08 Ford Focus 1.6 Petrol too slow

Did I mention my car doesn't warm up, only in traffic. The stat (I assume) is buggered.

I must admit though I was later to change gear on my journey home tonight and it felt more fun to drive. How will it affect fuel economy though? I must get the thermostat checked :D
 
My Corsa B feels quite a bit nippier after a few months ownership than it did when I first bought it. Maybe placebo? Maybe the tank of VPower and Redex I just put through it (not here to start a debate on whether Redex does the slightest thing but for £2 who cares)? Or maybe because I've been ragging it compared to the granny that owned it for the 17 years prior :p

4-6k rpm in 2nd is how to really make use of 59 horses. Goes into 5th at 25mph no problem though.
 
My grandparents used to have a Primera 2.0eGT which they drove about incredibly slowly... They sold it to some young lad who managed to blow off a hose or something the first time he put his foot down. I doubt that car had known full throttle before! :D
 
Changing up at 2000RPM is likely to put as much, if not more strain on the engine than using the rev range more, and changing at 4000RPM. I have the VcT variant which has a little more power, but I still need to take it to at least 3500RPM (which is where the timing change brings it alive) to move along at a brisk pace.

I don't get why some are scared to use the rev range, and I am convinced it keeps the engine healthier than always changing early... and I've yet to kill a car. I seem to remember one company recommended taking their cars to the redline once a week, to help keep them clean and running properly... which sounded like great -fun- advice :)
 
redline said:
Changing up at 2000RPM is likely to put as much, if not more strain on the engine than using the rev range more, and changing at 4000RPM. I have the VcT variant which has a little more power, but I still need to take it to at least 3500RPM (which is where the timing change brings it alive) to move along at a brisk pace.

I don't get why some are scared to use the rev range, and I am convinced it keeps the engine healthier than always changing early... and I've yet to kill a car. I seem to remember one company recommended taking their cars to the redline once a week, to help keep them clean and running properly... which sounded like great -fun- advice :)
Click to expand...

Mazda rotary engines, sure it was in the manual to use the rev range fully. Red line a day keeps the carbon away. A standard engine definitely suffers more stress at higher revs though.
 
lol of course it's slow, the little engine is on it's arse below 2000rpm.

For heavens sake I drive an automatic luxury car and that will rev to 4500 or so during normal acceleration.
 
I had a Mk1 facelift 1.8 followed by a Mk2 facelift 1.8.
I found the old one more enjoyable to drive despite the new one having shorter gearing to improve 'poke'. The newer one was also sitting at over 3000rpm at 70 which I couldn't live with.
Have a 2.0 TDCI now, enjoy it a lot more, so quiet I forget how fast I'm going.
 
NooBish AbbZ said:
Evening all,

Scraping the barrel here. Bought a ford Focus back in May, and it's too slow :p Searched remaps but the one i found literally gives a gain of 9bhp :(

I'm aware there's not much I can do to it, but surely there must be something I can do :p

Please advise :)

Points to note: Getting a new car is currently not an option :p
Click to expand...

There isn't anything you can do if buying a new car isn't an option. Learn from your mistakes and save up for a new one and next time test drive it properly before buying.
 
Dav4 said:
I would say to make progress change gear at 4000 revs. That's not driving it hard at all. I would not go any higher than 4th if I was doing less than 60. Your only thrashing it if your taking it to 6k+ revs in every gear
Click to expand...

This.

But... you only change into fifth over 60mph?! I'm in 6th at ~40mph. :confused: Although having a heap of torque from the turbo at 1500 helps.
 
Ryan-3 said:
This.

But... you only change into fifth over 60mph?! I'm in 6th at ~40mph. :confused: Although having a heap of torque from the turbo at 1500 helps.
Click to expand...

It depends what you are doing. And what car you have.

With my car (and any others of course) it depends on a lot of things... Am I accelerating gradually? Quickly? Am I on level ground? Going downhill? Going uphill? Driving for economy? Driving for fun?

Depending on what I'm doing I could already be in 6th at 30MPH, or I could be changing from 2nd to 3rd at 60MPH... :D
 
Last edited:
Delvis said:
And my apologies, not everyone's income is as substantial as everyone elses iaind? Seriously?
Click to expand...

I'm sure it probably came across a bit badly, but the point was that in the scheme of things £225/year isn't outside of the norm (a high proportion of cars fall between £110 and £290 bands D-K). Bands L&M are what most people would descibe as killer at £490/£505.

Changing cars just to reduce VED band generally isn't a great idea. (although having said that - I have just gone from a £265/year car to a £30/year car, so assuming I keep it for 5 years thats £1175 "saved")
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom