Focus RS Drag Race

That kind of makes me glad the A45 isn't sold in America, one less thing to consider when shopping this market. I almost rather buy a Fiesta ST and tune the piss out of it. You really can't go wrong with a vehicle that light and already has good power from the factory, but of course i'm here for the RS Focus.

Actually it is sold in the United states and start at $50K, in the USA they are rated at 355 BHP and yes it is still a lot faster than the Focus RS. http://www.caranddriver.com/mercedes-amg/gla45-4matic
In part to the DSG but it is starting to look like the Focus RS engine output is overrated. Why? Well the acceleration is on par with cars like the STI, EVO, and Golf R, especially 1/4 mile times and trap speed. In fact there is a straight up drag race between a new Focus RS, Golf R, and a GLA45, the Mercedes won obviously but the Golf also beat the the Focus by a couple of car lengths. If the Focus really had over 50 hp more that would not happen (even with DSG). And then there is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GYL2-oZLjI

A chassis dyno run showing only 253 bhp at the wheels, which is on par with the EVO, STI, and Golf R. So with all this test data it seems pretty clear this car is a closer to 300 bhp, not 350.

Rspeed said:

Saying 253bhp at the wheels isn't correct.

BHP and CHP are primarily the same thing. The power to the crank, bhp typically without loss of power from accessories, gearbox, etc.

WHP is the power that makes it to the ground after drivetrain loss which can range from vehicle to vehicle.

Click to expand...

If you watch the video, the actual owner/operator of the dyno wrote "253 bhp at the wheels" so I think he would know what his equipment measured. Also 253 WHP is close to what the 300 hp STI measures on a chassis dyno, which makes sense considering the two cars have very similar drive trains, weight, and acceleration performance. So either the STI (and Golf) specified engine outputs are severely underrated, or the FOcus RS engine output is severely overrated. Which do you think is true?

Lol I'm just giving you textbook definitions and pointing out the differences but hey, I'm always open to the "agree to disagree".

Now here's another dyno chart. What're your thoughts on this ? This is for the Ford Focus RS btw

As well, we're looking at a 15ish% drivetrain loss, wheres subarus have been known to lose 20-25%

Rspeed said:

Lol I'm just giving you textbook definitions and pointing out the differences but hey, I'm always open to the "agree to disagree".

Now here's another dyno chart. What're your thoughts on this ? This is for the Ford Focus RS btw

As well, we're looking at a 15ish% drivetrain loss, wheres subarus have been known to lose 20-25%

Click to expand...

Chassis dyno's can be setup to throw out all sorts of random numbers, they are completely meaningless without a frame of reference. I am inclined to believe the other chassis dyno results over this one because:

1. The owner/operator of that other test is telling us that his measurements equate to 253 WHP. I think he would know how to interpret the results of his equipment/setup. I have seen dyno operators changing setting on their dyno until it produces numbers close to what is expected from the manufacturer's spec. They see that as a way of "calibration". We will have to wait until more well known dyno shops start testing this car to have a better picture of what is really going on.

2. The real proof of power is in how the car performs, and as we have already seen repeatedly, this Focus RS is really no faster than other very similar cars that have ratings of 300 hp or less. That is a fact that is very difficult to argue with, so I am inclined to think that this dyno test numbers are false.

Like I said, as more and more testing is done, the truth will come out. There is enough data out right now to indicate something ain't right. If this turns out to be the case I would hope that Ford will investigate and come out with some sort of update to make it right.

I'm just saying there's way more factors to consider aside from horsepower. But nonetheless, you seem dead set on this and we're obviously not going to get any certain results until we have many more tests and find an average in that. I still don't believe that something isn't right, especially with a claim that it's "losing 100hp". That's just not fathomable.

The dyno chart that I posted is coming from a well known performance company. If anything, they would have wanted to "change their settings" to show the initial power lower than manufacturer spec so that when they tuned it, it would show a lot more. But, it most definitely could be a conspiracy, what do I know ?!

Rspeed said:

I'm just saying there's way more factors to consider aside from horsepower. But nonetheless, you seem dead set on this and we're obviously not going to get any certain results until we have many more tests and find an average in that. I still don't believe that something isn't right, especially with a claim that it's "losing 100hp". That's just not fathomable.

The dyno chart that I posted is coming from a well known performance company. If anything, they would have wanted to "change their settings" to show the initial power lower than manufacturer spec so that when they tuned it, it would show a lot more. But, it most definitely could be a conspiracy, what do I know ?!

Click to expand...

I am not trying to suggest that it is a horrible car, I am sure it is a fun car regardless. But let's face it, the only reason anyone would pay double the cost of a regular Focus (which looks virtually the same inside and out), is for the added performance. How quickly a car accelerates is a very important aspect of performance, obviously it is not the only aspect, but it is certainly a very important one. For example; if it was identical in every other way, but only had say 150 HP, would it still be as desirable? I don't think so, just ask Subaru BRZ or Toyota 86 owners.

So if Ford announced tomorrow, "gee sorry, turns out the Focus RS only makes 300 HP not 350 HP like we said", would that affect the car's desirability? I think it would still be a desirable car, but certainly to a lesser extent for many folks.

If Ford had advertised this car as having say 310 hp, it would still be a great car to get excited about. For example people are still excited about the Golf R, another sub $40K econo based performance car with awd, and even the recently departed EVO, or the STI, they are all still exciting, desirable, and fun cars. The thing is Ford led us to believe that this car would trump those other options in every performance aspect.

All three of those other AWD econo based hotrods have more or less the same power rating, weight, and drivetrain, and guess what, on average they all have very similar acceleration. So now Ford comes out with this new Focus RS option that has very similar weight and drivetrain, but trick new differentials to improve handling, and supposedly a significantly higher engine output (almost 20% more). Those specifications would lead one to believe that it will accelerate much faster, but apparently it doesn't, why?

So if all of these cars have very similar drive train and weight, and all have similar acceleration, occam's razor suggests that they all have very similar power output as well. 0-60 is heavily influenced by traction off the line, but trap speed not so much. Trap speed is a very good indicator of power output, and it is telling a very different story from what the specs, and this one chassis dyno are saying. Numbers are meaningless if they don't translate into real performance. I am raising this issue because I would like to see this car perform like it should based off its specifications. While it is good in many ways, it should be even better.

We will see, as these cars start showing up at drag strips and dyno days getting tested back to back against STI's, EVO's and Golf R's, the truth will become obvious to all. IMO it seems obvious right now that this car is not meeting spec's, but we will see. Just remember you heard it here first lol.