How many Focus ST owners on here

neverender · 14 Nov 2015 at 11:37

Test drove a 2014 ST3 yesterday and was pretty impressed. Fun, enough poke, roomy and generally a nice place to be. Got a good deal on a new 2015 spec build too, very close to pulling the trigger.
Any experiences moving from BMW to an ST, or just general ownership thoughts? Plan would be to add the MP275 and catback exhaust shortly into ownership.

Stormster · 14 Nov 2015 at 14:08

tl45 said:
I picked one up off Amazon for not much more than a tenner - it just lives in the boot of the car now if I need it for anything. Similar one here on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/191590427210?adgroupid=13936810266&hlpht=true&hlpv=2&rlsatarget=kwd-124296812946&adtype=pla&ff3=1&lpid=122&poi=&ul_noapp=true&limghlpsr=true&ff19=0&device=c&chn=ps&campaignid=220881786&crdt=0&ff12=67&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80

Had new belts on mine recently - all came as part of a kit with the belts and new tensioners etc. Think the second belt is for AC pump I believe.

Thanks for that mate, I will get one ordered

Stormster · 15 Nov 2015 at 14:20

Actually took my car for a blast in the rain last night and really enjoyed the drive. For once I want to keep it!

Has anyone used Cobra lowering springs? Mines got Eibach fitted and the front sits good but the back has huge arch gap in comparison. I want to bring it down a little bit.

I would literally only fit the back springs if I was to buy a Cobra set, does anyone on here have experience of how they feel vs. Eibach? I find the Eibach can be a bit soft over bumps up front but the back is OK and on the whole the car is quite comfortable and yet handles OK without too much roll.

Liquidfox · 15 Nov 2015 at 21:15

ubern00b said:
I am going to BD Performance in Wrexham, will be there 2 days, possibly 3.

Coming from a stock car besides a dump valve and exhaust system, I am expecting some good things from this!

Double and triple check all the work from them lot...

Tute · 15 Nov 2015 at 22:15

neverender said:
Test drove a 2014 ST3 yesterday and was pretty impressed. Fun, enough poke, roomy and generally a nice place to be. Got a good deal on a new 2015 spec build too, very close to pulling the trigger.
Any experiences moving from BMW to an ST, or just general ownership thoughts? Plan would be to add the MP275 and catback exhaust shortly into ownership.

Yes - get an RS and then take me out for many passenger rides in it.

(fellow Exeter chap here)

viper_2003 · 16 Nov 2015 at 16:53

My wife had an unexpected call earlier, our RS order has been bumped into the first batch because of a cancelled order.

A bit of a headache because my leased BMW will need to go back early (penalty) but I'm sure that will soon be forgotten when the focus arrives.

tl45 · 16 Nov 2015 at 19:10

Stormster said:
Actually took my car for a blast in the rain last night and really enjoyed the drive. For once I want to keep it!

Has anyone used Cobra lowering springs? Mines got Eibach fitted and the front sits good but the back has huge arch gap in comparison. I want to bring it down a little bit.

I would literally only fit the back springs if I was to buy a Cobra set, does anyone on here have experience of how they feel vs. Eibach? I find the Eibach can be a bit soft over bumps up front but the back is OK and on the whole the car is quite comfortable and yet handles OK without too much roll.

Think a friend of mine went for a mix of eibach and HR springs to help get the handling how he wanted, car was a bit unsettled under heavy braking from memory. He eventually went to coilovers which suited his needs better. Few more bling points on what is a very special ST too

I'm happy with the eibach springs on mine, also got the bilstein B8 dampers fitted and got a feeling when these went on it lowered the rear of the car a bit more. Not too low, though - not a look I'm keen on tbh.

.:SAmSuNG:. · 16 Nov 2015 at 20:13

viper_2003 said:
My wife had an unexpected call earlier, our RS order has been bumped into the first batch because of a cancelled order.

A bit of a headache because my leased BMW will need to go back early (penalty) but I'm sure that will soon be forgotten when the focus arrives.

When is that due? Really wanted a RS but couldnt get a good deal on one.

Stormster · 16 Nov 2015 at 20:55

tl45 I've had good experience with AP coilovers in the past and they're usually only around the £500 mark... I'm pretty tempted, don't want it any lower at the front but the back is too high really. I think it'd feel pretty planted on coilies... have to decide if I'll keep the thing first!

tl45 · 16 Nov 2015 at 22:23

Stormster said:
tl45 I've had good experience with AP coilovers in the past and they're usually only around the £500 mark... I'm pretty tempted, don't want it any lower at the front but the back is too high really. I think it'd feel pretty planted on coilies... have to decide if I'll keep the thing first!

Think Nick went for a set of the BC coilovers and rated them highly but has maybe changed his set-up again since then.

Not heard of AP before but if they've worked well before it always helps to stick with a good brand. My set-up is a pretty good compromise without having to get into the details of playing about with ride heights and damper settings to chase a good setting.

Course it is a bit of cash to layout if you're not sure about keeping the car, I've still got to take the plunge with a brake upgrade, didn't help getting feedback about some of the disadvantages of the K-sports I had in mind compared to the more pricier AP's :rolleyes:

viper_2003 · 16 Nov 2015 at 22:54

.:SAmSuNG:. said:
When is that due? Really wanted a RS but couldnt get a good deal on one.

Due in March next year, prior to the bump up the queue it was going to be Q3.

There are currently no deals to be had what so ever, I'm hoping the demand and lack of supply will result in decent residuals. If the reviews are poor our deposit is refundable so we can walk away.

Stormster · 19 Nov 2015 at 00:35

Started my car to come home just and got reduced acceleration then engine system fault... knocked it off and back on after a couple of miles of next to zero power and all is well.

I better order that code reader

Liquidfox · 19 Nov 2015 at 12:36

Stormster said:
Started my car to come home just and got reduced acceleration then engine system fault... knocked it off and back on after a couple of miles of next to zero power and all is well.

I better order that code reader

First thing to check is the battery, the cold always ends up killing weaker batteries. Those are typical messages that appear when it's on it's way out.

tl45 · 19 Nov 2015 at 23:30

Liquidfox said:
First thing to check is the battery, the cold always ends up killing weaker batteries. Those are typical messages that appear when it's on it's way out.

That's good advice, low battery can start throwing up all sorts of fault messages.

With the code reader just bear in mind they don't show all the faults that can be logged, there are some more specific car type faults which don't fall into the OBD2 bucket. I had to chase up a fault recently and used an ELM327 dongle in conjunction with the ELM config software to dig it out of the ABS unit fault codes - loads of info on Fordownersclub website for this if you need to look further. Could well be other ways of reading the similar codes but I've not looked into it too deeply.

Stormster · 20 Nov 2015 at 00:46

I've ordered a little MS309 reader then ironically found one in the tool cupboard at work! Only code was ref the lambda sensor reading rich due to decat. All reset and that bits fine.

Turned out the battery is indeed toast. This morning was terrible, dash lit up like a Christmas tree, ESP fault, engine system fault, reduced acceleration... wondered what the hell was up but nursed it to work.

Tonight I got into the test mode and watched the batt voltage with engine off read and drop quickly from 12.2 to 11.4 as I turned more bits on. Wouldn't start after that. Left it a min and got reduced acceleration etc so let it run a bit, turned off and on and it was fine. Reads 14.2-14.4v with engine running.

Going to get a new battery tomorrow

Cheers guys!

Rybo89 · 21 Nov 2015 at 12:43

Anyone here ordering the new Focus RS?

Mucky_Pup · 21 Nov 2015 at 13:54

Rybo89 said:
Anyone here ordering the new Focus RS?

Nope, Mk.3 platform does nothing for me.

DAIR · 21 Nov 2015 at 18:38

I may arrange a test drive. Doubt I'll go for one.

tl45 · 21 Nov 2015 at 23:36

Mucky_Pup said:
Nope, Mk.3 platform does nothing for me.

Same here really, plus I'm still very happy with the mk 2.5 ST I've got now

Mucky_Pup · 22 Nov 2015 at 19:09

I likes CP420