This 2011 BMW V8 M3 came to us to get some more power and to improve the external appearance. Here are the modifications we performed to this vehicle:
This 2008 BMW 335i with N54 Engine came to us to get a bit more performance. We succeeded in taking the car from 300hp to 430hp!! Here are the modifications we have performed to this vehicle:
Velocity Factor is very proud to present another great customer build. This time we have a 2012 VW GTI with significant modifications and improvements.
The main attraction of this car is the K04 upgraded turbo. In order to fully utilize this fantastic turbo, we had to install significant supporting mods. This included:
To maximize the performance of the K04 Upgraded Turbo Kit, We also installed a Snow Performance Methanol Injection System. This methanol injection kit features on-board LED warning and status lights. This helps let you know when the system is spraying and gives you a warning in case anything happens to go wrong.
Coupled with the professional tuning from Velocity Factor, all these power components took the car from the 200whp / 203 ft-lb that it had in stock trim to a whopping 405whp / 395 ft-lb!! In order to actually harness all this power, significant performance modifications were needed to the suspension and engine mounting systems. These are the components that we chose to upgrade the suspension system:
We finished off the build with some classy light weight OZ performance wheels.
All of these top-grade performance parts, coupled with professional tuning from Velocity Factor, combined to deliver a top-notch daily driver that has proven to run consistent 12-second times, trapping at 110mph on pump gas. Needless to say, the customer was ecstatic with the performance that his car now delivers.
If you would like to modify and improve your VW GTI or any other car, please give us a call. We are always happy to provide free advice and support. We are open Monday-Friday 10:00 – 6:00EST, and Saturday 11:00 – 4:00EST. Our number is 561-395-5700.
How to Properly Modify your Ford Focus ST for Performance and Reliability!
With the introduction of the Ford Focus ST to the U.S., comes a whole new platform for automotive enthusiasts to begin tuning. At Velocity Factor we have already had the opportunity to personally tune a few of these cars. This is a quick reference guide based on our experience with the Ford Focus ST and what we have seen so far with this platform.
From the factory, the Ford Focus ST delivers about 220 horsepower and 270 lb/ft of torque to the wheels. Continue reading this guide to see how you can improve on that with your car by implementing safe and reliable tuning options.
Steps for tuning the Focus ST in the right order.
Step 1: Intake System and ECU Tuning
If you are only going to do one mod, your best bet is to go with an engine tune. we recommend the Cobb Tuning AccessPort. The Cobb AccessPort provides the best value for your money, is safe and easy to install, and is able to grow with your build if you decide to add more performance components later.
The intake is another relatively simple modification that will allow your engine to flow better. This will improve your engine efficiency, increase power, and give a nice improvement in engine sound. We recommend the Cobb Tuning Intake for the Ford Focus ST.
The intake may be installed on its own, but in order to maximize the potential that the Cobb Intake can provide, we highly recommend getting the Cobb AccessPort Tuner as well. These will function very well together and optimize your car’s ECU to take full advantage of the extra airflow by tuning it with proper adjustments to the air / fuel ratio as well as tuning the timing / ignition system. Cobb Tuning products are engineered specifically to maximize the strengths within this platform and to improve upon the restrictions from the factory. The Cobb AccessPort and Cobb intake for the Ford Focus ST will provide a tangible performance increase and a solid platform that can be built on later if you decide you are looking to make more power.
A conservative estimate when performing these upgrades is 7% horsepower gain with a 25% percent improvement in torque. That equates to roughly 7-10 horsepower and roughly 40 lb/ft of torque over stock.
Installation time is about 2 hours for this step, including programming the ECU.
According to our experience this will bring your car up to around 230 HP and 310 lb/ft of torque.
Step 2: Upgrading the Engine Mount.
Once the car starts making some extra power, it is good to consider adding some stability to the motor mount setup by replacing the main engine mount with a more solid one. We recommend using the solution from Cobb Tuning for this as well, Specifically the Cobb Tuning Rear Motor Mount. This upgrade makes the whole car feel more stable and promotes a firm sense of the road. Furthermore, this is a crucial step in enhancing your car’s reliability. It will reduce wheel hop, engine slop, and wear and tear on the transmission.
Installation time is around a half hour with a lift and proper tools required.
Step 3: Intercooler and piping
Cold air is a major component that contributes to the overall performance of an engine, especially a turbo charged engine like the one on the 2013+ Ford Focus ST.
Simply put, the engine works to create power and torque by pumping air. It pumps this air by mixing it with fuel and combusting it. The more air that is pumped through the engine, the more power and torque is attained. The fundamental principal underlying all performance tuning is to increase power and torque by maximizing the amount of air that is passed through the engine. The turbo charger achieves this goal by basically being a compressor that pressurizes the air so that it can force more of it through the engine. The problem that arises with this is that the compressed air tends to heat up significantly. This not only reduces power and torque, but more importantly, can create a dangerous condition which can cause damage to the engine. In order to prevent this, steps must be taken to lower the temperature of the intake air. This will increase the engine’s performance, reliability, and longevity.
A great place to start achieving lower intake temperatures is with a larger aluminum core intercooler and upgraded piping. This will help reduce the temperature of the compressed intake air after it comes out of the turbocharger. For this application, we recommend the Cobb Tuning Front Mount Intercooler for the Ford Focus ST. This kit provides a replacement intercooler with a significant increase in size and thickness, as well as replacement piping using hard aluminum CNC bent tubing. The larger intercooler improves cooling with the increased surface area, reduces heat-soak by maximizing intercooler volume, and the hard pipes improve turbo spool by eliminating the expansion associated with using rubber tubes.
It is absolutely critical to remember that when upgrading the intercooler, the airflow is significantly improved. So much so that the stock engine tune is no longer able to keep up. We highly recommend that the intercooler is upgraded only in conjunction with a propper engine tune. The Cobb AccessPort for the Ford Focus ST is perfectly matched with the perfect engine calibration maps for this specific application.
Step 4: Exhaust System / Downpipe
Continuing with the theme of maximizing airflow, there is a good amount of performance that can be obtained through the use of performance exhaust components. The main source of restriction in the the stock exhaust system of a turbocharged engine is the downpipe. By replacing the restrictive stock downpipe with a part designed for high performance, significant improvements can be achieved. Not only is there an increase in power and torque, but throttle and turbo response are significantly improved as well.
In our experience, we have found the Cobb Tuning Downpipe for the Ford Focus ST to be very good. This is the part that we recommend for any high-performance build on the Ford Focus ST platform.
Just like with the upgraded intercooler, the stock engine tune will not be able to keep up with the increased airflow that the Cobb performance downpipe provides. When upgrading the downpipe, it is very important to also tune the engine to work with the increased airflow. The Cobb AccessPort for the Ford Focus ST is perfectly matched with the perfect engine calibration maps to take full advantage of the increase in air, while still maintaining safe and reliable engine conditions.
Step 5: MORE POWER!!!
By following our suggestions in the first 4 steps, depending on how aggressive you decide to go with the cars ECU tuning, 280-300 horsepower and 300-325 lb/ft of torque is a very close estimate of expected output for your Ford Focus ST.
For those who want more power above this, significant modifications are required to the stock drive-train components in order to safely produce more power. The stock clutch will not be capable of reliably handling more power and will need to be replaced. The stock turbo and fuel injectors will also have to be replaced in order to achieve more performance. This will require an aftermarket turbo manifold as well. Depending on how much fuel is being requested by the ECU, an aftermarket performance fuel pump may also be needed. The stock engine internals will need to be replaced with high-performance forged rods and pistons. Significantly more skill and experience and access to a dyno is also needed when tuning a car at this level. If you are not absolutely sure of your skills and do not have access to a dyno, we HIGHLY suggest you contact us before proceeding down this road.
Because this level of modification is so highly dependent on the individual setup, it is almost impossible to provide broad recommendations for specific components. The best recommendation that we can provide at this stage is to contact us, and we will be happy to help you plan your custom high-performance build.
All of the Ford Focus ST Performance Parts described in this article are available from our website. Velocity Factor is a Cobb Tuning Factory Authorized Dealer and largest stocking dealer in the Southeastern United States. We have all the parts in stock and ready to ship. We have the experience and professionally trained staff to make sure that your car is treated right. For anyone in the South Florida region, we have a professional installation and tuning facility available to provide quality professional installation to our customers. When working within our guidelines and using the parts described in this guide, we stand behind our work and the products 100%.
Whatever your level of interest is, whether you are looking to do a complete custom build, or just looking for a little bit of performance increase, we are always happy to provide free advice and support. Feel free to call us Monday through Friday 10:00am – 6:00pm EST and Saturday 11:00am – 4:00pm EST. Our phone number is 561-395-5700.
This guide was compiled and written by Adam Aftab and Art Rozenabum at Velocity Factor.
By: Adam Aftab at Velocity Factor Performance
Turbochargers are a great place to begin making power.
When a car comes from the factory with a stock forced induction system (turbocharger/supercharger) the first and most logical place to start making more horsepower is by adding more boost to the turbo/supercharger. With a turbocharger this can be accomplished very simply by allowing the turbo to spool to a higher boost level before regulating its peak pressure (PSI).
The ECU on most modern cars is the way to control the boost on the turbocharger. By adding more air with this simple rule (air+fuel=horsepower) you need to compensate for that extra air-flow with a correlating amount of extra fuel. When this is done properly it is called a “tune”.
Companies like APR and REVO spend countless hours testing different parts in almost every combination on the cars that they tune deciphering proper maps that become the foundation for other cars to set their baseline tunes off of. It works on the principle that if car A comes from the factory the same as car B they will have similar needs and therefore can use the same maps to start adding more air and fuel, thus making horsepower gains.
The VW / AUDI 2.0T FSI: Strong motors with some minor issues.
The 2.0t VW / Audi class of motors are great powerplants and have a great deal of potential for making extra power over their factory numbers.
The FSI Motors are strong motors that hold up very well to modification. There are couple of issues to be a aware of before getting in to modding these cars. Nothing major, just a few things to keep in mind. A quick way to see which motor you have without knowing the year is by taking a look under the hood. The engine cover on the FSI’s contain the air filter inside, towards the top of the motor above the turbocharger assembly. On these models the intake filter is actually built right in to the engine cover, whereas on the TSI it is more traditionally placed right next to the motor on the drivers side. Now back to the issues at hand with the FSI motors.
First, you want to be very aware of the mechanically driven fuel pump. What can happen is after the cam follower begins to wear it makes contact, thus causing damage to the camshaft. This can be a major issue if you don’t maintain the car properly. The best thing to do is to check the fuel pump regularly and make sure that the cam follower is not being worn away. Below are some pictures of the buckets at various stages of wear, starting from the left is new going to completely broken on the right. If it needs replacing, replace the bucket accordingly.
This is what can happen to the Camshafts if you let this go too long….
A complete fuel pump upgrade is recommended when you go to stage 2+.
Another one of the problems that these motors have is with the PCV valve circulating soiled air back through the intake, causing an excess of build up of oil to the intake manifold. This can be diagnosed with a simple check. Remove the oil cap and start the motor, and check the PCV valve that way. The best way to address this issue is by adding an oil catch can. This simple fix is inexpensive and extremely affective.
The way these Catch Cans work is by providing a reservoir can to catch the oil before it has the chance to recirculate. These cans have a glass monitoring window to see how much oil is building up in the reservoir, so you can keep an eye on the level of buildup inside of the can. This excess oil can be replaced back into your engine or drained and replaced with new engine oil accordingly, which we recommend.
Modding a VW 2.0t to maintain reliability and gain Horsepower
A great jumping off point (with almost every turbo car) is the Intake / Exhaust / ECU flash / Turbocharger Air Circulation system / Intercooler combination.
To optimize a turbocharged car for peak performance, you want to get the best combination of air temperature / and air flow. These conflict when the turbocharger starts over-boosting. At a certain point, a turbocharger begins outputting only extremely hot air. Hot air is less dense and contains less amounts of pure Oxygen then cold air contains, and oxygen is what is needed to combust, therefore creating the motion that powers your engine, through to your transmission and eventually straight through to your wheels.
So what all this means is that you simply don’t want to push a small turbo to the point where it is only outputting hot air that will flood your engine with polluted sparsely populated air that contains little oxygen. This is a recipe for detonation. Detonation occurs when there is the air/fuel ratio is not properly matched and the engine “pings” or “knocks” from an improper combustion in one or more of your combustion chambers.
Choosing the right tune: Set the Stage for the future of your cars performance.
APR: One company for all your performance needs, Step by Step…
When going with a tune for your car it is important to consider all the information in the prefix of this guide, in conjunction with your goals for your cars performance. APR is a great solution if you are looking for a one stop shop to upgrade your car in preset, well thought out, pre-determined manner. APR manufactures parts but more than that what they do is combine these parts into Staged kits.
Their most extreme Stage 3+ kit for example, includes everything needed to make 450+ HP out of the TSI 2.0t motor. It combines an upgraded Turbocharger / Intercooler / Intake / Exhaust / Downpipe / Ignition Coils / Fuel Pump / Turbo Lines and Hoses, etc. and all other components necessary to produce and compensate for this kind of power. You can also go as simple as a stage 1 setup consisting of nothing more than an ECU Flash and an Air Filter.
You can go right up to any stage at any time, or progress your way up the ladder through stages 1-2-3 progressively with each set of parts from each stage forward compatible with the next stage. This helps to finance the cost of the upgrades over time and maximize the parts you have at any given time to have the car running its best with the parts you have installed tuned correctly to run together cohesively.
If you have any questions email me at adam@velocityfactor.net or give us a call, 561-395-5700 We are located in Boca Raton, Florida by FAU and right in the heart of downtown Boca, across from Mizner Park.
Velocity Factor is a Cobb Tuning Factory Authorized Dealer.
Beginning March 17 and extending through the end of March, we are having a sale on all Cobb Tuning Products.
We are authorized to offer savings of 10% off the entire line of Cobb products.
Come check out the Cobb Tuning section of our site to see get yours today!!
In addition to the BMW 335i build that we recently completed, we have also been working on this great stage-3 MazdaSpeed3 project.
Here is what we installed onto this car:
At Velocity Factor we have developed a great deal of experience with the MazdaSpeed 3 platform. For more information on MazdaSpeed modifications, be sure to check out our MazdaSpeed3 Performance Guide.
If you are interested in improving the performance of your own car, be sure to call us up. We are always happy do provide free advice and support. Our hours we Monday-Friday 10:00am – 6:00pm EST, and Saturday 12:00pm – 4:00pm EST. Our shop number is 561-395-5700.
Velocity Factor is very proud to present this extensive 2007 BMW 335i build that we recently finished.
The car came to us with numerous problems and check engine lights. The first thing we did was fix all the existing problems, clear all the lights, and made absolutely sure that the car was in tip-top running order.
After that we performed some much needed routine maintenance. We replaced the spark plugs, coils, fuel pump, and cleaned out carbon buildup from the intake manifold and head.
Once all of that work was done, the car was ready for more power. Here is the extensive list of components that we installed:
In addition, we also installed a high-performance fail-safe methanol injection system. The methanol fail-safe system works in conjunction with the on-the-fly map switching feature of the Vishnu ECU. If there is ever a problem which causes the methanol system to fail, the Vishnu ECU will automatically switch to a safe map. With this system and our custom tuning, it is practically impossible for the engine to get damaged, even if the methanol system completely fails. Some added features of the methanol system include a custom high-capacity 5 gallon methanol tank, low methanol warning LED, and an LED that indicates whenever the methanol system is injecting.
To monitor boost and make sure that the car is running optimaly, we installed the P3-Cars Boost Gauge. It allows you to connect with your car in an entirely new way. Sporting features available in products three times the price, this is a swiss army knife of performance data, with design and integration that won’t spoil the clean lines of the interior. This gauge is specifically designed to support the BMW 3 Series platforms with n54 or n55 engines, and for Supercharged M3′s!
Fresh and cleanly installed at Velocity Factor and this is by far the most classy looking multifunctional boost gauge we have ever come across. If you’re looking for class and style this the best gauge for the money!
To help maintain control over the massive increase in power we also upgraded the suspension and brakes. We installed H&R Sport Springs paired with High Performance Bilstein Shocks, and “Yellow Box” Hawk Ceramic Brake Pads. In the near future, we also plan to upgrade the brakes further with a high performance Big Brake Kit. Stay tuned to the blog and our Facebook for more updates with this awesome build.
To top off the build, we added a subtle and classy appearance improvement by custom painting the brake calipers Blue. This looks very nice with the 19″ Stance Concave wheels, wrapped in Falken 452 Tires.
With all of these high performance mods and Custom Tuning by Velocity Factor, the car now delivers 520HP at 20 lbs of boost. The car is an extremely reliable daily driver, and runs solid with no check engine lights or problems of any kind. We are extremely proud of this build and would also like to extend our gratitude to Robert and Shiv from Vishnu for their support and participation.
If you would like to modify and improve your BMW 335i or any other car, please give us a call. We are always happy to provide free advice and support. We are open Monday-Friday 10:00 – 6:00EST, and Saturday 11:00 – 4:00EST. Our number is 561-395-5700.
Velocity Factor is proud to announce that we recently made a heavy investment in new APR tuning equipment. We are now able to flash just about all Audi and Volkswagen cars. This includes Audi S5, Audi S4, Audi A6, VW CC, VW GTI, and VW GLI.
If you or anyone you know have an Audi or VW car, please get in touch with us. We specialize in making your great car even better and faster!!
Our number is 561-395-5700. We are open Monday-Friday 10:00-6:00EST, and Saturday 12:00-4:00EST. You can also check out the great products we have on our website as well, www.VelocityFactor.net
This is a very nicely modified Hyundai Genesis 2.0T Coupe.
We installed a new ACT Street Performance clutch on it to better handle the added power from the other mods.
