Focus ST ... Stratified :)

[Lex]

The Focus ST is a platform we're seriously considering to develop and on my recent trip I was fortunate enough to get some real seat time in the car. Autocross, back country roads, etc. The car was fun, is well setup, and is similar in a lot of ways to the MS3 so it's natural that we're considering it as a platform to get into. Got some media from the trip that I'll be posting up.

First is a 3rd gear pull. The cluster's is in KMs but I was also at about 3000 feet of elevation. Notice how much taller 3rd gear is. It also runs out of breath near the top of the gear.

2013 Focus ST 3rd gear pull - YouTube

2013 Focus ST 3rd gear pull - YouTube

And here's rowing through the gears.

2013 Ford Focus ST 1 2 3 gear pull - YouTube

2013 Ford Focus ST 1 2 3 gear pull - YouTube

Aux gauges

2013 Ford Focus ST gauges in operation - YouTube

2013 Ford Focus ST gauges in operation - YouTube

Driving video

2013 Ford Focus ST First Drive - YouTube

2013 Ford Focus ST First Drive - YouTube

[Vansquish]

Sounds pretty good too :-)

[Lex]

Originally Posted by Vansquish Sounds pretty good too :-)

That my friend is the sound symposer (tube) coming into the cabin from the intake.

[btstarcher]

LOL what?

[BobbleHead]

yea it sounds great. seems pretty slow though

[Snotrocket]

Originally Posted by Lex That my friend is the sound symposer (tube) coming into the cabin from the intake.

so queer

[Seatime3]

@Lex , how was the shifter feel? Short throws? The seats look extremely comfortable!
Did you get a chance to look under the hood much?
Also, did you experience "over boost" feature?

[RedBliss]

Almost every newer vw has that noise tube bullshit. Hey atleast the ST has a factory temperature gauge lolololol

[boostyms3]

I personally love the focus
I have one my self

Turbo focus - YouTube

Turbo focus - YouTube

This was my old setup with a shitty comp turbo still made 300hp
It's nimble and fast im building my new Gt3076r setup on it right now

[jonspeed3]

shitty focus, nice feet.

[Vansquish]

Originally Posted by Lex That my friend is the sound symposer (tube) coming into the cabin from the intake.

I'm aware, I've been in the ST as well (and my dad should have his in the next few weeks).

[Lex]

Originally Posted by Seatime3 @Lex , how was the shifter feel? Short throws? The seats look extremely comfortable! Did you get a chance to look under the hood much? Also, did you experience "over boost" feature?

The car shifts better than the MS3. The throws are fairly long however but it's smoother. The seats are good and I would personally take them in cloth. In leather they are stuffy - the whole interior is a little on the stuffy side.

I couldn't tell if I "used" the overboost feature. Nothing felt really different. I was also at 3000 feet and it was 86 degrees F out so it was warm.

Youtube is giving me no love for these videos. Lol at people commenting that I should learn how to drive manual because I am giving the ST a bad image since they timed my 0-60 at 8 seconds. I am giving the precious little stock ST a bad image. Boo hoo.

[Lex]

On that same note, I am not tolerating any fanboy-ism in here from either side. A fan of the MS3, ST, or both, I don't care, I don't want to see nutswinging or idiotic comments.

[ms3rick]

Subbed for videos(at work: Good work!

[Mortose]

I might see if i can't get a test drive in one once they become widely available. I'll be watching to see what you guys can do with them if/when you start tuning them.

The cabin does look "snug" but i do like those seats.

[Ziggo]

The oil temperature and pressure gauges that they are advertising are a nice touch too, I hope they are more than just idiot gauges. Were they on the trim you drove?

Not really a fan of the sound, though that could be crappy mike. Sounds very hollow, like a Honda with a hole in the exhaust.


Zigatapatalka

[Domino81]

Too bad they're made entirely of blind spots.

[Lex]

Originally Posted by Ziggo The oil temperature and pressure gauges are a nice touch, I hope they are more than just idiot gauges. Zigatapatalka

They do work, I will post a video of them in a few minutes.

[amoosenamedhank]

Originally Posted by Domino81 Too bad they're made entirely of blind spots.

I have a 2012 focus (hatch) and I'm not sure what that's suppose to mean.... I have no complaints of blind spots.

I really enjoy the interior of my lower trim Focus. It looks sorta strange in pictures, but it's really well thought out in person.

I'm really back n forth on the ST. In your opinion @Lex was it a 'fun' car to drive? There is a huge part of the draw of the MS3 community. People constantly credit how fun the car is to drive. Do you get the same feeling behind the wheel of the ST?

[Ziggo]

Seems slow to me too, but I would have to go drive a stock speed 3 to make a comparison. I bet my car feels nothing like a stock speed at this point.

Regarding the handling, did you ever feel the torque steer compensation kicking in? And would it oversteer if you lifted throttle mid corner?


Zigatapatalka

[Lex]

Originally Posted by amoosenamedhank I have a 2012 focus (hatch) and I'm not sure what that's suppose to mean.... I have no complaints of blind spots. I really enjoy the interior of my lower trim Focus. It looks sorta strange in pictures, but it's really well thought out in person. I'm really back n forth on the ST. In your opinion @Lex was it a 'fun' car to drive? There is a huge part of the draw of the MS3 community. People constantly credit how fun the car is to drive. Do you get the same feeling behind the wheel of the ST?

Yes, the car is fun and quite easy to drive. It's a bit less sharp than the MS3 but anyone can toss this car around, and it's rewarding. I didn't hear the engine bang against the firewall, didn't miss any gears, car behaved in a very linear manner - more so than the MS3. Doesn't feel as wild child as the MS3 so if you like something with a bit more comfort this is a nice choice with a good power band and what will probably be a strong following.

[Snap Off]

Thank you for the great feed back. It is nice to get a neutral opinion. I think the ST platform can do nothing but help the MS3. Another Di on the market for people to build.

[Lex]

Originally Posted by Ziggo Seems slow to me too, but I would have to go drive a stock speed 3 to make a comparison. I bet my car feels nothing like a stock speed at this point. Regarding the handling, did you ever feel the torque steer compensation kicking in? And would it oversteer if you lifted throttle mid corner? Zigatapatalka

Video of gauges added.

This was well above sea level and yes it did feel slow but then again it was hot out and the gears are quite a bit taller. It's not as punchy as the MS3, it's more linear.

It does still torque steer. Honestly, it felt it did it more than the MS3. That being said, the tugging on the wheel is more damped. You can probably get it to rotate some but at the limit it will understeer and plow like any FWD with an engine hanging over the front wheels. The ELSD I am not a fan of BUT the traction management system is much smoother than on our cars. It doesn't cause the terrible wheel hop we get - esp in the gen1s.

[trf5000]

I really like the fact that this car has the gauges, especially the oil pressure gauge. The Genpu especially is lacking bigtime in this area.

[Boosted Beluga]

it seems that once the top of 3rd is reached it falls on its face and doesn't get up

[Lex]

Originally Posted by Boosten Ya(josh) it seems that once the top of 3rd is reached it falls on its face and doesn't get up

Yes, felt that as well. Once around 100 mph is reached it has a much harder time. Needs a tune at least 2nd and 3rd are the gears for the stock car.

[Boosted Beluga]

Yeah it seems to pull pretty good off the line. Much like the ms3 a tune will wake the car up a lot.

[Domino81]

Originally Posted by amoosenamedhank I have a 2012 focus (hatch) and I'm not sure what that's suppose to mean.... I have no complaints of blind spots. I really enjoy the interior of my lower trim Focus. It looks sorta strange in pictures, but it's really well thought out in person. I'm really back n forth on the ST. In your opinion @Lex was it a 'fun' car to drive? There is a huge part of the draw of the MS3 community. People constantly credit how fun the car is to drive. Do you get the same feeling behind the wheel of the ST?

Maybe my position in the car but everywhere I look whenever I drive the one we have for work there's a fucking pillar. I'm not saying it's not a nice place to sit. Actually, I like the interior.

[ms3rick]

Hmm let's give ms3 long gears :x


Sent from my dizzLe using RaWr powers!

[BlueStreak]

Lex,

You looking to develop hard parts for the ST or you going to take it further by offering a tuning solution?

Whatever it is you do, I wish you the best with your entrepreneurial endeavour.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dead-zone]

Overall it does not seem like a bad car. I wonder what difference will aftermarket parts and a nice tune, maybe from Lex , do.
These longer gears will help a lot when there is more power. @Lex What do you personally think, how will that ST handle some high HP and torque?

[Lex]

Originally Posted by dead-zone Overall it does not seem like a bad car. I wonder what difference will aftermarket parts and a nice tune, maybe from Lex , do. These longer gears will help a lot when there is more power. @Lex What do you personally think, how will that ST handle some high HP and torque?

The chassis can certainly handle it. The motor has a shorter stroke than ours so I think it will handle it well. The ELSD won't be so much fun - big HP cars that want to go around corners will need a real LSD. If the tranny is like ours it will handle it fine and the tall gearing is nice. The brakes are essentially identical to ours and bite well.

The fueling system is still a mystery. The stock turbo will probably do a little less than what we can achieve with our stocker since it spooled quickly (unlike the Cobalt SS) meaning that it's not a very large turbo.

All of this will be resolved via the aftermarket if there's support and demand for it (ie if people buy the car and want to spend money on going fast).

It's nice that the Ecoboost is in lots of cars because it will keep parts cheap. It's a well developed motor and I think will see less growing pains than the MS3.

You guys have to remember that give or take a few things the MS3 and this Focus ST are very similar. The Euro ST before this one which was based on our chassis even had the same brakes we do! The new ST is more refined than a Gen1 MS3 for example but that also makes sense.

I foresee this car doing quite well and developing a strong following. I haven't heard anything regarding a next gen MS3 through the grapevine so we may be a couple years away from that but I foresee the next gen MS3 going with a 2.0 as well.

[boostyms3]

There's gonna be a bit of completion for the focus world! These are the companies I use for my focus
Topspeed
Central Florida motor sports
Fswerks they already have an order for an St
Massive
Focus power
I know the focus world would deff love another company
Fswerks and focus power are the go to companies for tuning as of now
Check out focusfanatics.com there's a lot of people that already have the build number for their new St
Or focaljet

[Lex]

Originally Posted by boostyms3 There's gonna be a bit of completion for the focus world! These are the companies I use for my focus Topspeed Central Florida motor sports Fswerks they already have an order for an St Massive Focus power I know the focus world would deff love another company Fswerks and focus power are the go to companies for tuning as of now Check out focusfanatics.com there's a lot of people that already have the build number for their new St Or focaljet

There are always players in a market. The specialty of Stratified is control systems and engineering. I personally love turbocharged vehicles as it adds that many more exciting variables and it really helps that a lot of cars are going turbo. We'll see how many "platforms" we become part of but the Focus is a natural "buddy" to the MS3. Similar demographics, similar car. On top of this I enjoy developing universal products like the GA. It is a truly universal product. So is tuning in many ways. The same principles can be applied to an MS3, a Focus, a BMW, etc. The key is to have the tools, the understanding, and know a few platform specifics.

[Haltech]

Well Alex, you will be a great asset to ecoboost forums when it begins its launch in Mid sept.

[boostyms3]

No doubt you are an excellent tuner! I say you tune my new setup for my focus that way I can introduce you to the forums and say what a great job u did
My motor is fully built eagle rod cpe pistons
Ford racing head
Competition stage 2 cams
High flow intake mani custom built
Built trans with full quaife gear set and kazz LSD
Turbo kit
60lbs injectors
Diablo mafia
Topspeed street turbo mani
With gt3076r
All 3inch intercooler piping
I think it would be cool

[boostyms3]

Fuel management Svt focus fuel pump with kenne bell bap
But I use an Sct tuner, no accessport for focus yet

[Haltech]

Originally Posted by boostyms3 Fuel management Svt focus fuel pump with kenne bell bap But I use an Sct tuner, no accessport for focus yet

SCT software is golden... I knew the original creators of it before it was whored out and sold. Jerry was a mastermind.

[boostyms3]

Sct is great I'm working with the act xcal 2 super old but works great! I just love the simplicity of the acessport
Manila the live monitoring is awesome!

[Haltech]

Ford EEC-V is a breeze over the Mazda ecu lol