Ford Focus ST170

[Fury556]

Hi all, I came on here ages ago looking for a Puma replacement for not a lot of money and ended up settling on an ST170. I was prepared for disappointment after reading a lot of reviews that said they weren't that fast and coming from a Puma, most cars are going to feel dull.

Well, either I got a good one or i'm easily pleased because I was pleasantly surprised taking it out for a test run. Yes, you have to wring its neck but I'm more than happy to do that. Once you hit 5K you can feel the variable timing kick it up a notch and it just keeps surging to 7k and beyond.

So, onto the details. It's a 2004 model in imperial blue and 3 doors (the best combo in my opinion next to magnum grey). Had done 67k miles and was pretty much immaculate apart from a small amount of rust on the rear arches and the cam belt needed changing. It had Xenons fitted but it didn't leave the factory with them and came with an original set which I swapped back come MOT time.

I ended up taking it to Donington last November for a run around the GP circuit and had great fun. Very stable, lots of front end grip, but you can tease the rear a little with the throttle, and the always on ESP lets you have a little fun before it brings in the reins.







I found on the track day that in a straight line vs a Fiesta ST150 I was gently pulling away, but they seem to have so much more grip available!

It's running a powerflow straight through backbox which isn't too noisy, I swapped out the DMF for a TTV racing steel flywheel, it pulls so much better in the lows and mids by comparison, H&R 35mm springs and running yellowstuff front pads. I drive it pretty much daily and it is comfy enough to commute in and do long hauls, and it's plenty fun on an empty back road to open it up (70mph in 2nd gear if you take it all the way!)

A little video of the track day as well:

https://youtu.be/pwPKS5tx0tc

Thanks for reading

[Fury556]

Piginapoke said:

Is that non standard badging on the side?

I don't think it's standard off the top of my head, I've only ever seen it on a few when I've been out and about.

stargazer30 said:

When I had mine many years ago, I found one of the best mods was an underdrive pulley. It makes them rev much easier. Starts to feel more like a type r than a focus ??

I have heard about this back from when I had a 1.8 Focus as well - is it a big job?

Mitch_TCF said:

Lovely looking ST170 mate!! Always liked these cars, own a Fiesta ST150 myself.

Cheers! I did have my eye on getting an ST150 but it was just slightly out of range of what I could spend at the time. Rapid little things!

[Fury556]

shalmaneser said:

I always really liked the look of these. The wheels espeically, and the mk1 focus shape still looks very crisp.

Could you fit a lower ration box in there? That seems to be the main complaint with them!

I'm not sure what else would fit. It's a bit of a weird one, 1st 2nd and 6th feel very long, but 3rd, 4th and 5th are quite close. With enough room you'll be doing 115 at the top end of 4th, so it does feel like it all needs to be a bit shorter to make the most out of the engine.

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

Great cars. I suspect the ‘not fast’ criticisms at the time were more to do with some of its rivals being around 200bhp (civic type r for eg) rather than a case of too slow.

Why swap xenons over for regular bulbs though?

You're probably right, not to mention the Clio 172 having roughly the same power but carrying 200kg less. Apparently it would've been an MOT fail as you need either headlight washers or self levelling suspension if you have Xenon lights fitted. Plus I prefer how the standard light housing is a bit darker compared to the almost "lexus" style Xenons

[Fury556]

Poynter87 said:

I think the st170 is good car my dad owned one for 13 years and it was a really reliable and fun car and if it wasn't for the clutch going which had covered 140k then he would still own it. Yours looks to be a good one and with regards to the xenons I think you will be ok as plenty of the mk1 focus rs owners use them with no issues with the mot also its not a straightforward swap I don't think as I know with the mk1 focus rs some of the wiring in the plugs have to be swap round so go from standard headlights to xenons so I'm not sure if you would need to do the same.

I've already changed them over, was a straight swap! I spoke to my old man and the MOT guys where he works have said it would be a fail if it had xenons without the washers or suspension!

Mr Tidy said:

Great looking car OP.

The first generation Focus was, and still is, the best looking model IMHO.

Back in 2003 I got a good deal on a Seat Leon Cupra, but if that hadn't happened an ST170 would have been an option.

Although I now know a 325ti would have been the right answer as I've had one for 3 years!

Thanks! I think I agree with you there, I just wish it had the 2.5 5 pot sometimes... I do quite like the Leon's, my brother had a 2007 FR petrol, I never drove it but the passenger rides I had it felt pretty nimble, short gears and it just loves to pull.

I've never really given those BM's a thought to be honest, seems like a good motor!

[Fury556]

Cambs_Stuart said:

I had one a few years ago. Good fun to drive, good styling and a decent level spec. However, mine had the engine management light on pretty much the whole time i owned it. As I remember the inlet manifold runner control was one culprit (replaced twice in the space of a year), the cat failed and blocked the exhaust and it also went through a few lambda sensors.
I still see the car around Cambridge, so it's good to know it's still running.
But when the EML was off, it was a good car.

Yup, mine has the EML permanently on at the moment - I have a used IMRC box I need to get around to fitting one day and I think it might need an o2 sensor soon.

It's going in for it's MOT tomorrow, 2 new rear tyres and the fronts need balancing as I'm getting feedback at motorway speed. After that it needs an oil change and then I'll be looking at my next track day!

[Fury556]

The one in mine looks to have been bodged before - the spring that sits on the cam had some kind of adhesive crap all over it and the spring had popped out. I chemical metalled it, but it's back again. Everything else in the system looks ok, so I'll swap the box out at some point!

It went in for its MOT last Friday and passed (After 4 new tyres went on), got an advisory for brake pipes corroded so they'll probably want doing next time around. Picked up an oil filter as well while I was there and gave it a bath as a treat for doing so well!

I'm not convinced with the new tyres - they're just some cheapo Nexen things that were lying around my dad's place so I got them pretty cheap. The old fronts were on the limit, but were Contactsport 2's and these nexen's don't seem half as grippy. Maybe they need some more miles to get scrubbed in, maybe i'm just hopelessly optimistic!

Also, I asked to have the fronts balanced as I was getting feedback at motorway speed. Turns out one of the wheels has a pretty bad buckle it's been moved to the rear and the car feels amazing by comparison, but it wants replacing. I was thinking about buying a "cheap" set off ebay as I'd already kerbed a couple and wanted to refurb a set myself, so looks like I'll be doing that at somepoint, or perhaps having it done because the ST wheels look a nightmare to prep...

[Fury556]

Love a bit of history! Looks very clean, and yeah, I just about managed to install a 1.8 petrol focus when I was that age!

My brother had a 2005 Mondeo ST diesel in imperial blue for a while, it did look good with some BBS alloys, although it was reasonably quick and handled well, he couldn't help but compare it to the 172 Clio he had before and found it to be a little too dull. I imagine a V6 would help make it a bit more interesting!

[Fury556]

I think generally speaking the engine's in these are pretty solid apart from the IMRC. I think main concern is rust. Mine has been beaten pretty badly on the front and rear arches. I've got a pair of pattern wings to be painted and put on at some point. It's also worth checking inside the rear arches under the boot liner as that can take a beating as well. The sumps rust well on these as well, so always good to make sure it's in decent shape and not leaking.

[Fury556]

Yep - definitely. I had mine changed for a solid flywheel. I think a Luk DMF and clutch kit is about 4-500 by itself, let alone the time taken to change it.I got the TTV steel flywheel which was about £300, and I got a new genuine clutch to go with it. It chatters like fook in neutral but otherwise a decent upgrade.