High strung 3 cyl

[Joela237]

I was planning on having the oil changed at the dealer for warranty reasons.
So far, even with very low mileage on it, I am averaging 38.1mpg
If I were to change it myself, I would use Mobil 1 oil and filter like in my wife's Mercedes (synthetic 0w40 and synthetic media filter)

 

[Joela237]

It does handle very well, I was impressed with it. Especially with the low rolling resistance tires it comes with.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: Joela237
It does handle very well, I was impressed with it. Especially with the low rolling resistance tires it comes with.

Handles very well; its a true sports car really. (I think it compares well with the 'gold standard' in this class, the VW GTI.) The Focus Elecrtric Vehicle (EV) has a front/rear weight distribution of 49%/51%, which is perfect, although it's 3600 lbs compared to 3000 lbs for a 1.0L Focus. (The 1.0L Focus has a weight dist of 58%/42% front/rear.)
My '16 Focus EV has the best LRR tires available: Michelin Energy Saver A/S, 225/50-17 size, same size tires used on the current BMW 320i. OEM's have chosen it for multiple EV's and Hybrids to boost the marketing advantage of a little higher range or MPG critical to that type of vehicle. Bridgestone Ecopia's come very close to the LRR of those Michelins.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford/focus/2016/2016-ford-focus-se-ecoboost-i3-first-test-review/

 

[E365]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: E365
My 2015 Focus 1.0 doesn’t have any form of oil life monitor. Be curious if they added it by 2018?

Yes it does. check out page 428 of the Owner's Manual: http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_C...-US_11_2014.pdf


I’m not so sure. I’m at 51,000 miles and the oil change message has never come on. Others on a Focus 1.0 forum also have never seen the message come one. Same with people on a Fiesta 1.0 forum.

I need to look again, but I think the hard copy of my owner’s manual has an “(if equipped)” by the iOLM section. I’ll dig more later. Just kinda curious that so many 1.0 EcoBoost owners have never seen the iOLM message.

Are you happy with those Michelin Energy Savers? I want to put some better LRR tires on my Focus 1.0 when the time comes.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: E365
I’m not so sure. I’m at 51,000 miles and the oil change message has never come on.
Interesting! Wow. Ford had better officially state that somewhere, because every other Ford engine has it these days. Well, the old advice of 6 months or 6,000 miles works too I guess.
Is it possible many 1.0L EB owners change their oil on a time or mileage schedule before the iOLM has a chance to warn them, and then the dealership or Quickie Lube shop resets the iOLM for a new interval? Then they'd never see the light.

Originally Posted By: E365
Are you happy with those Michelin Energy Savers? I want to put some better LRR tires on my Focus 1.0 when the time comes.
Yes, happy with them, although they are expensive to replace and Bridgestone Ecopia's are very nearly the same LRR performance, with more siping designed in the Ecopia's tread which should make Ecopias a little better on snow and ice. Ecopias are cheaper too.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: Joela237
It does handle very well, I was impressed with it. Especially with the low rolling resistance tires it comes with.

Handles very well; its a true sports car really. (I think it compares well with the 'gold standard' in this class, the VW GTI.)
The 1.0L Focus has a weight dist of 58%/42% front/rear.


*Looks at Focus 1.0*
*Looks at his Porsche Cayman*
*Looks again at Focus 1.0*

Umm, they are both Blue?
Is that the similarity?

And I don't think I have ever heard someone say that a vehicle with a 58% front weight distribution drives as well as a sports car before.
Maybe my definition of how a sports car should drive is a bit different. Reminds me of that Camry commercial from a couple of years ago.
Grounded to the Ground, and all that nonsense.

Originally Posted By: Joela237
My '16 Focus EV has the best LRR tires available: Michelin Energy Saver A/S, 225/50-17 size, same size tires used on the current BMW 320i. OEM's have chosen it for multiple EV's and Hybrids to boost the marketing advantage of a little higher range or MPG critical to that type of vehicle. Bridgestone Ecopia's come very close to the LRR of those Michelins.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford/focus/2016/2016-ford-focus-se-ecoboost-i3-first-test-review/


BMW 320i is also, not a sports car.
It's a family sedan.

BC.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
And I don't think I have ever heard someone say that a vehicle with a 58% front weight distribution drives as well as a sports car before.

Then you need to get out more.

Read any review of experts driving the VW GTI, which has an even worse 60/40 distribution than the Focus does. Chassis tuning helps a lot.

Of course a Focus isn't a Corvette, yeah, yeah, don't keep getting stuck on that extremist viewpoint.
The Focus can run respectable times in SCCA autocross events. Its near the top of its class in handling. Don't be confused by shades of gray. The world ain't black and white.

 

[CrAlt]

Originally Posted By: Joela237
First post on here! So I recently bought my first brand new car. It's a 2018 focus with the 1.0 ecoboost 3 cyl and a 6 speed manual.
The dealership told me the interval for this engine is 5k using motorcraft synthetic blend 5w20. I am now at 3,020 miles and all seems well. Does anyone have any personal experience with this engine? Is It an oil burner later in life considering it's a 1.0 and getting 20+ psi crammed into it?


congrats on the 1st new car. Really like that blue.

 

[Joela237]

I wouldn't call it a sports car. It's a nimble economy car.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
And I don't think I have ever heard someone say that a vehicle with a 58% front weight distribution drives as well as a sports car before.

Then you need to get out more.

Read any review of experts driving the VW GTI, which has an even worse 60/40 distribution than the Focus does. Chassis tuning helps a lot.

Of course a Focus isn't a Corvette, yeah, yeah, don't keep getting stuck on that extremist viewpoint.
The Focus can run respectable times in SCCA autocross events. Its near the top of its class in handling. Don't be confused by shades of gray. The world ain't black and white.


The car in my sig has been proven to EMBARRASS many high zoot, exorbitantly priced, Euro (and Nippon) 'supercars' around road courses (especially tighter ones), yup, even with somewhat equally skilled drivers at the helm.

I know that all of the big buck driving Teutonphiles on here refute this staunchly, and cannot accept it from a little front weight bias, FWD econo-'****box', but it DOES happen.

(I do NOT label it a sports car, but it most certainly IS a performance car!)

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: Joela237
It does handle very well, I was impressed with it. Especially with the low rolling resistance tires it comes with.

Handles very well; its a true sports car really. (I think it compares well with the 'gold standard' in this class, the VW GTI.)
The 1.0L Focus has a weight dist of 58%/42% front/rear.


*Looks at Focus 1.0*
*Looks at his Porsche Cayman*
*Looks again at Focus 1.0*

Umm, they are both Blue?
Is that the similarity?

And I don't think I have ever heard someone say that a vehicle with a 58% front weight distribution drives as well as a sports car before.
Maybe my definition of how a sports car should drive is a bit different. Reminds me of that Camry commercial from a couple of years ago.
Grounded to the Ground, and all that nonsense.

Originally Posted By: Joela237
My '16 Focus EV has the best LRR tires available: Michelin Energy Saver A/S, 225/50-17 size, same size tires used on the current BMW 320i. OEM's have chosen it for multiple EV's and Hybrids to boost the marketing advantage of a little higher range or MPG critical to that type of vehicle. Bridgestone Ecopia's come very close to the LRR of those Michelins.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford/focus/2016/2016-ford-focus-se-ecoboost-i3-first-test-review/


BMW 320i is also, not a sports car.
It's a family sedan.

BC.

Do you autocross at all? Sure a Cayman should stomp a Fiesta, and with equal drivers and prep, it will. But a fast guy with $400 in tires, a rear swaybar and an alignment on his Fiesta, will have a rookie Cayman driver on good street tires wondering what happened when he gets beat by 3 seconds...
Just on the weekend our "fast guy" took fastest time of the day in his 2010 Impreza with not even great tires on it. The 50/50 FRS on new RE-71r's got within a second but he's not a great driver yet. My bucket of bolts was only 2 tenths off the FRS as well, but it was a tricky course where you had to go slow to go fast in parts.
Anyways, there are some econo boxes that will respond to good driving quite well, and do most of the things a driver needs them to do, to get some speed out of them. I don't actually know what the perfect weight distribution would be for a fwd sports car, certainly not 50/50 and I guess it depends on what kind of driving you're doing.

 

[KrisZ]

Autocross levels the playing field by a lot with slow speeds and tight corners. A road course will quickly separate sports cars from hot economy cars.

For street use however, there is a lot of bang for the buck in today's economy cars, especially the hot versions of them.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Autocross levels the playing field by a lot with slow speeds and tight corners. A road course will quickly separate sports cars from hot economy cars.

For street use however, there is a lot of bang for the buck in today's economy cars, especially the hot versions of them.

The more open a track gets, the greater effect of HP on lap time. Autocross shows that some econoboxes with minor mods and great tires can turn better than many stock sports cars with not so great tires. All the sportscar's advantages are still useful in autocross, even HP, but its not as useful as it is on a big track. I guess my point is that you can still do actual competitive motorsports with a Fiesta ST or any car really. Autocross is a good choice as you can compete without alot of cubic inches or cubic dollars, or risk of the car or yourself.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I don't actually know what the perfect weight distribution would be for a fwd sports car, certainly not 50/50 and I guess it depends on what kind of driving you're doing.
50/50 is great. My 49/51 on 225 mm width rubber (Focus Electric) works quite well. I do think a slight rear wheel weight bias, maybe 48/52, close to what I've got, is probably ideal since F=MA means braking shifts forces to the front in corners while the rear must stay planted.

I see the term "sports" car is confusing 1 or 2 people. I've often used the phrase "pure sports" car for those cars that don't have much utility value, as in a Corvette or Miata (MX5) or Cayman, etc., since there are gradations: 1. pure, and 2. "sporting qualities with utility". This is obvious to most people.
How a Focus will perform on the track does depend on the shape of the track, for sure.

A Focus will need a tire upgrade to really be taken seriously in the handling category though. Ford puts these sizes on:
Focus ST: 235/40-18
Focus Titanium (optional): 235/40-18
Focus Electric: 225/50-17
Focus Titanium: 215/50-17
Focus SE: 215/55-16
Focus S: 195/65-15

Think spider chart when you look at performance qualities. Range is Soft ride ----> to Great handling on a track, the whole range of tradeoffs.

 

[oil_film_movies]

The Focus extreme is the RS with 235/35-19 XL-load tires OEM'ed.
Any Focus from the Titanium on down works well with the Electric version's 225-width tires on 17" wheels, a good compromise right in the middle of Ford's range of wheels/tires for the Focus.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I don't actually know what the perfect weight distribution would be for a fwd sports car, certainly not 50/50 and I guess it depends on what kind of driving you're doing.
50/50 is great. My 49/51 on 225 mm width rubber (Focus Electric) works quite well. I do think a slight rear wheel weight bias, maybe 48/52, close to what I've got, is probably ideal since F=MA means braking shifts forces to the front in corners while the rear must stay planted.


I found with my Al block mtx wagon, the biggest issue in autocross was putting power down coming out of corners, more so than with my old iron block atx Neon sedan. Now once you are going I find the wagon actually better in the higher speed slaloms so the more balanced weight distribution helps there. One of our local auto journalist brought out a Chevy Bolt EV and it did quite well with its LRR tires and its fwd with 54/46 WD. I'm not sure how much time my sport comp2's are worth but I got it by a second with the better driver in the Bolt. I think with equal tires it probably would've beat me by a little. The instant torque of an EV works well in AX if its got the grip and it does look lighter on its feet than it 3500lb suggests.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
One of our local auto journalist brought out a Chevy Bolt EV and it did quite well with its LRR tires and its fwd with 54/46 WD. I'm not sure how much time my sport comp2's are worth but I got it by a second with the better driver in the Bolt. I think with equal tires it probably would've beat me by a little. The instant torque of an EV works well in AX if its got the grip and it does look lighter on its feet than it 3500lb suggests.

Interesting Bolt results. My Focus EV has the same OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires as the Bolt. My car weighs 3640 lbs vs. the Bolt's 3563, yet the Focus goes with wider rubber (225 vs. 215) which helps. Handling is probably similar, Bolt to Focus EV, since the Bolt may have a slightly lower CG, although its on skinnier tires.

The Bolt has a big advantage in power and torque over a Focus EV though. The Focus EV would likely lose any autocross challenge due to lack of torque & power.

The OP's Focus 1.0L is a little hampered by lack of power for racing, but it's "fun-to-drive" quotient is very high with that manual transmission. I think the OP should really think about getting aftermarket wheels and tires though. Go with 225/50-17, right in the middle of the possible range. Inputting the OEM's tires, one can run possible wheel offsets, diameters, tire sizes, etc. thru the https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/ to check to see how they might fit and compare to OEM fender clearances.
I'm not sure if the Focus EV's wheels and tires can fit any other gasoline Focus, but mine is 225/50-17 with 55 mm wheel offset on 17x7 inch wheels; might fit a gasoline 1.0L Ecoboost Focus, not sure.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
The Focus extreme is the RS


Yes, and despite any problems they might have had (and I'm SURE that the haterz will be compelled to bring up), I would get one of these if given the chance, before ANY; Evo, STI, Type R, or even the much beloved on here VeeDub GTIs/Rs.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
One of our local auto journalist brought out a Chevy Bolt EV and it did quite well with its LRR tires and its fwd with 54/46 WD. I'm not sure how much time my sport comp2's are worth but I got it by a second with the better driver in the Bolt. I think with equal tires it probably would've beat me by a little. The instant torque of an EV works well in AX if its got the grip and it does look lighter on its feet than it 3500lb suggests.

Interesting Bolt results. My Focus EV has the same OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires as the Bolt. My car weighs 3640 lbs vs. the Bolt's 3563, yet the Focus goes with wider rubber (225 vs. 215) which helps. Handling is probably similar, Bolt to Focus EV, since the Bolt may have a slightly lower CG, although its on skinnier tires.

The Bolt has a big advantage in power and torque over a Focus EV though. The Focus EV would likely lose any autocross challenge due to lack of torque & power.

The OP's Focus 1.0L is a little hampered by lack of power for racing, but it's "fun-to-drive" quotient is very high with that manual transmission. I think the OP should really think about getting aftermarket wheels and tires though. Go with 225/50-17, right in the middle of the possible range. Inputting the OEM's tires, one can run possible wheel offsets, diameters, tire sizes, etc. thru the https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/ to check to see how they might fit and compare to OEM fender clearances.
I'm not sure if the Focus EV's wheels and tires can fit any other gasoline Focus, but mine is 225/50-17 with 55 mm wheel offset on 17x7 inch wheels; might fit a gasoline 1.0L Ecoboost Focus, not sure.

Wider tires can help with grip, but for something like a 1.0 Fiesta with not much power, staying near the stock size but going with sticky tire really makes the car grip more and feel sharper. I went with 195/55R15 sport comp2 on my Focus and its a great street tire for it. For autocross my car is just a bit heavy for the fronts and I have to run higher than ideal pressure to keep them from rolling over, but they still work quite well.
I'm actually thinking about getting some OEM 16x6.5 fiesta rims for my car to fit some 205/50R16 tires which could run a bit lower front tire pressures without rolling over. In autocross you can over tire a car and make it slower, and also squeezing a wide tire on a narrow rim can hurt more than help.

 

[john_pifer]

I'd go with a fully-synthetic, high-quality, 5W-20 to start with. Probably one that's towards the thicker end of the spectrum for a 20W. And I'd try to find and oil with very low NOACK.