Vambo]

CooperS said:

Your kidding right?

RenaultSport?

If you want to go aftermarket K-Tech are the uk chaps to go to.

K-Tech, that OFFICIAL RENAULT TUNING ARM?

Go to Montune and keep your warrenty, go to K-tec and lose it.

Your(sic) kidding right?

[Podie]

Blimey - a lot cheaper than the previous options for the last generation cars.

£599 for the Fiesta is a no brainer...

[ezi]

Podie said:

Blimey - a lot cheaper than the previous options for the last generation cars.

£599 for the Fiesta is a no brainer...

To be fair it's a lot less bits, it's an air filter and a map, that's pretty much it. Basic kit on the old ST (MP165) consisted of a full exhaust with sports cat, air filter, map. The higher packages had much more such as cams + springs, bespoke inlet, enlarged throttle body etc.

I hope they release more kits which go to the lengths the old ones did because they'll produce a monster

[framerateuk]

ezi said:

To be fair it's a lot less bits, it's an air filter and a map, that's pretty much it. Basic kit on the old ST (MP165) consisted of a full exhaust with sports cat, air filter, map. The higher packages had much more such as cams + springs, bespoke inlet, enlarged throttle body etc.

I hope they release more kits which go to the lengths the old ones did because they'll produce a monster

As an owner of a Mountuned ST 185 with the cams and exhaust, I will say it did affect the daily drivability of the car! It was gutless low down, which was a pain in roundabouts and slow traffic, and the exhaust droned so badly I had to change it for a Miltek one instead. However, it was good fun on a track and made a hell of a noise at full chat! It just wasn't very nice to drive day to day. I would hope the upgrades to the new one still make the car pleasant to drive when you're not on a track (which by the looks of it, they should).

[dukebox9reg]

CooperS said:

dukebox9reg said:

Id love there to be an official tuning arm for Renault. I think this is what Gordini should be within Renault, not stickers.

The fiesta looks all that more appealing with those figures

Your kidding right?

RenaultSport?

If you want to go aftermarket K-Tech are the uk chaps to go to.

Go to Pumaspeed and youd loose your warranty on the Fiesta like K-Tec for the Clio.... My point is Gordini should be set up in the same way as Mountune to be able to tune your car and keep your warranty.

I think it's got a ring to it, Ive got a stage 2 Gordini tune on my Clio. Obviously Alpine is out of the window for the use as a tuning arm as thats in bed with Caterham.

[dukebox9reg]

Also I wonder how the Mountune Focus lines up against the VXR now. Pistonheads drag race, circuit comparison?

[framerateuk]

dukebox9reg said:

I think it's got a ring to it, Ive got a stage 2 Gordini tune on my Clio. Obviously Alpine is out of the window for the use as a tuning arm as thats in bed with Caterham.

From what Renault have said, I think we're likely to see the Gordini brand exist above RenaultSport. So you'd have a Clio RenaultSport Gordini which is a more hardcore/track focused brand compared to the normal R.S. More like how Ford use their ST and RS brands.

They've already said it needs to be more than a few stickers and a posh interior.

[MiseryStreak]

A Fiesta ST with a fully warrantied 215bhp (similar power, torque and weight as a MKI Focus RS) for £17,594.
Now the Clio looks really overpriced.

[dukebox9reg]

framerateuk said:

dukebox9reg said:

I think it's got a ring to it, Ive got a stage 2 Gordini tune on my Clio. Obviously Alpine is out of the window for the use as a tuning arm as thats in bed with Caterham.

From what Renault have said, I think we're likely to see the Gordini brand exist above RenaultSport. So you'd have a Clio RenaultSport Gordini which is a more hardcore/track focused brand compared to the normal R.S. More like how Ford use their ST and RS brands.

They've already said it needs to be more than a few stickers and a posh interior.

I realise that but I think they should give their hardcore fans the choice to tune their cars. Look how many people go to Mountune and are excited at the fact that a warranty friendly remap is released for the Fiesta.

A litchfield remap on a standard Juke DIG T (obviously lower power than the Clio) gives 230bhp, So lets call it 240bhp for the Clio. Id be happy with that with a warranty still intact.

A Remap on the Clio along with a sharper gearbox map would make it a beast.

[Podie]

MiseryStreak said:

A Fiesta ST with a fully warrantied 215bhp (similar power, torque and weight as a MKI Focus RS) for £17,594.
Now the Clio looks really overpriced.

[TNH]

MiseryStreak said:

A Fiesta ST with a fully warrantied 215bhp (similar power, torque and weight as a MKI Focus RS) for £17,594.
Now the Clio looks really overpriced.

This.

Well done Ford/Mountune. They dont even seem to be trying to rip you off slightly with the old "your keeping your warranty" caveat. Good job.