Tuning the Ford Focus RS

"Thank you for reading this Ford Focus RS tuning article."

Released in 2015 to much anticipation the RS was warmly recieved, sharing a Mustang engine but tuned to put out 350bhp instead of the Mustangs 320hp.

In addition to upraded suspension and brakes we see the Torque-Vectoring All-Wheel-Drive system  working really well, to get all that power down, and it was mated to the GKN rear drive unit.

Toward the end of the 2nd generation the RS was fitted with a Quaife mechanical limited-slip differential and RevoKnuckle front suspension which aided traction and handling and helped improve the performance.

A third generation is due out soon, with a battery hybrid option which we tip to offer around 400bhp,

The Focus RS is a brilliant car modification project to take up your weekends. With the right mods your Focus RS can be transformed into a fun car. Don't waste money, do your homework and follow our unbiased guides to each performance upgrade to avoid disappointment.

Handling/Suspension upgrades

Many Focus RS owners uprate the handling of their cars with uprated suspension upgrades as a priority, this will certainly increase your enjoyment of the car.

Don't get us wrong, Ford have done a fantastic job of setting up the RS and putting all that power down. The Drift mode setting is a great option and makes you feel like you've got something very special indeed.

Good suspension tweaks that dramatically benefit handling for the Focus RS include a altering the camber by a small amount and say, 1-1.5 degrees of toe in or out on the front wheels. Toe in for stability, or Toe out to improve cornering. It would also pay to improve the brakes, by adding larger discs and or higher friction pads.,  (moving towards toe in improves straighy line stability, toe out boost cornering).

Fitting Quaife mechanical limited-slip differential on the early models seems to be quite a popular upgrade, and breakers yards should have some of these in stock from newer RS models which have had a prematurely short life due to enthusiastic driving.

We suggest that you fit sports suspension and lower the car by 22mm - 44 mm. Larger drops require arch work - especially on models already equipped with performance suspension.

Our aim in Focus RS engine tuning should be to increase peak power and Torque at the top end.

Smaller engines do not provide much of a return in terms of power so start with a bigger engine. Engine swaps are a good option if you have a small engine size.

Power mods.

2.3 L EcoBoost GDI i4 engine 350 hp (261 kW) @ 6000 RPM 350 lb⋅ft (470 N⋅m) @ 3200 RPM (This engine is also used in the Ford Mustang)

Typically these motorsport modifications are usually carried out by our members, decide how far you wish to go in your tuning project before you get started.

Getting the right sports modifications for your planned usage of the car is a time and money saver. Stage 3 competition upgrades just don't work well on the road hard to control in slow traffic.

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Modifying to Stage 1:

 Alloy wheels, Suspension upgrade (drop 22mm - 44 mm.), Remap, Panel air filter, Sports exhaust, Lighter flywheel.

Modifying to Stage 2:

 Fast road cam, Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, Power/Sport clutch, high flow fuel injector.

Modifying to Stage 3:

 Sports gearbox, Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Engine balancing, Competition cam, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

Your aim when tuning should be a wide torque range. You want to avoid sending all the power to be at the top end of the rev range unless you are creating a motor sport car.

The point of our guides is to give a starting base of modding upgrades and point you in the right direction, our forum is the place to go for detailed advice and tips on your tuning project, the best tuning modifications and all aspects of modding cars.Fast road cams offer one of the biggest power gains for your money as far as a bolt on modified parts goes on a NASP engine.

The intake & exhaust flow play a big role in your cars power band, but be careful here, getting this wrong can upset the idle and make the car impossible to drive in traffic. You'd need to follow a camshaft upgrade with other mods and finish with a reflashed ECU for the best performance gains.

When pushing up the power you will need to uprate to the fuelling. More power needs more fuel.

Frequently power losses, and erratic idling after modifications are done can usually be traced to timing or fuelling issues. To get sufficient fuel you may need to uprate the injectors on your engine.

A fuel pump will only deliver a finite amount of fuel, so you may need to uprate this if your injectors are demanding more fuel.

Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

Now we move on to the intake and exhaust and ensure proper flow through the engine. Air induction kits only help to boost power if your cars air intake is restricted! Adding an induction kit to most standard engines will see NO LOW END POWER GAIN AT ALL. If you have heavily modified your engine and it's need for air INCREASES DRAMATICALLY then an induction kit is the answer and will help remove this restriction.

Derestricting the air flow into the engine is a primary goal of tuning so get a better flowing air filter if you find that the car is running lean only if you find the car is running lean. Induction kits can sound fun but due to the warm air in the engine bay they will not add noticeable power and often rob you of power.

Sports exhausts can usually air flow out of the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too big or you could will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

gas flowing the head will allow you to maximise your air/fuel charge. Leave this to a professional though with a proper flow bench and machine tools In nearly all cases of Focus RS tuning your clutch will start to slip and this should be improved - read our overview on clutches for more information. The best mods that we recommend for your Focus RS are a remap especially on a turbo, a fast road camshaft and sports exhaust, with a good air intake.

NASP engines do not achieve big power gains if you remap them, unless you have done extensive modifications. With turbocharged engines this is another story. A remapped turbo will give phenomenal power gains and take full advantage of the strength of the block. Despite the large cost involved adding forced induction to a NASP engine will give large power gains. It is usually easier to bolt on a supercharger than it is to fit a working turbo. Turbos increase power in increasing proportion to increasing engine speed and this can make mapping difficult.

Superchargers however will give a boost which is directly proportional to engine speed so is simpler. Decreasing the engines compression ratio will allow you to add forced induction, water injection may also help prevent detonation.

Alloy wheel upgrades.

Due to the fact that alloy wheels are less heavy they improve performance and they help to cool the brake disks. Pay attention to your choice of tyres (tires) for your car, a good directional tread pattern tire can really enhance your cars handling. The drawback to large alloys on your Focus RS is that you're changing your effective final drive ratio so this will have a negative effect on acceleration.

Due to this fact endeavour to keep the overall rolling diameter of the wheel the same as supplied from the factory. In all cases we do not recommend going above 19 inches but we prefer the feel you get with 18's if we're totally honest here.

For more information on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss Focus RS options in more detail with our Focus RS owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Ford tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.

We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which mods work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these articles which are continually updated.

This article was written by Waynne Smith on TorqueCars, and I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Ford. You can leave a response below or join TorqueCars forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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