OK, here is my deal.....<raises hand> I don't know shit about cars....Plain and Simple. As most of you know I currently have a 2001 Focus Sedan Street Edition -Automatic. I currently have 5Zigen Fireball exhaust, Focussport Cool Air Intake, and Foccussport 9mm Wires....I want more power....And have the money to get some Headers, and a chip for my car. Is this the right path to take, or should I take another route for modifying my car. Some of buddies are trying to talk me into getting a SVT Contour engine or a supercharger, but that is aways off.... I am looking for reliable headers....I have seen some on Ebay..Should I steer clear of those? I have also heard of people getting the check engine light on when they install Headers....but I was looking on Focusperformance.com, and they have a header cheater? Is that any good? As for the chip I am pretty set on the Diablo chip, I have seen and heard that most people that have there car chipped have that...is that correct? I am looking for the best option of what I can do, but at the same time looking not for the cheapest, but a way to keep it at a decent price? Anyone willing to do some charity work, and no I am not asking for someone to do work for me for free, just to teach me of what I should be looking for?...
As far as headers go, it sounds like you are looking into a race header that eliminates the catalytic converter. Eliminating that can give you a CEL, but a cheater will prevent that. An exhaust header that retains the catalytic converter shoudl not cause a CEL. A under drive pulley would be smart before a chip and since you have an automatic a chip would also be a good move to help out the computer with the shifting duties. As far as ebay goes, just knw what you are bidding on before you get suckered. Research and find what you feel is most benificial in your eyes and then look for that brand on ebay. That is what I do. BTW do you have an SPI or Zetec? I am not too familiar with the Sedans and what engines go with what.
Please keep in mind I think i know some stuff but i could be wrong. please if any one else konws i am wrong please post i want to know.
You want more power with bolt-ons. I would look at an underdrive pully set. Flex Pipe & headers, Chip.
As for headers if you want your car to be loud and I mean CRAZY LOUD!.
Look into a 4-2-1 header (four pipes to two pipes to one pipe)
This will give your car some more low end toqure but you will not have the top end HP of a 4-1 header(four pipes to one pipe). Now i dont know for sure but i would think the 4-2-1 would be better for an auto since you will not be running way up high in the rev range. (not street legal)
If you want your exhaust to get a little louder but nothing crazy loud.
Look into a header that dosent remove the cat. There are alot out there. + get a highflow cat from focus-centeral.com (plus this is street legal)
If you want to keep the same sound to your exhaust get just the header that dosent remove the cat.
I'd say do a catback first. U can get magnaflow catback for under $300 now. Or u can do the UDP which is one of the most popular mods and not that expensive.
If u want to buy from eBay, make sure it's not a cheap knock item with no brand name. Find something that are made by Focus Sport or Focus Central for example.
My advice (as limited as it is when it comes to headers) would concur with the above posts. One thing I will say though is if you're not mechanically inclined, don't even think about the SVT Contour Swap. Modern Performance (ZX3Tuning.com) has done this and they've said on several occasions that they'll never do it again. It's not cost effective and a pain in the ass. Their car is a badass, but there's a reason only 2 swaps exist.
It all depends how fast you want to go. Your first problem is the automatic tranny you have. At any respectable amount of horsepower it will slip/fail. If you really want to build your car, I would build that up first. Then I would skip all the bolt on's, and get a major power adder. N20/supercharger/turbo.
You could start with the EFP shift controller. It allows ten different settings to choose the firmness of your shift. I have one and my tires can cherp when its all the way up. Plus it's cheap($100) and they say it can make your auto last longer from less heat.
I don't know shit about cars....Plain and Simple. As most of you know I currently have a 2001 Focus Sedan Street Edition -Automatic. I currently have 5Zigen Fireball exhaust, Focussport Cool Air Intake, and Foccussport 9mm Wires....I want more power....And have the money to get some Headers, and a chip for my car. Is this the right path to take, or should I take another route for modifying my car. Some of buddies are trying to talk me into getting a SVT Contour engine or a supercharger, but that is aways off.... I am looking for reliable headers....I have seen some on Ebay..Should I steer clear of those? I have also heard of people getting the check engine light on when they install Headers....but I was looking on Focusperformance.com, and they have a header cheater? Is that any good? As for the chip I am pretty set on the Diablo chip, I have seen and heard that most people that have there car chipped have that...is that correct? I am looking for the best option of what I can do, but at the same time looking not for the cheapest, but a way to keep it at a decent price? Anyone willing to do some charity work, and no I am not asking for someone to do work for me for free, just to teach me of what I should be looking for?... 