Page 2 - focus

Team Mishi is hard at work developing an entire line of cooling upgrades for our RS. Up to bat is one of the more popular modifications for turbo cars: the intercooler.

Stock Focus RS intercooler

The stock Focus RS intercooler is an interesting part of this hot hatch. As soon as images of the striking front end of this car surfaced on the interwebs, many noticed that there was a black plate blocking off a portion of the intercooler, and immediately called it out. Ford explained that the intercooler was too efficient and that, in humid climates, the excess efficiency caused condensation within the intake tract.

Testing is complete! Although we would still like to be cruising through twisty back roads logging R&D miles, it is time to bring the Focus RS back to the stables to examine our catch can. When we test our catch cans, we try to put a wide variety of miles on the car to best replicate normal driving situations. We send one of our engineers out into the wild to put our development vehicle through its paces and ensure our products are functioning as designed.

Focus RS catch can testing

Blow-by Meets it's Match

Although our compact baffled oil catch can has been tried and tested numerous times, we still want to put it through the ringer to ensure that it functions just as nicely on every application. Just like our

It's the year of the horse"power, that is, wherein the land of the aftermarket, power modifications are king. They are the body builders of the modifications stomping around yelling about protein, bro. We all want to beef up our cars and hear them roar in the face of their stock counterparts. Understandably, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of dyno charts and power numbers while overlooking the little guy in the background. This little guy, probably talking about something nerdy, is our good friend the catch can. He doesn't scream horsepower, but instead whispers about carbon buildup on valves. And for this post at least, we are going to hear him out.

If you missed our last post, we discussed the importance of using a catch can on our brand-new Focus RS. If you want to read more about the horrors of blow-by check out  our complete write up on Blow-By

The Focus RS is a big hit at the Mishimoto headquarters, and we want to make sure to protect our newest addition. If you missed Kyle Mohan testing out the Focus RS drift mode, check out our Focus RS Drift Video. Luckily one of the first projects up to bat is our direct-fit baffled oil catch can. We know that the necessity of an oil catch can is a hotly debated topic among many car communities, and the Focus RS is no exception. From previous projects and research online, we've learned that blow-by is a real presence in these EcoBoost engines.

Focus RS Oil Catch Can R&D

If you follow our Engineering Blog you have probably seen the exciting array of vehicles that come in and out of the Mishimoto garage for some R&D. The luckiest and most interesting of the bunch get to stay around as our SVP (Special Vehicle Project) cars. This means that upon arrival at our facility, they are evaluated from head to toe for a complete offering of Mishimoto parts from cooling to power products, we want to cover them all. The 2.0 Camaro was the last to be welcomed to our Engineering headquarters, but it wasn't the new kid on the block for long"

Quick Recap

It has been around two months since our last update on this project. We've had great feedback on the forums, and we appreciate everyone's comments and patience as we work toward completion. Our goal is to provide a performance radiator that allows users to track drive their STs without fear of overheating and entering limp mode.

The primary reason for the delay was the construction of our first prototype. This radiator design is quite complex, as we showed with our 3D models in the first segment.

Mishimoto Ford Focus ST radiator 3D model

The stock Focus radiator features several complicated components, each of which needed to be replicated in our design. Our goal

The 2013 Ford Focus ST has a lot going for it. This 2.0L front-wheel drive, turbocharged, four- cylinder engine pumps out around 250 hp in its stock form, which is impressive for a two-year-old car you can find for under $20,000. Ford now has two weapons in its modern sport-hatch arsenal, and the company is staying competitive. Most car enthusiasts elect to remove the stock intake system first so they can  free up some contained power potential. The story here is no different with our development of an upgraded Ford Focus ST intake.

The Stock System

Our garage was graced with the presence of a nice 2013 Performance Blue Focus ST. Per the usual routine, we began taking apart the stock intake system to familiarize ourselves with and understand Ford's design. One unique element of this Focus ST intake is how air is drawn into the box. As you can see below, the air duct is split into two and the airflow gets routed to both the top and bottom of the system.

Our engineering team often tackles complex problems to provide ideal solutions for customers. This is true for all our product lines, across a broad range of vehicle makes and models. We are not strangers to Ford's lineup of EcoBoost models, and our team is quite familiar with the issues that exist for each. In general, we've found that the stock liquid cooling systems are not handling the abuse from heavy-footed ST (Fiesta, Focus) and Mustang owners. Each model shows deficiencies in coolant heat transfer, rising oil temperatures, and power-crippling heat-soak.

In our effort to solve each problem, we've started a ton of awesome projects, performed unique testing, and we've had a blast working with the EcoBoost community. Now, we turn our attention to the Focus ST radiator. This component has become the elephant in the room, if the room were the paddock at the track. All around the world, Focus owners are hitting the track expecting a fun day of battles against physics, rev-match downshifts,

Interested in picking up our Focus ST oil cooler kit? Check out our product page for more details.

Mishimoto Ford Focus ST Oil Cooler Kit

With a solid cooler mounting location in place, it was time to hit the road and collect some much needed data. In the past, we've had great results with our oil cooler kits in terms of temperature reduction, so we have no reason to believe this kit would perform any differently.

Testing Setup and Conditions

Before jumping in the car, we needed to set up our data collection equipment. We use AEM software and sensors to record temperature data for our oil cooler kits. We also use inline pressure sensors to ensure that we are retaining factory-like pressures.

Recording the stock system was easily done with our NPT sandwich plate adapter, as shown below.