Focus RS
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...ford-focus-rs/
What Tuners Need to Know About the 2017 Ford Focus RS
Stock, the car is excellent. But it also might not leave a lot of room for modifications.
If there were ever a car made for enthusiasts, it's the 2017 Ford Focus RS. As I covered in my review of the RS, it's absolutely fantastic. And it just loves going sideways. But during the engineering presentation, and then on my drive, a couple red flags made me wonder if this car would end up being quite the tuner toy we'd all hoped.
First, as Ford explained during the pre-drive presentation for the RS, the car's driveline was optimized for 350 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. That means the driveline is as light as possible to improve performance while still being able to reliably put down power—especially under Launch Control. But that also means the driveline is quickly approaching its limit for handling more power.
According to Ford, any increase in power would be split four ways to each of the wheels. The RS has the ability to transfer 70 percent of the power to the rear wheels, so a 100-hp increase only loads each rear wheel by an additional 35 hp, implying there might be a little wiggle room. Not a lot, though.
The other concern is regarding Ford's excellent Torque Vectoring Rear Drive Module (RDM), which combines a differential and two hydraulically activated clutches to control the power distribution to the rear wheels. I've seen plenty of people speculate that the Rear Drive Module could be the car's weak spot, and they might be right. While doing hot laps on the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tomo, I managed to shut down the AWD system. Admittedly, I wasn't driving normally, but it's still worth noting.
Here's what happened: I put the car into Drift Mode and was forcing it to slide from one corner to the next in third and fourth gear. After a few laps, something started whining in the back of the car as I slid through the apexes. A few corners later the sound was gone . . . along with my all-wheel drive. The rear differential had suddenly just stopped working. The car was much better in front-wheel drive than I expected, but there was a lot of wheel spin exiting the corners while aggressively putting power down.
I jumped in a new car, switched back to Track Mode, and never had another problem. Ford told us the AWD system comes with built-in thermal safeguards to prevent damage to the driveline, and I'm willing to bet I overheated something by driving the car too aggressively. At least the car was smart enough to turn off the rear diff to prevent any damage. Again, it's important to note that I was driving the RS hard. We spent hours drifting the cars in circles at lower speed and never had an issue.
Part of the point of the thermal safeguards is to ensure the clutches in the rear differential are "lifetime" parts. When you overdrive the car, it remembers and assigns a value to your punishment. When the points add up high enough, the car tells you to change the differential fluid. There is a cooler for the front Power Distribution Unit, so maybe Ford will offer a rear-differential cooler through their Performance Parts catalog, so you can drift for hours at high speed without having to worry about the rear diff.
As for the brakes, they are outstanding, and it's doubtful many tuners will change the factory setup. The suspension can be upgraded like any car, but then you would lose the 40 percent increase in dampening rate when you select Sport Mode. It would be great if Ford worked with Tenneco to also offer a set of aftermarket shocks for Sport Mode and up that could handle the stiffer spring rates needed for hard track driving.
That just leaves horsepower, and as we've seen with Ford's other turbo products, there is a lot of room to increase power by increasing turbo boost. The intercooler is massive on the RS for a production car, and should be able to cool the extra pressure. The only question is whether the RS driveline, specifically the rear differential, will be able to handle it.
What Tuners Need to Know About the 2017 Ford Focus RS
Stock, the car is excellent. But it also might not leave a lot of room for modifications.
If there were ever a car made for enthusiasts, it's the 2017 Ford Focus RS. As I covered in my review of the RS, it's absolutely fantastic. And it just loves going sideways. But during the engineering presentation, and then on my drive, a couple red flags made me wonder if this car would end up being quite the tuner toy we'd all hoped.
First, as Ford explained during the pre-drive presentation for the RS, the car's driveline was optimized for 350 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. That means the driveline is as light as possible to improve performance while still being able to reliably put down power—especially under Launch Control. But that also means the driveline is quickly approaching its limit for handling more power.
According to Ford, any increase in power would be split four ways to each of the wheels. The RS has the ability to transfer 70 percent of the power to the rear wheels, so a 100-hp increase only loads each rear wheel by an additional 35 hp, implying there might be a little wiggle room. Not a lot, though.
The other concern is regarding Ford's excellent Torque Vectoring Rear Drive Module (RDM), which combines a differential and two hydraulically activated clutches to control the power distribution to the rear wheels. I've seen plenty of people speculate that the Rear Drive Module could be the car's weak spot, and they might be right. While doing hot laps on the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tomo, I managed to shut down the AWD system. Admittedly, I wasn't driving normally, but it's still worth noting.
Here's what happened: I put the car into Drift Mode and was forcing it to slide from one corner to the next in third and fourth gear. After a few laps, something started whining in the back of the car as I slid through the apexes. A few corners later the sound was gone . . . along with my all-wheel drive. The rear differential had suddenly just stopped working. The car was much better in front-wheel drive than I expected, but there was a lot of wheel spin exiting the corners while aggressively putting power down.
I jumped in a new car, switched back to Track Mode, and never had another problem. Ford told us the AWD system comes with built-in thermal safeguards to prevent damage to the driveline, and I'm willing to bet I overheated something by driving the car too aggressively. At least the car was smart enough to turn off the rear diff to prevent any damage. Again, it's important to note that I was driving the RS hard. We spent hours drifting the cars in circles at lower speed and never had an issue.
Part of the point of the thermal safeguards is to ensure the clutches in the rear differential are "lifetime" parts. When you overdrive the car, it remembers and assigns a value to your punishment. When the points add up high enough, the car tells you to change the differential fluid. There is a cooler for the front Power Distribution Unit, so maybe Ford will offer a rear-differential cooler through their Performance Parts catalog, so you can drift for hours at high speed without having to worry about the rear diff.
As for the brakes, they are outstanding, and it's doubtful many tuners will change the factory setup. The suspension can be upgraded like any car, but then you would lose the 40 percent increase in dampening rate when you select Sport Mode. It would be great if Ford worked with Tenneco to also offer a set of aftermarket shocks for Sport Mode and up that could handle the stiffer spring rates needed for hard track driving.
That just leaves horsepower, and as we've seen with Ford's other turbo products, there is a lot of room to increase power by increasing turbo boost. The intercooler is massive on the RS for a production car, and should be able to cool the extra pressure. The only question is whether the RS driveline, specifically the rear differential, will be able to handle it.
If I counted how many times i've read "the car is at it's limit" from the factory over the last 40 years I would have to count pretty high. It's BS.
They said the same thing about S2000 motors and there are people making 400whp+ on stock motors.
I love how when there where articles written about Evos, owners would be quick to discount their claims and fly the BS flag in milliseconds.
Now, in contrast, there are some very vague articles written about the RS and everybody is taking every bit of it as gospel.
You can't have it both ways. Personally, I am waiting for them to ship, to get to owners (I may or may not be one of those) and get some actual REAL WORLD data.
They said the same thing about S2000 motors and there are people making 400whp+ on stock motors.
I love how when there where articles written about Evos, owners would be quick to discount their claims and fly the BS flag in milliseconds.
Now, in contrast, there are some very vague articles written about the RS and everybody is taking every bit of it as gospel.
You can't have it both ways. Personally, I am waiting for them to ship, to get to owners (I may or may not be one of those) and get some actual REAL WORLD data.
Last edited by razorlab; Jan 29, 2016 at 06:51 PM.
Actually it was the opposite it was the evo that was holding the most water... and ultimately sent the brand to the gallows.
Its funny how Mitsu was spanking the brakes off SCCA prorally for almost a decade and just died a fast death honestly because of NO SUPPORT from corporate mitsu America, most were basically solidly backed privateers.
Subaru really has a simple model, its off the top of my head but something like 5 to 7 different bodies, 3 basic chassis and drivelines amongst them, with like 5 engines from 1.3 or 1.6 to 2.5 and a cost shared development flat 6. That's a great way to keep cost low and great marketing to not have them appear like cookie cutter cars.
If I counted how many times i've read "the car is at it's limit" from the factory over the last 40 years I would have to count pretty high. It's BS.
They said the same thing about S2000 motors and there are people making 400whp+ on stock motors.
I love how when there where articles written about Evos, owners would be quick to discount their claims and fly the BS flag in milliseconds.
Now, in contrast, there are some very vague articles written about the RS and everybody is talking every bit of it as gospel.
You can't have it both ways.
They said the same thing about S2000 motors and there are people making 400whp+ on stock motors.
I love how when there where articles written about Evos, owners would be quick to discount their claims and fly the BS flag in milliseconds.
Now, in contrast, there are some very vague articles written about the RS and everybody is talking every bit of it as gospel.
You can't have it both ways.
- 6yrs later not so much
According to Ford, any increase in power would be split four ways to each of the wheels. The RS has the ability to transfer 70 percent of the power to the rear wheels, so a 100-hp increase only loads each rear wheel by an additional 35 hp, implying there might be a little wiggle room. Not a lot, though.
for me, if I were buying one of these, this wouldn't be a deal breaker. and the thing is, its the same for most people. not many people go for 100-300% power increases...
Im sure there are lots of articles about the fanboy pimp daddy of them all... the GTR. Remember when they first dropped how 'on the limit' they were and how "impossible" it was to hack/flash the ECU. So much so that people were sold on the idea that the car was so synchronized you couldn't even change the wheels!
- 6yrs later not so much
- 6yrs later not so much
Subaru really has a simple model, its off the top of my head but something like 5 to 7 different bodies, 3 basic chassis and drivelines amongst them, with like 5 engines from 1.3 or 1.6 to 2.5 and a cost shared development flat 6. That's a great way to keep cost low and great marketing to not have them appear like cookie cutter cars.
Evo, Lancer, Outlander Sport, Outlander = GS Platform
plus Chrysler 200, Sebring, Avenger, Caliber, Journey, Jeep Compass, Patriot, Proton Inspira, etc etc
I-MiEV = Peugeot iOn, Citroen C-Zero, Subaru 02
Mirage = Dodge Attitude
Last edited by razorlab; Jan 29, 2016 at 07:03 PM.
If I counted how many times i've read "the car is at it's limit" from the factory over the last 40 years I would have to count pretty high. It's BS.
They said the same thing about S2000 motors and there are people making 400whp+ on stock motors.
I love how when there where articles written about Evos, owners would be quick to discount their claims and fly the BS flag in milliseconds.
Now, in contrast, there are some very vague articles written about the RS and everybody is taking every bit of it as gospel.
You can't have it both ways. Personally, I am waiting for them to ship, to get to owners (I may or may not be one of those) and get some actual REAL WORLD data.
They said the same thing about S2000 motors and there are people making 400whp+ on stock motors.
I love how when there where articles written about Evos, owners would be quick to discount their claims and fly the BS flag in milliseconds.
Now, in contrast, there are some very vague articles written about the RS and everybody is taking every bit of it as gospel.
You can't have it both ways. Personally, I am waiting for them to ship, to get to owners (I may or may not be one of those) and get some actual REAL WORLD data.
As for the S2000, it *was* pretty maxed out. There was a LOT of work with intake/header/exhaust, tuning, ITBs, tuning, etc; and the best results moved the car from ~200 WHP to maybe 225-230 WHP, at the tradeoff of reliability. Yes once people figured out ways to effectively add big boost to the motor, the sky was the limit, or rather the rear end was the limit.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...ford-focus-rs/
What Tuners Need to Know About the 2017 Ford Focus RS
Stock, the car is excellent. But it also might not leave a lot of room for modifications.
If there were ever a car made for enthusiasts, it's the 2017 Ford Focus RS. As I covered in my review of the RS, it's absolutely fantastic. And it just loves going sideways. But during the engineering presentation, and then on my drive, a couple red flags made me wonder if this car would end up being quite the tuner toy we'd all hoped.
First, as Ford explained during the pre-drive presentation for the RS, the car's driveline was optimized for 350 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. That means the driveline is as light as possible to improve performance while still being able to reliably put down power—especially under Launch Control. But that also means the driveline is quickly approaching its limit for handling more power.
According to Ford, any increase in power would be split four ways to each of the wheels. The RS has the ability to transfer 70 percent of the power to the rear wheels, so a 100-hp increase only loads each rear wheel by an additional 35 hp, implying there might be a little wiggle room. Not a lot, though.
The other concern is regarding Ford's excellent Torque Vectoring Rear Drive Module (RDM), which combines a differential and two hydraulically activated clutches to control the power distribution to the rear wheels. I've seen plenty of people speculate that the Rear Drive Module could be the car's weak spot, and they might be right. While doing hot laps on the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tomo, I managed to shut down the AWD system. Admittedly, I wasn't driving normally, but it's still worth noting.
Here's what happened: I put the car into Drift Mode and was forcing it to slide from one corner to the next in third and fourth gear. After a few laps, something started whining in the back of the car as I slid through the apexes. A few corners later the sound was gone . . . along with my all-wheel drive. The rear differential had suddenly just stopped working. The car was much better in front-wheel drive than I expected, but there was a lot of wheel spin exiting the corners while aggressively putting power down.
I jumped in a new car, switched back to Track Mode, and never had another problem. Ford told us the AWD system comes with built-in thermal safeguards to prevent damage to the driveline, and I'm willing to bet I overheated something by driving the car too aggressively. At least the car was smart enough to turn off the rear diff to prevent any damage. Again, it's important to note that I was driving the RS hard. We spent hours drifting the cars in circles at lower speed and never had an issue.
Part of the point of the thermal safeguards is to ensure the clutches in the rear differential are "lifetime" parts. When you overdrive the car, it remembers and assigns a value to your punishment. When the points add up high enough, the car tells you to change the differential fluid. There is a cooler for the front Power Distribution Unit, so maybe Ford will offer a rear-differential cooler through their Performance Parts catalog, so you can drift for hours at high speed without having to worry about the rear diff.
As for the brakes, they are outstanding, and it's doubtful many tuners will change the factory setup. The suspension can be upgraded like any car, but then you would lose the 40 percent increase in dampening rate when you select Sport Mode. It would be great if Ford worked with Tenneco to also offer a set of aftermarket shocks for Sport Mode and up that could handle the stiffer spring rates needed for hard track driving.
That just leaves horsepower, and as we've seen with Ford's other turbo products, there is a lot of room to increase power by increasing turbo boost. The intercooler is massive on the RS for a production car, and should be able to cool the extra pressure. The only question is whether the RS driveline, specifically the rear differential, will be able to handle it.
What Tuners Need to Know About the 2017 Ford Focus RS
Stock, the car is excellent. But it also might not leave a lot of room for modifications.
If there were ever a car made for enthusiasts, it's the 2017 Ford Focus RS. As I covered in my review of the RS, it's absolutely fantastic. And it just loves going sideways. But during the engineering presentation, and then on my drive, a couple red flags made me wonder if this car would end up being quite the tuner toy we'd all hoped.
First, as Ford explained during the pre-drive presentation for the RS, the car's driveline was optimized for 350 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. That means the driveline is as light as possible to improve performance while still being able to reliably put down power—especially under Launch Control. But that also means the driveline is quickly approaching its limit for handling more power.
According to Ford, any increase in power would be split four ways to each of the wheels. The RS has the ability to transfer 70 percent of the power to the rear wheels, so a 100-hp increase only loads each rear wheel by an additional 35 hp, implying there might be a little wiggle room. Not a lot, though.
The other concern is regarding Ford's excellent Torque Vectoring Rear Drive Module (RDM), which combines a differential and two hydraulically activated clutches to control the power distribution to the rear wheels. I've seen plenty of people speculate that the Rear Drive Module could be the car's weak spot, and they might be right. While doing hot laps on the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tomo, I managed to shut down the AWD system. Admittedly, I wasn't driving normally, but it's still worth noting.
Here's what happened: I put the car into Drift Mode and was forcing it to slide from one corner to the next in third and fourth gear. After a few laps, something started whining in the back of the car as I slid through the apexes. A few corners later the sound was gone . . . along with my all-wheel drive. The rear differential had suddenly just stopped working. The car was much better in front-wheel drive than I expected, but there was a lot of wheel spin exiting the corners while aggressively putting power down.
I jumped in a new car, switched back to Track Mode, and never had another problem. Ford told us the AWD system comes with built-in thermal safeguards to prevent damage to the driveline, and I'm willing to bet I overheated something by driving the car too aggressively. At least the car was smart enough to turn off the rear diff to prevent any damage. Again, it's important to note that I was driving the RS hard. We spent hours drifting the cars in circles at lower speed and never had an issue.
Part of the point of the thermal safeguards is to ensure the clutches in the rear differential are "lifetime" parts. When you overdrive the car, it remembers and assigns a value to your punishment. When the points add up high enough, the car tells you to change the differential fluid. There is a cooler for the front Power Distribution Unit, so maybe Ford will offer a rear-differential cooler through their Performance Parts catalog, so you can drift for hours at high speed without having to worry about the rear diff.
As for the brakes, they are outstanding, and it's doubtful many tuners will change the factory setup. The suspension can be upgraded like any car, but then you would lose the 40 percent increase in dampening rate when you select Sport Mode. It would be great if Ford worked with Tenneco to also offer a set of aftermarket shocks for Sport Mode and up that could handle the stiffer spring rates needed for hard track driving.
That just leaves horsepower, and as we've seen with Ford's other turbo products, there is a lot of room to increase power by increasing turbo boost. The intercooler is massive on the RS for a production car, and should be able to cool the extra pressure. The only question is whether the RS driveline, specifically the rear differential, will be able to handle it.
that sounds a bit sour, but just to make some guys post happy, since the new Ford RS is rated 350 hp we can fairly compere that very easily to the FQ 360
Hope some journalist will do that, we all know after the evo gets out that big factory hole, what the factory tunes does with them, after retune they literally come a live. Also it proved itself in the last 8 years 360 hp is not end of the deal with them. Not even close.
i wonder if any journalist will ever compere the RS with for an example the FQ360 or any other proven 350 hp evo. Just for fun.
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-rev...0-2008-review/
top gear conclusion of the FQ360 in less then 2 minutes:
https://vimeo.com/153646722
ps: as i am reading this article, at least one good point it's not mentioned about the RS rear. Seems can be completely disconnected if it dies. Meaning, you can drive it home hopefully at least when its die on you.
Last edited by Robevo RS; Jan 31, 2016 at 09:57 AM.
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...-focus-rs.html
Someone Just Paid $550K for a Ford Focus RS
A custom Ford Focus RS crossed the block at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, selling for $550,000.
All proceeds from the auction go to benefit JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. Over the past 45 years, JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion in research and is sponsoring scientific research in 17 countries worldwide.
Powered by a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Ford Focus RS features 350 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque sent to all four wheels. The 2016 Ford Focus RS comes with 19-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Super Sport Summer tires, a unique RS front fascia and grille, rear styling that includes a redesigned rear wing for added downforce as well as a unique RS sport exhaust with dual tips.
Someone Just Paid $550K for a Ford Focus RS
A custom Ford Focus RS crossed the block at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, selling for $550,000.
All proceeds from the auction go to benefit JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. Over the past 45 years, JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion in research and is sponsoring scientific research in 17 countries worldwide.
Powered by a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Ford Focus RS features 350 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque sent to all four wheels. The 2016 Ford Focus RS comes with 19-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Super Sport Summer tires, a unique RS front fascia and grille, rear styling that includes a redesigned rear wing for added downforce as well as a unique RS sport exhaust with dual tips.
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...-focus-rs.html
Someone Just Paid $550K for a Ford Focus RS
A custom Ford Focus RS crossed the block at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, selling for $550,000.
All proceeds from the auction go to benefit JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. Over the past 45 years, JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion in research and is sponsoring scientific research in 17 countries worldwide.
Powered by a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Ford Focus RS features 350 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque sent to all four wheels. The 2016 Ford Focus RS comes with 19-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Super Sport Summer tires, a unique RS front fascia and grille, rear styling that includes a redesigned rear wing for added downforce as well as a unique RS sport exhaust with dual tips.
Someone Just Paid $550K for a Ford Focus RS
A custom Ford Focus RS crossed the block at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, selling for $550,000.
All proceeds from the auction go to benefit JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. Over the past 45 years, JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion in research and is sponsoring scientific research in 17 countries worldwide.
Powered by a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Ford Focus RS features 350 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque sent to all four wheels. The 2016 Ford Focus RS comes with 19-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Super Sport Summer tires, a unique RS front fascia and grille, rear styling that includes a redesigned rear wing for added downforce as well as a unique RS sport exhaust with dual tips.