Let's start off by saying that I can't stand the Focus ST. Everyone and their mama drives them around here....and I am a Focus SVT owner! Something about them that I just don't like.

I used to look at my Cooper S as a daily beater and that is likely not going to change. However, I find myself actually liking this car that I intended to turn over to my wife but she never caught on to driving stick.

I think that I own something pretty interesting and special now. Not saying that I am sure I want to mod it, but I am curious about it and think that it would be a fun topic. I am sure that stock HP for an ST is going to vary by year, but not really too interested in those specs since I don't like that vehicle.

So what would be required to have a daily that zippy? My 04 Stage Forester XT is substantially quicker but I don't like it much as a daily.

Thanks.

 

the short answer is HUGE *****. no real mods needed, you just need to have the ***** to chuck the car at WOT into a corner, kind of like to the classics do at the Goodwood Revival with the Mustang's, Camero's and Galaxies.

The real answer is a lot. Wheels, tires, intake, exhaust, cylinder head work, new cam, suspension work, supercharger work and at a minimum 15% pulley..... the list goes one. But the biggest mod is YOU.

YOU need to have the skill to keep up with a more powerful and better handling car. Change out the nut behind the steering wheel and no mods needed. other than that, open your wallet and anything is possible.

 

Thanks for the pointers. I meant straight line though. Cornering....meh, different strokes for different folks. Nuts and ***** don't compensate as much when it comes to straight line.

 

BVH, Cam, Header, pulley and a tune, will get you there, and over, for a stock Focus ST.
+ W/M for sure.

 

Stock Focus is 252hp, I would say about $4-6K. Drivers being equal, how would you beat out a car that is better handling,( Other peoples Opinion) and more powerful?

 

Straight line speed.. okay, Cool. If I were to do this I'd do: pulley, head, cam, intake, fuel injectors (possibly fuel pump), clutch/flywheel, exhaust, tune, really light wheels, drag slicks (or some road legal equivalent), weight reduction and suspension.

We are FWD so when you take off, the drive wheels will lose traction as the weight transfers to the back wheels as you know. Do what you can to make as little of the weight transfer off the front wheels as you can when you launch. This won't be cheap. It seems that you are asking how can a 2006 car match up to a 2013 (at the oldest I think) car; one that starts at 167hp to one that starts at 252hp? You will need another 100hp to beat it methinks. The R53 is around 500 to 600 pounds lighter but that isn't enough of a weight difference to make up almost 90hp the ST has on a stock R53.

I still stand behind my "mod the wingnut behind the wheel" as well. You will need a perfect launch and perfect gear changes to stand the remotest of chances at beating a stock ST with a stock R53. The R50/52/53 were designed with taking corners fast first and straight line speed second. They are momentum cars - even the R53. But all this is must my two cents.

Good luck and have some safe fun at the track!

 

I will say who are you kidding you love the st and are jealous as hell and likely can’t afford it.

 

You need a drug screen. My SG Forester XT blows them out of the water.

 

I dont even know what the car is but the fact that you seem so hung up on them means you secretly want it but only have a r53. I will now google this product your in love with.

 

I slightly modified my earlier post.
Bottom line is that you need approx. +60 HP to be even power wise.
That is difficult without a BVH or Nitrous (even with Nitrous, that HP gain is difficult with the stock head)
So yes, it won't be cheap, but it's very doable.

 

I think many are failing to realize just how minor the difference is between these cars. An R53 S is only about 0.5sec slower to 60mph and only about 0.6sec slower in the 1/4 mile than a Focus ST.

Heck, my F56S will outrun a Focus ST with nothing more than a JB4 plug and play piggyback tune.

Bottom line, I've driven older R53 S's and Focus ST's and don't really feel the difference is all that noticeable.

 

I personally don't think you are that far off with a R53 in my opinion, especially considering the weight difference. I also don't think they are all or at all all wheel drive which wouldn't make a difference either. I know the RS are standard all wheel drive but i don't think the ST is. I'm not a big focus guy either and i'm not taking them down because of that, just don't think you would have to do much to make it happen or at least keep up.

 

In the muscle car world there is a saying at the dragstrip that every 100 pound loss is worth .10 of a second. It holds pretty true down to a certain weight. Magazines of tested it over the years. So take some weight out of the car and it will offset needing to add as much power...

 

Straight line...........honest answer, get rid of the MINI and get a car that goes fast in a straight line. MINI's are made for corners.
Like the old saying goes.......straights are for fast cars, curves are for fast drivers.

 

Thanks everyone. My goals have changed a bit, but this was meant to be a fun thread...and it has been. Need to keep the car as reliable as possible suddenly for a lengthy commute.

 

From owning a Focus ST since 2014-2019 I can tell you it is a faster car then the R53.. The R53 actually feels faster but the ST is smoother and gets up to speed much quicker.. Handling wise it does have brake vectoring which helps in the corners..

I take the same on ramp to work daily and I would take my Focus around it at about 65-70ish with my 04 R53 I take it about the 55-60mph... personally the ST feels more planted, I'm running coilovers with 18x9 wheels and a traction bar... Now I only purchased my R53 about two months ago but im still getting used to the feel of the car..with that being said I probably could take that corner faster in the R53 but im working up the courage (*****) to do it.


That being said the Focus I feel is much heavier but faster and has more tech, but the R53 is a lot more fun to drive.

I live about ab hour from NYST, where I used to ride my Hyper, I'd love to next summer take the ST and R53 and time them around the track and it has some tight turns and elevation changes.


Focus ST mods:
Rosch CAI
Catless dp
Rosch exhaust
BC coilovers
CPE intercooler
Step colder plugs
JST Tune (93)

R53 Mods:
MDS coilpack
Alta CAI
17% SC pulley
Megan Racing headers
Megan Racing exhaust
Megan Racing strut brace
step colder plugs
Dragon Fire wires
Detroit Tuned bypass valve
GIAC Tune from TyrolSport

 

I'm sure you could squeeze a little more out of the 1.6 SC (mine are only about 211hp) to try to catch the 2.0 Turbo the 2019s make about 276hp

I would suggest if you really wanted to push the MINI you could add a Turbo not remove the SC, just add a turbo and an additional inter-cooler ... finding a kit will be a task, but for about $3K you should be able to do it.

BUT ... that is really pushing what the little 1.6 can produce ... or ... you can wait for the MINI John Cooper Works GP Concept it should be putting out just over 300 HP

Best of luck.

Motor On!