First time Focus ST owner

[Mark8815]

Hello. As the title says ive just bought a Focus ST, 2012 ST2, just wondering if theres anything in particular to look out for whwn owning one? Also what are you paying per tyre? Had a few varying prices so just wanted a rough idea. Cheers

[Greendubber]

Buy a disclok

[Ron240]

Mark8815 said:

ive just bought a Focus ST, 2012 ST2, just wondering if theres anything in particular to look out for whwn owning one?
Also what are you paying per tyre?

Nothing in particular to worry about.
Good Year F1 Asymmetric 2......budget for around £120 each, have a look on Blackcircles. Somebody will always know where you can get them cheaper.

[KieronGSi]

Ron240 said:

Mark8815 said:

ive just bought a Focus ST, 2012 ST2, just wondering if theres anything in particular to look out for whwn owning one?
Also what are you paying per tyre?

Nothing in particular to worry about.
Good Year F1 Asymmetric 2......budget for around £120 each, have a look on Blackcircles. Somebody will always know where you can get them cheaper.

They ave been replaced by the Asy 3 which I used to run, great in the dry and great in the wet apart from spinning up quite easy. I'm now running the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 which is far superior in my opinion, can't wheel spin at all in the dry and struggle in the wet.

[NoIP]

Greendubber said:

Buy a disclok

This ^ this ^ and this ^. It'll be gone in no time if you don't.

Also like another guy has said, getting the power down is a big problem with them if you have a heavy right foot. The automatic torque vectoring BS will have you wresting with the steering wheel like with a python as it pulls from side to side when you're hoofing it. Particularly bad on wet roads but just as annoying on some dry surfaces as well. Some say turning off the ESC (long press the button for about 10 seconds to fully turn it off) helps but I can't say that I've noticed any real difference.

There isn't much that goes wrong with them from reading various owner forums. I've had mine nearly 3 years now (2013 ST3 estate) and mechanically it's been absolutely faultless.

Known issues :

- illuminated kick plate lights are known to fail. Mine have been fine though.

- DRLs are known to flicker on a random basis with no known cause, although it's likely related to :

- ECU wiring loom fault on a couple of crimps. Basically they did a bit of a st job when they built them and a couple of the crimps loosen which results in a bad connection and causes the car to stall randomly without explanation along with the revs jumping about all over the place when you're not moving. There's a youtube video tutorial fix if you're handy with the spanners and a soldering iron. Some owners have managed to force their dealers to fix it under warranty but it's still not an official recall in the UK, although it is in the USA. It's quite a common problem so if you experience any of that weirdness that's most likely to be what it is.

My own DRLs do flicker and have done pretty much since I bought it. I had a few issues with the revs hunting and was fully expecting to have to get the crimps redone but for unknown reasons it settled down and it's been absolutely fine for the past 18 months other than the occasional DRL flickering

Mpg : expect between 26-30 depending on how much you hoof it. I hoof mine a lot to speeds that you won't see listed on signs at the side of roads and it's currently sitting at 26.9 but nearly all my driving is short journeys with a cold engine. Driving sensibly it'll do about 30 mpg but don't expect to get more than that around town. I find running it on V-Power makes a big improvement to the throttle response - it's much lighter on the foot and more willing to go, whereas I find the throttle response to feel rather stodgy where running it on normal unleaded.

Oh, and yes, they all have that ridiculous bonnet gap that you can get your hand in when closed. It's caused by the bonnet latch being mounted too high above the radiator and no, it can't be adjusted or moved. Adjusting the rubber stoppers at each end of the slam panel can make a bit of difference but be careful as I remember reading about someone doing this and when he shut the bonnet it smashed one of his headlights.

[Zetec-S]

NoIP said:

Greendubber said:

Buy a disclok

This ^ this ^ and this ^. It'll be gone in no time if you don't.

Might also be worth looking at relocating the OBD port, or installing a hidden switch to disable it.

[Mark8815]

Thanks for all your replies. I will be sure to get a disclok. I did make a mistake in my original post though, it is an ST1. I pick it up on Friday morning, bit of a different drive to the Zafira haha. Again thanks for your replies

Edited by Mark8815 on Tuesday 11th July 15:32

[NoIP]

Mark8815 said:

Thanks for all your replies. I will be sure to get a disclok. I did make a mistake in my original post though, it is an ST1. I pick it up on Friday morning, bit of a different drive to the Zafira haha. Again thanks for your replies

Edited by Mark8815 on Tuesday 11th July 15:32

ST1? That's the poverty spec one that has wind-up windows and a radio cassette player isn't it?

[Mark8815]

Doesnt even come with wipers!!!

[Hub]

I've never felt worried about theft. Maybe it depends where you live! Also, is the keyless ST-3 more vulnerable than the ST-1 and ST-2?

[NoIP]

Hub said:

I've never felt worried about theft. Maybe it depends where you live! Also, is the keyless ST-3 more vulnerable than the ST-1 and ST-2?

Only a big problem on the keyless ones. I thought they were all keyless access?

[Hub]

No, my ST-2 has push button start but not keyless entry.

[Mark8815]

Hi, no mine is only keyless start, still have to unlock it with the key, but wont start unless the key is in the car

[Mark8815]

For anybody that is interested, this is it.

[NoIP]

Mark8815 said:

For anybody that is interested, this is it.

Wrong thread. Try this one - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...