To get the most out of your tyres you’ll need to properly maintain them. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, and we’re here to help. Winner of the MOTORRAD test, the MICHELIN Power RS tyre is the new reference in sports tyres. 7 years after quitting the Grand Prix scene, MICHELIN is once again back in MotoGP as the official supplier for the championship.Bikes VincentVincent Tt1950 VincentHrd VincentMotorcycles CyclecarsMotorcycles BritishClassic MotorcyclesVincent MotorcyclesFlash 1Forward1 of 4 1950 Vincent TT Grey Flash motorcycles prepped for the Isle of Man TT Race. Seen at the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum. Rally-driver wannabes and hot-hatch hooligans, your wait is over: The Focus RS is here. With a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder that sends 350 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels, the RS comes standard with a six-speed manual and a unique torque-vectoring system. Michelin Pilot Super Sports wrap nineteen-inch wheels; we recorded a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds in our testing.
Developed with input from Ken Block, we judge the RS to be better than the Subaru WRX, WRX STI, and VW Golf R. Jump to Instrumented Test – 2016 Ford Focus RS with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Tires Tested: 2016 Ford Focus RS with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Tires Rank in Sport Compacts 1. Volkswagen Golf GTI 2. Ford Focus RS 3. Ford Fiesta ST 4. Volkswagen Golf R 5. Ford Focus ST 7. Subaru WRX STI 8. Mini Cooper Hardtop S / JCW We have long admired RS Focuses from across the oceans, and now the formerly unattainable icon of Ford Performance is finally on our shores. In our hands, the new RS already has dominated a comparison test held in Europe against the Subaru WRX STI and the Volkswagen Golf R and has tackled the 24 turns of Virginia International Raceway in our annual Lightning Lap (where it turned a lap quicker than a V-8 Mustang achieved in 2015). But this is our first crack at the car on American roads—and the results were not quite what we expected.
Only the most observant readers would notice that the biggest difference between the comparison-test car and the Lightning Lap car was the tires. Bone stock, the Focus RS comes from the factory on capable Michelin Pilot Super Sport radials. Like our Lightning Lap car, this example came with a $1990 wheel-and-tire package consisting of a specific 19-inch forged-aluminum wheel and as racy a tire as you can put on a street car, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2. This is the same rubber worn by exotics worldwide. Fun fact: The Focus RS has the first square (non-staggered) fitment for the Cup 2 in the U.S.—a small win for diagonal tire rotation. Purchased on their own, a set of Cup 2s would cost about $1500 installed and the delicate-looking, Y-spoke wheels command $1395, so the package is something of a deal. And the more aggressive rubber brings an instant, tangible increase in performance to the RS. Stopping from 70 mph takes 154 feet, which is only four feet shorter than a Super Sport–shod RS, but lateral acceleration jumps from just below 1.00 g to 1.04 g.
It’s that kind of lateral grip that allows the Cup 2–equipped RS to lap VIR as quickly as it does. This RS’s accelerative performance—zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and a 13.4-second quarter-mile—is unchanged. There is no question that the RS is a feral beast, and on this ultrasticky rubber, it follows every last pavement crack, bump, and tar strip while the firm suspension keeps body roll in check. In the sterile lab of a well-groomed racetrack, this translates to a connection between car and driver that we dream of. However, once you transition to Michigan’s far-from-perfect public roads, housebreaking the RS proves to be the frustrating stuff of a ride-and-handling engineer’s worst dreams. This RS vibrates like a paint shaker on two-lane roads; it borders on unlivable when respecting posted speed limits. Crank up the velocity to criminal levels, and the RS actually settles down a bit. The ride evens out and the steering stops favoring the road’s topographical features and starts to better hew to the driver’s desires.
But it’s a lot to ask of a driver—say, his or her license—when a good car is at its best only when doubling the speed limit. The dampers are adjustable, but the stiffer of the two settings is seriously overdamped for public roads. This track weapon never feels settled, and neither do its white-knuckled passengers. Going with the base tire won’t fix the brutal ride on rough roads, but it will quell some of the tramlining. That sounds disappointing, we know. It’s a tough verdict for a car that otherwise has earned Rhodes Scholar–worthy marks in other situations. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine a much more pleasant experience on the smoother tarmac of Southern California, for instance. Tires can make or break any car, but other vehicles wearing Cup 2s—even other Fords such as the Mustang Shelby GT350R—don’t have this duality, so we can’t put the blame entirely on the Michelins. If you plan to track your RS, the Cups 2s and Y-spoke wheels are a no-brainer. But if you plan to drive an RS every day, save the money.
You won’t forgo any of the fun this car delivers with the standard Super Sports, and you’ll avoid making your passengers wish they’d taken an Uber. View Used Local Inventory 2018 Ford Focus RS500 Spied: The New King of Hot Hatches? A stripped-out, track-ready version of the already bonkers Focus RS. First Generation, 2016–Present View Used Local Inventory Where's the Focus RS? Why Ford's Hottest Hatch, Which Seemed a Shoo-In for 10Best Accolades, Failed Even to Make the Cut Ford Focus RS with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Tires More tire is usually the correct answer, but not here. Lightning Lap 2016: Ford Focus RS It's more Wild West than the Ford named after a horse. Ford's Latest Focus RS Stunt Proves Age Means Nothing, Or: Watch Grandparents Drift a Hot Hatch 2016 Ford Focus RS vs. 2015 Subaru WRX STI, 2016 Volkswagen Golf R The Focus RS meets its rivals for a back-road rendezvous in Provence. 2016 Ford Focus RS
The $40,000 compact-car value. First Look: Ford Focus RS to Compete in 2016 Global RallyCross Season How We'd Spec It: The RS-Kicking-est 2016 Ford Focus RS We finally slide behind the wheel of America's first RS model. First 2016 Ford Focus RS Exits Assembly Line, Deliveries Starting Soon 2016 Ford Focus RS: All the Tech Details You Could Ever Want 2016 Ford Focus RS: We Sit Shotgun in the Hotly Anticipated Megahatch So close to the steering wheel, we can taste it. Better and Better: Ford Focus RS Output Revised Upward—Yes, Again Official 2016 Ford Focus RS Pricing, Performance Estimates Released! Ford Focus RS Pricing and Options Accidentally Revealed Online Watch the Ford Focus RS Oversteer Like Mad, Hear It Snarl Like a Beast [Video] Ford Focus RS Horsepower and Torque Confirmed—You Will Not Be Disappointed 2016 Ford Focus RS: The Fanboy Fantasy Is Finally Real! We've been waiting for a U.S.-market RS for a long time.
U.S.-Spec 2016 Ford Focus RS Revealed, Still Looks Nasty Hear the Ford Focus RS Snarl In Mountain-Carving Video Thank You for Smoking: Ford Explains the Focus RS's "Drift Mode" 15 Things You Need to Know About the 2017 Ford Focus RS The Ford Focus RS's Clever AWD System Will Spread Elsewhere (And We Think We've Seen It Before) 2016 Ford Focus RS: The Mega Focus, Revealed at Last The all-wheel-drive, 315-plus-hp, super-bad-ass hatchback is coming to America. Ford Focus RS: We Snag Details on Its Development, AWD Trickery, and More Watch Ken Block Hoon the All-New AWD Ford Focus RS Mega-Hot Ford Focus RS Hatchback Confirmed for America! 2016 Ford Focus RS: AWD Back on the Table, U.S. Sales More Likely than Ever RS'd to Kill: More Details Emerge on Extra-Hot Ford Focus RS 2016 Ford Focus RS Spy Photos: We. The epic Focus RS returns, and it might come stateside this time. Ford Focus RS: New Comments Hint at Imminent Production Reality