Adjusting Suspension Damping

[Kenny]

The Mk3 Focus RS comes with 2 suspension damping setting, these are normal or sport whcih the driver can easy change from their drivers seat depending on road conditions.

Normal
The system defaults to normal mode when you start the vehicle. Vehicle suspension damping tuned for street driving.

Sport
Vehicle suspension damping tuned for performance driving on flat roads or for track use. Sport mode gives firmer suspension damping characteristics.
To select normal or sport mode, do the following:

Press and hold the button for a short period of time. The current setting appears in the information display. Release the button again to change the setting.

[9designs]

So it’s great we have this feature and ability within the cars architecture, shame it’s useless !!!….   Is anyone ever going to use Sport mode?  Even on the track I think I read it’s a bit to much????

Any new dampers that have the same functionality but re set to allow normal to have better comfort and Sport to be useable?…   Don’t want to loose this feature by going to some generic focus coil overs and the like….  but it would be great to have a switchable set up that’s useable….. currently it’s just waste of development money on Fords part….. surprised they misjudged it.

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Magnetic Grey with all the best bits

FPM375/COBB/MSD-  Quaife LSD,  DSC+Tractive  Suspension,  HJS200 cell sports cat and MT Cooler. Sync3 upgrade.

Was UK seller for DSC & Tractive  Active suspension !!!

    

[pataw]

I can’t even feel any difference between normal and sport. Should I be able to easily tell the difference?

[Kenny]

Try it on a bumpy road you are more likely to notice a difference than a smooth road.

[dooke]

yep all we have is too stiff to stiffer. Ford mistake here me thinks.

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Mountune FPM375, Nitrous Blue, Black alloys, sunroof.

[frenk]

Come on guys, you can’t be serious! The difference of the hard setting in swift cornering, stiffness and stability on Swiss hill roads is dramatic! It becomes a bloody go-kart. Like night and day. I know, I have chased Ferraris uphill. And then they’re soothing on your sore back on long trips and I am 56 years old. If they’re too hard you’re too weak 😎

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Revo Stage 1 – JCR super low seating frame – Mishimoto gas pedal spacer – DSC sport controller

[rampant]

Its not a matter of weakness, Frenk. It’s a matter of inferior body control with the dampers in Sport setting on UK roads. The car po-goes far too easily. Bounces up and down and pitches/heaves horribly in Sport mode. Handling is compromised because of it.

I’m a fan of stiff damping myself, a big fan, but only if it is tuned well. It needs to be close to “critical” damping for UK roads, but without the effect of “jacking down”.

The Mk3 damping may work on Swiss roads in Sport mode, but the fact remains that Sport versus UK roads is normally slower, less satisfying and much less fun.

Sad. But true.

Yours Aye

Mark H

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// ’17 Nitrous Blue // Forged Alloys // Michelin Super Sports // Painted Calipers // Sync 3 // Lux Pack // Winter Pack // Black Gel Spoiler Badges // Blue Gel Wheel Inserts // GTechniq Liquid Crystal // GTechniq Alloy Armour // sold Jun ’18

[white-rs2]

I think yes a little firm when driving a little spiritedly over B roads in sport mode. As at one point I left my seat and butted the cabin roof, not the best at 140 ish (on a closed road obviously)

🙂

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RS Edition.

FPM375 Rocks

The rest of the “M” maps suck

[frenk]

@Mark: Thanks for the reminder about the bad roads in the UK, Mark.

However, I’ve been driving through Kent from Croydon to Sandwich and from Sheerness to Hastings. The roads are very similar to the ones here in Switzerland unless you tell me these are the best roads you have 😉

Our pass roads are not snooker tables, either. So it boils down to a matter of preference. You choose the road that fits best and switch to track mode with ESC off. We’re talking about about 2nd and 3rd gear at speeds up to 75 mph on public roads anyway. So you don’t even come close to race speeds and loss of control. It’s a real workout sometimes like in a rally but that’s where the fun is, dude 😎

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Revo Stage 1 – JCR super low seating frame – Mishimoto gas pedal spacer – DSC sport controller

[rampant]

I drive a on a lot of deepest Lincolnshire back-roads. My experience is that for most of the time, Sport mode does offer tighter control. However, it’s that ONE corner that can throw the wheels around to much and lose contact with the surface, as well as the body control being lost, which makes the whole thing worse and these isolated moments – that can take you unawares – are not much fun, I can tell ya. In normal mode I find the suspension actually works better and allows the wheels to remain in contact with the surface and the car to flow and breathe better with the road.  This ultimately brings more satisfaction.

Just my own experience, that’s all.

Yours Aye

Mark H

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// ’17 Nitrous Blue // Forged Alloys // Michelin Super Sports // Painted Calipers // Sync 3 // Lux Pack // Winter Pack // Black Gel Spoiler Badges // Blue Gel Wheel Inserts // GTechniq Liquid Crystal // GTechniq Alloy Armour // sold Jun ’18

[frenk]

Cheers Mark. It’s good to have a decent discussion of point of views. We can exchange personal experiences and learn from each other. This is the very goal of this forum, innit.

Drive safe 😎

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Revo Stage 1 – JCR super low seating frame – Mishimoto gas pedal spacer – DSC sport controller

[tonys]

The sport mode damper setting using the button on the end of the left stalk seems to give a much stiffer damper setting on my car than that obtained from the full sport mode setting button on the console. Anyone else find this? I use the full sport mode setting frequently(giving pops and bangs and sharper throttle response etc) and find it reminds me I’m driving an RS.

One man’s meat is another’s poison I suppose!

[dooke]

I live in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Soft setting is too stiff. This gives too much bounce, up and down movement. You forget this when driving quick, but with two settings available. The soft setting should be a little more comfortable and the hard setting should be just a tad stiffer than the soft setting IMHO.

I am waiting for Lichfield to see if they can sort the RS out. If they do a good job it will be worth shelling out the £2000 ish GBP

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Mountune FPM375, Nitrous Blue, Black alloys, sunroof.

[Author]

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