With the Focus RS 2016 being the most powerful Focus to date, Ford Engineers were required to ensure its braking power matched up to its driving power; because of this many man hours went into developing an optimal braking system.
The Mk3 Focus RS is designed for the road and track, which presented the Ford engineers with the challenge of ensuring the brake system coped with the immense heat that typically builds up from hard track sessions. To achieve this the Engineers worked alongside the aerodynamics department to configure a cooling solution that provided both aerodynamics, as well as optimal cooling performance.
Mk3 Focus RS Braking System: An Overview
- 350mm ventilated front brake discs (vs 330mm – 2009 RS model)
- 15kg (vs 16kg – Focus ST model)
- Lightweight aluminium Brembo four-piston monoblack calipers
- Coated in the distinctive, trademark RS nitrous blue and finished with a Brembo logo (requires the optional £100 upgrade).
Size
Standing at 350mm each the Focus RS brake system’s discs gain ground on the 330mm size of the 2009 RS model; the discs additionally feature fans within them to leverage optimised ventilation performance.
Weight
Weighing in at 15kg the Focus RS brake system is 6% lighter than that of the Focus ST and are coupled with lightweight aluminium callipers; all of which make for the perfect partner for the lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels that deliver high intensity impact resistance and weight savings of 600g per wheel.
Performance
The Focus RS brake system is the most powerful yet, featuring lightweight aluminium Brembo front calipers. This system also makes for a pivotal part of the RS Focus’s ability to deliver optimal driving dynamics, with the brake-based Torque Vectoring Control system working alongside the torque-vectoring AWD which diverts anything up to 100% of rear drive torque to a single wheel when cornering.
Brake Cooling
The Focus RS 2016 features a complete re-design upon the traditional looks of the Focus model, central to which has been the design reinvention of the front grille which delivers optimal air flow to the Focus RS’s braking system; most specifically the larger air vents that sit on each side of the front bumper include dedicated brake ducts, and the twin jet tunnels within the underbody of the Mk3 Focus RS are then a pivotal feature of the Focus RS bespoke chassis and brake setup.
These are then coupled with airflow guides on the lower suspension arms for effective cooling. Furthermore, this brake system works alongside the aerodynamically optimised ventilation fins – all of which helps to cool the front brakes that must deliver road track performance that flips through a range of drive modes (normal, sport, track and drift).
Overall this air flow setup then provides for optimal cooling during even the longest and most demanding of track days.