My bog standard 1.8tdci 115bhp focus needs improving

J

JET13

Full member
Points
61
Car
Focus 1.8 tdci MK1
I want to make my focus faster and more powerful (ideally without worsening mpg)...just wondering what the most cost effective way of doing so is? I hear there are some really good tuning boxes out there but the good ones seem to be about £300, is an ECU remap a better option? although i have heard there maybe bad consequences of the remap.
Any help much appreciated...you will definitely know more than i do.
 
A remap would be the best option by far. What consequences have you heard about the remaps then?

It does take more frequent servicing but other than that you should be fine. (Unless of course you go for a silly power remap where you should also change a few other components.)
 
Cheers mate...well troubles with the clutch but i've also heard that the engine life decreases, more of an issue with slightly older cars, mine has done about 80,000 miles and its an '03 model.
The tuning boxes just seem a safer option. ta
 
the tuning boxes (unless they connect to alot of sensors) are the worst you can do.

a proper remap will be tailored to the car to take into effect all circumstances
most remaps wont damage the clutch under normal circumsances. its more often a cltch is already worn then really starts to slip under the extra torque.
engine life again is more effected as people will boot the engines from cold which decreass life in all cars, as long as you let the car warm up properly before having fun with it and let it idle for a few mins before switching off will help
 
i see. definitely sounds like an ecu remap is the way forward then.
i was thinking about getting an itg foam air filter also...is there much increase in performance from this? cheers
 
sorry to highjack the thread but i also have a tdci 1.8 focus and apart from a remap giving about 30bhp, what else could i do ?
i have thought of de-cat exhaust, performance air intake and filters, manifold, which could give between 10-20 any ideas on where to find a good air intake etc ?
or any other idea

thanks

mark
 
not really answering your question but how much was your ecu remap? is performance much better now? i have a mk1 focus so might not work so well.
As for hijacking the thread go for it mate, i need all the advice i can get.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
watch the txt speak jet.
a decent remap will set you back around £350-400 maybe slightly more on a rolling road session.
generally diesel intakes and exhausts are pretty already high flowing and so dont gain much from it.
do they have an intercooler fitted ? if not get one fitted before going for the remap as this will lower the intake temps allowing you to free up more power

you could splash out and get a big turbo kit fitted.
 
That's quite a lot really, but that depends on how much a decent turbo kit would set me back. I think that a rolling road session would be a good thing to do. Thanks for the advice on the intercooler, that sounds like a smart option.
 
couple of grand for a big turbo upgrade -ie im looking at around 1k for the bora to upgrade to the larger OEM turbo around £3500 for a garett turbo kit and mapping
 
thats too much for me, bet it works wonders though. Think that I'll just go for the remap and intercooler. Your bora is going to fly! what are you hoping to get your bhp up to? how fast is it to 60 would you say?
 
im not going down the BT route. currently 0-60 is around 7.6 standard ill say i could get around 7.3 with the suble mods ive done. although this would quickly wreak the clutch and drivetrain
il be happy with 220 as want to keep it reliably and not too thirsty.

just for info 0-60 means nothing at all, more important is stuff like 30-60 50-70, the stuff you do alot of inreal life driving, like i said above doing 0-60 will wreak clutch and drivetrain along with your tyres

have a look here, some of us took real life accelation testing
http://www.torquecars.com/forums/f8/acceleration-testing-5475/
 
just reread your first post about mpg

generally the increase in torque on a diesel allows you to improve your mpg when driven in a similar way, this is oh course hard as you will be having more fun with it
 
I absolutely agree that those stats are more important than 0-62, because its much more realistic, but 0-62 is easy to understand because its the most commonly used if you get me. Thats the area that i want to improve the most in my car; the acceleration from the likes of 30-60mph and the acceleration from when you put your foot down in the mid-gears. A lot of focus drivers will hate me for saying this, but i found that a 1.9 mk 4 golf with the same bhp as my focus so much better in this area, it does have quite a bit more torque.
30-60 in 3.5 is awesome. i would love for my focus to be able to do that.
Keep going with the bora, it sounds sweet but i hear what your saying about mpg and all that, sounds spot on right now.
 
the 1.9 vw/skoda engines can be fairly easily tuned to 240 that i know of.

my focus allready has a intercooler but i was also thinking about getting a larger one to reduce the air temp further

mark
 
1.9 tunedeasily to 240 ? not that easy mate. just about all of them are running hybrid or big turbo upgrades along with propane gas being injected as well.

an agressive remap on the 1.9gttdi 150bhp engine (only found in the golf,bora and seat leon) give 210 thats taking into account induction kits and exhausts
 
How effective was the intercooler? have you remapped your ECU? 240 in a 1.9....i bet that is awesome.
 
JET13 said:
How effective was the intercooler? have you remapped your ECU? 240 in a 1.9....i bet that is awesome.
Click to expand...

the 1.8 tdci engines have an intercooler as standard its just not very big so im intending on getting a larger one front mounted giving me better compression

mark
 
so i've heard, how much is it to get a better one? just not sure if its really worth it. I don't really understand what an air filter does and what an intercooler does...
 
a intercooler, is just a radiator but has air instead of water running through it,
when anything gets colder it gets smaller and denser this means you have more air and there for more oxygen in the cylinder giving you more power.
so having a bigger one will reduce the temperature of the air further.
price depends on size and quality from a few hundred up to alot more !!

the new air filter/ induction kit alows more air again to reach the engine, think of it like this breathing normally is easy, put your tshirt over your mouth and it is a little bit more difficult, now go get a thick jumper and try again it gets harder. the new filter/induction kit is the tshirt in comparison to your standard filter which is the jumper.

also with an inductuion kit you can mount the air intake as low as possible [air gets densers the closer to the ground due to the tempreture]

mark

im fitting a k&n induction kit on the weekend and a new intercooler next month ill keep this thread up to date on my progress
 
thats really cleared things up, thanks for that mate. I'm loving the analogies with the jumper and tshirt definitely makes it easier to understand.
I've heard that itg air filters are pretty good value for money, think they are about £45 and add 5-10bhp. Let me know how it goes with the induction kit and intercooler.
 
nice explaniation turbo tractor

be warned however too big an intercooler will cause more lag as there is more air to pressurise so its not a case of going for the biggest one possible

filters again £45 wil by you a decent panel filter, cone or a cheap induction kit. none will give you 10bhp most panel filters will only give you about 2-3bhp but a more responsive feel. a decent cold air kit is around £150+ even then on most car your only talking 5 ponies.
itg do do some good kits but not for £45 and dont bother with ebay most are cheaply bulit things
 
yes i am a bit stuck on exactly how large to go,

i know im going to get a front mounted, the current one isnt much bigger than a a4 sheet, i was thinking about 1.5/2X bigger will give a fairly improved tempreture drop

mark
 
if the standard ones side mounted you might notice a difference by having a front mount the same size as there is a better airflow going through the fins rather than the smaller amount that gets through the side.
wouldnt advise twice as big as you will suffer more lag, and the turbo will have to work harder which in turn could shorten its life due to running full boost for longer

remember it also comes down to how it was designed. some are build cheaply but cause alot of turbulence in the cooler rather than the air flowing freely through it
 
yes iv thought about that, i was going to try a mondeo intercooler mounted in a better position and see how it goes from there

mark
 
been reading about and found a few decent mods, induction kits are not needed as diesel engines are already high flowing so will prob just benefit from a k and n panel or equivlent, focus st or mondeo 2.2tdci intercooler will fit focus 1.8tdci without causing lag, followed by a stage 2 turbo upgrade, and ecu remap and you will see upto 190-210bhp and around 330- 350lb of tourqe, however the 1.8tdci is an 8v engine so it hasn't got a lot to give, but the 2.0tdci 16v has more scope for improvements, BUT BEWARE the dualmass flywheel on focus are weak and cant take abuse, plus clutch bearing can fail easily even under normal driving conditions as i found out, after just 17000 miles on the clock my clutch bearing was knackard, so look at upgrading this.
 
pgarner said:
the tuning boxes (unless they connect to alot of sensors) are the worst you can do.

a proper remap will be tailored to the car to take into effect all circumstances
most remaps wont damage the clutch under normal circumsances. its more often a cltch is already worn then really starts to slip under the extra torque.
engine life again is more effected as people will boot the engines from cold which decreass life in all cars, as long as you let the car warm up properly before having fun with it and let it idle for a few mins before switching off will help
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, exactly what happens if you leave the car sitting idle for a few minutes before switching it off.
 
turbonutter69 said:
After hard driving it wise to let the engine idle for a few mins because it will let the oil settle a little and it will cool the temp slightly.
Click to expand...

Although that's not really completely true is it as most cars heat up and suffer more from heat soak when sitting at idle, that's why fans come on in traffic etc. You're better off taking it easy for a couple of miles before you park up to allow good air flow through the rad and oil cooler to cool the engine.

Depends on the car and how much you've been hooning it though. The main thing is that you allow the car to get up to temp.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Please watch this on my YouTube channel & Subscribe.


Back
Top