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FSWERKS Turbo


sunnysmith
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Hi Guys,

THE TURBO IS DONE! I've actually been driving it a couple of days and it is pretty neat. My overriding impression is that the turbo actually makes the van drivable. I can cruise down the highway at 75 with the cruise control and use between 2 and 5 pounds of boost. It doesn't down shift all the time like it used to. I can merge into highway traffic WITHOUT FEAR!!!

Now, you cannot get on it in first or second gears. Its all over the place. The gearing is so low and even with the new tires, its just too much power/torque. Top gears are nice though, so 1/2 throttle through 1st and 2nd and then wot in 3rd and 4th.

We added another transmission cooler so the van now has 2. With an outside airtemp of 85, the highest the transmission temperature reached was 125. After some 'normal' driving, the temp returned to 100 after a few minutes. I thing the transmission is going to survive. I don't flog it and I try to work with it so I am not abusing it. You can turn the overdrive off and just power out in third gear. Great fun!

There van is speed limited to 90, but I am sure it could go must faster. We are going to switch to an electronic boost controller. Bob turned the manual controller (comes with kit) all the way down because we were seeing big spikes. With the new controller, we should be able to stay around 10psi (7-8 now) without spikes. This should make another 30hp available.

I would recommend this to you guys. If you use the van as a work vehicle, it actually makes it much more usable. I only drove it for a few days before it went in for the turbo, but it was frustrating and even scary (merging) sometimes. The van is actually really cool now!

I have just sent Bob a new file for you to try. We don't have an issue with the speed limiter on the Focus, but on the Transit it's more involved. See what you think and let us know...

If you really aren't able to get on it in the low gears, I think we need to just get a bigger turbo on there. That will help out quite a bit with the early and punchy torque. I'm just thinking out loud here, I know you probably aren't interested in swapping out the turbo. However, if you are we can get you set up. I'm running the GT2871R on my stock engine turbo Focus right now and it's great.

Also, using the Cosworth intake manifold will help manage the torque and will allow you to pick up some nice top end power. Something to think about. The manifold would need to be modified to clear the power steering reservoir like we've had to do with our 2008 and newer drive-by-wire Focuses. Also, you'd need to fab up a block off plate since the Transit doesn't have an ISC valve.

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I got a question about the exhaust, so I wanted to let everyone know what we did. We replaced the cat with a high-flow cat. The rest of the exhaust is 2.5" with a Borla muffler. It sounds really nice. I think most people are shocked/confused. They see the van, but they hear something else!

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  • 2 weeks later...

What was your total cost in the turbo setup including install?

The FSWERKS cost was about $4,000. That is for the complete kit including everything that we needed. Some of the piping had to be changed because the fitment is not the same as the Focus. I had so many things done on this round that I can't tell you the exact labor cost. It was a good 2-3 days of labor, but some of that time was spent because it was a 'first'. Now that it has been done and is known, it would be easier.

I really can't explain how awesome it is though. The van is really zippy and just drives really nice. My wife drives a new Suburban and it is a dog compared to the van, whereas before, the van was the slow one.

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  • 2 months later...

Hi All,

I wanted to let you know that I will be selling off all the pieces/parts that I take off when we start the transformation next week. I'll post links then, but I will be selling the front seats (leather) w/Airbags, the second row seats (leather), and the wheels and tires (2000 miles). The stock radio 6000cd and speakers are being replaced.

Let me know if you have any interest in these parts.

Thanks!

-Sunny

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  • 3 years later...

Hello everyone I just found this site and became a member. Found this thread and started salivating about over 4 years of posts on upgrades to the Transit Connect. I have the 2013 version and looked forward to reading about all the hard work already done. What happened. I will poke around this site and see if I can find out were this project has gone.

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Hello everyone I just found this site and became a member. Found this thread and started salivating about over 4 years of posts on upgrades to the Transit Connect. I have the 2013 version and looked forward to reading about all the hard work already done. What happened. I will poke around this site and see if I can find out were this project has gone.

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  • 4 years later...

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