RE: Ford Focus ST Mountune: Spotted

[BowtieBoris]

British Beef said:

Terrfic motor and excellent value!!

Plus the engine has 5 cylinder character.

Anyone know what the reliability is like with these MR products as it is pushing out a fair bit more oomph than the standard motor??

Speaking from experience I ran a Mountune tuned car for 2 years and not a single thing went wrong. Not one. They spend a hell of a long time developing their packages down there and are a fantastic bunch to deal with

[TheJimi]

I thought Focus ST's, when tweaked above standard power, were susceptible to clutch issues?

Or have I picked that up wrong?

[Carlos24]

They are pretty much as soon as mapped that's why they have the RS clutch fitted on basically all mapped ST's

[Otispunkmeyer]

okie592 said:

I was so close to buying a 3dr red mr290 and then a electric white mr290 but then my head got the better of me. Seeing this artical is making my bank account itch

I really would like an Orange ST with the face lift front. For some reason though they appear to be very expensive and seemingly have been for years! 2008 plates on sale for 12 grand!

Do they know its 2015 nearly and thus the car is about 7 years old???!!! Its a guzzler as well, considering the performance on offer as standard for the amount of fuel it uses should make them pretty undesirable to many. Perhaps its just the orange ones.

[TheJimi]

Orange was the 'Halo' colour, was it not?

[Podie]

Otispunkmeyer said:

I really would like an Orange ST with the face lift front. For some reason though they appear to be very expensive and seemingly have been for years! 2008 plates on sale for 12 grand!

Do they know its 2015 nearly and thus the car is about 7 years old???!!! Its a guzzler as well, considering the performance on offer as standard for the amount of fuel it uses should make them pretty undesirable to many. Perhaps its just the orange ones.

Odd. I paid £10k for a low mileage 58 plate facelift car (with MP260) in August 2013.

[KingNothing]

TheJimi said:

I thought Focus ST's, when tweaked above standard power, were susceptible to clutch issues?

Or have I picked that up wrong?

Most do, some don't for a while, my clutch started to slip after a while of running at higher power, RS clutch solved that.

[Greengecko]

Had mine for a year and a half, now running on pretty much the limit of the standard turbo, although it's now only a weekend car.

Sounds very much like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHsKZ_eW7a4

[iloveboost]

Justin S said:

Don't believe the hype that aftermarket maps give better fuel consumption and more power. That's the way they sell stuff. From owning an MP260 car for 4 years now, with other mods, I can say that the mpg is the same as standard, which is pants. The torque is more useable than an RS ( yes driven an MP375 RS) and off the line the ST is less laggy with the smaller turbo. From a mate going to a shootout with differing maps and cars, he just came back to report that the Mountune was the better, with sensible mapping and not excessive engine melting boundaries that other 'aftermarket' maps were pushing, from the data he was watching.
Currently, I fancy a swop, but I cant think of anything , which is cheap as chips to run , servicing wise, that I could change it for. Possibly the realms of a 335i or S3 Audi are the options I can think of..............So, its going to stay.........

Yes I think re-maps would do nothing for fuel consumption either way when the engine isn't exceeding the stock boost level at 100% throttle. I used to know somebody that did re-maps, and they rarely change a thing under 100% throttle unless the customer asks for it. Then when at 100% throttle you're using boost than standard so you've got even more fuel being dumped in and temperature of everything goes up faster. If anything, it's less efficient per hp with a re-map.
It's just a placebo. The customers that get there car back and notice that the economy is 'better' think it's the remap. It's probably due to them changing up earlier because of the extra boost available, or other traffic and route changes on that tank of fuel.

I'm surprised that the MR290 is faster than a Mk2 Focus St, the torque it has is fantastic. I assume it's mainly extra power below the power peak that makes it faster. Ford really built 'torque monsters' with the Fiesta and Focus ST.

[jasst]

I own an mp260 and with the extra full stainless system it should be about 280 bhp, as has been said not the quickest off the line but the torque is amazing. I get the practicality of a 5 door hatch and awesome performance, as they say "if you want cheap performance buy a fast ford"

[Justin S]

One other thing to consider with the Mountune system, is that they have their own database number for insurance purposes, so, although more expensive to buy, the insurance is accepted at more places of high st policy brokers. I spend under £300 a year on my policy.
I bought mine from Ford and had it fitted before I collected the car. Although 3 yrs old and 38k miles, the clutch hated the torque and slipped. The Ford garage fitted an RS clutch free for me, which was a bonus.
Clutches are hit and miss, although '07 cars seemed to suffer more. Mate had an '06 car with 100k and 300 bhp still on the standard clutch and was fine.
One of the best mods I did, was do the sound symposer delete ( prone to fail and sound pretty meh) with a full set of silicon hoses from Matt Lewis Motorsport. The hose from the intercooler to the inlet is so strangling, I was amazed air got through. Boost came on quicker and on song so much better.
If you want an exhaust , which isn't too boomy, then I can recommend Ferrita. They make the Polestar systems for Volvo. They aren't 'that' loud either, due to Swedish noise laws, but they do sound nice at speed. No droning at all. Along with a large turbo downpipe and sports cat work very well. They are a 3 inch downpipe and reduces to 2.5 inch. This helps gas speed and torque, which the 3 inch system, which is common looses out on until you use massive boost and power. I am probably nearing 300 bhp on mine and works so much better than the 3 inch Dreamscience system I originally fitted.

[anything fast]

I had a brand new 07 ST3, is was standard for about a week! Went to Pumabuild in Birmingham and after an exchange of £££ drove out with a 300BHP missle and i had a lot more done than just a re-map, you really need to do the intercooler, airflow, hoses, etc etc. The standard turbo runs out of puff at around 300-310 Bhp, but the block can handle 350-370 HP no prob. They had a stunning yellow demo car that had everything they could throw at it done, pumping a not too shy 450 HP If I recall correctly! I did a fair few other bits with suspension, wider rims, sticky rubber, bespoke exhaust (sounded like an old Quattro rally car) and all this before the MK2 RS was even in production.

Still one of the best cars I have ever owned... Shame about the £485 road tax though!

[M@1975]

Interesting feedback on the mountune map.,
Might have a chat with the local ford stealer about fitted prices.

[KingNothing]

anything fast said:

Still one of the best cars I have ever owned... Shame about the £485 road tax though!

Your car must have been classed wrong then, mine is £285.

[SkinnyP]

These (and in standard form) seem to be very expensive for what they.

I bought one a few years ago and if I wanted to buy an identical model today it would probably cost me the same if not more, despite now being older.

Supply and demand I can appreciate, but the cost just seems odd.

[Justin S]

The Mountune 'map' isn't just a map. It is also a larger intercooler and K&N filter for the airbox. Any aftermarket can sell a 'map' for the car, but with the standard intercooler will struggle in warmer temps to not retard the boost and loose power. The package is worked to work together.
Also , looking at the Mk3 ST, seems less received than Ford expected. Its not as nice sounding, less mods available ( but getting better) and the mpg is about the same as the 5 cyl cars. I guess on getting about £8.5 for a mint low mileage car, which means that with buying and modding, I have lost probably 5k in depreciation currently in 4 years ownership, so that's not bad to be honest.
All ST 5cyl are 244g/km , so are currently £285 a year road tax.

[Mojocvh]

Justin S said:

The Mountune 'map' isn't just a map. It is also a larger intercooler and K&N filter for the airbox. Any aftermarket can sell a 'map' for the car, but with the standard intercooler will struggle in warmer temps to not retard the boost and loose power. The package is worked to work together.
Also , looking at the Mk3 ST, seems less received than Ford expected. Its not as nice sounding, less mods available ( but getting better) and the mpg is about the same as the 5 cyl cars. I guess on getting about £8.5 for a mint low mileage car, which means that with buying and modding, I have lost probably 5k in depreciation currently in 4 years ownership, so that's not bad to be honest.
All ST 5cyl are 244g/km , so are currently £285 a year road tax.

Hmm you pay for the background work that makes it last.

If only it wasn't that horrible bright red, you need to as inconspicuous as possible these days...