23.01.2009
What happens when you put our Focus ST260 Mountune together against a 300 bhp Graham Goode Racing Focus ST?
Well DR reader Vlad Ilyushchenko was kind enough to join us at Bruntingthorpe during our Hot Hatch shootout feature to find out. The 2-mile straight at Bruntingthorpe beckons and Chris Harris is our man in the Mountune ST..
Gentleman, start your engines..
Have a look at the video then let us know your thoughts.
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26 Comments
Adam
January 24, 2009I think a rolling start would have been better. I’m sure plenty of people watch the shootouts from gtboard.com (i think). They always do rolling starts, but they showed a recent video of a standing start to prove why, a CLK63 vs 599gtb, from memory up to 130mpg the CLK63 had the 599. That Mountune is still some piece of kit though.
Adam
January 24, 2009I think a rolling start would have been better. I’m sure plenty of people watch the shootouts from gtboard.com (i think). They always do rolling starts, but they showed a recent video of a standing start to prove why, a CLK63 vs 599gtb, from memory up to 130mpg the CLK63 had the 599. That Mountune is still some piece of kit though.
chris harris
January 24, 2009Vlad actually gets a better start in the first run, so that discounts any off-the-line irregularities. Agree that rolling starts do get rid of the human error, but they’re still not completely accurate. Equally, if a car has stunning traction from a standing start, that can be as useful in everyday driving as roll-on performance from 30mph, so I’d like to know about it. Having done at least 1500 miles in a 599 and a CLK63, I cannot see how on earth the Merc would be faster. Even a black edition CLK (which is a very fast car) would comprehensively nailed by the 599. I’ve run one side-by-side with a 997 GT2, and it was faster!!
Back to the point of this vid -that mountune kit is exceptional value!!
chris harris
January 24, 2009Vlad actually gets a better start in the first run, so that discounts any off-the-line irregularities. Agree that rolling starts do get rid of the human error, but they’re still not completely accurate. Equally, if a car has stunning traction from a standing start, that can be as useful in everyday driving as roll-on performance from 30mph, so I’d like to know about it. Having done at least 1500 miles in a 599 and a CLK63, I cannot see how on earth the Merc would be faster. Even a black edition CLK (which is a very fast car) would comprehensively nailed by the 599. I’ve run one side-by-side with a 997 GT2, and it was faster!!
Back to the point of this vid -that mountune kit is exceptional value!!
Kier
January 24, 2009I would be interesting to see how both of these perform against a car which has only been remapped. Steve asked me if I could make the group test but I have just sold my ST (Bluefin only) and hope to find the right CSL. I suppose the Mountune is similar (I’m trying to remember what the kit is, remap and intercooler?) to Bluefin on a cold day like that though.
I could have taken the bluefin off too and tested the two against ‘std’.
Last point, did the two STs have the same tyres? That would probably make more difference up to 60 odd than driver input?
Kier
January 24, 2009I would be interesting to see how both of these perform against a car which has only been remapped. Steve asked me if I could make the group test but I have just sold my ST (Bluefin only) and hope to find the right CSL. I suppose the Mountune is similar (I’m trying to remember what the kit is, remap and intercooler?) to Bluefin on a cold day like that though.
I could have taken the bluefin off too and tested the two against ‘std’.
Last point, did the two STs have the same tyres? That would probably make more difference up to 60 odd than driver input?
Adam
January 24, 2009No idea if this will work, but here it is
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l06ZydBy1UE&feature=channel_page
Otherwise just go to the m5boarddotcom page on youtube and i think it’s on the 2nd or 3rd page. Somebody is telling porkys (top movie btw!) about power outputs though with regards to the ST like you said.
Agree with Kier about how a plain vanilla remap would get on against the other two with the fettled engines. I just hope i don’t come against one of those mountune machines in my sti, even though i’ve supposedly a chunk of extra horses! My only concern is the mpg with the mountune kit, i’ve always thought the standard car was poor, as i’ve read most people seem to get 25mpg average.
Although my remapped sti gets better mpg than before, so maybe the mountune is the same. Good vid anyway Chris.
Adam
January 24, 2009No idea if this will work, but here it is
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l06ZydBy1UE&feature=channel_page
Otherwise just go to the m5boarddotcom page on youtube and i think it’s on the 2nd or 3rd page. Somebody is telling porkys (top movie btw!) about power outputs though with regards to the ST like you said.
Agree with Kier about how a plain vanilla remap would get on against the other two with the fettled engines. I just hope i don’t come against one of those mountune machines in my sti, even though i’ve supposedly a chunk of extra horses! My only concern is the mpg with the mountune kit, i’ve always thought the standard car was poor, as i’ve read most people seem to get 25mpg average.
Although my remapped sti gets better mpg than before, so maybe the mountune is the same. Good vid anyway Chris.
Mark McTavish
January 24, 2009Might be worth popping Richard’s Focus on a rolling road some day to get an indication of power/torque curves and get a visual representation of the engines performance?
Was there any significant differences between the face lift and pre-face lift cars…be it engine/transmission/suspension?
Looks like the Focus RS is going to be might despite 300bhp and FWD?
Mark McTavish
January 24, 2009Might be worth popping Richard’s Focus on a rolling road some day to get an indication of power/torque curves and get a visual representation of the engines performance?
Was there any significant differences between the face lift and pre-face lift cars…be it engine/transmission/suspension?
Looks like the Focus RS is going to be might despite 300bhp and FWD?
Steve
January 24, 2009@Kier:
Kier, our Mountune ST was on Dunlops IIRC but I can’t remember what tyres Vlad was running his ST on (perhaps Vlad will pop in and tell us, or we can take a look at the high-res images). Both cars were excellent but we were all surprised how well the Mountune ST260 acquitted itself.
This was my first experience of our ST since its fettling by Mountune and despite hearing Dickie singing its praises, I wasn’t expecting much. I ran the ST (as standard) when it first entered our long-term fleet and to be honest I wasn’t a fan. It felt heavy, understeered too easily and didn’t feel that quick for its claimed power output. The Mountune ST260 upgrade utterly transforms the Focus, I do not exaggerate when I say it feels initially ‘twice’ as powerful – it has the kind of effortless performance that allows you to despatch most things on the road without changing out of 6th gear, and yet far from ruining the Focus’ handling it actually brings new-found agility to the ST’s chassis allowing the driver to trim the line with the more eager throttle response.
In the cold damp conditions of recent weeks it was possible to break traction in 5th gear..
So, compared to a standard ST our ST260 was clearly quicker, but more importantly it was much more driveable and probably the most astonishing value of any conversion I’ve driven. We’re certainly looking forward to the forthcoming RS.
Steve
January 24, 2009@Kier:
Kier, our Mountune ST was on Dunlops IIRC but I can’t remember what tyres Vlad was running his ST on (perhaps Vlad will pop in and tell us, or we can take a look at the high-res images). Both cars were excellent but we were all surprised how well the Mountune ST260 acquitted itself.
This was my first experience of our ST since its fettling by Mountune and despite hearing Dickie singing its praises, I wasn’t expecting much. I ran the ST (as standard) when it first entered our long-term fleet and to be honest I wasn’t a fan. It felt heavy, understeered too easily and didn’t feel that quick for its claimed power output. The Mountune ST260 upgrade utterly transforms the Focus, I do not exaggerate when I say it feels initially ‘twice’ as powerful – it has the kind of effortless performance that allows you to despatch most things on the road without changing out of 6th gear, and yet far from ruining the Focus’ handling it actually brings new-found agility to the ST’s chassis allowing the driver to trim the line with the more eager throttle response.
In the cold damp conditions of recent weeks it was possible to break traction in 5th gear..
So, compared to a standard ST our ST260 was clearly quicker, but more importantly it was much more driveable and probably the most astonishing value of any conversion I’ve driven. We’re certainly looking forward to the forthcoming RS.
Steve
January 24, 2009@Mark McTavish: Mark, sadly our Focus ST has now returned back to Ford’s press fleet. We tried hard to keep it for longer, even going to the trouble of inventing this Hot Hatch group test, and despite making a strong case for holding on until we could swap it for a Focus RS… we lost the battle and they came and collected it last week.
I guess this is a testament to the appeal of a long-termer when you try and find reasons to keep it beyond term.
Steve
January 24, 2009@Mark McTavish: Mark, sadly our Focus ST has now returned back to Ford’s press fleet. We tried hard to keep it for longer, even going to the trouble of inventing this Hot Hatch group test, and despite making a strong case for holding on until we could swap it for a Focus RS… we lost the battle and they came and collected it last week.
I guess this is a testament to the appeal of a long-termer when you try and find reasons to keep it beyond term.
Kier
January 24, 2009@Steve:
A shame your ST has gone then, I’d agree with your comments Steve and if bored (or away so the wife driving it) I’d take the bluefin off. So much fun putting it back on and getting that feeling you describe, once again. I make the comment about the tyres as there was so much difference between Contisport2s and PS2s. However I’m reminded how good both are when driving my Mk1 Civic Type R with Dunlop Sportmaxxs; hopeless and it can’t all be because the ST’s suspension design is better/newer can it?
Considering you can buy a ’06 ST for between £8 and 10K, the RS at £27K-ish with options is looking expensive!
Kier
January 24, 2009@Steve:
A shame your ST has gone then, I’d agree with your comments Steve and if bored (or away so the wife driving it) I’d take the bluefin off. So much fun putting it back on and getting that feeling you describe, once again. I make the comment about the tyres as there was so much difference between Contisport2s and PS2s. However I’m reminded how good both are when driving my Mk1 Civic Type R with Dunlop Sportmaxxs; hopeless and it can’t all be because the ST’s suspension design is better/newer can it?
Considering you can buy a ’06 ST for between £8 and 10K, the RS at £27K-ish with options is looking expensive!
Steve
January 24, 2009@Kier:
Yep, £10k for an ’06 ST including Mountune conversion and you’d have a monstrously fun hot hatch for the same price as a Toyota iQ. No brainer really.
Steve
January 24, 2009@Kier:
Yep, £10k for an ’06 ST including Mountune conversion and you’d have a monstrously fun hot hatch for the same price as a Toyota iQ. No brainer really.
Steve
January 24, 2009@Adam:
Adam, I was averaging between 24 and 26 mpg in our Mountune ST260 which is at least as good as standard – there’s such an abundance of torque that the there’s no need for as much throttle.
Steve
January 24, 2009@Adam:
Adam, I was averaging between 24 and 26 mpg in our Mountune ST260 which is at least as good as standard – there’s such an abundance of torque that the there’s no need for as much throttle.
Kier
January 25, 2009@Steve:
You say that Steve!
However, you’re right; I was getting 23-24 mph with the Bluefin, which was about 1 mpg better than as std. What I didn’t like about the ST is that even if you tried really, really hard to improve the mpg you couldn’t get it up to 30-odd. Even my wife managed 27 mpg and she has a very soft right foot!
Still an excellent car, look forward to seeing the RS as my quandary was/is Mk2 RS or M3 CSL? New FWD, 300bhp, turbo or 2nd hand, RWD, 360bhp, NA??? Difficult to call…
Kier
January 25, 2009@Steve:
You say that Steve!
However, you’re right; I was getting 23-24 mph with the Bluefin, which was about 1 mpg better than as std. What I didn’t like about the ST is that even if you tried really, really hard to improve the mpg you couldn’t get it up to 30-odd. Even my wife managed 27 mpg and she has a very soft right foot!
Still an excellent car, look forward to seeing the RS as my quandary was/is Mk2 RS or M3 CSL? New FWD, 300bhp, turbo or 2nd hand, RWD, 360bhp, NA??? Difficult to call…
Richard - DR
January 27, 2009Glad the legend of our Focus ST lives on! I always liked the car, but Steve’s right when he says the Mountune kit transformed it. I’m really struggling to think of a more impressive uplift in pace and character that can be had for just £1100 + fitting.
To add some detail to some of the other bits of this thread, the tyres on ‘my’ car were Dunlop SportMaxx TTs. They had around 5000 miles on them, although they had also endured our Curborough shenanigans, so were less than fresh! That said I know that Vlad had mentioned his tyres were getting a bit thin before the test, although I can’t say whether he’d fitted new boots for the Bruntingthorpe session as I was sadly unable to attend.
It would have been fascinating to have a Bluefin car along to represent the effect of a remap only. The Mountune kit is a new map, bigger intercooler and a new map for the throttle (it is fly-by-wire). I think I’m correct in saying that only the Mountune kit does this as thanks to the official partnership with Ford, only they can mess with loud pedal.
Whatever, I think the drag race (and indeed our long term test as a whole) not only highlighted how good the Mountune kit is, but what a great and largely underrated car the ST is. I’d certainly underestimated its charms and I had no idea how much potential it has. If I’d spent longer with it I would have been sorely tempted to explore suspension and brake upgrades, while retaining the standard car’s look. Actually, I’d probably have done something similar to Vlad’s car.
Richard - DR
January 27, 2009Glad the legend of our Focus ST lives on! I always liked the car, but Steve’s right when he says the Mountune kit transformed it. I’m really struggling to think of a more impressive uplift in pace and character that can be had for just £1100 + fitting.
To add some detail to some of the other bits of this thread, the tyres on ‘my’ car were Dunlop SportMaxx TTs. They had around 5000 miles on them, although they had also endured our Curborough shenanigans, so were less than fresh! That said I know that Vlad had mentioned his tyres were getting a bit thin before the test, although I can’t say whether he’d fitted new boots for the Bruntingthorpe session as I was sadly unable to attend.
It would have been fascinating to have a Bluefin car along to represent the effect of a remap only. The Mountune kit is a new map, bigger intercooler and a new map for the throttle (it is fly-by-wire). I think I’m correct in saying that only the Mountune kit does this as thanks to the official partnership with Ford, only they can mess with loud pedal.
Whatever, I think the drag race (and indeed our long term test as a whole) not only highlighted how good the Mountune kit is, but what a great and largely underrated car the ST is. I’d certainly underestimated its charms and I had no idea how much potential it has. If I’d spent longer with it I would have been sorely tempted to explore suspension and brake upgrades, while retaining the standard car’s look. Actually, I’d probably have done something similar to Vlad’s car.
Mike Price
September 9, 2010Did this 260 upgrade have just the intercooler, panel filter and the ECU remap, or did it include the downpipe and the sports cat. Mountune sell these final two parts but i dont know if they would increase performance further?
Steve Davies
September 9, 2010Mike,
The Mountune kit contained a new engine and throttle maps, bigger intercooler and err… a Mountune sticker. Other than that it was standard. We chose not to opt for the performance exhaust – preferring to keep our Focus ST looking standard and to be quite honest I find that Fast Ford’s are better when served with some ‘subtelty’.
Vlad’s car had a 300bhp Graham Goode remap with some ancillary modifications to deal with the extra power- but no internal changes. The exhaust is 3in diameter all the way through. Suspension was the popular Bilstein PSS9 and it ran AP brakes. It sits about 30mm lower than the standard car and despite the big pipes doesn’t make too much noise (although it was noticeable louder than our standard piped car).
The idea was to see how much quicker Vlad’s 300bhp was than our Mountune-adjusted version with its claimed 260bhp, and as you can see from the video (Watch on SkiddPlayer) the Mountune 260 punched well above its weight.