....the Ford Focus ST

[whats77inaname]

I had 2 run-ins with them over the past day....1 early in the morning on the freeway, the other late at night on the freeway....in Mexico. I honestly don't know what these cats were thinking. Both times I was cruising along in the fast lane when I came up on them and them taking off when they were 10 cars in front of me. The first time, there was a little traffic to clear, but once it did, he was in front and took off, and I stayed in 5th and slowly walked him down. Had I downshifted, it would have been over much, much quicker. The second time, same thing. He was in front, and I came up on him while I was in 6th gear. He took off, but I never downshifted. He held until about 130ish until I started to reel him in. I eventually came around him and passed him north of that.

These aren't the only 2 ST run-ins, just the most recent. I feel I need to start downshifting to dispel any illusions of grandeur these guys are having regarding their chances vs the E9X platform.

[Rat3d ///M]

It's a Focus.

[whats77inaname]

Originally Posted by Rat3d ///M

It's a Focus.

Run an RS and get back to me.

[Rat3d ///M]

I'm pretty sure I would take an RS but that's neither here nor there. It's still a Focus.

[pbonsalb]

R&T just tested as RS and it was not as fast as I thought it would be. It does not appear they will be a threat.

[whats77inaname]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

R&T just tested as RS and it was not as fast as I thought it would be. It does not appear they will be a threat.

About that....

http://www.motortrend.com/news/henne...cus-rs-405-hp/

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/fo...e-tune-410-hp/

In addition to the normal tune and its bump in power, AMS Performance also offers a race gas tune, selectable from a COBB Accessport, that develops 96 horsepower and 116 lb-ft of torque, giving the Focus RS 446 horsepower and 466 lb-ft of torque, which in our minds puts it nearly to the amount of horsepower Ken Block is making in his Focus RS RX Gymkhana car.

On E30:

Originally Posted by Rat3d ///M

I'm pretty sure I would take an RS but that's neither here nor there. It's still a Focus.

Sorry, I'm not casually dismissive against anything I run against. Doesn't matter if it's a Civic, a Focus, whatever. Nowadays, you never know what someone has under the hood unless they show you, and even then, it's a crap shoot. For example, looking at a s/c'ed M3, you don't know the owner has a low compression build and they're running a VT3 or a 650 kit. Given that, I respect anything I'm running against and never make assumptions.

[loveskiing]

Got to wonder about the need to "run" some guy with any car on the road...granted some claim that the road was empty, no traffic, deserted area etc...
If you know your car is better what's the thinking behind needing to prove it? Not to mention safety concerns for innocent folks that might do something that puts you and them into harm's way...
Best to prove things on the track

[1MOREMOD]

Young whiper snapper

[whats77inaname]

Originally Posted by loveskiing

Got to wonder about the need to "run" some guy with any car on the road...granted some claim that the road was empty, no traffic, deserted area etc...
If you know your car is better what's the thinking behind needing to prove it? Not to mention safety concerns for innocent folks that might do something that puts you and them into harm's way...
Best to prove things on the track

That's the thing....I *don't* know my car is better....I never do until the point of engagement. That's the beauty of competition.

[Rat3d ///M]

Originally Posted by whats77inaname

That's the thing....I *don't* know my car is better....I never do until the point of engagement. That's the beauty of competition.

Speed isn't everything. If you base what's better on what's faster then that means my car is better than a Ferrari F430 or have a dozen other exotics. A Focus RS is still a Focus. An SRT4 is still a Neon. A Cobalt SS is still a Slowbalt. A Mustang GT350 is still a crowd slayer. Good on you for sticking with an ST I guess but that's not a measure of which car is better by any stretch and if you consider an ST in the same league as the M3 you're crazy.

[pbonsalb]

Speed is everything when you are racing in a straight line.

I am disgusted by the loser who goes up to the winner afterwards and says something along the lines of, My fancy BMW cost a lot more than your modded SRT4 so even though I lost I am better than you.

Modders are great. I support those who work on and mod their cars and understand they may not have a lot of money. I think its great when the guy with the SRT4 beats the E92M3. From what I have read, the Focus RS will need some work to be fast. Despite its 350 hp claim, it is no faster than a 300 hp STI. It is an underperformer in stock form.

[whats77inaname]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Speed is everything when you are racing in a straight line.

I am disgusted by the loser who goes up to the winner afterwards and says something along the lines of, My fancy BMW cost a lot more than your modded SRT4 so even though I lost I am better than you.

Modders are great. I support those who work on and mod their cars and understand they may not have a lot of money. I think its great when the guy with the SRT4 beats the E92M3. From what I have read, the Focus RS will need some work to be fast. Despite its 350 hp claim, it is no faster than a 300 hp STI. It is an underperformer in stock form.

You and I are of the same mindset. I root for the underdog. When I have encounters with cars that I should beat, I'm rooting for them to show me something. If they feel they can run against me, I give them props for that....now back it up. Having built a couple Honda sleepers in my past, I know the elation of those moments when I won against someone I should have lost to.

To that end, we're all in this game b/c we have an appreciation for cars. Personally, I have appreciation for all fast cars. As that old saying goes, "Run what you brung and hope it's enough." I know I'm not going to win every time because there's always someone faster, but I relish the opportunity to compete and the chance to win. And I appreciate the guy with the turbo K20 or built B20B hybrid that can run with my car. I know the work that went into that build.

[Dave07997S]

I almost bought a Focus RS, great little car. Its not an E92 M3, not in the slightest. I couldn't get a deal on it, in fact the dealer wanted $5k over MSRP. Putting the cars price before T&L just at $46k. Thats $4K more than the buyout of my M3. When I broke it down like that, not even close. They are quick from 0-60 still not as quick as an E92. After 60mph the E92 M3 rips it a new asshole.

Those that want to mod it to get to 400hp, keep in mind the AWD system now in the car is probably near its operational limit as far as hp and torque. Ford is so anal about about warrantying these cars, no way would I do it until a Mountune kit comes out. Mountune has a 50 state legal/warranty friendly kit coming out soon. It doesn't add that much more hp, but more torque.

To be honest, I love the car. Its one of the few cars that excited me enough to even think about getting out of my E92. At the end...not quite enough. In some ways I would rather have the RS over the GT350. I found the build quality to be better. The Focus RS is built in Germany and I found the build quality to be quite good even though it is based on a lowly Focus. I am shocked on how poor the QC is on the Mustang, almost bought one of these as well. At the end...not quite enough.

Dave

[Z K]

I had a few run ins with the Focus ST... in my VW GLI. The Focus ST doesn't stand a chance against the VW with stage 1 tune. Stage 1 GLI makes more power and torque (260/300) and weighs less. Not to mention a fast shifting twin clutch DSG transmission. Also most ST tend to be stock so that doesn't help their case.

I really think Ford can do better.

[pbonsalb]

ST is nothing special. Its a GTI/WRX/Civic Si/Mazda 3 Turbo competitor that does about 95 mph in the quarter The RS is the supposedly interesting one, but testing so far shows it to be an underperformer. It gets off the line well due to the AWD but then tapers off and finishes the quarter at not much over 100. Hopefully the tuners will make it competitive.

[Apexrex]

Likely not saying anything here that hasn't already been said BUT I did just trade in my 2015 ST for the my 2008 M3. Few things come to mind-

STs are quick cars- but not M3 quick. They regularly trap lowww 100s in the 1/4 and honestly even with my old Cobb stage 1 ST- they fall on their face in higher RPMs / gears. They aren't designed to be drag strip quick (nor are M3s for that matter).

STs shine in autocross and similar driving styles where 1st and 2nd gear are the dominant arena because they make amazing, nearly instant down low torque. You have to drive one to really get it- they are incredibly fun for being 4 door hatchback grocery getters and they are cheap. Their tight handling ability and rotation for being FWD is something else. I honestly do miss mine for DD. Lastly- they can be made quick with $ but you can say that for about anything .

That being said a ST will always be a Focus- and an M3 will always be a BMW M3. Both FUN cars in their own ways and within their own budgets. I love the M3 and I miss my ST- different horses that sometimes find themselves racing similar courses.

Good kill nonetheless! There are some quick STs out there now, and there will continue to be more 400hp + builds coming out. I'm sure there will be a LOT of 400+hp RSs out there...but they also paid 50k for a Focus .

[HadesM3]

In my opinion quarter mile times are less relevant to me versus lap times on a road course. I think lap times are more telling of a car's overall abilities.

Even though the Focus RS is a lot slower in a straight line than the e9x m3, the Focus was almost 2 seconds quicker than the m3 at VIR according to Car and Driver. Fairly impressive considering VIR is a fast track with a couple of long straights.

The RS is based on a very utilitarian platform, but I give Ford a lot credit for making an impressive hot hatch.

With that said, I am excited to finally own an e90m. It's the only car in my sights and in my opinion the best overall sport sedan on the planet.

[Vanmarsenille]

This isn't really characteristic for me, but: Had a guy come up behind me in an RS as we turned onto a long, clear feeder road.....I could tell he was asking for it. I was in front and slowly turned into the feeder and started to move over and he tried to take me on the inside! I went WOT and he vanished into the background. I was just able to make out the sheepish expression on his face.

[nrgy]

I know that feeling OP, though not with the Focus. Had a couple run ins with some older Japanese cars, modded of course, but they decided to take off as I was following and I just wanted to see how quickly I could close the distance.

All I know is even when you have a car with the clear power advantage, when you're following a car and they decide to take off, unless that car is an obvious porker it can be a little shocking at how long it takes to reel a car in. And usually you're almost always at triple digit speeds by then. About the time you've gained the speed and momentum to fly by em it's time to let off. Side by side is another story of course, but even then a lot of those cars with 300hp+ seem to hang in there until the HP advantage shines at the triple digits.

I think you need about a 200-300hp delta for your car to appear to be the clear winner, assuming equal weight. Otherwise, I think most of those drivers are going to consider it a victory they were able to hang!

[Richbot]

The focus st is the WRX of the twenty-teens. I see more mud flaps shaped the same as the driver's hat brim on these than any other car lately and that means lots of revs get thrown at you if you are driving something interesting at stoplights, or while you're parked, or while you're not even in your car...

They really are slow on the top end though, even compared to other hot hatches