This is our MK4 Focus ST development car which we added to our growing fleet a few months back. It’s white, it’s rowdy and it’s all ford.
Depending if you’re familiar with us (Revo), you may or may not know we’re specialists in VW Group aftermarket tuning but well known for our presence within the Ford world too.
This blog, like many of our others, has been written not only to promote our products but showcase what work we put into our projects. We’re a UK-built company with deeper routes within the worldwide aftermarket tuning world than we could ever have imagined. We want to show our development process and our findings throughout this project. So, that’s what we’ve done below.
Let’s start at the start.
Our Mk4 ST arrived with a few thousand miles on the clock, with the only modifications being the full Maxton design kit.
We approached the ST like all new products and started with technical analysis. We installed additional sensors on our test vehicle and used these and the OEM sensors to capture data under various drive cycles on the road, track and dyno. This testing process is used to evaluate the performance of the vehicle and individual components in their standard form, allowing us to identify limitations within the factory hardware. We then planned development for hardware components that require improvement to support additional power from re-calibration.
3d scanning
We started with the Focus MK4 ST in the same way we approach all new hardware products. Stripping down the car to see where we can see flaws or areas that can be improved over stock.
Utilising the 3D scanner we are able to scan the OE set up and then remove parts to scan again and see how much we can gain, be this in pipe sizes, core sizes or bend radiuses.
Air intake options
On the intake side, straight away, we knew we could produce a much freer flowing system as there was space available to make more relaxed bends with larger diameter pipework.
We decided to go with a full refit of the intake all the way to the turbo. This will be made up of both custom-designed silicone hoses utilising stepped end design required to reduce turbulent flow and mandrel-bent aluminium pipework mated with fabricated brackets for optimum fit.
OEM+ Intake
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Our OEM+ intake kit is subtle in terms of appearance but strong in performance in comparison to the OE intake system. Our OEM+ intake system upgrade includes a Revo pro panel filter, and two flush-fit silicone hoses to minimise air restriction and turbulence. An alloy hard pipe with all OE connections for perfect OEM fitment is also included. Increased bore sizing and smoother transitions improve airflow giving you access to more power.
Our OEM+ intake system was tested in-house to compare the performance against that of the Ford OEM Intake. First tested on a vehicle running the OEM intake with Revo Stage 2 software, and full OEM hardware, the Revo Intake was then installed and tested in the same controlled environment to highlight the benefits of enhanced airflow.
The results show improvements in power and torque from just 2600RPM, but especially at the peak power. Our OEM+ intake offers an average gain of 18WHP and +31NM torque over the OE part. Increased airflow also delivers impressive peak performance gains of +42WHP @5100RPM and +69NM @3700RPM over the stock intake system.
Open Cone Intake
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In contrast to our OEM+ kit, our open cone intake kit directly replaces the stock airbox, pipework and filter. Our kit also comes complete with a turbo inlet silicone hose, aluminium pipe, silicone Intake hose, heat shield, filter and fitting kit.
As we begin to enhance performance, we knew that the restrictive OEM intake would struggle to flow enough air, robbing the engine of power. We designed our open cone intake to remove these restrictive elements promoting smoother airflow. Our kit replaces the OEM airbox to make space for the heat shield, filter and pipework which joins directly to the turbo. Our flush-fit silicone hoses avoid unwanted turbulence at joins and increase the rate at which air can flow ensuring maximum performance at any level of tuning.
After testing, our results show improvement throughout the whole rev range, with huge performance increases. Showing just how restrictive the stock system is when looking to upgrade the performance of your MK4 ST. Our open cone kit offers an average gain of +26WHP and +43NM torque over the stock part. Increased airflow also delivers impressive peak performance gains of +54WHP @5100rpm and +75NM @5100RPM over the stock intake system.
FOCUS ST MK4 intercooler
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Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, our intercooler size. If you’re confused or intrigued about why our intercooler isn’t much larger than stock (on the face of it), then you’ll enjoy reading this.
The intercooler on the Focus ST MK4 is a very compact unit from the factory, this is mainly because of the way that it has been packaged around the core supports for the radiator and condenser. With this in mind, we have had to be very clever in the design process to ensure we have a complete factory fit with zero cutting of any of the bumper supports or flaps in the grill.
Our cooler has cast aluminium end tanks CAD designed using the 3D scanned surroundings to optimise the fitment with our own designed fins in a bar and plate core, custom CNC-made brackets and stainless fittings. The unique end tank profile promotes internal laminar flow by decreasing turbulence and increasing airspeed and volume into the bar and plate core
By using the scan data we were able to increase the core volume by 28% over stock, without affecting or fouling any other parts. We combined this with new 20% larger inlet and outlet hoses, increasing the sizes to allow more flow into and out of the larger cooler.
Now to send the real message home, we’re seeing IATs drop by 33.3ºC in comparison to the stock cooler. Remember, size doesn’t always matter.
It’s that time, software!
Click here for more details on our software and the full features list.
If you’ve read this far, thanks for sticking around. At this point, you’ll have taken a brief course in our hardware development for the MK4 platform. Now it’s time for software.
At Revo, we don’t buy files in, we don’t tune cars on a driveway and we certainly don’t sell a ‘canned’ tune. All of our software is developed in-house by a team of calibration engineers, working on the vehicle they see in front of them. Our process does take longer than competitors, however, it’s for good reason. The MK4 ST has been no exception to our calibration process. Over an extensive calibration period, we’ve produced Stage 1 & 2 software for both the Mk4 and 4.5 variants.
410ps & 435lbft
Our Stage 2 software has definitely caused a stir in the market. Gains of over 100PS and well over 100Nm are impressive, however, it’s the power and torque throughout the rev range combined with refinement in pedal feel, clever torque strategies and Revo expertise that gives such good power delivery and a perfect balance of performance, economy, and engine longevity.
Remember our dyno is a hub-dyno which means the figures are shown in WHP not BHP. BHP is only a calculated figure so all dynos will vary.
It has a GPF, remember!
I’d like to jump in here to point out another elephant in the room; the GPF. At Revo, our position couldn’t be clearer when it comes to removing GPFs (and DPFs for that matter), we DON’T. All of our software has been designed to work alongside any factory GPF without the need to remove or alter it in any way, allowing you to modify your pride and joy, legally.
Power is one thing, and driveability is another.
Amongst huge gains in power and torque, we’ve injected a whole host of features which enhance the driveability of the MK4/4.5 ST platform. We’ve removed the speed limit, enabled left foot braking and added a boat load of protection features from coolant protection to a radiator fan routine change.
Performance pack; our one-stop-shop solution for the MK4/4.5 ST
To conclude, we’ve spent the last few months drawing, designing, printing, testing, calibrating, switching and fueling our development MK4 ST. Not to mention verifying our products and software on multiple different vehicles across the world prior to release.
Our MK4 ST Performance Pack is an all-in-one solution to reliably and affordably achieve the most power possible from the 2.3L Ecoboost engine.
For more information please visit our website here, or alternately find your nearest authorised dealer here who can help you with pricing and fitment.
P.S. If you already own a MK4/4.5 ST and your car is already tuned by a different company, we offer a 25% discount off our Stage 2 software if you switch over to Revo. You will need to provide proof of purchase for the current software you’re running.
