Interesting that the JRZ coilovers for the RS fit the OE topmounts. http://www.jrzsuspension.com/blog-ch...the-track.html

How do they adjust camber/caster?

 

There is no space in the shock tower.

 

Vorshlag has a solution for that.


To me, ride quality isn't a huge deal since almost any car I purchase will get aftermarket suspension. It was nice to read a review of the RS from someone who actually owned it for some time.

 

Like an Evo? No caster, but a bolt to adjust camber?

 

Well there's NO factory camber adjustment on the RS, so that's another thing that sucks about the RS. The strut goes into a pinch bolt on the knuckle I was at about -1.25 degrees and that was it. I still saw decent tire wear, not much worse than the X. I was planning on 140-ish runs on a set of tires.

The JRZs don't add camber plates, they use stock top hats or camber plates that are stock replacements (we're talking street class here, you can do camber plates for ST classes and up)

Vorshlag is kind of wrong, BTW. You can add a camber plate to the stock parts and get about -1.5 degrees with the stock springs in place, there's more room in the strut tower than they're letting on. A bit more camber to be gained with slightly smaller aftermarket lowering springs. Coilovers and you can easily get over -3.

The RS is weird to drive fast at autocross. It's like a SUPER loose FWD car on entry, mid corner it feels pretty balanced, and on exit it feels utterly bizarre with the RDU working away to turn the car for you. You have to have extremely high confidence that it will keep turning or you lift and lose a ton of time when it pushes... The AYC is a LOT less noticeable, more natural feeling I guess.

edit: my comments on ride quality are possibly slightly unfair. I was coming from an STX BRZ on Ohlins R/T coilovers that had VERY good ride quality even with the stiff springs. The RS has VERY poor ride quality in comparison. On course or on track the RS dampers work, but definitely not as well as I'd hoped. I was expecting it to be a bit stiff but at least have decent dampers. It would porpoise on one of my local highways... The "sport" damper setting was entirely unusable except for at VIR on the silky smooth new pavement or, oddly enough, on the road I use for "testing" down the street from my house.

 

Vorshlag has developed camber plates, that's all I was getting at.


The fact that a factory car doesn't ride as well as Ohlins is kind of funny....LOL. They do ride very well on my car.

 

The Vorshlag comment was directed at the strut tower space comment, not your comment about their camber plates. Sorry that I didn't make that clear

To be fair the RS also rides significantly worse than my BRZ did when it was 100% stock... it's the worst riding OEM car I've ever driven by a LONG ways. It was improved dramatically on 18" wheels but it still was far from impressive.

Like you said, if you're doing aftermarket suspension who cares?

 

My first Fiesta ST, a 2014, rode like garbage as well. Way over dampened and under sprung. In fact, going to cheap *** BC coilovers with MUCH stiffer springs made it ride way better which is pretty ironic.

My 2016 they fixed all that with better matched struts/springs and stiffer rear torsion bar. It rides SO MUCH BETTER plus handles even better, so Ford did a win-win.

 

But it seems that even the aftermarket solutions to the RS suspension are less than ideal. Certainly not as easy as bolting up a set of Vorshlag camber plates and coilovers of your choice.

 

Car has barely been out a whole year, give it time.

 

um, its kinda exactly that easy... you can buy Vorshlag's Bilstein setup or you can buy coilovers of your choice and Vorshlag will machine the proper hole in their camber plates to work with your shock shaft.

They just didn't make camber plates for the stock setup cause who's gonna buy a $5-600 part to go from -1* to -1.5* camber?

 

Where did you read that? Wouldn't they also have to weld/modify the lower connecting points? Like I do not see an offering from Ohlins or MCS for the Focus RS.

 

scroll down to the bottom of the page, it shows what measurements they need if you want a different coilover.

What does the camber plate have to do with the lower connection?

https://vorshlag-store.com/collectio...plates-perches

 

Right but you need to start with a strut for them to modify the camber plate to. Like if an RS owner wanted to run Ohlins R&T coilovers could they? Does Ohlins or MCS offer a set that bolts up to the Focus RS for them to start with?

 

Since Ford copied VW almost 1:1 with suspension design, Focus = Golf, Fiesta = Polo, and VW has had the same issues, you need to give it some time.

My Fiesta has F all room for upper camber plates as well. Advantage to the Fiesta is that the front is mcpherson like the Evo so I can use camber bolts at the hub.