Turbosmart Blow Off Valve Kompact Shortie Dual Port Focus ST 2013-2018/EcoBoost 3.5L F-150 2011-2012

Ford's EcoBoost engine line has been a huge hit with rumors OF the 2015 Mustang getting the EcoBoost option, turbo power appears here to stay. One of the reasons turbos are so popular is that it's easy to turn the boost up and make more horsepower. When doing so, there are other modifications you'll want to make to protect the longevity of your engine.

The owner of our Focus ST has plans to turn the boost up in the future, so today we're going to remove his factory bypass valve and replace it with this dual port blow off valve from Turbosmart. A bypass valve and a blow off valve accomplish the same thing, but they do it in two different ways. When you are under boost and you close the throttle body, you're going to have pressure between the turbo and the throttle body itself. That pressure has to go somewhere because if not, it goes back into your turbo which slows the compressor wheel down and damages your turbo.

The factory set-up uses a bypass valve and what that does is when you close the throttle body, it takes the air and recirculates it back into your inlet track after your mass air sensor. What a blow off does is the exact same thing, but instead of recirculating it, it simply vents into the atmosphere and gives it that turbo sound that most people are familiar with.

The unit from Turbosmart is the best of both worlds. It's a 50/50 dual port bypass. What it does is 50% of the air is recirculated back into your inlet track, the other 50% is vented to the atmosphere. Many people argue over the benefits of bypass versus blow off. The Turbosmart gives you the best of both worlds.

Another nice feature of the Turbosmart blow off valve is the adjustability. You can actually turn the whole mechanism to make the spring either harder or softer, allowing to compensate for higher or lower boost pressure, but also to compensate for elevation change.

For this installation, you need a jack and jack stands or lift; 3/8 ratchet; extension; 5mm Allen socket or Allen key; 13mm deep socket; needle nose pliers; and a flashlight.

A factory bypass valve is located on the passenger side of the engine kind of behind the wheel. First thing you want to do is get your car up in the air and pull off your wheel. The factory bypass valve is pretty far in so it's kind of tough to see with the camera. We're going to show you the basics of what we're going to do. There's three 5mm bolts here. They hold the base in. You can simply remove the vacuum line off the top to remove your factory bypass valve.

Now we'll use needle nose pliers to disconnect the vacuum line. Remove our stock bypass. Here you can see the stock bypass versus the Turbosmart. Obviously, there's a huge difference in the quality and construction between these two. You'll also notice that the vacuum fitting comes straight up on the factory piece versus at an angle on the Turbosmart.

Turbosmarts give you both versions, both the straight and a right angle. We're going to swap out for the straight making installation a little bit easier, and we're ready to install. I want to install a dab of Loctite on each bolt before putting them in. I'm going to reinstall our wheel and our installation is finished. We'll start by trying it out with no load. Now we'll give it a ride.

While it's not really a necessary modification for a stock Focus, if you're planning on adding boost or simply want the sound of a blow-off valve, you can't go wrong with a Turbosmart. Installation should only take you around an hour. You'll be back on the road in no time.