Turning up the Heat
ID Motorsports tests SCT tuning and a Mountune CAI on Ford’s hot hatch
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of ID Motorsports
We are still waiting to steal some seat time in Ford’s 350-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Focus, but lucky owners are already out there enjoying them. Of course that means that industrious aftermarket types are already busy modifying them. Case in point is ID Motorsports, which recently acquired a new Focus RS project and jumped right into modding it.
Matt Alderman of ID Motorsports set out to create a custom calibration for Ford’s hottest hatch. He built a 93-octane calibration using SCT Performance Pro Racer software to see how much Ford left on the table with the stock configuration.
“First we had to get this little rocket into two-wheel-drive mode. That can be accomplished by unplugging the rear differential or pulling the ABS fuse,” Matt explained. “After getting out stock numbers we started to get to work. The control logic was very similar to the EcoBoost Mustang so we where able to use a lot of knowledge we learned from that platform and apply it to this platform.”
After confirming the results of the custom calibration delivered via an SCT X4 handheld tuner, Matt wanted to see how much could be gained by adding a freer-flowing cold-air intake without any other changes.
“We were very pleased for our starting results and wanted to couple a quality part to offer for an addition to the Stage 1 package. So we had already ordered up a Mountune CAI and slapped that on the car. We liked how easy and good fitting the Mountune CAI was to install,” Matt said. “Time to spin the rollers again and when they stopped we found the Mountune CAI got us some good results, especially under the curve.”
Watch the ID Motorsports-tuned Focus RS in action right here…
[video=youtube;iFfvmezihXo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFfvmezihXo[/video]
Just adding the Mountune cold air intake definitely picked up some power in the midrange, which shows it works without tuning tricks. However, the power that it appears to give up down low and up top (see chart below) can likely be restored with further calibration enhancements, which Matt is already working on.
“Now that we got the data we needed on the dyno it was time to hit the streets. What a difference. The RS pulled strong all the way to redline. We put it through its paces on the street to look for any adverse effects of our changes and were pleased to report that none where found and this calibration is ready for release,” Matt added.
Next up for the ID Motorsports Focus RS is a hotter 93-octane calibration. Then Matt will work on a Stage 2 package with revised tuning and a high-flow downpipe. It should be fun to see what kind of power this car puts down.
“We could not wait to test and tweak on our shop RS,” Matt Alderman, of ID Motorsports, enthused. “We have had such great results with the 2.3-liter Mustang so a similar motor in a little car how could you go wrong.”
Adding Matt’s custom SCT calibration to the Focus RS picked up power and torque throughout the rpm range. With no other changes, the addition of the Mountune cold-air intake added beefy midrange gains, but it needs further calibration work to maximize its potential down low and up high.
When possible we like to take a peek inside the numbers by scoping out a sampling of the data. As you can see, the ID Motorsports tuning really brings the Focus RS alive. Adding the Mountune cold-air intake with no other changes, shows that freeing up the inlet is worth some power. More custom tuning with the CAI in place should really wake up this combo.
