scooby L

Just taken my hatch into David Hendry Cars for an oil change and gauge pod installation and spotted they have an un-regged focus RS in there.... so I had a poke around...chatted with the chief mechanic about it... talking about all those 305ps's through the front wheels alone and he said he thought the same..until he drove it and said it felt numbed down from standstill and way slower than the hatch STI when performing a spirited launch...so he did some searching and found that the power is limited by 60% in 1st and 2nd to reduce wheelspin and torque steer..?

The re-map by mountune does away with this limitation but then he said it would be manic trying a launch without lighting up the fronts or torque steering onto a hedge

Jonto

And?

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

same with a lot of cars TBH

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

^^ Not 4WD ones

TX.

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

my Impreza runs slightly less boost in 1st & 2nd with the Prodrive ECU

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

You're a big girls blouse!

TX.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Ahh, the bain that is throttle managment. The way of conning drivers into thinking a 200bhp+ FWD car can actually have good traction (I say 200bhp as almost all high output FWD have this, or terrible traction problems). Its just overriding what a good driver would do with their right foot.

The same technique is also seen on some turbo cars to make the turbo seem more "progressive" and when spooling up. That include AWD cars.

I've had a similar albeit less understanding convo with a VW dealer when they had a Scirocco R in the showroom - the salesman didn't understand the concept of why I didn't even want to bother test driving it, as he thought the torque managment gave the car good traction; My point being it didn't, it just made it gutless until its up and moving. Why would I trade up a gutsy AWD car with bags of instant low down torque in any gear and quick off the mark in the wet or dry, for a car that isn't.

Everything has been going downhill since when fly-by-wire acelerators were introduced - less and less driver control if the ECU thinks its outside its programmed parameters. Although, on a 300bhp FWD car it does come in handy. But then, as we all know, the FRS should have never been FWD- its got a propshaft tunnel, and its even has space under the rear axle for a diff. Just like the Scirocco R.

rabbos

I imagine it comes down to cost and profitability at Ford - without the AWD they can build RSs on the focus ST production line for virtually no extra cost to Ford. I bet they're all sitting around laughing at Ford.

scooby L

So fly by wire throttle management has given us progressive power...ok... that would make sense..but 60% seams a bit steep..

I suppose then, when Volvo said (in the 90's) 200bhp on a FWD car is about it when it comes to a workable limit they were right. (and everyone has been laughing at them since)...it's all been a big con

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Mine has this, they do it to protect the mechanicals, gearbox and clutch mainly but also to make it manageable, this along with Dual Mass flywheels is why a lot of modern cars feel like driving a computer game, give me a wire to the throttle and a nice light old fashioned single mass flywheel, this I suspect is why old cars feel so alive.

Spec'c'57

iTrader: (1)

Will let you know what 400bhp through the front wheels is like after the weekend.

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

hey, I don't want it to be limited, that's just how it is

my previous car was a 200SX S14a with 283bhp & 294lb/ft through the rear wheels, with no traction control and no restriction in lower gears, now that was fun

zip106

The MK1 FRS was also limited in 1st gear (not sure about 2nd, though).

Mog

I can tell you now........its great.

Mog

dunx

iTrader: (3)

In the 80's SAAB said 225 bhp at the front wheels was the limit for a tarmac rally car...

dunx

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

yes, the mk1 RS was restricted in 1st & 2nd too, I was really dissapointed when I first drove my mates

luckily a remap sorted that out and in the end (after much money was spent) it had about 320bhp, which was just wheelspin central, wasted power

paulwrxboro

ive said it before the car is not limited in first and second were did he get the FACTS from ? errrm nowere , the car is limited to 3.5k revs at launch so you dont damage the box and clutch once rolling over 5 mph you can rev the **** out of it if you wish


i did some serching and founds some facts that the scooby hatch internals are made from icecream and fudge and when you rev them to hard they just melt away

CP84

I nearly p/x my hatch sti for that rs at dh cars. awesome looking car.

tathan

They mean the boost is limited, not the revs.

paulwrxboro

no i still dont think it is but what do i know ive only had mine a year, if some bloke read it on the internet then it must be true

tathan

Why don't you google it, it seems to be pretty well known. Nearly all fwd high torque cars have some sort of torque limiting in lower gears.

tathan

http://www.modified.com/features/040...iew/index.html
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc...ord_focus.html
http://www.fastestlaps.com/articles/...est_drive.html
http://www.autozine.org/Archive/Ford/old/Focus.html

First 4 results.

paulwrxboro

i still cant see were it says "limited by 60% in 1st and 2nd" and all the above are about the focus mk1 bar the third clip

i do like this from your third clip tho Once onto some better roads I had the chance to stretch the cars legs - foot down in 2nd gear results in virtually no lag from the turbo 5 pot and very sudden shove from as low as 2000rpm. The wave of torque really pushes you back in your seat initially and gradually falls away as you approach the red line. Changing up results in a repeated slug of torque that sees you up to and past the legal speed limit