Ford Focus Rs mk3

Discussion in 'Other Automotive Brands' started by kentbloke, Sep 28, 2015.

  1. R26

    R26

  2. This sure is an interesting option:

    For technical reasons or because of noise regulations?
     
  3. A Mountune power upgrade not endorsed by Ford.........
     
  4. The track mode won't be needed for R26, so that's OK. It's the armchair experts who seem to track their car the most.
     
  5. As Mountune have only been allowed to produce a Ford backed and very unimpressive extra 29 lb ft tuning package, and that's also only in the limited over boost function, it confirms the standard drivetrain is on its limits and the serious weak point.
     
  6. There was one at Spa 2 weeks ago - the guy got an engine limp mode quite quickly but that went away when cooled down.
    He still cooked his pads and chewed the outer edges the tyres. He wasn't happy.
     
  7. Mountune look to have identified the open diff as an issue and are now offering a quaife diff alongside the other drivetrain modifications. I suspect once you add all the updates maybe there is some big increases in power to come.

    I'd say to see 400 plus bhp safely might be the thick end of 5k
     
  8. R26

    R26

    Smashed


    "Good day, good conditions" shame.
     
  9. Seen my first one other day in blue parked near some shops and all I can say really is

    It stuck out like a sore thumb, great colour and sounded good when he shot off
    I thought it looked like the focus st before I saw it but after seeing it in the flesh it certainly doesn't.
    Still rather have my evoque though this is a keeper
     
  10. So the focus

    - has a bad ride on the road
    - jumpy clutch
    - terrible turning circle
    - let down by its interior
    - marmite exterior
    - golf is the best to live with on the road
    - Honda best on the track

    But the focus 'smashed' it - alright mate!
     
    Just-that-ek likes this.
  11. NJH

    NJH

    TBF he was likely only referring to the drag race where it did indeed smash the other two. The big surprise in that being the Honda overhauling the 4wd Golf whose start line advantage was only small.

    IMHO that Brummie fella is about the best car reviewer on net, it was a really well wounded review of the 3 cars. For me personally given all the reviews it comes down to Megane vs Civic. The drama, weight and all that stuff is an irrelevance as for once one accepts your not buying a lighter track focused car (if we can call Meg or CTR that) then you may as well go all the way to Mustang 5.0 or one of the BMWs.
     
  12. Poor old Ford:

     
  13. Wh
    What's an armchair expert ? Are you judging others by your own standards ? I didn't see you at Bedford on Monday, nor on 02/08, nor on DN15 at the Ring on 22/08 nor even at Spa the day before.
    No armchairs there.
     
  14. Wow that AMG is quick! Terrible launch though?!
     
  15. The a45 is even quicker with a re-map.
    Mine is still in the development stage at rst but already at 425bhp & 425ftlb.
    Lee
     
  16. Some power from a 2l engine!
     
  17. Nigelo likes this.
  18. @Lee in scunny i really want to see some videos of yours. I told you it's my next car that!!

    If your ever in Manchester please let me know I would really like to see it and possibly get a passenger ride in it!!
     
  19. -Jamie-

    -Jamie- RSM Moderator

    How's the turbo in the A45 holding out? Known weak point on them
     
  20. Is it or is it like parts of many other high powered vehicles, its just the part that's likely to be the first to fail due to huge stresses. The AMG and RS are seriously pushing mechanical limits.
     
  21. -Jamie-

    -Jamie- RSM Moderator

    I've seen several that have shat turbos after running more power whether that's down to poor mapping is another story [emoji23]
     
  22. I think the focus chav box is a great car. We just got back from a ring trip in one. It did 4 laps in one go - nearly half hour non stop abuse...

    Warning lights came on after the first lap but after ignoring them nothing too bad happened other than it warping its front discs..

    Ford have agreed to replace them under warranty :smile:

    We're off to Bedford in Saturday and I'm going to do my best to beat the focus in my standard 250 Megane.

    I'm hoping there won't be that much in it :smile:

    5 up in the focus still felt quick and the grip was excellent. The guy that owns it has quite a collection of car but rates the fuckuse very highly!

    Another friend that has one is of the same opinion but with an even bigger collection of cars ranging from 700bhp gtr's to a skoda yetti!

    Only negative I found with it was the seating position with the recaros.

    Even if the transmission gives up when modified the standard power is enough :smile:
     
  23. Never mind all that rubbish - it's got drift mode.....
     
  24. Ah yes it oversteers everywhere, I forgot, even off the throttle...
     
    Xanda73 likes this.
  25. I hear they are overheating too - deary me
     
  26. Jezzz I only looked at the first page

    "for me under hard acceleration the steering goes light and the car feels like it could go anywhere. It's not so bad when you have two hands on the wheel, when you're changing gear it feels the worse. Will reflect and try and put it into words the engineers can work with. "

    Some drivers car that!
     
  27. -Jamie-

    -Jamie- RSM Moderator

    And lol at laughing at the quoted increased peak figures.


    Anyone who gets hung up on peak numbers needs to actually look at the gains under the curves...
     
  28. I work for Ford in Australia, had a Focus RS on order some time ago, cancelled my order once we delivered a few of them & purchased the 275R instead.
    My experience driving the Focus was a great road car but not something i'd want to track regularly.
    Big concern apart from the bland 4 door looks & interior was that as a warranty clerk the build quality issues I see with even run of the mill Focus' is scary thus I think a lot of owners are going to spend a lot of time with their Focus RS parked up at dealerships.
    My Clio RS200 (albeit modified somewhat) on the other hand has spent the last 5 years on racetracks & tarmac rallies being thrashed to within an inch of its life & apart from usual brakes & tyres etc has honestly not missed a beat, that was enough for me to stick with a brand I trust & go for the Meg RS275R.
    High performance happiness here :wink:....

    IMG_3130.JPG
     
  29. Not just the FRS/AMG45, but many other very high powered cars just aren't up to sustained high speed track driving, most are pushing mechanical limits and are heavy. It doesn't surprise me that people are having issues.

    As above, drive something lightweight and not too powerful and it'll last 'forever'. I used to run an Elise S/C and track days showed only the slightest amount of additional wear and I never had any mechanical issues or needed better brakes etc. By comparison my 265 seems like a huge 'tank' on track!
     
  30. Thanks for that insightful, impartial and expert feedback, that makes a change from this thread where R26 is now very very discreet...
    I am finding the Megane quite gentle on its consumables and that they are quite cheap, which was a major driver for my choice of car as I track it. Why I was mocked for that by our resident buffoon earlier in this thread, I still don't get.
     
  31. R26

    R26

    image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.png image.jpeg image.png image.jpeg image.png
    Armchair experts gather round!

    Incredible aftermarket support, the big tuning companies love this car, the sky really will be the limit.
     
  32. Let me get my slippers, pipe, flat cap before I sit down to read. Oh I better not forget my specks
     
  33. They all want a piece of the global market, who can blame them.

    Without wanting to be too much of a downer, theyre unlikely to say they hate the car if theyre trying to promote a new product.

    Be interesting to see how the tuning market develops, what parts become the weak link etc
     
  34. We still don't know what that is ? Is that someone who has no track no racing no motorsport experience and gets excited by straight line performance while spending hours concocting trolling posts after they daily masturbation over torque curves ?

    If so, then at least I know I am not one as I am more into apexes, LFB, H&T, Ring/Spa trips. But each to their own.
     
  35. Indeed. Very insightful and well written by a proper expert.

    Quote from the track report :

    "Obviously if you watched my in-car video above you heard me complaining about understeer. Massive amounts of steady state understeer was all this car could produce. I suspect that the "RDU" system shut down almost immediately and I was essentially driving a Front Wheel Drive car for all 16 laps. Again, was it the fact that I used LFB technique on a handful of corners? Was it an overheated RDU? Who knows. "

    Hilarious. I thought the car didn't understeer ? It may not understeer under power and that's what R26 can't fathom : off the throttle or a neutral throttle (what the author refers to as "steady state") it understeers. Only when under power it might not push understeer, but it will be too late by then. If there was any doubt about R26 not understanding what the traction circle is...

    The irony also being that my Megane is far more neutral up to the apex, and was quite frankly oversteery on a light trail brake.

    Verified at Bedford on Monday this week where the Focus RS' front tyres were overheating and the shoulders smooths by lunch time. Hence my point about consumables in this very thread !
     
    Just-that-ek likes this.
  36. NJH

    NJH

    Yep its what I don't like about the Cooksports on my R26, needs a bit of a trail or very aggressive turn in to get the car more neutral. Up to 95% the standard setup put on by the boys from Dieppe is more fun (above 95% Cooksport is pure perfection though), they just had this mantra of dialling out understeer as much as possible and in many ways went to far as the standard setup lacks stability both on brakes and high speed corner entry (Church at Thruxton for example was terrifying).
     

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