So I decided to swing by focusst.org tonite...

[HTO-06]

My God I am so glad that I decided to buy another Speed 3 instead of a Focus ST. In just 3 pages the discussions were centered around RMM problems and the availability of parts, numerous rattles, leaking valve covers and on and on and on...

And I just don't get it with Ford - Customer complains about a banging noise in the front of car during aggressive shifting and they install an upgraded part but the TSB includes replacing the hydraulic clutch line with one with a restriction, no doubt to slow up clutch engagement which will (supposedly) reduce that banging noise up front. And maybe help that clutch to burn up too.

Round here we have stories of ZZB mostly on cars that have been modded to the hilt, and have a dozen ways to Sunday to take care of a soggy motor mount but Jeez, when our cars fuck up it's because they have had the literal shit driven out of them; we're talking abuse city. I bought my PU in early July and it already has 6500 miles on it and I haven't had one single problem. Yeah it's stone stock alright but I do drive it aggressively (you have to, to stay alive on Houston freeways) and it takes it all in stride just like my '08. No rattles, flying off parts, leaks etc, nothing!

That ST looks damn good sitting in the show room, and all the road tests seem to like it a lot but I wonder how it be viewed 5 years from now......

[kritz]

Uses same RMM as us, lol

Sent from fastest Ko4 Pu.

[budzinski]

I've work at a ford dealer and I'm a tech and we really don't see a lot of st come in anymore.. Use to have a few for clutch problems but haven't seen many in the last few months.. There a pretty stout car.. I was so close to buying a fully loaded st for 24k with my discount but opted for the speed.. I live in the suburbs of a big city and I see more focus st then I do speeds.. Kinda glad I got the speed.. I swear I see at least 3-4 st a day but maybe 1 speed a week..the only thing I regret was the awesome leather recaros but I'm happy with my speed.. We've replaced about 3 clutches and a few recalls but no blown motors yet.. We have a fiesta st for the last 2 months still sitting here cause its 25k.. Might as well buy a focus st for that..yeah the st forums are kinda gay cause I lurked there before I bought the speed.. All they do is cry and bitch about little nick nack shit

[Lex]

The speed community was a lot different as well when it first came out. The ST is an evolution of the speed and the Ecoboost is a stout motor overall.

[kritz]

Those short rods let that motor rev upwards to 8000+

[Tokay444]

If the bore is the same 87.5mm are ours, but is destroked to 2.0, the rods have to be longer.
Longer than ours that is.
It's the slower piston velocities with the shorter stroke that aid in revving.
A better rod:stroke ratio.

[p057]

Originally Posted by HTO-06 Round here we have stories of ZZB mostly on cars that have been modded to the hilt, and have a dozen ways to Sunday to take care of a soggy motor mount but Jeez, when our cars fuck up it's because they have had the literal shit driven out of them; we're talking abuse city.

Are you kidding?
I see your join date as being 2008... do you not remember the "dark ages" of the MS platform? it was pretty much everything you just described as horrible with the ST.
people ZZB'd usually doing nothing wrong!

NOW we have figured out all the tuning and quirks and everything that has us as a pretty stout platform. the same will probably be said about the ST in a year or few.

[silvapain]

Originally Posted by kritz Uses same RMM as us, lol Sent from fastest Ko4 Pu.

It's the same form factor, but their bushing is actually weaker than ours stock. A simple aftermarket RMM upgrade for the ST will fix all their issues.

[kritz]

Originally Posted by Tokay444 If the bore is the same 87.5mm are ours, but is destroked to 2.0, the rods have to be longer. Longer than ours that is. It's the slower piston velocities with the shorter stroke that aid in revving. A better rod:stroke ratio.

Crank journal length shorter.

[Tokay444]

Is that what they did? Just lowered the deck height?

[Tokay444]

Disi is 94mm stroke. 2.0 ecoboost is 83.1mm. The rods have to be longer because they both have the same bore.

[timjs]

Originally Posted by Tokay444 Disi is 94mm stroke. 2.0 ecoboost is 83.1mm. The rods have to be longer because they both have the same bore.

Why? We have a larger displacement.

Same bore, smaller stroke= less displacement.

[anavrinIV]

Originally Posted by timjs Why? We have a larger displacement. Same bore, smaller stroke= less displacement.

shorter stroke at the same deck height = longer rods

[timjs]

Ah I didn't realize the deck height was the same.

[Lex]

The tuning and control system has a lot to do with the longevity of the motor. They learned a lot of things about small turbos and lots of low down torque in the last few years.

[a_luban]

Originally Posted by HTO-06 My God I am so glad that I decided to buy another Speed 3 instead of a Focus ST. In just 3 pages the discussions were centered around RMM problems and the availability of parts, numerous rattles, leaking valve covers and on and on and on... And I just don't get it with Ford - Customer complains about a banging noise in the front of car during aggressive shifting and they install an upgraded part but the TSB includes replacing the hydraulic clutch line with one with a restriction, no doubt to slow up clutch engagement which will (supposedly) reduce that banging noise up front. And maybe help that clutch to burn up too. Round here we have stories of ZZB mostly on cars that have been modded to the hilt, and have a dozen ways to Sunday to take care of a soggy motor mount but Jeez, when our cars fuck up it's because they have had the literal shit driven out of them; we're talking abuse city. I bought my PU in early July and it already has 6500 miles on it and I haven't had one single problem. Yeah it's stone stock alright but I do drive it aggressively (you have to, to stay alive on Houston freeways) and it takes it all in stride just like my '08. No rattles, flying off parts, leaks etc, nothing! That ST looks damn good sitting in the show room, and all the road tests seem to like it a lot but I wonder how it be viewed 5 years from now......

You have to remember it's a new car too. As a proud owner of an early '06 MS6 I was a victim of VVT, smoking turbo, and seeping transfer case none of which ended up being covered under warranty. Try reading some of the horror stories of people going ZZB lightly modded or stock who had their warranty denied bc they couldn't find their oil change receipts. There are advantages to a mature platform....

[MacheteJames]

I've never driven an ST, but I'm currently driving a Fusion Titanium as a rental while my MS3 is in the auto body shop for repairs after getting hit while parked on the street. This Fusion has a detuned version of the ST motor. Thoughts:

- The car was fueled with 87 octane when I picked it up. I wasn't impressed with the motor's pulling power until I filled up with 93. Huge difference. With 93, it pulls pretty nicely, with huge low end. This motor's low end actually makes the DISI look bad. With our motors, we always say 'don't boost below 3000'. With the EcoBoost motor, the turbo spools so low that you can't help but boost right off idle. Considering that it's basically a baby DISI, I have no idea how the engineers were able to pull this off. I know it has a smaller turbo, but what about the rods?

- MPG is better than the Speed even while flogging it here and there.

- The motor doesn't sound all that great. Obviously the Fusion is going to be quieter than the ST since it doesn't have the sound symposer, but even the STs that I've with an exhaust heard sound like crap thanks to the equal length exhaust manifold. A Speed with an exhaust sounds mean as shit. An ST with an exhaust sounds like a Honda.

[PornStarJacqui]

I test drove the ST a lot in August and September. In the end, it being a first year car is what pushed me to buy the Speed. Perhaps when the ST has a few more years under it's belt I'll consider it. It was a fun car to drive, but I feel more comfortable in the Speed. It feels more grown up. I like our seats a lot more too.