Ford Focus?
 

Wow! 2017 Ford Focus RS added to the guide.... interesting.. at 298 HP

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Gonna have to add a few pounds to the shipping weight just to meet the min. wt. for AAF/S class with 11.0 lbs. per hp break.

With a 13.50 1/4 mile index that car will easily run index, IMO.

Traction should not be a problem with AWD.

That's pretty stout h.p. numbers for a 2.3 cyl. 4 banger. Factory rated @ 350 hp.

http://s3.caradvice.com.au/wp-conten...parison-51.jpg

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/sama...2-1200x803.jpg

Re: Ford Focus?
 

NHRA has it at 298 hp and at a 10.91 wt break, means 3252 lbs, as I see it... Maybe an natural F car.. Ford has it at 350 hp, and 350 ft lbs tq.

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I was thinking F/Stock also seeing as how it is All Wheel Drive.

That means it would then have an index of 11.80.

It will be interesting seeing the first AWD Ford, because you know someone will put a roll bar in one and load it with race fuel and turn up the boost :)

Re: Ford Focus?
 

What transmission , an automatic 10 spd ? If it is a stick , is there a scatter shield available ? Could be a fun car to run , if you put in the effort .

Re: Ford Focus?
 

6 speed manual.
No Focus RS ever came with an automatic.

As far as a scatter shield, this may be a first for NHRA. Not sure tho.
If it is a F/Stock car, then it will be the first AWD in that class area that falls under the rules of the rear wheel drive cars.


This is a qoute from a online article about the car:

This led Ford to work with the engineering company GKN on the Torque Vectoring Rear Drive Module (RDM), which looks like a rear differential with electronically controlled but hydraulically actuated clutches on each rear-wheel output. A dedicated computer monitors vehicle sensors 100 times per second and locks and unlocks the clutches given the situation. The clutches allow the Focus RS to transfer up to 100 percent of its available power to the left or right rear wheel within .06 seconds by fully opening one clutch and locking the other, or it can lock the rear axle solid when using launch control.



https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...asts-hope-for/

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I just got confirmation.

It is treated as a rear wheel drive so it's a E, F, or G stick car.

I would be curious how a racer will get around the SFI bellhousing rule with the transmission arrangement in that car

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Wonder if Steve Polhill has thought about this combo lol

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I think the rulebook allows some sort of shield if no one makes a bellhousing . You must have a SFI flywheel , so that might be a problem . It just takes a little perseverance .

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I'm going to read the rulebook tomorrow.

That car uses the MMT6 Ford Transmission.

I saw some pics of that trans. That would be tough to make a SFI BH.
A SFI flywheel looks doable, but super expensive I would imagine.

Those cars are $ 35K + when new. That could turn out to be one expensive Stocker.

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Quick Time does make a 2.3L Ford to Jerico bell, but not for all wheel drive.

https://www.holley.com/products/driv.../parts/RM-4058

I am sure Ross McCombs could make it happen if need be.

-Aaron

Re: Ford Focus?
 

different 2.3 engine, that would be the 2.3 used in Pinto's

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I said this a couple of years ago, a rs focus or an awd Taurus with the twin turbo v6.
Finally they are putting new stuff in the guide besides mustangs!

Re: Ford Focus?
 

If Ford Gave me one I'd Race it :D Factory stock?

Re: Ford Focus?
 

What happened to the Mustang and engines that were in the 2017 Ford tech information?

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Since no others are not listed can they still race them (LOL)???

Re: Ford Focus?
 

The way I read the rule book under Stock, only the V-8 vehicles must have an SFI bellhousing.

Or....all vehicles running 11.49 or quicker.
So the Focus could technically run under the F/S index of 11.80, but not by much. Or add weight and run G/S

Either way the Focus would need an SFI flywheel and clutch assembly as well as a SFI harmonic balancer ( unless it uses a "hub" )


Since the car has a transverse arrangement, this is the closest I could come to in the rule book:

All front-wheel-drive or transverse-mounted applications using a
clutch and running 11.49 or quicker, for which an SFI Spec 6.1,
6.2, or 6.3 flywheel shield is not commercially available, must
be equipped with a flywheel shield made of 1/4-inch minimum
thickness
steel plate. Shield must surround the bellhousing
completely
except for area of bellhousing adjacent to differential
and axle shaft. Shield may be multi-piece, with pieces bolted
together using minimum 3/8-inch-diameter Grade 5 or M10
class 8.8 bolts; may be attached to engine and/or bellhousing.

Re: Ford Focus?
 

somebody is building one otherwise they just "don't put cars" into the guide--Who??? maybe Ford???

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I'd love to try it. But those are not cheap cars.

With some 116 octane fuel, more boost and an open exhaust I believe it could make the power easily enough.
Just getting the car equipped with all the legal stuff would be the key

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I apologize for going a little off-topic here, but for anyone considering running a manual transmission race car without a clutch can, whether the rules require it or not, I submit the following. Please learn from my error(s) in judgement:

Back in the '80s, I ran an NHRA Pro ET normally-aspirated rotary Mazda door car twice a week at two local drag strips. There was no commercially-available SFI Spec 6.1 bellhousing. There was also no SFI Spec 1.1 flywheels or clutches available.

The set-up that worked the best for me, was a stock cast iron flywheel, with a stock pressure plate, and a fairly lightweight clutch disc with a solid (unsprung) hub and no marcel spring between the facings. I experimented with various metallic pucks on the disc.

The NHRA rule book at that time said that solid-lifter manual transmission cars had to have a clutch can, and since the rotary has no lifters, I was able to get through tech without one, even though I was launching, shifting, and going through the lights at about 9,000 rpm.

Then in 1990, a flywheel/clutch explosion at the top end nearly cut the car in half.

It was an un-necessarily exciting ride, for a car that only went 111 mph or so. It sounded like a bomb going off inside the car. In addition to the concussion, the wind was suddenly whistling through the car, which was full of smoke and what I initially thought was flames (but turned out to only be sparks from severed battery cables). It blew the latch off for the front-hinged hood and blew the hood up momentarily, until the wind made it flop back down. It blew the brake master cylinder right off the firewall, so I had no brakes. I also had no engine compression braking, since it vaporized everything between the engine's rear main seal and the transmission's front bearing. It oiled down my slicks, which made steering kind of exciting, as my right hand wouldn't work (it had been resting on the shifter when the explosion happened, which stunned my right arm up to the elbow). Thank God I had routed my fuel line outside the front sub-frame stampings (for this exact reason), or I would have been on fire with absolutely no way to stop, with nothing but a single-layer 3-2A/1 jacket to protect me. I was afraid to look at my feet, because I thought I had lost them. Fortunately, the rotary engine is so small, that the entire clutch and flywheel are located forward of the firewall, so my feet were never in line with the shrapnel.

I will never make a mistake like that again.

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Thankfully you weren't hurt badly in the explosion, as you mentioned it could have been a whole lot worse!

Hasn't Ford been using the Focus and/or Fiesta in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Europe for many years? Those cars make upwards of 600 HP(!) and I'm sure there are WRC/Euro-spec safety equipment items being made available to those race-teams. Interesting to see that NHRA accepted the AWD platform for the Focus, after nixing it on the SUV/Trucks. I guess it's all how you address the situation!

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Even with SFI approved parts, my 4 cylinder exploded a flywheel at the finishline (9400 RPM) last year, quite the religious experience. The Quicktime bellhousing contained it but it was mess regardless. I broke the block, crank, starter broke off and took out the headers, among other damage. Obviously the flywheel, clutch and bell housing were destroyed also. If I didn't have a support cross member under the bellhousing, it would have been even worse. I would estimate I was out $4,000+ before I got everything back together.

Interestingly, the description in the NHRA rulebook specifying how to integrate an SFI approved bellhousing onto an engine where one is not commercially available for is based on my car, I actually wrote it up myself. At the time (1987), the rulebook said to wrap the stock cast bellhousing with 1/4" steel plate. I had made an adapter plate to mate a small block Ford Lakewood bellhousing to my 2.3 Ford motor which strangely was deemed illegal as it didn't conform to the rulebook. They did concede that what I did was considerably safer so asked me to write up the description so it could be included in the rulebook for future reference.


Jim Caughlin
6019 SS/ES

Re: Ford Focus?
 

This one probably has a transversely mounted engine and transmission , better make that shield sturdy . Flywheel probably lines up with the drivers body !

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Yep...it's transversely mounted and the clutch is aimed right at the driver's face


https://mk3focusrs.club/wp-content/u...cus-engine.jpg

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Thanks for posting. I did not know that.
I run a 2.3 Turbo Ford in Stk and SS so if I go to a manual trans setup it will have the whole slew of sfi clutch stuff

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Yeah, I forgot about that- my explosion cut the header in half too.

And mine took out the engine too- it knocked the engine oil filter boss off the rear engine plate, as well as snapping off several of the bellhousing bolt mounting ears. I think I was able to salvage the little Holley 600 double-pumper carb, the aluminum Racing Beat intake manifold, the RX7 electronic distributor, the spark plug wires, and the underdrive front crank pulley, but that's about it.

I didn't have a mid-mount, but my solid engine mounts at the front and the solid transmission mount at the rear, kept the engine and transmission from falling out of the car.

The transverse set-up depicted above looks pretty dangerous. I'd definitely want a substantial steel shield for a car like that, possibly made of AR500 armor plate.

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Instead of a weight box you have 300# of armour plating hanging off the firewall LOL!!!

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Looks like somebody has jumped in with one of these, but can't get close to the index yet:

https://i.imgur.com/zsXGWBE.jpg

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Interesting.
Wonder if anyone has any pics of the car ?

That qualifying list is book ended by 2 turbo 2.3L Fords.
Old style turbo 2.3L and the newest style turbo 2.3L

Congrats to Sean Marconette on the # 1 position

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Awesome…Finally a cure for INSOMNIA . MB

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Alan, go to Midwest Class racer on face book, there are people posting on Topeka & Marion’s races. Mite be racer runing street car to get grade?

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Thanks.

Back in the older days a racer could potentially take a new street car and enter Stock legally without having to add a roll bar, or aftermarket seat belts because the car fell into the slower classes.
Can't do that now.

Re: Ford Focus?
 

Thanks Alan!!

Lots of hours over the winter working on the car. We figured something out with our race with Darrel Goheen yesterday and built upon that today.

I did not get a chance to seek out the owner of the Focus. It looked to be right off the street. The track staff thought it was in the wrong group of cars on Saturdays race.

Sean

Re: Ford Focus?
 

I thought I'd revive this thread since the car in question competed at last weekend's Topeka divisional:
83 5801 FS/G Jonathon Maestas, Abeline KS, '17 Focus 13.424 11.35 2.074

There are 2 big problems with this...first off, this is not a Factory Stock car and was obviously misclassified.
Second, he dialed .55 over the index in first round on Friday:

Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET-- Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET-- Speed
5305 Jim Parsons 5801 Jonathon Maestas
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.162 11.305 97.44 0.079 13.287 104.48
F/S Dial: 11.08 (+/-): 0.225 FS/G Dial: 11.90 (+/-): 1.387
Qualified: #41 11.097 -0.703 #83 13.424 2.074

The weight break for this car is 10.91, making it a natural F/S. In my thinking, this round should've been a heads-up!
From what I've heard, the owner is young and eager to learn but doesn't really have a clue about the classification system. It was left to the NHRA staff, who I believe were working with little to no data. We don't want this young man to get discouraged and give up, but you can't just throw the rules out the window for one guy. If I were Mr. Parsons and this round would've gone the other way, you can bet I would have had words with the tech officials.

Re: Ford Focus?
 

He was pitted over by me and was not around when I went to talk to him. A couple of things that was noticed at the National Open. No permanent numbers or class designation, and what appears to be non factory tinted windows that are quite dark.

At last weeks race the numbers appeared to be permanent but the class designation was shoe polish? I was told there were issues with fuel check too.

To Paul's point no one wants to discourage a new racer. But help yourself out and ask fellow racers for some help. I have a pretty good idea who teched his car, they have no idea about class cars and our rules.

Per Classracer Info, it should be in AAF/S. Min w/driver is 3448 lbs and is rated at 298 HP. Index is 13.50

I highly recommend the racer of this car reach out to your fellow division racers for some help everyone is here to lend a hand.



Sean