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A Focus ST is a fun, affordable, quick hatchback with plenty of room for modifications, and these are the best of them!
A Ford Focus ST is not just a simple front-wheel drive, but it's also an affordable turbo hatchback that's a perfect beginner's sports car. Unlike the Honda Type-R, you can pick one up for a whole $12,000 less and only a 54 less horsepower. Well, that's why we're here: to bridge the gap for less than a month of Arby's.
When the ST came out in 2002 it was moderately well-received but at the same time, purists didn't love the FWD but experience would prove that it's not only better for the gas mileage, but it also does better on the track! It's like pulling a ribbon: it's much harder to oversteer compared to the likes of a Miata. Being a hatchback means you can fit track tires or NOS in the back, but these mods are more reasonable. They're for both speed and aesthetics and are the first 10 things you should consider for your car.
If you don't know, a blowoff valve is made to release the built-up pressure from the turbo when it's not needed. This gives you a few advantages, and it's not just for cool turbo noises. It allows for speedy decompression for revving down, a key ability when quick-shifting is required or even just quickly slowing down.
They don't cost a lot for the advantage they offer, and while they don't necessarily add horsepower they do contribute to a better ride overall, and if nothing else, will sound cooler and mark you as a non-stock car, an essential for any car guy in a Focus ST. They're not expensive, it's on Amazon for under $150.
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Lowering your car can be as simple as using a bunch of zip ties to compress the springs, though this isn't recommended. It can also be as involved as reshaping the wheel wells and installing $1,000's worth of lowering springs, new suspension, anti-sway-bars, and other useful components. The slim of it is that your ST will look better, perform better, and put down power more efficiently with stiffer suspension, and it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.
For the ST there's a load of aftermarket support, and come highly recommended for less than $300 to equip your whole car. Springs alone on Amazon will make a big difference for a cool $144 for all four. Keep in mind you will need to beware of steep driveways and rough bumps, but despite this, it will also feel sportier and livelier, more responsive.
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Quite simply, a cold air intake will help boost power by feeding more dense air into the engine so it can expand with more force when ignited. To install it is just a matter of replacing the old airbox with a kit from Amazon and they can be as cheap as $200. The part is bolt-on and will not require extra tuning, though it would help even more.
In addition to increasing horsepower, the cold air intake combines well with a factory turbo car that is already designed to gulp down more air into the engine for increased power. As a final bonus, it's the key to being able to pop your hood at car meets, shows, or around friends. The intake ought to match the engine bay if you're going for a clean look, like a red filter if that's your trim color, or a chrome pipe if you have clean, shiny chrome.
Along with gulping in more dense air, an intake manifold spacer is a part that most amateur/semi-experienced mechanics can do with a YouTube video and $80-$160 to spare (the red part pictured). These spacers mount either just after the throttle body on the intake manifold or can mount to where the air flows into the engine block. It's comparable to having a bigger straw.
The most recommended have vortex-generating grooves to create a tornado effect that works the same as swirling liquid in a drain to create a smoother and quicker drain process. Like a lot of parts, it alone might not make a noticeable difference as a cold air intake would, but it will add to the overall effect in an important way so that once it all falls into place, it's noticeably more powerful and impressive.
A COBB Tuner isn't cheap, roughly $550 for the newer Focus ST, but make sure you know what you're doing before fiddling. While, yes, it's as simple as plugging into the OBD2 port to start, certain tunes that can be downloaded and applied could void the warranty if and only if the mechanics find evidence that says it was tuned. For now, it is totally legal to have and use, but this might not be the case for long...
This mod is called "ECU flashing" and while other products exist, it's tricky to be sure it won't jack up your car's computer. While a COBB is on the pricier side, it not only gives you access to a world of downloadable and customizable tunes, it will also give you several free readout gauges that not even an ST comes with like the dynamics advance multiplier which is the equivalent of a car's heartbeat monitor showing ignition timing, as well as others.
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This has to be the least "cool" mod on this list but it is by far the most important for the long-term safety and reliability of your Focus. The Focus has had issues with the engines not being mounted well enough, and should they come to lose thanks to too much wiggling or (if possible) too much lateral movement from revving, then it can pull on the throttle and lead to uncontrolled acceleration!
The fix? A $65 motor mount piece from the 'Zon. This will not only make you safer but also ensure that the engine, especially once it's more powerful, doesn't rock and shake against other components or even wiggle itself loose! It will mitigate problems down the road and is just a generally smart solution to a slight oversight by Ford.
Politicians are cracking down on car mods, threatening to make us all drive standardized electric vehicles with "no emissions." In the meantime, we can't recommend a catless exhaust, but a cat-back is still within the confines of emission laws. A cat-back means that while there is still a converter on there, it's not as restricted afterward.
The system will run you $400 to $800 and while it does help noticeably in more tuned cars and ... almost noticeably in otherwise stock cars, it will make the Focus ST sound amazing! Nothing is quite as fun as listening to exhaust notes on YouTube and picking exactly what you want your fast hatch to sound like when it revs up!
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While the Focus ST does have a shorter shifter, a short shift adapter will make it truly sporty. The purpose of a short shifter or short-throw shifter is to make changing gears a quicker action and less of a fidgety or long movement. Think of playing a carnival game vs playing a video game.
A new one can be picked up for around $93 from FSWERKS. To drive with a short throw means you have higher revs maintained between shifts, more time with two hands on the wheel, and the most satisfying of shifting sensations. To drive a stock shifter after feels silly, like driving a semi-truck!
By far the most expensive on this list, but also by far the coolest: a widebody kit with spaced-out wheels. Widebody mostly exists to satisfy the law that fenders must cover wheels, but the ability to stance-out a car wider makes for more stability and grip and, frankly, just a superior look overall. Parts to improve the body can be as simple as a $37 spoiler extender kit.
Simple additions will set it apart one bit at a time both aesthetically and aerodynamically. Parts like splitters, side skirts, diffusers, and canards ($9 for stick-on ones) can really help suck it to the ground at high speeds which, we might add, is also safer. A hood vent, vortex generators, or one massive wing can really add character that tells of your ST's ability!
Wyatt is from Utah and likes to bike, ski, and drive too fast. He's written articles on motorcycles and cars for years, and especially likes Japanese cars and off-road vehicles. He has been featured in DriveTribe more than once and some of his content has had over 6.5 million views. He loves Formula 1, Formula Drift, the Baja 1000, and World Rally Cross!