Ford Focus ST225 Race Car

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After deciding to venture into another race series to try and promote the business we found a nice built race car that we could tweak the last bits to further show case our capabilities. This Focus ST225 that had already been built and previously raced in the UK Time Attack had passed through a couple of different owners before being brought to our workshop. It came with a reputed 500 bhp (flywheel power) and three different maps on the ECU, so first things first it was put on the dyno to check it out. A quick check over of fluid levels and a warm up on the dyno revealed that we had potentially been over sold the car, it was only producing 324 bhp at the hubs. We were disappointed to say the least but it was a good starting point. The ECU was checked over and all appeared ok, the three maps that we thought were there weren't but that could be easily modified with the way the Syvecs ECU and software work. Upon checking through the car we spotted that the boost control pipes to the external wastegate had become very brittle due to them passing very close to the exhaust manifold. The intake pipe work was removed to reveal the extent of the heat damage and it was then that we noticed the vacum lines had been plumbed up incorrectly and the boost control wasn't working. This was rectified and the vacum lines placed inside some Funk Motorsport heat sleeving. Once back on the Dyno with the laptop plugged into the ECU the power was up and where it should be for the reputed 500 bhp at the flywheel. We were pushing 469 bhp at the hubs running 1.9 bar of boost. We are now currently installing some aero in the form of a BYC rear wing and custom making a front splitter with partial flat floor. We are planning to race this in the CSCC Turbo Tin Tops which is a 40 minute race with mandatory pit stop for a driver change (if you want to). 

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With the new aero fitted and checked to make sure that there isn't any deflection in the front splitter everything was wrapped up and sent off for the graphics to be added. The new graphics definitely made the car stand out and transformed the look of it. It was then off to Silverstone for the final round of the CSCC Turbo Tin Tops of 2021. It unfortunately didn't go to plan and on the driver change in qualifying the car set on fire which we later found out was caused by a small leak in the turbo oil feed pipe. Luckily the marshals and other pit crew managed to put out the fire and keep the damage to a minimum. The car was brought back to the workshop and further checked and cleaned up. A small amount of wiring was needed to be replaced which the engine needed to come out for. Whilst the engine was out we took the opportunity the carry out some further heat management controls in the form of purpose made heat shielding fitted to the exhaust manifold, turbine housing and down pipe, the was all carried out by Thermo Met. The guys there were great to deal with and the work is top quality. We have since put the car back together and have now developed issues with the ECU's drive by wire H bridge controller which is unfortunately no longer made. This takes us up to where we are now which is installing a new ECU in the form of ECU Masters EMU Black with the plug and play harness adapter. This will be mapped in house on our very own DynaPack chassis dyno. 

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More to come....