Adding an intercooler and much, much more to the Lethal ST
By Steve Turner
When you think of Lethal Performance, you automatically think of mega-powered Mustangs built with parts right off the company’s shelves. But if you really pay attention, you know that Team Lethal loves to mod all sorts of performance Fords— from SVT Raptors to Focus STs—just like we do.
As we last checked in on Lethal Performance’s 2014 Focus ST project car it was putting down 260.01 horsepower and 361.31 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels on the Dynojet at Power by the Hour in Boynton Beach, Florida. In this next phase we take the project even further with a larger intercooler from Custom Performance Engineering.
“We’re definitely amazed at how well our fans have been into our ST project,†Lethal Performance’s Jared Rosen confessed. “There’s a lot more ST owners out there than we thought there were. Surprisingly a lot of them are Mustang customers of ours already that drive their STs daily.â€
When we last left Lethal Performance’s 2014 Focus ST project, known as Squirt, the car had picked up a substantial chunk of torque and power courtesy of Ford Racing’s FR1 Power Package. The combination of cold-air intake, cat-back exhaust, and performance calibration really altered the ST’s personality for the better.
Power by the Hour’s Harvey Hutch made quick work of removing the ST’s front fascia and freeing the factory intercooler.
Combined with the shorter more positive throws from the Ford Racing shifter, the increased engine performance really made the Lethal ST a little pocket rocket. However, that was just the beginning. The Lethal camp had bigger plans for the car, and the next phases started with a larger Custom Performance Engineering front-mount intercooler to tame the turbo discharge temps in the Florida heat.
“The intercooler upgrade from CP-E was a nice addition,†Jared said. “It’s a high-quality piece that fit great and sets the stage for what’s to come next.â€
The FMIC was just the headliner for this second phase. It continued at Power by the Hour with Eibach Pro Kit handling springs, a Cobb short-shift bracket, a JLT Performance oil separator, and a Turbosmart blow-off valve. Obviously all these parts improve aspects of the car, but the most apparent change this time was the improvement offered by the Eibach springs.
Any forced induction engine is vulnerable to heat soak and with the AGS restricting flow to a modestly sized factory intercooler, you can see why the Focus ST might fall prey to it. Quite simply the 28×8.25×5.5-inch CPE intercooler dwarfs the factory unit. The company says it offers minimal pressure drop, low-turbulence end tanks, and lower, more consistent air-charge temps.
“The car feels a lot more stable with the springs not only going straight but through turns as well,†he said. “Hopefully we can get this thing on the road course for a few laps soon. It’s just too fun to drive.â€
As you might imagine, this fast-paced project is just hitting its stride. There are still a number of mods in the offing, and if you keep checking the front page here at SVTP you can see how the rest of this project unfolds. It certainly sounds like Team Lethal has some exciting plans.
“We’ve got plans to test other tunes and exhaust systems as well as a few other bolt-ons such as a high-flow downpipe and upgraded engine mount,†Jared added. “Ultimately an upgraded turbo kit will be following that in the near future so stay tuned.â€
Next, Harvey divorced the ST’s Active Grille Shutters from the radiator by removing four clips, unplugging the harness, and sliding them down and out of the way. If you aren’t familiar with the AGS system it blocks off the grille at low temperatures to hasten engine warming and a highway speeds to reduce drag and improve fuel economy. It has to go to make way for the much larger CP-E intercooler (PN CPE-FFSTFMIC; $899).
Before mounting the CPE intercooler, Harvey installs the mounting brackets at the position prescribed by the detailed instructions.
He also swaps the manifold absolute pressure sensor from the factory intercooler to the CPE unit. This is a direct bolt-on proposition, unless you have a non-US Focus. In that case, CPE includes an adapter for the non-US MAPs.
With the help of Lethal Performance’s Jonas Cooper, Harvey slips the CPE intercooler onto the factory hangers. This shot makes it quite clear why you have to ditch the Active Grille Shutters. The CPE is simply huge.
Using his infamous “pink gun,†Harvey seals the factory intercooler tubing to the CPE unit using the new clamps supplied in the kit.
Upon completing the intercooler swap, he moved back underhood for the next piece of kit. Harvey started by removing the stock air box to reveal the shifter pivot mechanism.
You might recall that we installed a short-throw shifter in our first installment on the Lethal ST, but why not further hasten the shift throws. To do so, Lethal chose this Cobb 2013-2014 Ford Focus ST Short-Shift Plate (PN COBB-291315; $99). It simply bolts on over the factory pivot and offers and adjustable throw reduction from 30- to 40-percent shorter.
With the Cobb short-shift plate installed, Harvey popped the shift cables back on and reinstalled the stock airbox. He did leave off the factory air inlet tube, however, to make way for another mod.
Taking a break from the engine compartment, Harvey removed the passenger-side front wheel to get a peek at the factory turbo recirculation valve. If you increased boost, like Lethal did in Part 1 of this series, it can really stress the plastic factory valve. Moreover, forcing all the unused boost back into the turbo when the throttle closes cannot only slow down the impeller, it could damage it in extreme cases.
Lethal opted to add this O-ring-sealed, billet beauty from Turbosmart (PN TS-0203-1061; $170.99). It’s Dual-Port design sends half the unused boost back to the turbo and blows of the rest to the atmosphere, which makes that cool hissing sound. It’s a pretty simple install, just be sure to use a little thread locker on the three provided fasteners like Harvey did.
Remember that Harvey left the inlet tube off after reinstalling the air box? Well, he did so to leave access to the back of the engine so he could install JLT’s new oil separator for the Focus ST (JLT-JLTOSP-FST13-B; $119). Here Harvey swaps the stock breather hose connectors over to the hoses included in the JLT kit.
With the new hoses assembled, he installs them using the factory connectors while routing the open ends of the hoses to the passenger side.
Using a factory hole under the cowl, the JLT unit offers this slick mounting arrangement. Not only does it show off your separator, but also it is easy to access for servicing at oil-change time.
With the Lethal ST on the lift, Harvey swapped out the stock rear springs using a jack stand to unload them. He replaced them for Eibach Pro-Kit Performance Springs for the 2014 ST (PN EIB-35144.140; $290.79). The rears are a really simple remove and replace operation if you have the right tools, and they lower the back of the car by 1 inch.
Swapping the front springs is a bit more difficult, as you first have to separate the factory strut from the spindle. The trick here is to remove the bolt that clamps the spindle on the strut, slide a sturdy piece of metal in the gap, then reinstall the bolt and crank it down. This will allow you to slide the strut out of the spindle.
Using a spring compressor, Harvey swapped out the stock front springs in favor of the shorter Eibach Pro-Kit windings. They lower the front of your ST by .7-inch, but be certain you order the right springs. The 2013 and 2014 STs are fit with different front springs designs.
With the Eibachs installed on the factory struts, Harvey reinstalled the struts. You want to seat the struts into the spindles to the same depth they were before you removed them. Once the suspension is reassembled, you will need to have your ST aligned to ensure safe operation and proper tire wear.
Focus STs are sharp rides, but like most new Fords they ride a bit high as evidenced by this before shot.
Ah. That’s better. The Lethal ST is closer to the ground, and its handling is greatly improved.
While the weather conditions were not quite as good during our second day of testing, the Lethal ST still picked up modest peak gains of 9.44 horsepower and 8.49 lb-ft of torque. And, this is with the unaltered Ford Racing calibration.
As you can see from the lower resolution chart, even though the Lethal ST was down on boost a bit due to the weather, it still picked up some respectable gains in the midrange with the addition of the CPE intercooler.
I’m thinking about nabbing one of these cars for my dd and I’ll probably get the itch to do some of these same mods but I don’t want to destroy the fuel economy at the same time. Have you all done any mpg comparisons after doing these mods?
Also I’m thinking that swapping to a lighter set of wheels may help w/ mpg on this car along w/ the looks? Have you all thought about a wheel/tire swap yet?
I have heard that removing the Active Grille Shutters can negatively affect the economy. However, the biggest influence on the economy is your right foot. That 360-plus lb-ft of torque is so much fun…
I am sure Lethal is swapping wheels in the future.
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The CPE intercooler looks like a huge upgrade over stock.
It is huge.
I hope the Ecoboost Mustang has room for a big ’cooler upgrade like this.
I’m thinking about nabbing one of these cars for my dd and I’ll probably get the itch to do some of these same mods but I don’t want to destroy the fuel economy at the same time. Have you all done any mpg comparisons after doing these mods?
Also I’m thinking that swapping to a lighter set of wheels may help w/ mpg on this car along w/ the looks? Have you all thought about a wheel/tire swap yet?
I have heard that removing the Active Grille Shutters can negatively affect the economy. However, the biggest influence on the economy is your right foot. That 360-plus lb-ft of torque is so much fun…
I am sure Lethal is swapping wheels in the future.