Time to mod my LV - Page 8

casabonka · 09-10-2011, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Also on a side note, I reckon other than the Falcon based car groups, we've gotta be the most active section on the forums out of the other models haha.

Thats coz our cars are coolest

I remember reading somewhere that FW Drive cars should have rear sway bars to aid turn in, whilst RW Drive cars should have front sway bars...

will try and find that article for you

casabonka · 09-10-2011, 09:29 PM

whitelines website;
http://www.whiteline.com.au/vehicle_swaybars.php

Quote:

BARS on CARS - What applies to me and my vehicle?
Whiteline's simple sway bar guide to better handling:

Front Wheel Drive
Increase the rear sway bar size to neutralise understeer.

Rear Wheel Drive
Increase the front sway bar size to neutralise oversteer.

All Wheel Drive
Increase rear then front bar size to fine tune handling behaviour.

4 Wheel Drive
Increase front then rear bar size to neutralise understeer.

Franco Cozzo · 09-10-2011, 09:35 PM

So if I wanted to go the whole hog I'd have to go:

22mm front swaybar

24mm rear sway bar

Or just do the rear and call it a day?

ConradP · 09-10-2011, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

So if I wanted to go the whole hog I'd have to go:

24mm front swaybar

22mm adjustable rear sway bar

Or just do the rear and call it a day?

That would be the way to go, I myself am getting a strut brace across the front, one for looks when you pop the hood

and really does the same thing from what I can tell but you don't need to adjust much.

And the rear either a 22mm or 24mm not too sure yet, gotta get the lads at Pedders to check it out, they said smaller on the rear for best performance. I don't know if the adjustable is needed really, I myself am not going to get under there and tinker with it once it's in, another thing I'll be asking them to set up when I get it done I guess.

Franco Cozzo · 09-10-2011, 09:51 PM

I gotta say it was sure dissapointing when I did a back to back comparison with my WS Fiesta, granted it only weighs 1088kg, but damn you can throw that thing into corners and it just goes around, and its electric power steering is awesome, not much feel but so easy to turn, you can do it with your little finger.

But its got a lot stiffer ride, but thats the trade-off you have to have a car which can actually turn without throwing you up against the opposite door haha.

Also do we have our own Focus car club or stickers?

I've emailed pedders and whiteline, lets see what they come back with, i've asked them if its worth getting the front sway as the car is just daily driven without track work, I also took a photo of underneath my car:

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1...1009130807.jpg

Or did I take a photo of something random we didn't need to see?

Russ · 09-10-2011, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

So if I wanted to go the whole hog I'd have to go:

22mm front swaybar

24mm rear sway bar

Or just do the rear and call it a day?

With the extra weight of the diesel engine I'd say you could get away with just the rear bar and the springs, lowering it even 25 - 30 mm should stiffen it up nicely without making the ride too harsh. I would also stay on 16" rims because if you go to 17's or above it will end up riding like a brick on wheels

Franco Cozzo · 09-10-2011, 10:26 PM

Also, with lowering it I will need a wheel alignment done again?

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated, I feel bad coming in and crashing Conrad's topic haha, I updated my above post, has a picture of something underneath my car lol.

ConradP · 09-10-2011, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Also, with lowering it I will need a wheel alignment done again?

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated, I feel bad coming in and crashing Conrad's topic haha, I updated my above post, has a picture of something underneath my car lol.

I got one when I got my springs in. They are pulling your suspension apart to put them in so I'd say it's probably more than needed.

Don't worry about crashing the thread, this should be used for all those who are looking to mod their cars in the future as a reference on how to do it amazingly :P

Oh also on the note of wheel size, when I went from the stocks to my 18" the ride turned horrible, but when putting in the eibach it droped it 2.5cm and smoothed it out so much, I was really surprised.

Franco Cozzo · 09-10-2011, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ConradP

I got one when I got my springs in. They are pulling your suspension apart to put them in so I'd say it's probably more than needed.

Don't worry about crashing the thread, this should be used for all those who are looking to mod their cars in the future as a reference on how to do it amazingly :P

Oh also on the note of wheel size, when I went from the stocks to my 18" the ride turned horrible, but when putting in the eibach it droped it 2.5cm and smoothed it out so much, I was really surprised.

Righto, wheel alignment will be on the cards then, I don't need any castor/camber kits as well?

I'm not worried about looks it was more just if that the car sits way too low with the 30mm drop on the 16" wheels that I'd have to go to 17" or something to bring it up a little but that doesn't seem to be the case (unless the diesel has the same springs as the petrol models hence is lower from factory?).

In Focus · 09-10-2011, 11:23 PM

I think you'll need the new links, Damo, judging from that photo. This is what they should look like to fit the Whiteline sway bar...

Also, you will also probably need a camber kit, but I just got some bolts for about $60 delivered from the UK.

ConradP · 10-10-2011, 12:01 AM

get some sweet positive camber going!

Franco Cozzo · 10-10-2011, 11:10 AM

Allright word is in from whiteline, they reckon just do the rear for now and see how I like it, to see how it effects the car then decide if I want the front later.

Russ is 100% on the money

Now, time to get me some springs and a 22m adjustable sway bar plus link kit and a camber kit.

DZFord · 10-10-2011, 12:12 PM

Damo, you also need Eibach part number E10-35-016-02-22

Whiteline also do the camber kit that you are after.

Franco Cozzo · 10-10-2011, 12:23 PM

Is it worth trying to source the springs here or from European-Parts? The whiteline stuff I'll try source from Justin at Tuff Car Parts here on the forum.

I couldn't sleep last night thinking about this stuff, too excited haha.

Looking at whitelines website it lists a "bump steer correction" "caster kit" and "camber kit", do I just need the camber or all 3?

Also did you guys go the adjustable heavy duty link kit or the normal one?

ConradP · 10-10-2011, 12:30 PM

Probably from europarts, or fordparts, only costs around $200 for the set with them.

DZFord · 10-10-2011, 12:31 PM

Definitely from european-parts or Ford Parts UK. There prices are so inflated here it is ridiculous.

Here is the camber kit: http://whiteline.com.au/product_deta..._number=KCA394

Franco Cozzo · 10-10-2011, 12:35 PM

I'm at TAFE this week, so its a week long of Facebook, Ford Forums and European Parts.

Just want to make sure everything is 100% before i shell out a few hundred bucks, don't want to end up with something wrong.

In Focus · 10-10-2011, 11:36 PM

So I swapped the Apollo for my original airbox with sawn off snorkel, and you guessed it, the car goes better. Obviously, if you can work out a way to insert the Apollo flexible hose into a cool air area, results would improve, but performance, especially torque, will definitely suffer if you use the "naked" Apollo in an LV.

The LV has a big airbox and accompanying filter, so you could do worse than dropping a K&N cylindrical filter in and calling it a day.

On a more positive note, a mid-decade-ish Falcon XR6 shot past me on the freeway, because I was going too slow (on the speed limit, ha ha). Anyway, we both used the same exit, and I happened to be behind him/her turning around a corner. To cut a long story short, without really pushing anything, I ended up making three car lengths around the bend and had to back off in case I ran up the Falcon's a**e. No doubt, Eibach springs and sway bar make an already top handling vehicle improve still further.

Franco Cozzo · 11-10-2011, 09:30 AM

So you reckon its not worth buying an aftermarket intake for these things and just modyfying the intake tube?

**DJM83** · 11-10-2011, 09:51 AM

Any chance we can get some shots of the lights on with the car facing a wall at night? Id be interested in seeing the light spread, i want to do something with my lights be it these or dig deep and buy some Euro ST lights.
Also you said the DRL's dont work? That doesnt bother me at all, infact if i were to get some i think id paint them black so you cant see them.
Was it a 'direct' replacement, ie pull the old one out and put new one in 'Plug and Play' kinda thing as i dont wanna chop up anything.

Turbodiesel · 11-10-2011, 10:22 AM

Where did you petrol boys run your Apollo intake pipe to? The only decent option I found was in the passenger wheel well. There's pretty much no way to face it forward in such a compacted engine bay.

Haven't sucked up any small dogs yet :P

In Focus · 11-10-2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

So you reckon its not worth buying an aftermarket intake for these things and just modyfying the intake tube?

I'm saying I couldn't find a way to get the tube past a whole lot of cabling and a big metal object, but it looks like Turbodiesel found a way on his. The set-up on the LV is different to the LS/LT in that you have a direct over-the-radiator intake, rather than, I believe, one that does a 180 from the bottom of the box then up and over the radiator. I'd imagine the gains would be measurable modding that LS/LT set-up.

I'd love someone to have a go at adapting the RS airbox, which looks almost exactly the same as the one in "ordinary" LV Foci. It might be even closer to the diesel box, because the intake has provision for a turbo intake as well as the air intake.

I'll be waiting to see what someone else comes up with, though I'm surprised there aren't many model-specific mods for this particular model, given it's sold so many in Europe. And it's not like all the ST/RS's going around need any more power.

DZFord · 11-10-2011, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbodiesel

Where did you petrol boys run your Apollo intake pipe to? The only decent option I found was in the passenger wheel well. There's pretty much no way to face it forward in such a compacted engine bay.

I've got mine in the same place

Franco Cozzo · 11-10-2011, 11:47 PM

So, there'll be a carbon fiber Code:RED TDCI intake, Eibach lowering springs and wait for it....

FRONT AND REAR RUBBER FOCUS FLOORMATS!

Arriving at work in the next few weeks.

Gentlemen, it has begun.

Something is a bit sus though, it reckons 16 Euros shipping for 18KG via DHL airmail premium for all that crap.

ConradP · 12-10-2011, 04:24 PM

Ok guys! Front strut is in, and I've put in the air hose to my Apollo again to test it out haven't driven it yet. So here's some pics of the install...

Forgot to take a starting photo, but here's the first things I had to remove:

The windscreen wipers were a pain because I don't have any pullys and didn't want to use any grips on them incase i crush or bend them, I ended up using the handle of something that had a nice soft rubber to it and wedged it under and pulled it up.

With all that gone the strut towers are exposed!

Next comes removing the old braces that are in place:

Now time to get the strut bar ready:

Now to position it, It's a tight fit so had to remove the battery cover for now.

Then just tighten it backup, I got a torque wrench and set it to 33nm as I've read is the recommended for these bolts:

Fitted the battery cover back, had to angle the brace up all the way and just got it in!

All the stuff I removed and put back, besides the 2 previous braces:

And finally a little bit of flair:

Next job I promised I'd get some shots of the room below my filter for In Focus, so here they are, and also where I've just not fitted the hose.

Seems I have a bit more space below mine than yours, there's a little gap all the cabling in mine seems to be bunched to the side of it.

And now where I've fed it to, it's in the passenger wheel spot as shown by others, it's wedged in there so hope it sticks.

And then a look from below to up to the apollo.

Russ · 12-10-2011, 04:41 PM

I hope you don't need to get the battery out in a hurry, it's gonna be a tight squeeze by the look of it

DZFord · 12-10-2011, 05:20 PM

Wow that's a serious strut bar. Thicker than I imagined.

Thanks for all the pics, it makes a nice DIY guide.

ConradP · 12-10-2011, 05:40 PM

It is kinda bigger than I was expecting, but don't know how big or small a big one is I've never fitted or fiddled with one before now.

And for those of you wondering, I did clean all the gunk out before refitting all the plastic crap.

Is it just me or are some of the pics not showing up? I think I may have gone over my usage for the month that could be the cause, I was checking to make sure they all worked as I was typing it out.

DZFord · 12-10-2011, 05:44 PM

All the pics are working for me.

Let us know how the first test drive goes

**DJM83** · 12-10-2011, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM83

Any chance we can get some shots of the lights on with the car facing a wall at night? Id be interested in seeing the light spread, i want to do something with my lights be it these or dig deep and buy some Euro ST lights.
Also you said the DRL's dont work? That doesnt bother me at all, infact if i were to get some i think id paint them black so you cant see them.
Was it a 'direct' replacement, ie pull the old one out and put new one in 'Plug and Play' kinda thing as i dont wanna chop up anything.

Dont forget me

Pics working fine for me