I recently upgraded from a Focus ST to a Focus RS a couple weeks ago. I bought a used one with about 18000 km on it and it feels quite slow to me, like I'm certain my tuned ST would spank it in a roll race no problem. I'm not sure if I just thought the RS would be faster or what, but I'm starting to worry that maybe there's something wrong with it. I don't hear any bad sounds coming from the engine, but the idle for a warm startup can be rough for a little while for some reason and then it smooths out. Something I have noticed is that my boost pressure barely makes it to 1 Bar, just a hair width over sometimes for a few seconds then it drops down to 1 Bar again. I've seen Youtube videos of people's boost gauges going up to 1.5 Bar when they go WOT. Is that just cause they're tuned? Or is that what everyone here gets? If so I think I got a dud
I owned a ‘14 ST which I loved dearly. Some bolt ons making 270/330 to the wheels. I test drove three different RS’s over 2 years and every time I got out thinking “mehhh”. Obviously off the line an RS would spank my ST simply because of AWD. But once I actually bought and owned my RS I changed my mind. Even a stock RS would whoop an ST. The larger motor and turbo breathe so much better. They might pull similarly to about 130kmh, but after that the ST would be left in the dust.
What I’m saying is. Drive your car way harder. Floor it, launch it, bounce it off the limiter etc and you will see how much more of a car it is
Hi Paul
I felt the same way. Don't forget how heavy the Focus is. I've come from a Renault Megane RS which is similar to the ST (i.e. FWD but with an LSD). I put on 200kg to get into the Focus. It will need a tune to feel quicker. I'm getting a dream science handset with canned tunes; apparently that's a considerable improvement from stock.
Ok interesting, and when you look at your boost gauge under WOT does it only go to around 1 Bar as well? I know it's probably not the most accurate thing in the world, but it's got me thinking that maybe something is wrong.
Thanks for the reply! I've been driving it every night lately trying to figure out where the frigging power band is in this thing, for some reason wide open throttle doesn't feel that much faster than simply pressing it half way or so, it's like it just falls on it's face a bit. Anyone in the Ottawa area have a stock RS?? lol
That'd be much appreciated thanks I have a feeling you'll probably see around 1.6 Bar, I did some digging and it seems like that's what almost everyone is seeing...
I had the same feeling at first coming from a 15 ST with the FP tune.
I think the RS just does not provide the same feel for speed than the ST at first, but it’s fast!
Try turning off hill assist to get rid of that hesitation at full throttle. I had the same issue for a while and that seems to fix it (although I must admit I only drove it once since finding this out). I cant explain why, but it worked on my car. Switching hill assist back on brought the hesitation right back. It literally felt like it just got tuned...so maybe if you get the same result it might match your expectations!
Depending on temperature 1bar seems about right for most conditions. Isn’t boost limited somehow in 1st and second gears or something like that? I know I’ll reach about 1.5 bar on the overboost feature.
I also noticed the RS needs a bit higher RPM shift than my FP tuned ST, that took some time adjusting to.
Thanks for the reply and for the support! Yea I did multiple pulls in both 3rd and 4th gear with the oil and coolant warmed up properly and never saw more than a hair over 1 Bar. And literally everyone is saying they see ~1.5 which is significantly higher. I really think there’s something wrong. Gonna call Ford tomorrow. I’ll keep you guys all posted!
There is a very simple answer to this and that's an appointment on the dyno. You'll know if you have an issue in 20 min.
Having said that this engine is tuned for the mid range, its not going to give you a massive kick at the upper end of the revs.Peak torque is a flat line from 2000-4500 rpm so it's what I term deceptively fast.
My personal experience in my untuned RS is you need to get used to using the overboost to get the best out of it. Took me a while, but now I love the performance.
I felt that it was really slow too coming from a E90 335i with 300hp/300tq that thing was quick and felt it. Once I got the montune accesport flash on the car that woke the RS up for sure. I no longer think its slow and the low end torque feels about where the 335i was.
Unless your familiar with linear power the ST will always punch ya harder in gut due to smaller turbo hitting peak boost way earlier like 2k ish. Our RS is twinscroll and peak boost comes in around 3200 with a very linear delivery to redline. SOME FYI
By the way, make sure you do a 3rd or 4th (3rd might be safer) gear pull until redline, if I recall correctly with the stock tune, you'll see ~1bar (~15 psi) until up in the rev range, and then it should creep up to ~1.5bar (give or take).
Yup I’ve bounced it off the rev limiter in 3rd and never saw it go much past 1 Bar, it kind of gets slight past 1 Bar then drops back down to 1 Bar and stays there till redline.
I also took a look under the hood this morning and everything looks pretty much pristine. Doesn’t look like the last owner did any modifications at all from what I can tell. It looked like maybe the intercooler piping connection to the intake manifold wasn’t super tight? I couldn’t get my hands down far enough to really check it though...
The amount of boost pressure is highly temperature dependent. I took my FoRS to a track day when it was over 110F, and it steadily hit ~25 PSI, that's almost 2 bar. On a cold day, barely goes over 1.
Hmm well if that's the case than there might be nothing wrong with it lol The temperature is around 10 degrees celsius at night time when I've been out ripping it around.
As others noted, the car seemed to have inconsistent boost. Sometimes it felt great and other times I felt it was lethargic. Boost limited in low gears and you only get the full "overboost" if you mash the pedal all the way down. After my 93 tune it was different world. Boost comes on quick and early. After the E30 tune it is awesome. Ready to go at any time. Highly recommend getting rid of stock tune.
This is what I’ve said in my first response, and I stand by it. My old ST from a roll would hang no problem with an RS until the top of 3rd. Then it’s bye bye baby
I've had a highway run with a Stage 2 FoST, and he couldn't keep up. I'm surprised you had problems with an ST on the bottom end. Sure the ST turbo spools faster, but its also FWD and when that torque hits the ST can't put the power down in 1st or 2nd gear. So its tricker to get them going.
The RS on the other hand? Just pin the throttle to the floor. No traction issues, just gone.
My ST would regularly blow the tires away on a 2nd gear roll from 2000rpm. Soon as it hit boost threshold, it would spike to max boost and blow the tires away. I even have a graph of it. You can see the turbo start spooling about 1600rpm, but when 2000rpm hits it spikes hard, kills all traction, and stays spinning until 50mph or so.
Yes. First and second gear limited to 1bar (15psi), third gear and up can run up to 1.5 bar (22-23psi). Not as simple as that as you need to be at 100% throttle input, and the RS is not limited by boost, but by estimated torque figures. If it hits the parameters at 18psi, then you’ll only get 18psi.
This is all based on an oem stock tune. All bets are off with an aftermarket tune
So I took my RS for a little night drive tonight and finally hit 1.5 Bar, not sure if it's the weather (it's 10 degrees celcius and raining) or what but this is the first time I've seen it hit 1.5. Felt really good tonight. I also disconnected that sound maker thing in the back and now the car is so much more quiet! I wish I could hear more induction/turbo noise though, would just a green filter do the trick? For my ST I had an Injen intake and I loved all the turbo noises I'd hear.
Yeah I waited about a year and a half before I disconnected my FENG. The noise reduction in our cars is actually quite impressive. (Side note, my car got hit and has no rear window, just a sheet of plastic. Drove it to another garage so it’s secure, and god damn the exhaust is so much louder than before!).
Induction noise causes problems. So a simple drop in k&n/green filter will get you more intake noise, as well as removing the hood insulation. But with more airflow comes the really really annoying loud whistling noise that the turbo does (not the classic ‘turbo whistle’, that’s a good noise) and you will need to order a sound suppression chamber to stop it.
Another great thing to help noise is getting an aftermarket blow off valve. Though our factory BPV is computer controlled. So if you don’t want to hear whooshing noises you’ll also have to get the boost reference adapter.
Yeah.... the RS is a very very very annoying car to modify. One step forward two steps back
I have yet to remove the hood insulation, but lots on here have. I think the only downside I know of is the intake box seals against the hood insulation. Without that it will suck in warmer engine air potentially
As the previous posts state and I've read elsewhere, according to others, the boost levels are cut a little in first and second under normal circumstances. From third on it should be full boost. An aftermarket tune may cure this issue.
My RS is a 17 with 16,000 miles on it when I bought it. Looks factory parts wise and no tune as far as I know but, it does seem to go past 14.5psi/1bar in first and second for me. It's interesting the ECU sometimes feels bipolar, meaning sometimes the thing is head snapping quick and other times not so much.
Edit: I was almost 10 posts behind when entered. A lot of good info here.
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