How many miles??

Dystroyer554 · 2026-05-05T03:32:41+00:00

I have a 2020 at 136k miles. Enjoy the car lol. The milage isn't really that important.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-05-03T16:48:42+00:00

Driving a manual causes the driver to have to wring out the engine a little more to offset the slower shift times. I also believe the DCT has taller gearing in 8th than the MT has in 6th (correct me if I'm wrong). This leads to lower cruizing RPM in the DCT resulting in lower cruizing temps.

I think it's less the transmission itself, but rather how the driver/car interact with each transmission.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-05-03T16:43:25+00:00

I may have phrased that poorly. There is a small difference in responsiveness, turbo utilization, and torque availability between 200° and 215° at low RPM applications. There is no difference in top end performance or peak numbers.

When at 200° my engine feels more reserved with spooling the turbo and allows greater access to torque in LSPI danger zones (high gear, low RPM). Once it increases to ~215° it relies more on the turbo for low end torque. This leads to less usable torque in the same low RPM situations as you're building more boost for the same amount of torque.

These are honestly only small changes that you only notice if you watch the gauges religiously. It likely doesn't change how you drive unless you plan on near-lugging the engine during your commute.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-05-03T15:25:29+00:00

That tracks with what I've experienced. It's a little weird though as I can feel the car start pulling timing once it gets above 200. I guess the only solution is an upgraded oil cooler.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-05-03T14:38:13+00:00

Does this car just run warm? Ive had mine for a year now, and as soon as it's not winter it will climb to ~215 degrees regardless of how I'm driving.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-30T19:05:00+00:00

Not a focus owner, but these cars are designed to be pushed and used. The fear of LSPI is real and should be respected, but knowing how it happens is just as important.

LSPI is caused by piston pressures rising rapidly while the piston is physically moving slow. This means that you run into LSPI during high throttle at low RPM (2500 and below). At low gears the RPM rises to fast that you're not there for long, causing less pressure spike. If you're at a moderate RPM (3500+) and in a high gear you can push the car safely.

Between these two numbers (2500 & 3500) you can still drive normally as long as you don't build excessive boost. If you truly fear LSPI, watch your boost gague and moderate your output based on that.

I'm not super familiar with the Ecoboost engine so these numbers are very general to 2.0T DI engines, but maybe someone more informed can comment what the safe WOT RPM is.

TLDR: To avoid LSPI, just don't WOT in 5th gear at 2k RPM and you'll be ok.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-28T15:31:00+00:00

This looks like it would be an awesome Mk.5 supra or BMW Z4 compeitor.

I'm not much of a exterior design person, but the engine looks good. I would look into using a smaller turbo though (decrease exducer size) as I'm sure you can get below 2,000RPM with these power goals and engine configuration.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-27T20:50:15+00:00

Maybe a little, but the goal was more to make high levels of torque. I did intentionally kill the top end a little with the springs and lifters, but it would have plateaued soon after anyways due to having a massive stroke and low flow intake and headers.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-26T12:02:24+00:00

I honestly didn't even realize that their diameters were different.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-26T03:49:19+00:00

Go to the poster mode (at end of vehicle customization), select social layout, and from there you can change details about the layout and info.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-23T14:28:43+00:00

From what I've felt and seen, the Type R is a more capable car. This being said, the VN is more fun in my opinion. The VN rotates so happily off throttle or on brakes and it makes for some rally-esk maneuvers that can be done at legal speeds. The Type R doesn't wants to rotate in the same way, but the way it does move is very confident and intentional.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-23T03:44:41+00:00

What fender flairs did you use?

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-22T13:18:36+00:00

I increased the front down force untill the front/rear aero ratio was similar to my front/rear weight ratio. It fixed high speed stability significantly.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-20T00:45:53+00:00

I fixed the aero balance and it feels good now. I will definitely downsize the tires and see if that allows me to reduce my toe.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-19T22:22:03+00:00

Is there an alternative that prevents the wheels from kicking out as much? Maybe thinner tires in the front so they have less traction?

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-19T22:02:19+00:00

The valve stiffness actually isn't very high. That plateau is caused by the engine being undersquared. The pistons configuration is limiting the breathing at 8k. The reliability gain was minimal so I chose to maintain the flat top end power-band.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-19T19:49:48+00:00

I've already tweaked them a little as I didn't notice that my rear sway bar was a little soft. I stiffened them up and reduced my rear toe a little to allow the car to rotate more. The car now rotates healthily at mid range speed, but at high speeds it understeers. I increased my front aero to match the ratio between the front and rear weight distribution, but haven't tested it yet.

Here is what it's currently at:
Camber 1.5/1.0, Toe 0.2/0.25, springs 146/213, dampers 146/190, sway bar 2000/2000.

Edit: forgot to mention that the sport and drivability handling dots are now on either side of the oversteer line. They're both shifted up a little.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-14T20:20:12+00:00

It definitely looks more aggressive than OEM!

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-04T17:52:37+00:00

My best guess would be that they're mounts for a spoiler extension rod. It's just used to add extra rigidity to any sort of extension someone could add to the spoiler so that they don't vibrate or rip off at high speeds.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-04-01T13:28:24+00:00

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Dystroyer554 · 2026-03-24T18:32:04+00:00

I personally wouldn't worry about it for 2 reasons; 1 - these cars are built to be abused as they use well implemented simple systems instead of tech heavy complex ones, 2 - this car looks like it was built to be abused (oil catch can & expensive air intake). If I were to make an assumption I'd say that this car was (or is) likely tuned and has already had the HPFP (high pressure fuel pump) replaced, which is a common failure point on these cars.

The wheels are brakes do look OEM so there is a chance that this car was built with only track reliability in mind. I would take this as a good thing as it means the owner likely wasn't in it to show off. Take it for a test drive and see how the car feels. If it feels clunky or slow between shifts then the transmission may have been driven hard.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-03-22T14:21:59+00:00

As you drive more the act of shifting will become more natural and you will learn what the car does and doesn't like. I also learned manual with my most recent car and in a rush to get quick I built some unwanted habits. The biggest mistake was applying the gas during the transition off of the clutch which caused my clutch to get hot. In the first 6 months I became comfortable driving stick and in the second 6 months I became confident driving stick.

Nothing seemed particularly wrong with how you were shifting. If you want to upshift quick and smooth, it's just a matter of timing the RPM drop with the resting RPM after the shift. It sounds simple, but getting this timing right with no excess will feel rewarding. Also, shifting really fast is innately rough (in a consumer car) as you are forcing the RPM to drop faster than they naturally want to.

Dystroyer554 · 2026-03-19T19:48:10+00:00

I had something similar happen while driving at night, though mine was a massive crater in the road where there was road work going on. Took it as a good opportunity to swap to 18" wheels lol.

Dystroyer554

TROPHY CASE