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First Mod

772 views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  SilverDragon  
#1 ·
I am just wondering what would be the best first mod horsepower wise; cat back, cams, CAI? Any help would be appreciated.
 
#3 ·
The normal Set up ususususuusalllly goes as follows

Intake, Exhaust(full or not), Suspension, then usually a chip.
i'll second that list. Most people will go for the intake, which IMO is the best "first" mod to go with. If you've never modded a focus before, the "umph" you feel after the intake is on will make your mouth drop (atleast mine did).

dave!!
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#5 ·
I know this isn't going to be a popular statement, but IMHO the best mod for giving a feeling of more HP is a 65mm TB. In reality it does not give you more HP, but it gives the driver the feeling like they have more power. Granted the other bolt on mods do increase the HP, but they do so in very small increments. In most cases the increases are between .5 to 4 HP which is barely noticeable. The TB gives a very noticeable change in how the car drives.
 
#6 ·
I would say either an UDP or an exhaust system. UDP will free up some horsepower while the exhaust will give you a little top-end for the freeway.
 
#7 ·
I would go with an exhaust. Not only does it add horsepower but it gets rid of the stock exhaust that rusts like crazy.
 
#12 ·
Nobody's mentioned porting the stock throttle body yet. If anything qualifies as a good "first mod", this is it. Cheap, simple, and effective. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a 65mm TB, you spend maybe $10 on epoxy.

Compared with a 65mm TB, throttle response with a ported stock TB will be spread out over the entire travel of the throttle. Stock, the motor is ingesting all the air it can by 1/2 throttle on a 65mm TB, so until you get more mods all you have is a really jumpy throttle. I personally don't want that as I deal with wintery roads 4-5 months out of the year, and the price difference seals the deal.

And yes, you'll notice a big difference, even if that's your only mod. I drove it that way for maybe 50,000 miles before adding the Magnaflow. The bump in low-end torque was most surprising; it handles the air conditioner load much better now.