Which mod should I do?

[SVT666]

I'm undecided.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Engine mount for sure. All the other things seem a bit superfluous since the SVT is soooo good. Or are we talking about the Freestyle?

[NomisR]

Engine mount.  I upgraded the engine mount in my car, and it's much more responsive now compared to stock.  It also vibrates a lot more than stock, but then again, it feels more like a go kart now.

[CALL_911]

Definitely Adam.

[GoCougs]

Save for the next car.

[TBR]

Engine mount and shifter, unless your entire commute is a twisty two laner, those are the mods you would get to use the most.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I did the rear motor mount on my Focus, and the only noticeable vibration increase was at idle. I thought it was a fine compromise for the increase in response.

I can't say I would bother with any bracing for a daily driver with stock suspension.
I thought the SVT's shifter throws were terrific already, and maybe wouldn't want to compromise higher effort for a shorter throw.
Anti-roll bars I could see as a possibility, but that depends on how rough the roads are where you drive.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Save for the next car. Cougspocalypse.

[SVT666]

I did the rear motor mount on my Focus, and the only noticeable vibration increase was at idle. I thought it was a fine compromise for the increase in response.

That's what everyone on the SVT boards are saying too.

I can't say I would bother with any bracing for a daily driver with stock suspension.

Apparently it's a noticeable difference.  I like to drive hard and I live in the mountains.

I thought the SVT's shifter throws were terrific already, and maybe wouldn't want to compromise higher effort for a shorter throw.

The stock shifter is pretty sweet already, but I've heard a lot of good things about the shifter I'm looking at.

Anti-roll bars I could see as a possibility, but that depends on how rough the roads are where you drive.

The highways are pretty smooth, but the roads within my town are fairly rough.

[S204STi]

If you live in the mountains, a judicious set of roll bars will go further than the negligible improvements from a motor mount or chassis bracing.  Get the roll bars.

[S204STi]

That is assuming you must choose one over the others.  If you're doing them all anyway... (which I probably would) just go for whatever feels good.

[Eye of the Tiger]

IMHO, the chassis of the SVT Focus is already too good for the engine, so I would search for more power.

[SVT666]

IMHO, the chassis of the SVT Focus is already too good for the engine, so I would search for more power.

More power is only available through forced induction.  There is very little you can do to the SVT motor in naturally aspirated form.  A custom tune (which I have) nets an additional 10 whp at the peak, but as much as 25 hp at certain parts of the curve.  It's a huge improvement, but it's almost all you can do for more power.  It's already got a 2.5" exhaust that no aftermarket system has improved on, a long tube header, and a cold air ram style intake.  A high flow cat is the only other thing I can do for more power, but it's not in the budget right now.  Handling and driveability are the only areas to improve.  There is a little more body roll then I like, but I would also like more response from the engine.  It's a tough choice.

P.S. I don't like NOS, so don't even suggest it NACar.

[SVT666]

If I can't decide between the three, I'm just going to buy a new subwoofer.

[NomisR]

Weight reduction? 

[Eye of the Tiger]

I didn't know you already had an ECU tune, intake and header. You're right, there's not much else you can do without supercharging. I vote roll bars and motor mount. Are you set on getting a front and rear set of bars?  I just put a rear bar on my Focus, from Progress (19mm IIRC?), which made it even more tail-happy, and made it easier to accelerate through turns. That was fun for sure.












P.S. And get NAWZ 

[sportyaccordy]

Engine mounts make such a huge difference in handling & shift quality. I'd go with those

[SVT666]

I didn't know you already had an ECU tune, intake and header. You're right, there's not much else you can do without supercharging. I vote roll bars and motor mount. Are you set on getting a front and rear set of bars?  I just put a rear bar on my Focus, from Progress (19mm IIRC?), which made it even more tail-happy, and made it easier to accelerate through turns. That was fun for sure.

I would be getting 22mm in the front and 25mm in the back.

P.S. And get NAWZ 

Hey, now that I think about it......no.

[Tave]

P.S. And get NAWZ 

?I?ve seen the way you drive. You have a heavy foot. You?ll blow yourself to pieces.?

[Onslaught]

Nothing. I wish my car was stock again. But that would take more work then I'd want to do again.

[Laconian]

Not me. 

[NomisR]

Nothing. I wish my car was stock again. But that would take more work then I'd want to do again.

Why's that?

[Onslaught]

Harsher ride. Have to search for rattles more these days. I can't live with them at all. I got high quality parts from people like FlyingMiata and Racing Beat, but they still don't fit as well as stock. And it handles better but not to the point that it was worth it. It's not like I'm on a race track driving to work every day. And it's not like it didn't drive really well before in the first place. And I'm getting old and things hurt more then they did in the past.

Now if I had a car that's job was that of only a toy then it would be different.

[Rupert]

I'm with ya, there. I'd leave most stuff stock, at least as far as performance goes. Good enough is good enough, and with a Miata or some such, that's pretty good.

Intakes make fun noises on Miatas, though.

[Eye of the Tiger]

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY MODZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[SVT666]

Harsher ride. Have to search for rattles more these days. I can't live with them at all. I got high quality parts from people like FlyingMiata and Racing Beat, but they still don't fit as well as stock. And it handles better but not to the point that it was worth it. It's not like I'm on a race track driving to work every day. And it's not like it didn't drive really well before in the first place. And I'm getting old and things hurt more then they did in the past.

Now if I had a car that's job was that of only a toy then it would be different.

I hear ya.  If I still had my last Mustang, there's no way I would drive that thing every day anymore.

[Onslaught]

I'm with ya, there. I'd leave most stuff stock, at least as far as performance goes. Good enough is good enough, and with a Miata or some such, that's pretty good.

Intakes make fun noises on Miatas, though.

Unless you race a MX-5 I think improving it is a bad idea. I didn't think about this but one of the things that's great about the car is you can feel like you're flying around a county road at insane speeds. But in reality it's nothing that will land you in jail. But if you start making it "better" then you have to do stuff that's not so safe to have fun on the public roads. It makes it a little less fun in the end.

I don't know about the Focus, but if it's good and fun stock then you know what you have and won't have to go back and return it to that if you don't like the new version.

Science, I'm getting old. 10 years ago I would have got every turbo and hop-up part I could find for my car. Now I think stock is cool.

[SVT666]

Unless you race a MX-5 I think improving it is a bad idea. I didn't think about this but one of the things that's great about the car is you can feel like you're flying around a county road at insane speeds. But in reality it's nothing that will land you in jail. But if you start making it "better" then you have to do stuff that's not so safe to have fun on the public roads. It makes it a little less fun in the end.

I don't know about the Focus, but if it's good and fun stock then you know what you have and won't have to go back and return it to that if you don't like the new version.

God, I'm getting old. 10 years ago I would have got every turbo and hop-up part I could find for my car. Now I think stock is cool.

I'm starting to lean towards the shifter and engine mount.

[Onslaught]

I'm starting to lean towards the shifter and engine mount.

Shifter would be cool.

[SVT666]

Shifter would be cool.

...and a sub.  A new sub would be cool.