Sigh... (THIS IS NOT A FWD VS AWD DEBATE)

"ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)" (adabofoppo) 10/21/2014 at 11:14 • Filed to: Rants

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Every time Ford works on a new Focus RS all anyone talks about is how they want it to be AWD for less than (insert absurdly low and utterly impossible amount here).

If you want and AWD hatch for less than $X, then go find a damn Subaru under that amount of money and put some Ford badges on it.

Ford won't make the RS AWD as it ads weight and complexity and ruins the character of the car. If they magically did make it AWD they certainly aren't going to price it like a fucking GTI.

And I'm not posting to bash any type of drivetrain. FWD, AWD, and RWD all have their positive and negative points.

Meatcoma > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:17

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RWD!

ly2v8-Brian > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:17

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word

ColoradoTaco > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:17

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But isn't a bump in HP + AWD the difference between the RS and ST? Ford may as well not bother selling it here if it's not the same car it is in EU. If they do sell it here it should probably be priced competitively to the Golf R, not the GTI.

For Sweden > Meatcoma 10/21/2014 at 11:17

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LWD!

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:18

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They could just buy a Golf R ....

Sweet Trav > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:19

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I'm for an AWD Focus RS. I think there is a market.

If it costs 35k so be it. The RS should be the absolute best and most that can possibly be rung out of the platform.

Plus 310hp to just the front wheels would make the torque-steer go to plaid.

Leon711 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/21/2014 at 11:20

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nope, just for us yurrupeens.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > ColoradoTaco 10/21/2014 at 11:20

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no, there's never been an AWD Focus, the RS and ST are both FWD

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Leon711 10/21/2014 at 11:21

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Didn't know that, thought since they get the GTI theyd get the R.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:21

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All we want is evo and STI money, not that I personally would be able to afford one (well I could, but then I'd need to downsize everything else). 300+ factory hp is simply wasted on FWD, and I say this as a Fiesta ST owner.

Justino6969 > For Sweden 10/21/2014 at 11:21

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RF&LRWD!

Coty > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:22

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RWD! RWD! RWD! RWD!

-guy who's waiting for his ST to be built.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > For Sweden 10/21/2014 at 11:22

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CWD!

Leon711 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/21/2014 at 11:23

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I am mistaken, ignore me.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 11:25

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Then go hit the gym and learn how to drive it properly. It's absolutely no different than how one must drive a Porsche properly to get the most out of.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 11:27

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I never said there wasn't the market for an AWD Ford hot hatch.

Only that I know it would be at the very top among a market already filled with some very, very capable AWD hatches already. That doesn't make much sense to me, so I'm sure it won't appease the bean-counters within Ford either.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. 10/21/2014 at 11:30

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It's absolutely no different from needing to drive a Porsche properly to get the most out of it.

Meatcoma > For Sweden 10/21/2014 at 11:31

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IC....what you did there.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 11:31

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Would you buy one if they did build it, but it was $40,000?

Sweet Trav > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:32

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Psh. Thats almost Stingray money.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:33

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But the Focus ST could do anything the RS could as FWD, it just makes sense to make it the new competition for the STI now that the EVO is gone.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 11:33

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Thank you for proving my point.

Sweet Trav > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:34

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It doesn't matter how good of a driver you are, the 235/40/18's can only do so much.

Sweet Trav > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:35

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but for some bro with a lot of money in love his FoST he might be able to convince daddy to buy him one.

ly2v8-Brian > Coty 10/21/2014 at 11:36

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That's because it's best wheel drive.

Coty > ly2v8-Brian 10/21/2014 at 11:39

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RWD? Indeed it is. I have 3 RWDs, and one 4WD with rear bias. Getting used to torque steer gon' be weird as fuck.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 11:39

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That's the whole point. You are limited by the size of the tire you can run, so you have to learn how to drive differently to get the max out of the car. Just like you have to learn to drive a Porsche differently to get the max out of it.

Physics always wins. But you can still have fun trying to beat it, and that is part of the character of the RS.

Can anyone really use a 700 HP RWD car fully all the time either? Same problem as 300+ FWD.

ly2v8-Brian > Coty 10/21/2014 at 11:42

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It is. I've had two RWD trucks. It feels really weird in a car with a torquey engine like say a Buick LeSabre.

Coty > ly2v8-Brian 10/21/2014 at 11:44

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All my RWDs I've owned:

(all 3 in this picture)

Coty > Coty 10/21/2014 at 11:46

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Accidentally published it. These too:

ly2v8-Brian > Coty 10/21/2014 at 11:46

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that'll be a weird transition to go from the ass engined beetle to fwd.

Coty > ly2v8-Brian 10/21/2014 at 11:48

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Well I'll still have all of them, I don't own the Benz or the wagon anymore though.

Sweet Trav > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/21/2014 at 11:54

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Which is more fun?

Fighting physics with front wheel drive, or coming in first with all wheel drive?

I'll choose winning.

Plus you don't NEED 310+ horsepower to make a small FWD car fast, the Renault that everyone creams themselves over in Europe only makes 271hp and it has the 'ring record.

As you so clearly pointed out, there is a point where power becomes a detriment, not a bonus to particular chassis, for a FWD car its about 275hp before no matter how good you are, Be the Stig, Lewis Hamilton, Jimmy Johnson or Sir Stirling Moss a car that can actually put the power down wins, as opposed to a vehicle stuck on a particular design choice because of nostalgia and tradition. It's the same argument I'll make to people who balk at the next Corvette if it goes Mid-engine like Motor-Trend speculated.

Upping the power significantly from the Focus ST to the Focus RS and expecting it to be faster is like trying to put a fire out with by spraying it with gasoline.

ly2v8-Brian > Coty 10/21/2014 at 11:56

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Interesting group nonetheless.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 12:29

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Fun is subjective.

AWD does not equal winning.

Coty > ly2v8-Brian 10/21/2014 at 12:54

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AADHD

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 14:03

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I run a 235/40/18 Conti race slick on the FWD track toy. It does justttt fine.

Sweet Trav > Little Black Coupe Turned Silver 10/21/2014 at 14:17

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I'm not making the argument that (Insert drive type here) is better than FWD. Just that you can only ask the front tires to do so much.

Plus, your 'balt is lighter, and R-compound rubber has a bit more bite than anything you can run (legally) on the street, also please correct me if I'm wrong, but you're in the 275hp range not the 300+ range

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > Sweet Trav 10/21/2014 at 14:25

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At the moment yes. But I'm on a dialed back track tune. Next year I'm going to play with pushing more out of it on track. I've street driven and AutoX'ed on my old "kill" tune, which is in the 300 range, and it wasn't horrible on Star Specs.