How many Focus ST owners on here

Vita · 14 Feb 2018 at 13:47

Downpipe seems to be a good mod along with a sports cat (which is expensive). Would a downpipe be beneficial with still having the stock cat?

Steering more to the collins due to price + benefit of intercooler, which I keep reading is one of the first mods you should do to an ST as the stock one is pants.

slick rick · 14 Feb 2018 at 13:57

I ran a Mongoose downpipe with standard cat and cat back for quite a while and it does help a fair bit. I didn't notice a huge performance improvement after I fitted a 100 cell sports cat and 3" catback just a lot more noise.

Vita · 14 Feb 2018 at 22:17

Booked it with Collins for the cp285 package in the end. A day after the block mod with DS. Hopefully both companies will deliver good results in terms of work they'll carry out.

Money will be then spent on an rs clutch + flywheel should it be required.

slick rick · 15 Feb 2018 at 15:37

Vita said:
Booked it with Collins for the cp285 package in the end. A day after the block mod with DS. Hopefully both companies will deliver good results in terms of work they'll carry out.

Money will be then spent on an rs clutch + flywheel should it be required.

Nice one mate, you will be very happy I am sure.

Vita · 15 Feb 2018 at 20:29

Yes I hope so. Played around with the steering settings. Comfort seems the best as it's a lot lighter then sport or standard.

I was hoping the boost solenoid would turn up before this weekend so I can sort that out. A part of me says the boost issue could be because the car has been mapped for economy or something. It's very strange .

L0rdMike · 15 Feb 2018 at 20:48

Enjoy your new wresting buddy.

Vita · 15 Feb 2018 at 22:39

L0rdMike said:
Enjoy your new wresting buddy.

Lol yeah it is rather heavy on sport and standard.

Decided to stretch it's legs today. I haven't really had a chance to see properly by myself what this is like in standard form, as I've been to concerned about this boost issue. So wot from 2nd more or less near tje redline to 3rd and I heard my first pop. It was more like a bang to be fair but very audible of my stereo. Standard exhaust as well so i was rather surprised. Can't wait to see how it sounds with the section 59. Guess I'll be grinning like a Cheshire cat.

On the topic of boost. 3k revs in 6th wot takes it to half. All the way to redline. It just doesn't overboost like some mention on the forums. So a lot of head scratching at the moment I'll speak to ds and Collins if the problem persists to see if they can shed any light on it.

slick rick · 15 Feb 2018 at 23:30

Yeah the pops and bangs are quite fun. If I let the clutch out slowly on a downshift my car pops a lot. If you are feeling a bit childish when driving through a tunnel you can push the clutch down and quickly blip the throttle a few times and really make it bang, not that I would partake in such behaviour of course

Collins will probably check the car after the work is carried out I should think to make sure it is boosting correctly with the remap. Discussing any concerns or questions you have with them is absolutely worth doing as they must know these cars inside out.

Raymond Lin · 15 Feb 2018 at 23:39

Doesn’t all these pops and crackles get old? Or tired? Sometimes you just want to drive to the shop quietly.

slick rick · 16 Feb 2018 at 00:32

Raymond Lin said:
Doesn’t all these pops and crackles get old? Or tired? Sometimes you just want to drive to the shop quietly.

Nope, I've got an old 5 series for that

L0rdMike · 16 Feb 2018 at 07:18

Vita said:
Lol yeah it is rather heavy on sport and standard.

Wait for the torque steer.

matt100 · 16 Feb 2018 at 09:00

Raymond Lin said:
Doesn’t all these pops and crackles get old? Or tired? Sometimes you just want to drive to the shop quietly.

That in my opinion is one of the beautiful things about these.. at least in relatively stock trim.

I could easily get in my DS race+ ST2 and pootle quietly to the shops, so so easy to drive calmly and super comfy on the motorway (if you ignore having to fill up every 250 miles).

Then when you feel like it it's pops and bangs and whatnot.. great fun.

CraigN · 16 Feb 2018 at 09:37

How do you guys find driving these cars?

I have had my ST-3 for around 2.5 years and as a daily driver its fine other than the horrific clutch and uncomfortable seats. Put your foot down and its almost dangerous the lack of grip/traction. In all conditions, the wheels spin all the time with even the slightest hint of boost. I have the stock tyres not sure what they are. I do not intend on keeping the car but compared to the fast fords i have had in the past (from a driving perspective) i have been disappointed with this one. Its saving grace has been the level of tech that came with the ST-3. I will never have a car without Xenon's, heated seats or a reversing camera again.

Just left feeling a bit butt hurt after putting the best part of £15k into it.

matt100 · 16 Feb 2018 at 11:27

CraigN said:
How do you guys find driving these cars?

I have had my ST-3 for around 2.5 years and as a daily driver its fine other than the horrific clutch and uncomfortable seats. Put your foot down and its almost dangerous the lack of grip/traction. In all conditions, the wheels spin all the time with even the slightest hint of boost. I have the stock tyres not sure what they are. I do not intend on keeping the car but compared to the fast fords i have had in the past (from a driving perspective) i have been disappointed with this one. Its saving grace has been the level of tech that came with the ST-3. I will never have a car without Xenon's, heated seats or a reversing camera again.

Just left feeling a bit butt hurt after putting the best part of £15k into it.

Recognise none of those issues to be honest.. I thought my ST2 was super comfy but then I've always preferred fabric over leather.. the clutch I don't get what your issue is? I mean now I've had an auto for a few years I never plan to change a gear again but it was just the same as any other manual.. and the lack of traction is again totally out of character with the 2 I owned..

I mean I could make it spin it's wheels sure but I had to try. It could spin a bit in the wet I guess but for one, why isn't your traction control dealing with it?

Is yours modded? I mean I didn't have any driveability issues even in the wet with mine running around 260bhp

L0rdMike · 16 Feb 2018 at 11:41

matt100 said:
Is yours modded? I mean I didn't have any driveability issues even in the wet with mine running around 260bhp

******** did you not have any traction issues.

Dav4 · 16 Feb 2018 at 12:06

I found the traction on my ST225 annoying at times. In anything other than completely dry conditions the wheels would often clatter and sometimes slightly spin in 1st when trying to take off quickly and that was with expensive tyres On aswell. The esp would always kick in too much aswell so I turned that off every time i drove it.
In comparison the Mondeo ST220 puts its power than waaay better and never ever spins it’s wheels or has traction control kick in.

matt100 · 16 Feb 2018 at 12:30

L0rdMike said:
******** did you not have any traction issues.

It's really simple.. you press less hard on the loud pedal and you don't spin the wheels..

A quick getaway in the wet would produce wheelspin.. smashing the accelerator could produce wheelspin.. I don't class that as undriveable.

By the same metric any decent bike would be undriveable because if you hammer the gas you'll end up on your arse.

It's not difficult!

I did a total of probably 150k miles over 2 STs, 1 with DS and 1 without.. I drove it in snow, rain, summer, ice the lot..

So thanks for your input but if someone is finding a hot hatch undriveable then maybe they shouldn't own a hot hatch.

Also.. you also absolutely do not need to use 1st at all.. like ever if you don't want to.

CraigN · 16 Feb 2018 at 13:06

Mine is stock. You cannot pull away from a standstill in second in it easily even with the hill assist thing on.

I have owned Fiesta RS and Escort RS turbos and a couple of sierra Cosworth's. I would liken the stiffness of the clutch in my ST to the Alcon 6 Paddle clutch i had in a 406 bhp RWD sierra Cosworth. I expected that to be stiff and on or off as that was the clutch i bought for that application when using them on track. I know how to use the right pedal so I am not being a complete moron when saying i think it spins too much. Power delivery/boost curve in the ST is far smoother than any of the older generation fast fords i have had.

I have an estate 2015 ST-3. Other than the rear end i do not believe there are any major differences to the hatch version. My wife has been using this car also and after a near miss pulling away from a roundabout (due to traction issues) I have bought her a Qashqai.

Maybe im just getting old and boring.

L0rdMike · 16 Feb 2018 at 13:17

So you did have traction issues and had to drive like a pansy.

matt100 · 16 Feb 2018 at 13:38

L0rdMike said:
So you did have traction issues and had to drive like a pansy.

No? The 9 points I wound up with would attest to that.. You just don't have to do racing starts everywhere although if you're driving an STi I understand that may sound like nonsense to you. I mean how would anyone know you're driving something with 300bhp unless you have an exhaust you can put your head in and drive like you're a pound shop Colin Mcrea?

Brap brap...