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Discussion starter · #161 ·
Hitech doesn't work with these "little 4-bangers" but the gentleman who tuned my car (his name is Casey), previously worked at Apple Valley Ford in Apple Valley, MN. and has tuned a handful of PWSC and JRSC Focii. He's pretty credible and probably the best tuner for the Focus in the Twin Cities area… I only went to Hitech because Casey uses their dyno to tune, and works with Hitech on the side when needed.

The car will need some "tweaking", but overall, I'm very happy with where the car is as of right now.

I can see where Hitech, or any "custom" shop could screw over someone. He had a few interesting conversations with me, and I could tell right off the bat, that he didn't really care for my car, or the color of it… to each their own opinion.

As far as selling my prized SVT? After all the time, work, effort and money put into it, I can't see selling it at any point in the future, I would never get anywhere near what I put into it, so I'm just going to enjoy what I've done with it, and continue to maintain it for the unique gem that it is.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with the build, it's been quite a ride!
 
Bart is a muscle car guy all the way and doesn't really go out of his way to disguise his dislike of hot hatches and tuner cars, Casey does do pretty good work though so dealing with Bart is just something you have to put up with.

DB is more tuner/hot hatch friendly but they're insanely busy and I know they don't like tuning the SVT due to the way the PCM has to be flashed, very slow process and it can't be tuned on the fly.

-Steve
 
Discussion starter · #163 ·
Bart is a muscle car guy all the way and doesn't really go out of his way to disguise his dislike of hot hatches and tuner cars, Casey does do pretty good work though so dealing with Bart is just something you have to put up with.

DB is more tuner/hot hatch friendly but they're insanely busy and I know they don't like tuning the SVT due to the way the PCM has to be flashed, very slow process and it can't be tuned on the fly.

-Steve
This I know Steve, from the stories of Chris' SVT tuning session at DB a few years back… VERY slow process, as it takes SO much time to flash the PCM, wait for it to load, dyno, make adjustments, wait again… repeat… It's one of the main reasons that Chris' Comp O SVT never got completed.

I contacted both Shane and Danny at DBPerformance, and neither of them were really enthusiastic about doing any kind of work on an SVT Focus… As stated, I went with Casey, merely because he has experience with the PWSC/JRSC and the SVT Focus, I also know he did the initial tune on this exact PWSC kit when it was on Pat's car.
 
Steve summed it up pretty well. Casey does seem like a good bit, will be interesting to see what he can do with Chris' car too. I know that another local guy of our Zack has been trying to get his turbo SVT onto the rollers at DB for awhile now and they've basically all but flat out refused. I think the plan now is to borrow the rollers at Hitech and have Fernando tune it remotely if they'll permit that
 
Discussion starter · #166 ·
Steve summed it up pretty well. Casey does seem like a good bit, will be interesting to see what he can do with Chris' car too. I know that another local guy of our Zack has been trying to get his turbo SVT onto the rollers at DB for awhile now and they've basically all but flat out refused. I think the plan now is to borrow the rollers at Hitech and have Fernando tune it remotely if they'll permit that
It's actually kind of sad that because we own an SVT Focus, and not some souped up "Muscle car" that we get the short end of the stick, so to speak… Now, don't get me wrong, I like the roar of my S/C V8 Mustang, but to have something as unique and rare as a souped up "Focus hatchback" is just downright fun in it's own right! No one expects my little yellow hatch to take flight the way it does… I'm certainly impressed thus far with the setup on the car.

If Zach can throw a few bucks towards Bart and Hitech, I'm sure he can use the Dyno…


Get your SVT tuned already Chris… sissy


Also, just installed the Neutral Safety Switch under the clutch… car has been a bugger trying to start, with the new switch in, perfection! Thanks to Tasca Steve!!
 
He spoke with Bart yesterday and Bart wasn't thrilled about the idea of a remote tuner, and I don't think Fernando was thrilled about having to sit at his computer for 4 hours to remotely do log after log. I think the plan now is to have Casey tune it and have it running pretty well, and then Zack will send Casey's tune to Fernando for a touch up since he already payed Fernando as well. It should be the quickest way to get it going. He works 80-100 hour weeks all the time so getting out for tuning has been a huge headache in itself. Can't wait to see what he puts down though, built motor, heavy clutch, all AAN and upgraded cooling, and for fuel he has a race cell with a Bosch 044 going to a surge tank with another 044 return-style. Needless to say i think he's gonna run out of turbo or injector before he runs out of fuel pressure.

I agree MC, I mean we all have our brand loyalties but it's fun to see something new once in awhile.

Chris, how many years have you been waiting to get tuned now? 3, 5?
 
I dislike all this talk about someone else named Casey, but I'm glad he's keeping the name in good repute. :D
 
Discussion starter · #169 · (Edited)
I dislike all this talk about someone else named Casey, but I'm glad he's keeping the name in good repute. :D
I'm sure this Casey doesn't have your rugged, good looks, and stunning, award winning SVT Focus… but he's a good tuner for the ever growing Focus community here in MN., and he does have a rather nice SVT Lightning.

Not really surprised Bart was a bit "wishy-washy" on the idea. It would have been nice to see that turbo throw up some "kick-ass" numbers on Bart's Dyno, and give his muscle cars a run for their money! Lol!
 
Hahahaha :lol: Thanks brother!
 
Discussion starter · #171 ·
My last round of items are now going onto and into the car… Just got the ESM wheels into place…











I had to adjust the front suspension, and lower it slightly… I like the ESM wheels, but they honestly would look great on a "stanced" or "slammed" car, that's NOT something I'm into. I like the stance I got the car too, I took a caliper dial and got the fronts as close to identical as I could.














I'm VERY happy with the tires; Michelin Pilot Super Sports are just an amazing tire… quiet on the road and the give you the confidence for whatever you need. The ESM wheels did indeed completely transform the look of the car. I do plan on putting new tires on my OEM stock SVT EAP wheels, as the Falken Ziex tires just don't cut it.




 
Discussion starter · #173 ·
Up next, it was time to "spruce up" the interior. I FINALLY found a member that had a set of slightly used Redline tuning yellow carpeted floor mats. He was selling his Focus, so I hoped on and made him an offer on the FULL set of mats. I had to have them, and he was able to oblige me…. I'm very happy with them!







I really like the rear cargo mat. It really is a quality piece, such a shame that Redline stopped making them for these cars…






I also did a little work to the engine bay. Cleaned it up a bit, put some CG Black on black to all those plastic pieces, and cleaned up that heat shield…



I also matte painted my RED Focus Sport strut bar to black, so that it makes the car look factory OEM with the bar in place. I like how it came out…




 
Discussion starter · #174 ·
I've been sitting on this for over 2 years now…









Not even sure if you can find them anymore… and I've installed this on my previous Focus… the Roush carbon fiber dash kit is just the "sprucing up" the interior needed. I ordered the kit with a yellow CF weave, which I knew would compliment a yellow car nicely. I was on the fence about installing it or selling it, but I figured I'd put the center HVAC piece in place and see how I like it. This particular kit I found on eBay at a ridiculous cheap price, compared to new…

Before:





After:







Here you can see the yellow in the CF… It's different, and I really like the black CF too (as that was in my previous sonic blue SVT), but the yellow gives it that unique touch.

 
Discussion starter · #175 ·
Overall, I'm very happy with how the car sits… I have the engine detailed, cleaned up and running smoothly… I have the interior cleaned up, spruced up and clean looking…

A few more pics… I like pictures!

Engine:







Interior:









I just need a few more exterior pictures of exactly how it stands now… coming soon… Thanks for looking!
 
Not yet, I think I'll hold off until next Spring. It's running decent now… and I'll diagnose any issues then. The car will more than likely be stored for the winter, so I may have some custom hoses done up, and have the injectors flow matched….
Good plan, not sure you'll need to worry about flow matched injectors but they couldn't hurt I suppose. Someone on Facebook was saying a yellow SVT is due in for tuning same day as another Focus guy so I thought it might be you.

-Steve
 
Discussion starter · #180 ·
Good plan, not sure you'll need to worry about flow matched injectors but they couldn't hurt I suppose. Someone on Facebook was saying a yellow SVT is due in for tuning same day as another Focus guy so I thought it might be you.

-Steve
Wasn't me getting tuned… Do you know whatever happened to Jon McCarthy's turbo yellow SVT? I know he sold it, bought a FeST and moved to SD? I know when I bought Jon's wheels last year and saw the car for the first time, Chris took a look at it, and it was a mess. It surly needed a tune and a few other things fixed up…

To TSI_Focus: What is "Zack's" SVT turbo build? Any info on his car?
 
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