ST220 Questions
Discussion
Hi All, I have just picked up a 2006 ST220 Mondeo in blue with black leather with 37,000 on the clock very differant from my previous E46 M3 a lot smoother ( i am getting on now! ) just a couple of questions if i may.The vehicle seems to be ticking over a bit on the fast side,anybody let me know what theirs idles at.It has been fitted with a Milltek Exhaust which has a nice sound to it not over the top and also a K&N cone filter i dont know if this could be the cause of it idling a bit too fast but i would like to return the filter to original can someone point me in the direction of where i might obtain an original filter housing as i would like to visit the stealers as a last resort. One last question somewhere between collecting the car and getting home i have lost the spare key whats the procedure regarding obtaining a replacement as i presume they require re coding.Thanks Bill.
mr_fibuli said:
Mine idles at about 700-800 rpm once warmed up.
Make sure you get the correct air filter housing if returning to standard. I think the ST has an extra intake pipe into the airbox which gives it a bit more power over a standard airbox.
Mine idles about the same. A bit faster then cold.Make sure you get the correct air filter housing if returning to standard. I think the ST has an extra intake pipe into the airbox which gives it a bit more power over a standard airbox.
There were two airboxes. The dual feed one fits 5 speed cars. Get the correct one for the ages of the car and you'll be fine. Plenty seem to appear on eBay.
Trouble is it is tight as a ducks ass in there & a m8 did some CAD mock ups on Ford's system that showed 1.6mm clearence from the gear linkage to the second air feed pipe!! IE, not enough clearence but I'm sure there some modding to be done there 
OP, not sure if the 205ps engine has the same airbox too, I would guess so. ebay should be your friend!
OP, not sure if the 205ps engine has the same airbox too, I would guess so. ebay should be your friend!Dave_ST220 said:
Trouble is it is tight as a ducks ass in there & a m8 did some CAD mock ups on Ford's system that showed 1.6mm clearence from the gear linkage to the second air feed pipe!! IE, not enough clearence but I'm sure there some modding to be done there OP, not sure if the 205ps engine has the same airbox too, I would guess so. ebay should be your friend!
A panel filter site like K&N would give you an idea... if they use the same part number for the filter... OP, not sure if the 205ps engine has the same airbox too, I would guess so. ebay should be your friend!High idle could be something simple like a vacuum leak? Small chance of it being the IACV itself, or a gunky throttle body. K&N and Miltek wont contribute to the high idle. I would give the throttle body a clean, check all the pipes. Very worthwhile disconnecting the battery for an hour to let it re-learn its adaptive trim tables, this may also help the idle.
The 2nd air feed that was on the earlier 5 speed cars will not fit to a 6 speed car unless you modify the gear linkage. The feed comes out the side of the box, then curves round underneath the gearbox mount and between the gearbox, then exiting under the battery tray.
The linkage on the 6 speed is bulkier, and when put into 1st, 3rd or 5th, the linkage pushes up into the space underneath the gearbox mount, there is NO usable space at all unless you dont mind driving in 2nd, 4th and 6th, or squashing the feed and bending your gearlinkage as the engine tilts under load, not a viable option!
However if you want to fit a 2nd feed that isnt the OE Ford one, and this is your only option, then it can be done, because i've done it
Here is the OE feed -
And here is my feed, fitted -
This is actually better than the original because there are no kinks in the pipe, reducing turbulence and improving flow. It picks up cool air from near the chassis leg, not too low to pick up water and away from engine bay heat, as per original really.
I've tested out all the available options for induction, including the 57i kit, improved further with a shroud and cold air feed, and the expensive Pipercross VIS. The latter is a pile of junk and the only benefit it provides it no heatsoak in traffic. The filter itself is too small and of poor quality, and the bumper cavity does not pick up as much airflow as the OE airbox, it does make a nice refined noise but this doesnt give you power!
After driving around for a year with an induction kit of some sorts i've gone back to the OE box with 2nd feed. The difference is astonishing, never be in any doubt that Ford knew what they were doing when they designed this aspect of the car, yes its quiet, but the torque throughout the rev range is superior to the induction kits.
The K&N 57i was a bit crisper once on the move, and the sound was glorious, with a shroud and feed it offered the best aftermarket option IMO even though it will suffer a bit of heatsoak.
Panel filters - Nothing filters better than a paper element no matter what they tell you, in order to increase flow (indicated by reduced pressure drop in testing) there has to be a reduction in filtration, weather this is below an acceptable standard required to keep an engine clean over a 100k/200k is open to debate, but a brand new genuine Motorcraft filter will flow as a K&N when new, but will clog up quicker and of course once it does this, you have to bin it and buy a new one.
I tried a K&N panel, it makes a bit more noise, but no performance difference at all.
I do still have a K&N 57i if i fancy a bit of noise but tbh i am enjoying the performance.
Finally the OE airbox with correct feed can still be obtained from a dealer complete with new filter, i got a good discount on a new one as my old one was cut up to build the cold air feed for my K&N, they are around £75. There is a second hand one on ebay at the moment but i got my new one for less
Hope the above helps, and enjoy your car.
The 2nd air feed that was on the earlier 5 speed cars will not fit to a 6 speed car unless you modify the gear linkage. The feed comes out the side of the box, then curves round underneath the gearbox mount and between the gearbox, then exiting under the battery tray.
The linkage on the 6 speed is bulkier, and when put into 1st, 3rd or 5th, the linkage pushes up into the space underneath the gearbox mount, there is NO usable space at all unless you dont mind driving in 2nd, 4th and 6th, or squashing the feed and bending your gearlinkage as the engine tilts under load, not a viable option!
However if you want to fit a 2nd feed that isnt the OE Ford one, and this is your only option, then it can be done, because i've done it
Here is the OE feed -
And here is my feed, fitted -
This is actually better than the original because there are no kinks in the pipe, reducing turbulence and improving flow. It picks up cool air from near the chassis leg, not too low to pick up water and away from engine bay heat, as per original really.
I've tested out all the available options for induction, including the 57i kit, improved further with a shroud and cold air feed, and the expensive Pipercross VIS. The latter is a pile of junk and the only benefit it provides it no heatsoak in traffic. The filter itself is too small and of poor quality, and the bumper cavity does not pick up as much airflow as the OE airbox, it does make a nice refined noise but this doesnt give you power!
After driving around for a year with an induction kit of some sorts i've gone back to the OE box with 2nd feed. The difference is astonishing, never be in any doubt that Ford knew what they were doing when they designed this aspect of the car, yes its quiet, but the torque throughout the rev range is superior to the induction kits.
The K&N 57i was a bit crisper once on the move, and the sound was glorious, with a shroud and feed it offered the best aftermarket option IMO even though it will suffer a bit of heatsoak.
Panel filters - Nothing filters better than a paper element no matter what they tell you, in order to increase flow (indicated by reduced pressure drop in testing) there has to be a reduction in filtration, weather this is below an acceptable standard required to keep an engine clean over a 100k/200k is open to debate, but a brand new genuine Motorcraft filter will flow as a K&N when new, but will clog up quicker and of course once it does this, you have to bin it and buy a new one.
I tried a K&N panel, it makes a bit more noise, but no performance difference at all.
I do still have a K&N 57i if i fancy a bit of noise but tbh i am enjoying the performance.
Finally the OE airbox with correct feed can still be obtained from a dealer complete with new filter, i got a good discount on a new one as my old one was cut up to build the cold air feed for my K&N, they are around £75. There is a second hand one on ebay at the moment but i got my new one for less
Hope the above helps, and enjoy your car.
Edited by Kidders on Thursday 10th March 09:04
I'm glad someone else gave up on the OE one!! I actually purchased mine when I got the car brand new, I had a car with less than 100 miles on the clock in bits, would it fit? Would it f
k!! Kidders, what did you do in the end? I was thinking about hacking the hard plastic pipe to become an adaptor for a bit of piping. Watch that pipe on the engine cover-it moves about a bit & will rub the silver paint off. Any info would be great as I don't get time to R&D these days! Cheers
k!! Kidders, what did you do in the end? I was thinking about hacking the hard plastic pipe to become an adaptor for a bit of piping. Watch that pipe on the engine cover-it moves about a bit & will rub the silver paint off. Any info would be great as I don't get time to R&D these days! CheersEdited by Dave_ST220 on Thursday 10th March 09:24
Dave_ST220 said:
I'm glad someone else gave up on the OE one!! I actually purchased mine when I got the car brand new, I had a car with less than 100 miles on the clock in bits, would it fit? Would it fk!! Kidders, what did you do in the end? I was thinking about hacking the hard plastic pipe to become an adaptor for a bit of piping. Watch that pipe on the engine cover-it moves about a bit & will rub the silver paint off. Any info would be great as I don't get time to R&D these days! Cheers
I used 60mm flexi pipe with a jubilee clip, shaped to the letterbox opening on the airbox and a jubilee clip, the pipe is shaped to clear under the intake below and exits at the gap between engine cover and battery. I used a ally joiner and sourced a longer section of flexi tubing of the same diameter and attached it, down behind the headlight and next to the chassis leg. As long as the pipe can pick up cool and and isnt too long, it works fine. Its important to not force feed the engine any air because the MAF sensor is not calibrated for this, 'ram air' effect with the commonly available maps does not work too well and just throws off the fuel calibration. k!! Kidders, what did you do in the end? I was thinking about hacking the hard plastic pipe to become an adaptor for a bit of piping. Watch that pipe on the engine cover-it moves about a bit & will rub the silver paint off. Any info would be great as I don't get time to R&D these days! CheersEdited by Dave_ST220 on Thursday 10th March 09:24
My engine cover has a few marks it anyway and needs a repaint, the feed pipe is cable tied in place ala Ford stylee so shouldn't move too much.
Morning Guys,thanks for all your input,the problem seems to have narrowed itself down to the following, last night on way to football got caught in some pretty heavy stop start traffic car/idle behaved perfectly on the way home after fast(80/90mph) around the m25 the car refused to idle at aything below 1000/1200 revs even after switching off and restarting it climbed straight back to 1200 revs and stayed there i am going to clean the idle speed control valve this morning(carb cleaner?) any further thoughts? Cheers Bill.
Dave_ST220 said:
Not sure if the ST220 suffers from throtle hang? I know the 2.5 does. My experience of cleaning the IAC valve was not good, only replacing it sorted the problem.
I get a minor amount sometimes but it isn't particularly noticable. Contrast with the Alfa which was a royal PITA because the revs always dropped off at different rates, which didn't help for smooth gear changes 
ps. To the OP: mine idles at 750rpm when warm (fluctuates a little with A/C on, rock solid without it) and up to 1200 when you first start it on a cold day.
Dave_ST220 said:
Did you notice much difference with the second feed BTW? I always hated the idea of it sucking in engine bay temp air, anyone who has opened the bonnet on one of these after a spirited run will understand!! Any difference in induction noise? Cheers
I went from a Pipercross VIS that was less than 9 months old straight back to the OE with 2nd feed and the difference was astonishing, however i made a couple of other changes, i was running a Race97Induction map, i dropped this back to the Race97 (less fuel), it was running too rich before with the VIS, so part of my gain may have been from the mixture leaning out a bit.As you know yourself the significance of the 2nd feed in pre-production testing added very good power, although the orifice is there on the 6 speed i think it will make a difference by reducing heatsoak and allowing cooler, denser air when on the move.
Biggest difference for me between the OE and Pipercross was how smooooth the power delivery became, and power didnt drop off as sharp at the top end either. What a waste of money that was!
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