Ford Focus Mk2 [ST] Estate Sleeper - Build Thread
Discussion
KarlMac said:
From my own experience the best is Milltek, it's noticably louder on throttle with little additional noise off throttle/overrun. It's one of the more expensive systems but worth it.
On mine it got worse when I changed the downpipe and cat to a 3" straight through system, so I would suspect this is where the noise originates from.
Tragically Milltek don't even do one for the hatchback Mondeo 2.5T let alone the Estate hence the worry, I wouldn't be able to ask other owners as there are none! It would have to be a custom/semi-custom system same as the OP and potentially with the same issues. Although there is significantly more noise suppression in the Mondeo as well (there is about 2in of foam/underlay under the carpet for example!) so even the same exhaust might not be as bad.On mine it got worse when I changed the downpipe and cat to a 3" straight through system, so I would suspect this is where the noise originates from.
Justin S said:
Fastdruid, if you cut the rear silencer open on the original, you will find the pipe going in it is not linked to the pipe going out , this then increases back pressure and cuts resonance. The performance system, has a straight through silencer and has to compensate with an additional one in the pipe to cut down on noise as well as try and cut back on drone.
Do you mean like this...http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&...
I got the nod of approval from a '14 plate RS4 Avant this morning. I managed to keep him behind me for a while, until we got to a set of traffic light and I got many wheel spins when the boost came on in third and he was able to over take. I then stayed with him for a bit, me not catching but him not getting away, until my turning where I got a flash of his hazards. Very happy with that. 
Also, the car rides and handles as perfectly as I can tell on its new springs and dampers. The front and rear both respond to bumps in the same way, the same amount of roll from both ends and fairly neutral handling.
Also, the car rides and handles as perfectly as I can tell on its new springs and dampers. The front and rear both respond to bumps in the same way, the same amount of roll from both ends and fairly neutral handling.
CHR15 G said:
I got the nod of approval from a '14 plate RS4 Avant this morning. I managed to keep him behind me for a while, until we got to a set of traffic light and I got many wheel spins when the boost came on in third and he was able to over take. I then stayed with him for a bit, me not catching but him not getting away, until my turning where I got a flash of his hazards. Very happy with that.
Also, the car rides and handles as perfectly as I can tell on its new springs and dampers. The front and rear both respond to bumps in the same way, the same amount of roll from both ends and fairly neutral handling.
Brilliant! I bet he was properly thinking WTF Also, the car rides and handles as perfectly as I can tell on its new springs and dampers. The front and rear both respond to bumps in the same way, the same amount of roll from both ends and fairly neutral handling.
MOT prep work, just finishing off a few parts.
When we were assembling the rear brakes I put the hand brake cable on incorrectly, and adjusted it, and only one side worked. Slackened off the cable at the hand brake lever, reconnected it at the caliper, then spent ages trying to get the tension correct!
Because the estate doesn't have the wiring loom for the ESP then I couldn't fit the ESP module, which meant the ESP light was on on the dash which is an automatic fail. I already had an ELM OBDII cable, so I downloaded some new software and followed the excellent guide from James Simpson (http://www.jamessimpson.co.uk/elmconfig-enable-ford-ecu-functions/) to get into the Focus ECU. I think that the ESP and ABS are both operated through the same module as the ESP uses pulses of brakes to adjust the slide of the car, so I probably don't have an ABS either, but I decided just to tell the car that it didn't have ABS any more, which also turned off the ESP light. I guess in some countries they sell the Focus without ABS...
I also had to wire in the towbar which I had fitted earlier. It was second hand and the wiring had been chopped out of another car so I already had the correct coloured wires to wire into. It had scotch connectors on it which meant it just snapped together.
Last thing to sort for the MOT was the wing indicators as the ST engine loom didn't have connectors, as the indicators were in the body loom of the ST, but as I was using the body loom from the estate I didn't have any wing indicator connectors. I got a friend from work to help who knows much much more and wires and stuff. We tapped into wiring loom next to the headlights and ran the wires back to the wing indicators.
The wiring is just visible on the left hand side, following the seem, wrapped in electrical tape. All worked perfectly!
Next up: MOT!
When we were assembling the rear brakes I put the hand brake cable on incorrectly, and adjusted it, and only one side worked. Slackened off the cable at the hand brake lever, reconnected it at the caliper, then spent ages trying to get the tension correct!
Because the estate doesn't have the wiring loom for the ESP then I couldn't fit the ESP module, which meant the ESP light was on on the dash which is an automatic fail. I already had an ELM OBDII cable, so I downloaded some new software and followed the excellent guide from James Simpson (http://www.jamessimpson.co.uk/elmconfig-enable-ford-ecu-functions/) to get into the Focus ECU. I think that the ESP and ABS are both operated through the same module as the ESP uses pulses of brakes to adjust the slide of the car, so I probably don't have an ABS either, but I decided just to tell the car that it didn't have ABS any more, which also turned off the ESP light. I guess in some countries they sell the Focus without ABS...
I also had to wire in the towbar which I had fitted earlier. It was second hand and the wiring had been chopped out of another car so I already had the correct coloured wires to wire into. It had scotch connectors on it which meant it just snapped together.
Last thing to sort for the MOT was the wing indicators as the ST engine loom didn't have connectors, as the indicators were in the body loom of the ST, but as I was using the body loom from the estate I didn't have any wing indicator connectors. I got a friend from work to help who knows much much more and wires and stuff. We tapped into wiring loom next to the headlights and ran the wires back to the wing indicators.
The wiring is just visible on the left hand side, following the seem, wrapped in electrical tape. All worked perfectly!
Next up: MOT!
Personally I'd make the bother to fit the ESP... On the Mondeo it makes a massive difference in cornering, with it off it *feels* like a powerful FWD car and will happily go straight on with too much throttle, with the ESP it both prevents that and as long as you don't just bury the throttle actually oversteers slightly. Although oversteer is almost the wrong word as rather than the back coming round it's pulling the front in tighter under power.
Fastdruid said:
Personally I'd make the bother to fit the ESP... On the Mondeo it makes a massive difference in cornering, with it off it *feels* like a powerful FWD car and will happily go straight on with too much throttle, with the ESP it both prevents that and as long as you don't just bury the throttle actually oversteers slightly. Although oversteer is almost the wrong word as rather than the back coming round it's pulling the front in tighter under power.
Although I would like to ESP the car actually handles very well and neutrally without it. To fit it would mean a complete re-wire of the car from the dashboard back as the looms are significantly different. I'm not going to do it at the moment, but I have kept the ST rear loom so that I could splice it in at some point in the future.It probably still had ABS even with the ESP light on, most cars have a backup mode if there's a failure to prevent the car locking wheels unexpectedly. They're usually crude though. Should be fairly easy to go test it on some gravel or mud or grass somewhere though now that your light is off.
CHR15 G said:
Fastdruid said:
Personally I'd make the bother to fit the ESP... On the Mondeo it makes a massive difference in cornering, with it off it *feels* like a powerful FWD car and will happily go straight on with too much throttle, with the ESP it both prevents that and as long as you don't just bury the throttle actually oversteers slightly. Although oversteer is almost the wrong word as rather than the back coming round it's pulling the front in tighter under power.
Although I would like to ESP the car actually handles very well and neutrally without it. 
The Focus though is the handler and the more fun of the two anyway, the Mondeo while a great handling car is all about being a sensible family car (despite the same engine it's not an ST for a start) and the extra weight is always going to hold it back.
eg http://www.fordxr5turbo.com/forum/index.php?topic=...
On the plus side as well unlike the "real" Focus ST Estate yours can tow if you want as well!
The ESP is worth it for the noise!
If you're cornering quite hard it'll introduce a misfire to knock some power off, sounds amazing! It will knock all the power off if you go full hooligan though, it can be annoying and a tad dangerous when you're trying to pull out of a junction in a hurry.
If you're cornering quite hard it'll introduce a misfire to knock some power off, sounds amazing!
It will knock all the power off if you go full hooligan though, it can be annoying and a tad dangerous when you're trying to pull out of a junction in a hurry.Fastdruid said:
Personally I'd make the bother to fit the ESP... On the Mondeo it makes a massive difference in cornering, with it off it *feels* like a powerful FWD car and will happily go straight on with too much throttle, with the ESP it both prevents that and as long as you don't just bury the throttle actually oversteers slightly. Although oversteer is almost the wrong word as rather than the back coming round it's pulling the front in tighter under power.
Oversteer is definitely the wrong word in this context. I'd be worried about my driving style if I was frequently activating ESP under anything other than 'balls to the wall' driving.OP - I would probably run a check on the ABS system, but I wouldn't be overly concerned about ESP. Plenty of fast cars make do without it.
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