Duece McCracken

I come from 6 years(still going)heavily involved in the Focus ST platform. The Motocraft 96r battery produced from 2013 on is the worst battery I have ever dealt with. It is OEM for the Focus ST, RS, and others. Literally known as a 2-3 year tops battery. For some reason, My Edge went through 2 Motocraft batteries before i bought it. As I have the documentation of it. So with my personal experiences, and working on the ford Focus line, I do not use Motorcraft batteries. Nothing wrong with charging system, belts, alternator output great, ford dropped the ball with painted grounds, but even cars with them freshend up. Just way too much premature failure. I'm talking like standard operating procedure to ditch the Motorcraft. Granted, their entire lineup may not be terrible, but I'm not rolling the dice with them anymore for any vehicle.

Never said it was impressive, lol! Just liked what the company had to offer, and decided to buy their batteries. I got burned by interstates a couple times, then didnt want a optima or odyssey again, so i went this route. Yeah i only have like 3 years on one of them, vehicles are too new to have gone through more than one battery, so time will tell. The motorcraft batteries were straight trash though, that's something that is heavily documented. 2 years out of a battery was pretty common from Ford. The Northstar beat that, so I'm fine with it. 100 percent though, you can get a good battery way cheaper. I didn't mind the spending the money, so here we are.

No worries on the Q's, mate. Sounds like its a good time to pull the OEM and get some measurements. Well, actually, you can just measure off the OEM, just be careful of the terminals, lmfao! No need to practice welding with a tape measure. I'm trying to remember where I got the information to upsize. Whether is was a f150/Expedition forum or not. Let me give it a googles and see if it jogs my memory. Well I cross referenced the battery tray, and It's only in the edge, but based on engine and accessories the battery size changes within the model. Sorry I dont have much more information. A few measurements should sort you out though. Theres actually three battery tie down locations, but im not sure if the most forward one is usable. Just something to double check/keep in mind as you get adventurous. Please keep me in the loop on what you come up with. Would be beneficial to all of us.

I actually buy these Northstars off amazon, i think its hilarious to get free shipping on a car battery, lmfao!!! its a heavy, AGM almost Pure lead battery, that I run in two vehicles currently, the other one I have had for 2 or three years with no issues.

The battery tray actually has additional holes to move the bracket forward to accommodate a larger battery. This is probably due to this same battery tray being used in other models. So it was just threading in the battery hold down in a hole closer to the front of the vehicle. Not a big deal at all, thankfully.

The 2.0 is a dream to work on though. I always told myself to never buy a transverse V-6, especially not AWD, and definitely not turbo'ed. Now look at me, smh. Yeah tuning ftw!! Then the 2.3 stroker swap, and the GTX 30 series, and next thing you know you have a gutted edge on slicks with 650whp, lmfao!!

Lmao, you know me. I can't leave anything stock. I just wanted something a bit more comfy for DD, save the focus for times when I want to go fast. The Edge is getting all the attention right now, the Focus is getting jealous for sure. All I have left on the focus is the biggest mods, I like the easy victories with the Edge. Lol!

Probably one of the easiest installs ever, thankfully. Use an impact gun to blitz off the rear 21mm bolt, then a breaker bar to crack the 15mm bolt. Finished it off with a ratcheting wrench, and fiddled it out over the exhaust. Idk why, but CPE uses two aluminum spacers with the rear portion of the rmm. Which is a little annoying to slide into place. You'd think that just making the insert longer would suffice. They must have their reasons though. Front bolt installs opposite side as OEM, which makes life a bit easier. I did not remove my belly pan for this job. Wasnt a big deal, but this is where it affects you. NVH are there at idle, excited to break it in to mitigate that. Firmer shifting, less front end lift, less acceleration delay, front end just feels tighter, All things I expected. As always, an excellent product from CP-e. One of the few Fusion Sport/MKZ parts that fits the Edge Sport.

UP FMIC and Ramfab Cold side charge pipe install. Not a lot of info on here anymore about this. Apparently all the old pics got taken down or something. So I just had to kind of wing it without knowing the interferences and what not. Ramfab pipe is in Brembo Burnt Orange, and is pretty close to Electric spice metallic!! He did an awesome job for me, and it's a big upgrade over the stock pipe. Had to modify the lower rad support/cross member, probably should have cut into it and ditched that whole lip, but I got it all to work by removing the plastic overmold on the cross member. Just pried it all off and painted over it. Pull the headlights to get to the fender bolts that keep the front fascia to the fenders. Screw the AGS. The air dam/under cowl lil guy up front, had to cut the big nubbins off it, and then came back and cut the little nubbins on the inside left and right of the FMIC. I'll get some pics when I drop the front end again. I used my rad hose tools to break the seals on the OEM charge piping, easy peasy. My lower grill covers a good chunk of the FMIC, so I bought the wrong ebay one, then I bought the right ebay one, lmao. So I have to throw that on at some point. It's going to be a PITA, those factory clips are tough to work with. May have to use the heat gun some to coerce them. Installing the coldside pipe took some careful maneuvering, and took a bit to get all lined up and mostly in the couplings, had to get the lower rad support back in and all buttoned up before I could tighten the clamps. Missing pics of the 1000cc AEM meth nozzle and check valve installed, hid the pump in the bumper crossmember by the windshield washer tank. Tapping that to feed the system. I have yet to wire it all up. Have some cool electrical stuff to incorporate into this system too. Which will be cool. I still havn't pulled any datalogs yet. I should to try and see if theres a boost leak. Im peaking like 21.5 ish psi depending on conditions, so it can't be huge if it's there. I am not tuned for the FMIC and Charge pipe. Waiting to finish up the Wmi before I get torrie involved more.

Yep, spark plugs. Switched to NGK Ruthbenium plugs. Stock heat range. I gapped them to .026" iirc, whatever Torrie suggested me to. Well, there wasnt a lot of great advice on doing the plugs on this. People were saying to pull the intake off the rear turbo to get access, and thats not in the cards for me just for plugs. I figured there would be enough play to get it to flex out of my way. I very very carefully started to pull it over, lifting it over obstacles slightly. Yep, as I hoped, I got enough clearance to do the rear spark plugs. My train of thought was that there was three outcomes to this move. First was I snap the hard piping and screw myself. Second was the pipe pops off the turbo. Third was that I get enough flex to do my job. Of course option three was the most desirable. I tied the tube to the Coolant resi with some 550 cord, was able to do all the rears with it in this position. Fronts of course are crazy simple to do.

The Edge sat on the dealer lot for like a year. Rotor got pretty rusty, and I hoped just driving it would knock it all off. Well, it had some issues, pedal vibration and what not. So I said screw it and picked up the Powerstop Z23 Street kit from rock auto. Not a whole lot of performance pad/rotor options for the edge. Overall, after some fun bedding them in, they are a solid upgrade over OEM. Much better braking. With the recent recall that just popped up for the front brake soft lines, I ordered some Goodrich SS brake lines, and Im going to swap all 4 of them, and switch to Wilwood EXP fluid. Should tighten up the brakes a wee bit.

Plastic Oil pan, geez FORD. POS drain plug, double geez ford. SO I went with the Ronin drain plug set-up. Easy install.

Had to ditch the halogen bulbs. These OEM projectors work really well with the VLEDs bulbs. I aimed them all up, and this is where she sits. Great lighting. I really need to do the high beams too.

Ugh, SCT products. I was really spoiled with an Accessport on my FoST. SCT devices are leagues behind. Wish the edge sport would have taken off more for Cobb support, heck for any real aftermarket at all, lmfao!!! Torrie of course is great, super experienced, and has always been my top choice for SCT tuning. Sitting on his regular 93oct map right now. Night and day difference, as all tuning is on factory forced induction cars.

OEM puddle lights were kinda lacking. Had to fix that. BROKE A TAB!!! Ugh, so I bought another OEM assembly, lol Use some JB weld for plastic, and glued them back together with new bulbs. The OEM puddle lights are non serviceable, you just swap out the entire unit. Go figure. I'm trying to find my after pics, I will throw them in later.

Battery sat for too long, so I swapped it out for this beast. Upsized, and much nicer. Sanded and Penetroxed all the grounds I could find as well. Ford paints the contact patches, so hitting it with a whizz wheel to clean them up helps that juice flow for sure.

Had to pull that POS front license plate bracket off, lol. Also full Weathertech mats. Gotta protect the carpet.

This is my build thread for this 2015 Edge Sport AWD. That beautiful Electric Spice Metallic paint, that my GF hates. I have a Focus ST as well, that has a few mods. That build is over on focusst .org UPDATED 11-30-2020 Installed parts UP FMIC Ramfab Cold side charge pipe with Meth bung CP-e RMM KN drop in filter SCT BDX tuner from Torrie at Unleashed Weathertech mats all way Vleds Micro Extreme LED headlights Vleds festoon LED for the puddle lights AEM wmi kit half installed, lol Powerstop evolution pads and rotors, drilled, slotted Ronin Oil Drain Plug setup GFB DV+ Boomba BPV spacer Fast wheel FC04 20x9.5 et35 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4's 275-40-R20 Goodrich SS lines 4 corners G2 caliper paint. Drawing board Finishing the wmi install More tuning

Well, looks like I'm going SS braided and swapping fluid then. Time to dust off the Power Motive bleeder.

It's not bad. I ended up straightening the fmic out, by loosening the mounting bolts, and very gently using a jack to apply a tiny bit of upwards pressure then I tightened it down. Also cut out the extra lil nubs from undertray/airdam piece that were hitting the fmic. It fits much better now. I have the ebay lower grill, just been real lazy and havent installed it or wired up the meth yet. If you run into any issues or q's shoot me a message and I'll try to help you out.

An actual improved airbox assembly is what I'd be looking for. Not just an Airbox delete, open cone filters and some rigged heat shield for 400 bucks claiming to be a performance upgrade. I'm well aware that nobody wants anything to do with actually replacing the piping to the turbo inlets, the large increase in cost, and the fact that this is a platform no manufacturer really wants to waste their time with. Theres only a handful of people who mod, and there wouldn't be nearly enough sales to justify anything that requires extensive design or manufacture. Granted intakes are usually the most purchased mod for any platform. These soccer mom grocery getters don't really pull in huge aftermarket enthusiasm. I'm not looking for a miracle, and I pay to play, just hope if there is a product design it is actually beneficial.

It would be nice to actually have an aftermarket intake. I hope AFE doesn't just use a heatshield and 2 open filters though. Fingers crossed.

Well, I installed it with a UP FMIC, and only took it out real quick to try and blow the charge pipes on the highway. Im too lazy to build and run a boost leak tester for the twin setup. Immediately noticed better throttle response. Charge pipes held, boosting mid 22 psi iirc on a 93 unleashed tune using a BDX device. I am not on an updated tune for the fmic and charge pipe yet. Going to re-tune when im done installing the water meth. Overall, there is jack shit for aftermarket with this platform. So if you want gains there is a pretty well laid out stategy with not many variables. This cold side pipe is definitely an upgrade in the fliw department, but should be coupled with an aftermarket fmic for better overall performance. Mixing it with a bigger throttle body would help too, but for the 500 bucks BBK wants you could just run water meth. Being a direct injected ecoboost motor, there is carbon fouling on the intake valves that leads to issues. Wmi cleans them nicely. The other option is walnut blasting/manual scrubbing. So running water methanol injection helps all over the place. Which the Ram Fab has an option for a meth bung. Wins all way round.

Pulling the front fascia/bumper via the ford manual wasn't the best. It has you pulling the tires, and half pulling the wheel well liners to get to the 3 bolts on each side that hold the bumper on. Screw that noise. Pull the headlights and get them from above. Removing the stock FMIC was a PITA. I dropped the lower rad support, disconnected the Cold and Hotside charge pipes. The did a pry wiggle to pop off the FMIC mounting Hooks off the rad. Thankfully the UP FMIC does not use the same setup, lol. Big size difference. Not as big as the 5.5" core on my Focus ST though, lmao! Had to shim out the TMAP sensor. If installed normally, the O-ring overshot the flange and did not seal at all. If this becomes problematic aka boost leak, then I will have to re-address it. The O ring is sealing tight now. Hopefully it stays that way. These parts hit, took the angle grinder to them, then cleaned them up with a razor knife. I need to do the same to the closest inside dimple on both sides. The front air damn piece has some curvature to it, and those hit as well. Pried off the front overhanging plastic due to it hitting on the radiator lower support cross member. Hit it with some paint afterwards. Rust and all. Re-used the factory hose clamp assemblies, and torqued the crap out of them. You have to push the FMIC as far to the passenger side as possible to get enough clearance to get the cold side hooked up. It took me awhile to get my Ramfab pipe installed. It fits very precisely, once I got it all aligned, it was fantastic. Removed all the AGS shutters, screw that system. Known point of failure on the Focus ST platform, failing closed is no bueno. I still have the motor installed/plugged in, and kept the shrowding for mounting/airflow reasons. Its a lot of FMIC for that space, and the OEM lower grill covers a large portion. I have a more open lower grill arriving via Ebay next week. I'll do before and after pics. I also need to loosen the fmic mounting bolts, and push up on the unit to level it out and possible buy me a little better fitment, not that there's a lot of vertical play in the mounting slots. Going to have to pull the front end again to finish the AEM water meth setup, but right now she rips. Throttle response is better despite having a larger FMIC, that Ramfab pipe really helps. Im on a Unleashed 93 base ish map. Excited to get tuned for the FMIC, coldside, and of course the water meth!!!

Just installed my ramfab pipe and UP fmic. It's Brembo burnt Orange iirc, comes pretty close to Electric Spice metallic. Fantastic piece. Great guy to deal with!