If they haven't tuned a focus or many, I wouldn't even go there. Steeda has tuned foci and so has da silva and I wouldn't get my tuning done by them despite the fact that they have tuned cars from this forum. There is a reason people specialize in things and I'm sure randy would be cheaper anyways than a dyno tune plus getting the car there... Not only that but for their kit, you don't need lentech parts. Randy changes stuff iirc in the tuning for the transmission to be able support some good power with auto d-tec cars and their turbo kit. I mean there's no harm in lentech parts but look at your goal, budget and what fits. I mean were talking minimum 6 grand here without even touching suspension or labour costs if you need a shop to do components.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to shoot down your dream and plans but I would also like to see it completed and not turn into a money pit. For 10 grand you could buy an SVT and a PWSC kit used. Make more power, have higher re sale value, comfort etc etc etc.
Food for thought.
I'm keeping an eye out for a decent auto Duratec ZX5 or even ZTW, so 05-07. Might have a line on one. Auto is just about required for the better half, and seeing as my Jeep has a stick I'm good with that.
I'd love to get a SVT going with PWSC, but that might be an actual "project" car for me after this one is sorted.
I'd love to get pretty much my 07 ZX5 SES back again and just Duratec turbo-kit that. I wasn't anticipating zero support from FSwerks on the Zetec automatic, considering it's the SAME DAMN TRANSMISSION as the one in the Duratec cars (4F27E) and tuning it shouldn't be any harder than tuning a Duratec auto turbo setup. I think Vik either needs a vacation or I'm starting to lose faith in FSWerks over how this is an issue. Seriously, if someone wants to clarify how tuning a Zetec auto setup is any different (aside from the phyiscal manifold position reversals) than a Duratec auto turbo setup... let's hear it.
If turbo doesn't become a reality, I'll just do a bunch of NA goodies to it, consider the Lentech setup and call it a day... and then go get something else to build and play with.
You are looking at doing this to a car which is more than 10 years old. When the focus and fiesta st's came out, fswerks blew up even more than before. Trust me, I still get tuning from randy on now 3 cars. He is great but ultimately only has so many hours in the day. When they include free tuning, it is for the specified vehicle. I personally don't know the differences aside from sensor differences on the Zetec. It isn't vik and it isn't randy. It's not having enough man hours in the day to give away freebies for a car not supported by their turbo kit. That's like me asking them to tune a fusion if I buy their stage 2 duratec kit. I would tell ya right away to piss in the wind or pay extra for programming and any other things required to make it work. Cleary there are differences and when you change the kit from their original design, you could impact the possibility of increased programming time due to hardware issues from the modification. It is what it is. If you really want to dig into it, call and speak to randy or vik on the phone. Tell them that you will have any parts modified that need it and see what happens. Email querys for products they don't sell won't get you very far IMO. Unless you go ahead and call em up and have a good conversation, you will be at a road block for a Zetec kit
Dude.
I'm trying to understand what's coming across as Zetec hate. If the Zetec was an issue, they should NEVER have made the kit. They chose to. There's been an outcry for FSWerks-level support for the Zetec for years, but then again they CHOSE to make the kit.
Right now, if I wanted to be a dick about stuff, I could order the Zetec kit and go bananas with it. Tuning and all. It's ALL included as part of the Zetec kit, just like the Duratecs and the rest of their offerings.
If they don't want to support the Zetec guys, it's really simple: take the Zetec offerings off of the website and cry into their piles of cash. I really don't care, but at least that way I'd have a clear indication of what they want to do.
I'll get the car tuned elsewhere if I have to, I'm fine with that. Sadly, I'd still buy at least the adjustable cam gears and header from FSWerks, or at least just the header, because they're a great source for that individual product. If they don't want to hire extra guys to let them take on additional workload and make more money year over year... again, totally not my problem.
I've also called twice and gone directly to voicemail at different times of the day. I've given them my phone number via email, so that as they're sitting there screening calls (which it sounds like given that you expect that they'll answer the phone for you or any other established customer) they'll know it's me calling and answer. But, they don't.
Jamie, bud, I have nothing against you but all I'm reading above is FSWerks apologist... nonsense as someone with an established repeat-customer relationship with them. You've got 3 cars tuned via Randy. I'm happy for you man. I just don't get the automatic "hate", or the Zetec "hate", or any other friction I'm getting from a couple of guys here. Lots of tuning shops exist in the world for similarly-aged cars with functional, valid tuning options... all from multiple fields - sport compact, muscle, etc. The age of the car I have is a non-starter, or should be to a good shop.
Hell, I'm even ready to rock to beef up the sole weak point of my drivetrain, at all cost to myself, simply because I KNOW it's a weak point. Most weekend warriors / ricers would just bolt the kit on anyway and bitch when it blows.
Anyhow, I re-emailed both Randy and Vik and asked for a definitive answer. If work constraints don't kick in tonight, I'll call them right after work, which is about 1:30-2PM their time. If they choose not to answer the phone, that's fine. I'm a little fish in a big sea of sport compact / Focus enthusiasts. However:
- I never forced them to make a Zetec kit. They chose to. They support it like all the others. They tune it. If they can tune an auto Duratec, tuning an auto Zetec should be just fine. Same shift points, really, on stock valvetrain.
- I've never done wrong by them before. They have no reason to shut me out without reason - if they wanna be dicks, which I don't figure, I'd rather they just told me. I've FSWerks gear before, two XCal2s back in the day... they've made a decent amount of cash off of me over the years. Again, this is Focus #4. Each previous Focus has had FSWerks' touch on it somehow.
- I'm a paying customer, or trying to be, just like everyone else. Again... it's nice to see they've been making big money with the new Focus and Fiesta ST stuff, but if you don't want to support the Zetec guys... take the kit that's on your website OFF your website. Or, change the description so that it says MANUAL ONLY. That's not hard to do, even in this high-tech website age we live in.
Just going to make one comment here that I've been resisting the urge to make: This place has NOT changed. If someone mods a model that isn't what everyone else mods, it gets hate... or at least looked down upon. Still. It's sad. It needs to stop. Why the hell is this forum still around if people can't just support fellow Focus enthusiasts? Isn't that what FC.net at least USED to stand for?
Chill out brother!
Bottom line: they came out with a Zetec kit because it was asked for, shortly after, most Zetec car owners traded in and bought focus ST or other new cars. There simply is not the demand and as such I don't blame them for not doing autos.
There is no Zetec hate, after all they made the damn kit. It is not their fault nor mine nor anyone's that your other half does not choose to drive standard. If this is YOUR car, why tailor it to somebody else or compromise? Plain and simple, and don't take this the wrong way but swap in a stick or build your own kit. Better yet buy a used kit and get it tuned.
Not only that but your comment about the kit not showing for manual only... Come on man LOL when you order a kit you can't just tick the box and pay up. It requires a good talk with randy and vik about what you want to do and in which case it would be made know it is for manual only. Plus it is advertised as such on all forums they are a part of.
To top it all off, they did support the Zetec, when it was popular and people owned them. They had up to stage 3 on the vf/focussport blowers along with many many other awesome e parts. Now a days, 95% of Zetec owners trade them in or do a budget build because the cars are worth typically less than the entire turbo kit is...
Also when you are calling them, when is it? They are closed early on Fridays and Ofcourse are on west coast so time is different. If you call in the morning you will get them with no answering machine. I have only ever got an answering machine once, but I usually email randy and casually await a reply because I know they are busy and I am in no rush. If this is that big of a deal, I'll shoot randy a msg and see what he says.
Long story short, you are getting far to wound up about a product not meant to fit your car. As I said prior buy a kit. Modify it and install. See what you will need to get programming from randy and if not try a different tuner. There are a few out there without name dropping. You know how to get a hold of me if you want suggestions for remote.
Well, that was also weird: just got an email from Vik.
There's something with the turbo fitment with the automatic that is "different" than the manual. I can appreciate that as I'm well aware of how the pans are different between the MTX-75 and the 4F27E.
I'm going to call them after work and see what's up. Maybe we can work this out. It also sounds like Randy is willing to tune from his email.
The comment about it not showing manual only had to do with the fact that it could have, given that they didn't develop for both and you'd never know that from reading the parts listing. Also, the Duratec kits don't say "no autos" because they support the auto for the Duratec.
As for tuning and building a custom kit... c'mon now. You know where I live. Dynos don't crowd the buildings around me... the closest available dynos are 3.5-4 hours away, because Martin Barkey at MRBP won't share his. I'm more than willing to pay extra for Randy's time, because quite simply he's the best out there at remote tuning the Focus. I'm more than ready to put a wideband in place and go from there.
Normally I call in the evenings, which is mid-afternoon their time. I'll call down again today and see once I get out of work. I'll also let them know I'll be calling.
I'm pretty relaxed, but I'm also past the days where I just sat here and let people (not saying you, but the old forum in general) s**t on my mod ideas because it wasn't the same as everyone else's ideas. I surely did get an auto Focus for the better half, and I'm not ashamed of that. People beef up autos all the time, but because it's not a popular option for the Focus people tend to shun it. Meanwhile, Lentech has whole tranasxle packages ready to rock. That's more than most slushbox owners can say for their rides.
Glad to see you heard from Vik. I am sure you will get sorted out on what route to go soon enough.
Fswerks is always number one in my books and even tho you have had some troubles getting a hold of anyone I am sure you will get an answer on which way you can go.
I agree completely... FSWerks is #1 in my books too. That's why I'm pushing so hard to get their gear into my ride. No matter which way this ends up going, there WILL be FSWerks gear and hopefully tuning in my latest ride.
You should have bought a SPI...no decisions to be made about boosting
*facepalm* Thanks Vince!
OK, so I waited until now to post this up: It looks like I'll be going ahead and turboing my autotragic Zetec.
My convo yesterday afternoon with Vik was enlightening and encouraging. I think it sunk in once we actually talked that I was serious, not an Internet jokester and that I was serious about modding the stock Zetec kit.
I also told Vik I'd be willing to pay extra for automatic tuning beyond a normal reasonable amount that they'd expect to perform for a manual Zetec. Vik told me they don't even like doing the Duratec autos, which I believe.
My three major worry points for adapting the Zetec kit are:
- the transmission dipstick tube. Might need to mod the turbo intake tubing and filter positioning there. No biggies.
- the transmission selector cable entry point - might need to re-route intake tubing there over the stock Zetec kit for the same reason.
- the auto Zetec uses a different crank position sensor part/model than the manual Zetec, and this gets close to impacting the turbo downpipe from what Vik remembers. So, we'll mock it up and then see what has to be done to adjust piping angles.
After that point, the rest should be roughly the same as a manual Zetec install - get a wideband O2, install the kit, run the wideband sensor wiring back to the cabin, prep for logging after installing the safe tune from FSWerks.
He also seemed pleased that I had had an actual, meaningful convo with Chris at Lentech and that I was serious about beefing up the 4F27E if I decide to get beyond 7-8 PSI. He's of the mind that based on the Duratec builds they've seen, running 5.5-7PSI should be survivable on the stock transaxle so long as I don't mat it everywhere I go. Truth be told, I'm more than fine with an uprated transaxle and torque converter once the turbo install and tune is done... because I have a feeling I'll want 11-12PSI and intercooling, or more with a built block, next year. I have no real intent going beyond a typical FSWerks stage 1 this year. I think I'll just be giddy with the turbo fun and might even possibly decide not to upgrade. I like to overbuild so the Lentech work will likely happen, even if I take the lower-power spec offering and the uprated torque converter.
Slowly, slowly... it's coming together.
(03-06-2014, 02:55 AM)NOS2Go4Me Wrote: [ -> ]*facepalm* Thanks Vince!
...stuff...
Slowly, slowly... it's coming together.
Highly recommend a tranny cooler and a p/s cooler
Damn, that is a lot of doe to spend on auto Focus.
Well, I'm still officially on the fence about the build. My mechanic buddy is leaning pretty hard on me to supercharge the JK, and it's damn appealing. Can't afford to FI both rides this season, but I might be able to NA the Focus and SC the Jeep. Downside to SC'ing the Jeep is Jeep fuel economy and mandated 91 octane. Upside is massive power improvements over stock... and I mean massive.
Just getting the last few quirks sorted on the Focus this week before we start building it. Just gave it new front LCAs, new transmission/driver's side mount, new thermostat, new valve cover gasket.
Supercharging jeep sounds cool
(03-13-2014, 09:05 PM)GFXjamie Wrote: [ -> ]Dude, make your mind up!
lol that's what I was thinking when reading through this thread......"So is he going to do it......or not?. OK, I think he is now, oh, nope."
But personaly I'd leave that focus stock as it is and just make it a nice DD for gf with good MPG.
Your getting soft... And a for me a supercharger jeep does nothing for me since you can make it fast but watch out for a turn
Imagine that.....NOS fighting on the internet...Who Knew?????
