How many Focus ST owners on here

Jase · 31 May 2016 at 16:47

I'm picking up a Focus ST3 tomorrow, my car was written off last week so I needed something quick and found a good deal on an almost new (demo) car in Tangerine Scream

I've not had a ford for many, many years but sort of looking forward to getting it. At least I'll have something decent for the summer and should keep me going until I order a new car.

Tute · 31 May 2016 at 17:16

Yay my oil temperature dial in the middle seems to have given up the ghost. I'm still getting a normal coolant temperature reading and oil pressure so i'm going to assume it's just the dial.

No fault codes thrown either.

Dav4 · 31 May 2016 at 18:56

Does anyone's ST225 feel really sluggish driving in hot weather? Noticed over the last few weeks on hot days doung 10+ Mile journeys when the engine gets hot it's accelerating really sluggish and the pull from the Turbo feels pathetic :eek:

tl45 · 31 May 2016 at 19:24

ubern00b said:
Forgot to update as I was super busy the rest of the weekend.

CP340 is as awesome as I led to believe. So much fun, so much power! At the end of the day I no longer care that I already had the block mod or that I had to pay for a days fault finding work. It is just that good!
So, TL: DR: CP340 is awesome.

Was waiting to see what you said, and wondered if you were finding it hard to stop driving the car long enough to reply

Tute said:
Yay my oil temperature dial in the middle seems to have given up the ghost. I'm still getting a normal coolant temperature reading and oil pressure so i'm going to assume it's just the dial.

No fault codes thrown either.

At a quick guess try pulling fuse 26 (KAM fuse) I have a feeling I've had to do this in the past - oil temp reading is calculated through the ECU rather than coming from a direct sensor reading so an ECU reset may help. Car will feel a tad different after pulling the fuse as it also resets all the adaptive learning values.

Dav4 said:
Does anyone's ST225 feel really sluggish driving in hot weather? Noticed over the last few weeks on hot days doung 10+ Mile journeys when the engine gets hot it's accelerating really sluggish and the pull from the Turbo feels pathetic

Intercooler related? sounds similar to issues with the very first pre-facelift ST's before they made the standard intercooler a bit larger...

Dav4 · 31 May 2016 at 19:31

Yes mine is a 2006 so could very well be the naff intercooler. I have seen various threads with ST owners saying the engine gets bad heat soak in the hot weather. Trouble is given my location insuring an ST i can't even get any of the specialists to insure me with an uprated intercooler

as they seem to have more of a problem with that than a remap.
If I get a remap is it likely to be even worse in hot weather with the standard intercooler?

Liquidfox · 31 May 2016 at 20:47

Tute said:
Yay my oil temperature dial in the middle seems to have given up the ghost. I'm still getting a normal coolant temperature reading and oil pressure so i'm going to assume it's just the dial.

No fault codes thrown either.

If pulling the fuse doesn't work have a look at the MAP sensor, that's the typical culprit.

Dav4 said:
If I get a remap is it likely to be even worse in hot weather with the standard intercooler?

God yes, you'll essentially be doubling the boost pressure which increases inlet temperatures massively too.

tl45 · 31 May 2016 at 20:50

Dav4 said:
Yes mine is a 2006 so could very well be the naff intercooler. I have seen various threads with ST owners saying the engine gets bad heat soak in the hot weather. Trouble is given my location insuring an ST i can't even get any of the specialists to insure me with an uprated intercooler as they seem to have more of a problem with that than a remap.
If I get a remap is it likely to be even worse in hot weather with the standard intercooler?

That could be the issue then, was definitely within the first year of production they uprated the IC - my 56 plate had the slightly larger one as standard. Seeing as the early intercooler seems marginal at keeping temps down just on hotter days I think you'd certainly lose out on the full benefits of a remap due to the intercooler, even with a 'stage 1' type. I could be wrong but would be a shame to spend the money on one then not be able to realise it's full benefit.

These days with so many ST's having gone to larger intercoolers through all sorts of tuning packages etc have you tried to get hold of a second-hand later version of the standard intercooler rather than an aftermarket version? should be a straight swap and lot more insurance friendly as it's just a replacement for yours

Liquidfox · 31 May 2016 at 22:11

tl45 said:
have you tried to get hold of a second-hand later version of the standard intercooler rather than an aftermarket version? should be a straight swap and lot more insurance friendly as it's just a replacement for yours

And also a huge waste of time and money, it's two extra rows.

Stormster · 1 Jun 2016 at 00:02

Mine had an Airtec cheaper intercooler on, massively impressed not once did it feel down on power or lethargic in the hotter temps last year, was very impressed and positive it will make all the difference on your car, especially if you're planning on mapping it.

Tute · 1 Jun 2016 at 00:17

Liquidfox said:
If pulling the fuse doesn't work have a look at the MAP sensor, that's the typical culprit.

Pull and replug or just pull and run without?

Me and a mate are going to have a go at doing the tie rods at the weekend so we'll pull the fuse and/or the MAP at the same time.

Dav4 · 1 Jun 2016 at 00:18

The airtec is the IC I was looking at as my local revo garage I was going to take it to for the stage 1 revo remap recommend and fit them but as I say because of the area I live in no insurance company will touch me with a modded ST. Not even any of the supposed specialist guys like Greenlight or Chris knott etc would quote me. The only thing I can maybe get is a remap but anything else and nobody will insure me especially with the uprated IC.
I'm seriously thinking of selling my ST

only had it 9 months but i can get my 5k back for it which is a lot for a 10yr old Ford that's not very quick standard.
I always wanted one and I've just been unimpressed with the whole car so far tbh. I just don't love it or get excited driving it like I thought i would being a 2.5 Turbo hot hatch .

Stormster · 1 Jun 2016 at 00:36

I liked mine but didn't love it and don't really miss it. I miss having a faster car but my current one is OK for now and saves loads in fuel, providing it doesn't break. But to a degree I understand what you are saying, not massively exciting, I found my mates 300BHP Astra VXR way more raucous and fun. My Civic Type R was ultimately slower but way more exciting than my ST at about 290BHP.

Believe me though they are way, way different with a few stage one mods and a decent map!!

I live in the ghetto and get cheap insurance, god knows why it's so bad for you!

tl45 · 1 Jun 2016 at 01:02

Tute said:
Pull and replug or just pull and run without?

Me and a mate are going to have a go at doing the tie rods at the weekend so we'll pull the fuse and/or the MAP at the same time.

Unplugging it may get help clear the oil temp fault but I think it'd be more the case of a faulty MAF being the potential issue - pretty sure if you tried to run with it unplugged continually the car would throw up an ESP fault as the system uses MAF readings to calculate torque as part of ESP operation.

Try pulling fuse 26 first

ubern00b · 1 Jun 2016 at 09:56

tl45 said:
Was waiting to see what you said, and wondered if you were finding it hard to stop driving the car long enough to reply

After a 200 mile trip back, very spirited driving where I could (and for me that means hooning to 80mph and then backing off... god knows how other cars don't get fines/jail time for the speeds some of them pass me at) and having the time of my life I got home, greeted the Mrs and immediately found a reason to go out again haha.

Now I just need to get my rear bumper repaired, the diffuser fitted and some new shoes and I will (try) be placated for a while

Liquidfox · 1 Jun 2016 at 12:35

Tute said:
Pull and replug or just pull and run without?

Me and a mate are going to have a go at doing the tie rods at the weekend so we'll pull the fuse and/or the MAP at the same time.

Pull fuse 26 for about 10 minutes, reinsert and retry. You'll not be able to start the car with that out, or if you can it'll throw a massive wobbler as that's the fuse responsible for the Keep Alive Memory. If that doesn't work look at the MAP sensor. The MAF sensor has nothing to do with the dash pods.

Jase · 2 Jun 2016 at 11:05

I picked up my Focus ST3 yesterday, the car mats that came with it are pretty basic, I was thought they would have been some special ST ones.

Can anyone recommend some good car mats, maybe something with ST on them?

Five_Star · 2 Jun 2016 at 13:03

We got the winter pack with boot liner and the extra mats you get with that are just as poor quality and thin

Ford also don't yet make a rubber mat with the correct mounting points for the front passenger footwell

bit poor really all round

Jase said:
I picked up my Focus ST3 yesterday, the car mats that came with it are pretty basic, I was thought they would have been some special ST ones.

Can anyone recommend some good car mats, maybe something with ST on them?

ubern00b · 2 Jun 2016 at 15:11

Five_Star said:
Ford also don't yet make a rubber mat with the correct mounting points for the front passenger footwell

I have not found ANY mats out there with passenger mounting holes. I have the holes for the pins and the pins in place but cannot use them!

I emailed this company as I want these mats:

https://www.carmats4u.com/tailored-...-focus-2005-2011-premium-rubber-car-mats.html

and they said as long as I provide a template for the passenger side they will produce the mats with the holes in them. So, I just need to pull finger and get that done! May be of some use to you too, they have some pretty high end mats on there if you want to pay £100 for a set :eek:

Jase · 2 Jun 2016 at 16:05

Thanks, these would be close to what I'm looking for:

https://www.carmats4u.com/tailored-...ocus-mk3-2015-onwards-exclusive-car-mats.html

Nasher · 2 Jun 2016 at 17:35

Five_Star said:
We got the winter pack with boot liner and the extra mats you get with that are just as poor quality and thin

Ford also don't yet make a rubber mat with the correct mounting points for the front passenger footwell

bit poor really all round

Hmm weird, they make some for the Fiesta (theres also some ST specific ones, but not for the UK it seems). They are actually pretty good ones too.