Tips on modifying Mk1 Focus RS

Tips on modifying Mk1 Focus RS. The Focus has been with us for an incredible twenty years, and while its styling has mellowed and contemporised, it’s easy to forget just how radical the New Edge design of the Escort’s replacement was back in 1998. And, of course, there have always been hot variants to keep the blood pumping for the Blue Oval enthusiast – the Mk1 was revered even in base-spec form for its superlative chassis with control blade suspension, but the RS really was something else. 212bhp, Brembo brakes, Sachs dampers, Quaife ATB diff, it ticked a lot of boxes and has gone down in history as a classic of the genre. 

In a sense, its spiritual successor was not the Mk2 Focus RS but the ST, offering 225bhp from its turbocharged five-cylinder motor, and that’s the next car we’re looking at in this guide. And finally, the Mk3 Focus RS – well, it’s just an animal, isn’t it? Half hot-hatch, half-spaceship, it boasts such generation-PlayStation toys as Launch Control and Drift Mode, as well as the sort of performance figures and acceleration stats that were the clear preserve of the supercar back when the Mk1 RS came out. For each of these three iconic models, we spoke to a trio of tuners to ask their advice on the best ways to modify them for maximum performance and thrills; we also set the recommendations at three clear price points – sub-£1,000, £1,000-2,000, and £5,000+ - to give you an idea of what’s possible at different budgets. Words DAN BEVIS / Photos VARIOUS

SCC Performance

SUB-£1,000

SCC’s Robert Oldman recommends the Superchips Bluefin at this budget point, coming in at £249. Add to this the K&N induction kit at £235.73, along with the Mongoose cat-back exhaust system at a reasonable £535, and you’ve got the basic upgrades to get you on the tuning path: a smidge more power, but most importantly you’ve got the engine working more efficiently and have laid the groundwork for future upgrades.

£1,000-2,000

With this amount of money in your budget, Robert recommends starting the same way as in our previous bracket – with the Mongoose cat-back, K&N induction and the Bluefin. In addition to this, the way to level-up is to find further gains through the exhaust system, with a Nortech manifold at £599, along with a Mongoose sport cat at £589.68.

£5,000+

Building on the base of the recommendations in the previous price points, Robert recommends the next step to be to get the cooling on-point, with a Pro Alloy radiator at £438 and a Pro Alloy intercooler upgrade at £973.75. Then it’s time for a hybrid turbo (£899) which will be gateway to a really serious build. “Then I’d start on handling and braking upgrades,” he says. “The KW V3 suspension kit is £1,499, and the Powerflex bush kits come in at £117.31 for the front and £301.10 at the rear. Couple this with an AP Racing brake kit (£1,895) and you’ll have a great-performing all-rounder with around 350bhp.”

Demon Performance

SUB-£1,000

We spoke to Pete Williams at Demon Performance, who was happy to combine packages for us with an all-in cost including fitting and VAT. “At this budget, we’d be looking at a DPC Stage 1 remap, a K&N induction kit, and an uprated fuel pump,” he says. “Power-wise you’ll be at around 250-265bhp, and the total cost of this is £886.”

£1,000-2,000

“At this budget, this is what we’d recommend,” says Pete: “A DPC Stage 2 remap, an AS uprated chargecooler radiator, K&N induction kit, Forge actuator, Roose Motorsport 2-piece boost kit, Forge recirc valve, a 3in front decat pipe, and an uprated fuel pump. With all this you’ll be up to 270-290bhp. Total cost including fitting and VAT would be £1,980.”

£5,000+

“It’s difficult to put a price on a £5k+ budget – we could just keep adding to it until we bankrupt the customer,” Pete laughs. So he’s put together a formidable package at a total cost of £7,290, which comprises: DPC Stage 4 remap, DPC hybrid turbo (based on a GTX28 Gen2, machined into the standard housing), DPC tubular manifold, DPC 70mm intercooler kit, K&N induction kit, Forge actuator, Roose Motorsport induction hose, Forge recirc valve, uprated fuel pump, 3in turbo-back exhaust, and a Blitz boost controller. This serious toybox will have your Mk1 RS up to somewhere in the region of 400-420bhp. “The Mk1 stock internals will handle this power easily,” he adds, “but you could add one of our forged builds for an extra £3,500.”

Sabre Tuning

SUB-£1,000

As our contact at Sabre rightly points out, you don’t see a totally stock Mk1 RS very often! But if that’s your starting point, the Sabre Stage 1 mapping will allow the car to really come alive without compromising reliability. This level is just the starting point of unleashing the RS’s potential, of course… prices for a Stage 2 build start at £595 (rising to £2,500, depending how far you choose to go), and with the stock turbo Sabre can optimise performance up to 300-330bhp. Moving beyond mapping and into exhaust and actuator territory will lead you into the next budget level…

£1,000-2,000

Sabre’s Stage 3 prices start at £695 (rising to around £6,500, again depending how far you go), and this level is where the stock turbo is ripe for replacement – a hybrid turbo will get you anywhere from 350-450bhp depending on spec and setup. Right now you’re power-limited due to other components, so Stage 3 is designed for optimal performance from 330-380bhp. Other upgrades at this stage include the fuel pump, injectors and clutch. While many would choose to upgrade the chargecooler at this point, Sabre suggest that actually the stock setup performs very well as long as the pump works – and upgrade pumps are available!

£5,000+

This is the sharper end of Sabre’s offering – Stage 4 starts at £935 but rises well beyond £10k. “Ford blessed us with a good standard turbo, and they were mighty fine with the engine too,” they say. “It may only be a ‘Zetec’ but it’s a little more special and a sturdy beast to boot! So 380-430bhp… sometimes a little more. Yes, that’s a stock engine, but with some very developed Sabre options!” While a lot of tuners might just bolt on a big turbo, Sabre say they like their upgrades to spool like a standard unit with factory manners and driveability, so tailor tuning packages accordingly.

Sources: Fast Ford Summer2018

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: