shaunRS

Yea the MK3 sounds god awful to be fair.

 

It's got nothing on the mighty 5 Cylinder from previous models. Shame they never made the MK2 RS all wheel drive as that would have been pretty near perfect for my needs.

 

Skip to 4 mins and it gives the reason for not being awd

A few mods on the golf r and focus RS and you have a car that can do the 1/4 in under 12 seconds. Plus if you did buy either and want to sell you get your money back as they actually hold their value unlike something like the gt86.

What kind of HP do you have to be kicking out to get that kind of time in a golf R or an RS?

 

My Pulsar GTi-R does the 1/4 in 12.1 and that is just over 300hp but it's as light as fart, weighing in at just over a ton. I believe the Golf R and the RS are little on the tubby side aren't they? `1400kgs?

yes the focus rs and golf R are heavy cars but its the way they launch off the line. 380 will a see a golf R and focus RS hit under 12s.

A few mods on the golf r and focus RS and you have a car that can do the 1/4 in under 12 seconds. Plus if you did buy either and want to sell you get your money back as they actually hold their value unlike something like the gt86.

Easily done, very thirsty motors and it feels worse in the ST as the fuel tank isn't that big. I nearly ran out of fuel in the RS on our track day at crail, fuel gauge drops like a stone when pushing on. Think it was something like 6.2mpg it was getting out on the track

Nice. Have you got a build thread on here? Or a link to one?

I haven't no unfortunately

Cheers Shaun.

 

Let's be honest, 380BHP is more than enough for a ford focus

sure is once I get me intercooler and down pipe and de cat fitted I should be about 370bhp, Im thinking about going 400 but I'll see how it copes with the 370 first

Cheers zeezee. Its my first turbo car and I love the bang for buck tuning potential, fairly sure some volvos come with the same motor and stock run 300bhp. Seems like ford downtuned these STs from the factory. A simple map sees 270bhp, thats a couple of hundred quid for 50bhp, mental.

 

I havr looked at the RS turbo conversion, they will run close to 400bhp without needing forged internals but its a bit overkill in my opinion. Ill be more than happy with 330..... for now anyway haha.

 

Oh and yea, the fuel ecomomy is bad, really bad actually, worse than my old Z. Doesnt bother me too much as I was expecting it anyway. Just one of those things, I can see how it would put people off tho.

you will need forged internals/RS internals for 400bhp. If memory serves me right I think 360-380 is the limit for the standard ST internals.

And the Zed is much cheaper to buy also.....

so the ford holds its valve far better, not exactly a bad thing eh?

While we here, ring times.......

 

Nissan 350Z (287 PS) 8:26.00

Ford Focus RS 8:26.00

 

Not an exact science but.... lighter, more power, WAY better tyres too no doubt (350z OE Bridgestones are awful), yet no faster......

lighter? Both weight 1500kg plus. FRS use continental tyre as standard are rubbish. Let's not forget 350z with the holy grail rear drive, 1.0l larger and one more cylinder more make the same time as a hatch back for taking the family shopping

Underestimate in what sense though?

underestimate as in fwd can be seriously quick and fun cars.

Anyone can make a car fast in a straight line, and anyone can drive a FWD car round a corner quickly because a little lift will kill the inevitable understeer if you enter too quick. Driving something RWD takes a whole new level of talent and commitment, and that's why it's far more rewarding than FWD could ever be.

 

No-one is saying that FWD can't be fast or fun. What I'm saying is that like for like, RWD is always preferable if you have (or want) the skill to use it properly.

so why was rwd not quicker when we were on track?

Underestimate in what sense though?

underestimate as in fwd can be seriously quick and fun cars.

More noise and drama than a Z? You must be driving yours wrong!

 

Just kidding, but seriously, there are few cars with more noise and drama than a Z with an agressive exhaust, I;m kind of wondering what you meant or what you're comparing to, cos my 350awhp E92 was better in every conceivable way than the Z, but less noisy and much less drama, even with an Akrapovic exhaust, the engine sound is just not comparable (N54 sound is nice, but VQ=sex).

 

I'm comparing it to a mk2 focus ST, 2.5 5 cylinder turbo lump, it's now running 300 + bhp, downpipe, de cats and full exhaust. Again it's personal preference but to me the noise/drama/power delivery is way more satisfying than my old Z. Very aggressive kick from the turbos at 2.5k rpm and accompanied by glorious pop's, bangs and wooshy noises

 

Don't get me wrong, the Z is a fantastic sounding car but it's not what I'd call dramatic, the power is linear and a little underwhelming (again, my opinion). Worth mentioning that a boosted Z would be borderline perfection for a road car in my eyes.

as I don't own a Z and my dad is regional rep on here I'm not going to argue with people, but I firmly believe a lot a guys underestimate fwd.

Thats what makes the car community so great. Well all like different things. For me my car is stupidity quick, handles great, looks aggressive and you can get 4 adults in it and set out golf clubs in the boot. Horses for courses.

FWD gets a lot of hate, fair enough you can't drift it, they don't have the traction of awd in wet weather but to say they are not fun is a wrong. On track I ran rings round my dads 300bhp 350z (irn bru), on our north coast 500 tour a few months ago my front wheel drive did everything the rear drive guys did and not once did I feel it was anywhere near its limit.

See, that doesn't sound fun to me. I don't want to win at trackdays, I want to have a play and feel the car working beneath me. I don't want to nail it as fast as I can on the roads and not feel like I'm near the limits, as that either means I have no idea where the limits are (dangerous) or I need to substantially up the pace or pick straighter roads (not much fun either).

 

For a family car to do the shopping in, sure FWD is fine as it's cheap. For something to improve the driving experience, then the rear wheels have to be driven at a minimum.

you can still win on track days and it being fun, my point is more people think fwd just under steer at the slight hint of a corner which is far from the case.

FWD gets a lot of hate, fair enough you can't drift it, they don't have the traction of awd in wet weather but to say they are not fun is a wrong. On track I ran rings round my dads 300bhp 350z (irn bru), on our north coast 500 tour a few months ago my front wheel drive did everything the rear drive guys did and not once did I feel it was anywhere near its limit.

I'd've thought that the traction off the line in a FWD car, would be marginally better than a RWD car due to the weight on the front wheels dishing out the power. But then yes, the cornering. asking the front wheels to do too much is never good.

 

no when you accelerate the weight shifts to the back of the car lifting the weight off the front wheels giving less traction.

i didn't know that. Thanks!

Worth mentioning as well the hilarity of wings on FWD cars. All they do is make the driving (and steering) wheels lighter, the faster you go! Epic lulz.

well the focus RS has a big wing on it so I guess this is a bit awkward for me

 

No worries, with front aero to match and diffusers, that's a whole different car, plus it drives the rear wheels more than the front. But yeh, as clarified above, the wings that are on top of the wheels are fine, it's the ones way out back that make econoboxes do wheelies (figuratively speaking).

I have the mk2 it's fwd, it's the new mk3 that has awd

I'd've thought that the traction off the line in a FWD car, would be marginally better than a RWD car due to the weight on the front wheels dishing out the power. But then yes, the cornering. asking the front wheels to do too much is never good.

 

no when you accelerate the weight shifts to the back of the car lifting the weight off the front wheels giving less traction.

i didn't know that. Thanks!

Worth mentioning as well the hilarity of wings on FWD cars. All they do is make the driving (and steering) wheels lighter, the faster you go! Epic lulz.

well the focus RS has a big wing on it so I guess this is a bit awkward for me

That's what separates good drivers from poor ones. My nan could probably drive as quick as me in an Astra, but she'd be backwards in a hedge in an Elise.

 

RWD provides a better challenge and a better reward for the more accomplished driver who enjoys feeling a car pushing from the rear, rather than being dragged from the front.

I'd love to see your nan deal with lift off oversteer

I'd've thought that the traction off the line in a FWD car, would be marginally better than a RWD car due to the weight on the front wheels dishing out the power. But then yes, the cornering. asking the front wheels to do too much is never good.

 

no when you accelerate the weight shifts to the back of the car lifting the weight off the front wheels giving less traction.

1. Shelby GT 500

2. R34 GTR

3. Escort RS Cosworth

4. Evo 8 FQ400

5. C63 amg black series

6. E92 M3

7. Mk2 focus RS

8. Mk3 focus RS

9. Ariel Atom v8

10. Lamborghini aventador

 

We match on four of those cars

great minds think alike ðŸ‘

1. Shelby GT 500

2. R34 GTR

3. Escort RS Cosworth

4. Evo 8 FQ400

5. C63 amg black series

6. E92 M3

7. Mk2 focus RS

8. Mk3 focus RS

9. Ariel Atom v8

10. Lamborghini aventador

 

 

Do you still own the RS?

 

I have really enjoyed the car so far, letting off the throttle and hearing all the pops, bangs and crackles is addictive haha!

 

Heated windscreen in the mornings is an absolute god send in this weather too. I'll get a proper thread up with pics etc when I get the chance.

 

Thanks for the PM, I'm booking the car in with dreamscience for the block mod/belts etc, just waiting till next month because apparently they normally put an offer on for xmas.

yeah still have, have been thinking of getting something different but the RS has some kind of hold on me and I can't bring myself to do it ha.

 

You won't go wrong with dreamscience great service from the guys, they tuned my ST and it was rapid.

I'll probably have to give it a miss this time too, unless I can get shift swap.

You'll love it, if I had the cash I would have kept my ST as well as the RS. Little bit of advice try not to do many GP starts, driveshafts are made of chocolate.

The standard cooler is rubbish it can bearly cope with the standard power. If you have any questions I'm happy to help you, having owned a mk2 ST for nearly 3 years I know a bit about them.