The Ford Focus RS has a 350 hp 2.3-liter turbocharging four cylinder engine and the permanent all-wheel drive provides absolute driving pleasure. ST suspensions together with Michelin, OZ Racing, RaceNavigator and the “Nürburgring Fahrsicherheitszentrum” (Nurburgring Driving Safety Center), enabled a dozen enthusiastic Ford Focus RS drivers to participate at our ST sports car driver training, to not only experience their own Focus RS on the limit of driving physics (YouTube Video above is still in German, English subs coming soon).
ST even gave the participants of our ST driver training the possibility to “experience” the performance of our ST XTA coilover kit during a ride in our Ford Focus RS. I believe that a person’s firsthand experience best showcases the quality of the ST XTA coilover kit.
An experienced instructor led the participants through the day and after each station the instructor gave her feedback. As each participant went through the exercises, the instructor was able to give advice for sporty driving, as well as encouragement through a radio.
After the introductory rounds on the modern terrain of the Driving Center at the Nürburgring, we were able to start the more challenging exercises, such as the notorious skid pad!
The skid pad in the Driving Safety Center at the Nürburgring has a sloping approach, with about a 5% slope, which makes it really challenging when trying to enter the slippery surface at a moderate speed. The water fountains on the skid pad shoot up in the air at two points, which Focus RS drivers had to avoid.
Both of these elements make the skid pad in the Driving Safety Center a challenge for drivers. Even some experienced drivers lost control, just like the ones who participated in a driving training for the first time. On the wet “slide”, the interception of a spinning vehicle could be simulated very well and especially without tire wear.
The Ford Focus RS has a “drift mode” in case of circle drifts, which no one can rely on. After the initial tests, that is not a surprise. A four-wheel vehicle requires an even more daring gas foot.
While circle drifting was a bit slower, we increased the pace throughout the day.
There were many highlights of the day, including emergency turns as well as braking and evasion maneuvers. Although the best part of the day was to ride in the ST Focus RS with an ST XTA coilover kit installed.
It was amazing to feel the difference in the ride compared to that with a stock coilover system. Our ST XTA coilover kit with its dampers adjustable in rebound ensured less load changes, even during fast driving maneuvers such as at slalom driving.
The ST coilover kit was also able to handle evasive lane changes with a sporty handling, without loss of driving comfort.
The ST XTA coilover kit manufactured by KW automotive in Germany allows a fine tuning of the dampers with just a few hand movements, compared to conventional sport suspensions and coilover kits. The damper forces can be adjusted to be either more comfortable or tighter.
The ST XTA coilover kit allows a continuous lowering of 30 – 50 mm on the front axle and 35 – 55 mm on the rear axle.
All participants received a ST voucher with the value of 100 Euro. We also had a raffle for ST coilover kit for the Ford Focus RS. The winner of the coilover kit was Florian F. from German town Höchstadt. On our homepage www.stsuspensions.net you will find detailed information about our Ford Focus RS suspension program, as we also offer ST wheel spacers and ST sports springs.
A little side note: all participants of our ST Sports Driver Training have paid a contribution at the ST suspensions special price for participating at the training.
