D Racing

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Follow the build of one of the most extreme Ford Focus RS's

First off Happy New Year! Where does the time go! Time to get Caught up! So After the Track day last year, Some descuss...
12/01/2026

First off Happy New Year!

Where does the time go! Time to get Caught up!

So After the Track day last year, Some descussions were had behind the scenes.

So to fill in the Gaps for the non-VW people, VW are masters at building there cars on a platform bases - Not the only ones but 100% up there with regards to using it on such a range of cars.
Early DSG equiped cars were refered to as PQ35 base, and the 2012+ cars are in the current MQB platform.

So what does this mean for me, the Focus DSG was from a PQ35 build, This was the only option at the time i started the conversion. But like everything Tech moves so fast and the advantages of it.
And just on Q, Syvecs's Newly released "beta" softwear for the MQB Generation of gearbox's was released.
After a talk with the lads at PERON Automotive and Romain RaceCal Ltd, I decided that it was the right move to make the jump to the MQB generation. The logic is the TCU being more advanced and just up to speed with regards to DSG control.

A Quick switch of TCU's would of been nice but the coding for the syvecs was diffrent from before so alot of other changes had to be made in the back ground.
Peron supplied the MQB TCU, flashed with the TVS softwear, and Romain provided the Syvecs MQB Firmware for the S7.
Rest is now up to me to get it in and working, before a trip to the dyno to get it all dialed back in.!

So what has changed.
Biggest thing is the requirment to run a VW "shifter". I liked the look of the Cupra one the best to picked that.
There also a requirment for a few more wires. And by a few i mean a good bit more!
So i had to make up a new CANBUS loop, This had to included the shifter being in the same loop as the TCU. So a bit of thought had to go into running a new loom for that. Also while i was in about it all, i added a Syvecs TinyDash V2 supplied by Team Legacy. This allows me to not only see ECU information, but has the added benift of allowing me to Switch Maps, TC and other settings i can program into it. So 7 more switches added but i actually removed 2 toggle buttons and a rotary switch and free'd up 3 inputs at the same time as this is all on CANBUS.

Next up was installing the VW shifter, i could of bolted this to the floor and called it done. But i like a project!
Having been in about VW's TCR cars i liked the little centre consel they had, only issue was its £900 and designed for LHD. So i thought id make my own!

Designed it in CAD, then needed it printed so i could mould it. After getting some silly quotes back, i ended up buying a 3D printer of my own so i could print it!
Once printed, a mould was made and i then made it out of Carbon.
That last paragraph took about 2-3 weeks of on off work to get it to resemble something i was ok with inside the focus! I was going to have to look at it so it had to be nice!

With the done, the switchs were added, Tinydash hooked up and with a bit of help from Steve and Martin off the syvecs groups it was all in and working!

All good things come to an end, The record-breaking heat wave Scotland has been having being that. Timing, as always mea...
17/06/2025

All good things come to an end, The record-breaking heat wave Scotland has been having being that. Timing, as always meant that it would end up on the first track action for the focus in 6 years, and was going to be in the moist countryside of Knockhill!

Not a stranger to KH, nor the wet, but it was 4 years since i last drove it in my bmw ( im honestly shocked as well) but i was in good company, family and friends came down for pit duties and all important refreshments from the parents!

And the icing on the cake was it was an open pit lane track day ran by the SIDC and John from Flat Out Photography , fun fact one of my first track days in the focus was at a SIDC day back in 2011!

Was i nervous, a bit, i took the car out for a road test the weekend before, i knew it worked, but road miles vs track miles are very different. All was well until i hit some temporary dressing. That managed to take out a wheel speed sensor, and during my diag of that i managed to fry the oil pressure sendor, got both sensors next day and replaced, then when nut and bolting the car disaster, the same road dressing damaged a rear brake line.... honestly my confidence went from 99 to 3.....

So fuel tank dropped, replaced both rear brake lines, bled the system and the car was finally good to go!

Weekend comes, and you always want the weather report to be wrong, but no it was 100% correct with an Amber weather warning put in for good measure!

I was committed tho, i needed on track data, i needed to have something to look over and see if improvements could be made.
Went out on R888r's, and thought as there was no standing water i could make them work. And i did, rear grip was an issue, painted track margins were like ice, and the hairpin had a river running down it.

I should of went onto the wets, just to see how they performed, but every time i stopped for a cool down it would heavy rain and then go off. As i wasnt chasing lap times i decided to just stick with the 888's and give them a bit of punishment to get them to work.

Car was flawless all day, ran on med boost, so i think its about mid 300's, logs to my trained eye looked fine, water temp rock steady, air temp creeping a little as is oil, but i think the oil temp could be put down to the ammount of water spray inside the wheel arch "blocking" the flow out of the rad. No starting issues, no funny handling, and a massive plus for me was getting to take all my mates that came down out in the car for a few laps.

Few things to improve on, need to look at a splash shield to cover the aux belts, they were constantly getting wet on right handers, causing the belt to squeal.
Look at a rear toe setting that i can adjust to scrub the rears harder in the wet to get them up to temp, but that might not be such an issue with the wet tyres.

Upside to the rain was you get a little free preview of the aero working around the car, so nice to see some positives in that department!

So plan is to hopefully get another track day done this year and get some dry data, but im happy where the cars at just now! The nut and bolt check over might highlight somethings but il cross that bridge when i get to it!

Cheers!

But not the normal pony increase! Bit of a backstory, since going DSG the focus has been harder to start, one thing wa...
17/05/2025



But not the normal pony increase!
Bit of a backstory, since going DSG the focus has been harder to start, one thing was noted that fresh off the trickle charger it fired up first time, but from that point on it was a bit of a night mare, few things to consider was the DSG flywheel weight, the potential drag on the DSG clutches, the new starter motor and potentially an ageing battery. I could tell it didnt spin over half as fast as it did with the dogbox on!

There is another side issue and thats been around from day 1 is the ford crank signal is really weak until the motor fires up. But to now change that to another hall effect would be a lot of tweaking.

So i looked at what i could do, new battery was the obvious choice, but i thought about how i could go just that little bit more in helping the cranking of the car.
Upsize in battery would work, but that comes with a weight penalty, something im trying to avoid, so have decided to go down the lithium battery route.
Now its a mind field, from cheap bike sized battery's, so full on supercar replacement sized jobs, you need a fancy charger and they take a bit more TLC to keep alive! I remembered my friend and fellow RS Nutter Will from WR Tuning saying something along the lines that his Race RS didn't like starting on a lithium, so was wary to stay away from the "undersized" battery's and started to focus more on the CCA figure. Ideally, 20Ah was to remain the same.

So a replacement was found, I went with the recommended Jack Webb Motorsport battery, why, because it fitted the bill just right, correct 20Ah, decent CCA's and Lightweight, but everyone loves figures so lets geek out a little.

The Varley RedTop 25 is 20Ah, 230CCA and coming in at 7.12Kg's - Not bad given its size/weight vs a standard sized car battery.

The JWM-PS20 is also 20Ah, a mega 630CCA and tip toes on the scales at 1.98kg's!

Size for size the Varley is slightly taller and slightly thinner, but if you've jumped to the photos you'll have noticed the scales reading 7.60kg's and about 1mtrs worth of cable on top, thats because iv moved the battery to behind the passenger seat, Logic behind this was less distance to the starter, which means less power drop, and a plus side is a bit more weight off.

Happy to report the car as expect turns over faster and so far starts fine. Iv yet to road test it and try it outwith the garage but thats for another day!
I reinstalled the Cartek isolator that id had sitting the in box since the last one died several years ago as the lithium battery's do not like parasitic drain.

All in all, 5.5kg's removed out the car which im more than happy with! And hopefully starting issues be gone!

Cheers!

End is near, can only apologise for the quietness, between work and other commitments Iv hardly been near the focus, but...
07/05/2025

End is near, can only apologise for the quietness, between work and other commitments Iv hardly been near the focus, but I have been working as and when I can! One of the first jobs was up to see Scotty at Kerrsport to get some new tyres fitted, R888R’s for the dry, and PS5’s for wets, although after looking at a recent tyre test I feel like they maybe weren’t the “best” out there, but as I already had 2 new ones sitting I wasn’t splashing out on another full set!

Another issue that’s followed me through the DSG conversion is starting the car, but that’s for another post.

For now, I’m tidying up the odds and sods jobs.

One of them was to fit the new carbon oil cooler duct, got that mounted and the hole trimmed and seal applied to make sure the air can only go through the oil cooler, job ticked off, and it’s really surprising how much of a difference that being fitted makes, ducting people!!

And if you’ve noticed from the first photo showing the oil cooler hole you’ll of noticed a new addition to the front splitter, a 3rd centre stay, during a trip to Germany I had the splitter deflect so much the centre of it caught a “cats eye”. This had to be adressed as not only the risk of damaging the splitter/car was high, the lack of “splitting” of the air actually has a negative effect on the basic aero I’m working with.

So Craig from mellow works was back out with the welder to stick on a little tab I’d made for the 3rd stay to attach to, this was then cut down to as small as I could get away with and added some much needed support to the middle of the splitter!
While I was ordering new wire stays I actually finally decided my “temporary” stays could do with an upgrade, Iv had these since the car went wide track on the front and just got them made with a long tail on the end to allow me to play with positioning and angles, I always ment to get them measured and the correct custom length ones made but it always slipped my mind! But they have been made and will hopefully continue to do the job just fine!

Next up electrics! Yay 😩

07/03/2025

So, heres a peak of whats been going on!

Struggling to get much further with the DSG shifting myself, i thought it was time to get some help, A call to Romain RaceCal Ltd and before i knew it, the focus was booked into JM-Imports for a session or two! Goal was clear, improve downshift - speed & aggression, and clean crisp up shifts!

It all came about very fast, i had limited miles on the engine/car after putting it all back together, I had to drop the running in oil out, new filter, top up with some new CFS and nut and bolt it. It all happened with in a week, about 4 weeks quicker than i thought it would!! To say i was nervous would be an understatement. A car with 100 odd miles on it was going to get put through its paces without me there to fix it, cable tie it back together and caressing it into behaving 🤣 And thats not taking away the skill set the boys at JM have, thats me and my pride of building this car myself. But pleased to say the car behaved and other than a vacuum line popping off it kept its toys in the pram - just go's to show while i didnt need to replace as much as i did over winter, doing it was well worth the time and expense!

After lots of hours and a bit of troubleshooting, the difference in shifting characteristics is night and day. Nice crisp barks on up shift and firm blips on the downshift means the focus is not only sounding but going very well!

Very happy with the outcome and really cant wait to get it out on track to see how it performs but from a quick road test its going to be something else!

Cheers!

Well well well where are we 🫣
28/02/2025

Well well well where are we 🫣

So air filter lid/cover done! For a wet layup with no vacuum bagging, I’m more than happy how it turned out, few little ...
29/01/2025

So air filter lid/cover done!

For a wet layup with no vacuum bagging, I’m more than happy how it turned out, few little dry spots that needed touched up but overall a nice light weight part that when combined with the pod headlight should help the intake pull in cold air and shield it from the hot engine bay a bit.

So with it out the mould it was a flatten back to level off the surface, popped into tinkercad and made a real simple bracket that will bolt to the inner wing, 3D printed that and stuck it on.

Checked fitment and was happy with how it looks, so then decided I wanted to give it a layer of clear…. Bad idea that was! For some reason the lacquer has fish eyed! It’s not super bad but it’s not the glass like finish I was expecting!
Iv a rough idea what’s went wrong but for now it will do, function over form right?

Cheers

So thats 2024 done with! How did that happen! Anyway, with a bit of time off work ken fit like, start looking at the foc...
14/01/2025

So thats 2024 done with! How did that happen!

Anyway, with a bit of time off work ken fit like, start looking at the focus and armed with the grinder thinking what can i cut out now!

Luckly, i put the grinder down but while looking about the engine bay there was one thing still annoying me. Im a big beliver in sealed air box's, pulling in nothing but cool air from outside the engine bay, but for now with out redesigning everything, i just cant run a airbox :( So the next best thing was to run a heat sheild.

So not one for taking the easy route of getting some sheet alloy out and making a box to the best of my metal work skills, i decided i hadnt played with carbon in a while so thought that was the route to go down!

First things first it was take a photo and get microsoft paint on the go. Few lines here and there i had solved the issue of what i wanted.

Next was look out the bin bags, air filter removed and then mix up some expanding foam to give me a 3D shape that i could work with.

Once my mash potato looking foam fitted the area it was a bit of shaping, making the most of the area i had with out looking stupid. Then moved onto body filler, and i dont know why i put myself through this. Filler, sand, filler, sand it honestly feels like it go's on for ever! I took extra care to make the part slightly tapered as to help it not lock into the mould.

With that shaped, it was a case of spray it with 2k and make the mould.
Flanges added then gel coat down and wet layed up.... easy!

Then came time to pop the mould... yup locked in! No idea if the heat from the layup causes the 2k clear to attach or if the expanding foam starts to expand again, or if i just have no luck with the chemical release stuff.... But a few hours later 1 plug destroyed but 1 mould saved! Little touch up needed but it will be good after a wet sand and polish and several layers of good ald WAX!!!!

Might have a heat sheild next week, might delete this post and pretend nothing happened! Wish me luck! 😂

Is it Christmas? Sorta looks like it ☺️Just in time for the winter weather as well!So due to work and working away this ...
27/11/2024

Is it Christmas? Sorta looks like it ☺️

Just in time for the winter weather as well!

So due to work and working away this has taken a lot longer than id of liked, knocked my idea of getting the car on track for a shake down and any tweeks to follow ready for next year. But it is what it is, and although road miles will be limited (not becasue i dont enjoy driving in the rain, but i dont enjoy known all my hard work rotting away due to all the salt and grit on the road eatting everything it touches!), il still get it out when i can and get some important data!

And its not been a quick turn around, sure i could of lauched the engine back in and got it back out, but there was niggles, niggles that at the time were fine, but clearly wouldnt last the test of time, and im ok with that. I was young, doing what i thought and knew best, but with age comes experiance and thats why i decided to take this time to sort a few ageing items out and do it right.

So biggest change would be the turbo, now with its ported shroud, and fully rebuilt.
Moving to two knock sensors in a much better location on the engine.
Replacing the wastegate water lines with some AN Braided lines, and doing the oil and water on the turbo as well for good messure.
Heat management, wrapping said lines in the best heat sleeve i could find.
Moving the air filter to a fresh air location as far away from the engine with 4" intake pipework.
Fitting a metal coolant tank to allow me to then fit a coolant pressure sensor - (Mowa daTaz)
New headlights to give it some much needed engine bay air.
And modding the intercooler pipework so it now fits!

Currently on the running in oil, will do 150ish miles hopefully of mixed driving with boost and decel runs. Then its full service time with new fuel filters, oil filter, plugs and coolant flush and il hopefully get a date with the dyno in the not so distance furtre!

But for now, enjoy some nice photos of the thing out the garage haha!

Cheers!
Jack

Progressing,Now im not sure if you remember when i first fitted the DSG box i went about modding the intercooler pipewor...
10/11/2024

Progressing,

Now im not sure if you remember when i first fitted the DSG box i went about modding the intercooler pipework and intake as easily as i could. Few reasons, one i was just too excited to get the car going, and the second was i wasnt sure how the hell i was going to fit a 4" intake plus filter into the space where the previous one was....

Now though all the research and info iv found over the years, when it comes to "helping" the engine with "free horsepower" the facts always stack up and say for exhaust you want as big as you can get, and this go's the same for intake and filters. Logically it makes sense, it changes a bit when you move into manifold designs you have to think of volocity, but yeh the fundementals are bigger is better and i knew i always wanted to go back up to a 4" intake, but this would mean i complete redesign of the intercooler pipe as well due to the box being so big!

So armed with some 4" pipe. I actually dug out the old 4" intake and got about cutting some pie cuts as i knew i was going to have to bend with in a bend most likely! some how got that made, then it was a case of snaking the intercooler pipe down past it. Its tight, with only about 1cm of clearance between the box and the intake pipe but it fits. So luckly as i can not weld thin wall ali to save my life, Craig from the long lost Mellow works (f"*king hackers) welded the pipes up for me! so a bit of prep and a spray of matt black we are good to get them bolted up and start the final jobs before the focus can go back down on the ground!

Ps i hate pie cuts, and im sure Craig hates them more 🤣

Cheers!

Lights... Cam.... ok just lights!So engine is back in, few things to button up there like making new boost pipes, intake...
27/10/2024

Lights... Cam.... ok just lights!

So engine is back in, few things to button up there like making new boost pipes, intake pipes, but we are getting there!

So since i was at a bit of a stop i thought id continue with the lights, these took a bit more trimming to get to fit and once i was happy i set about wiring in the plugs from some doner headlights. The standard sockets on the ford headlights can be stipped, re pinned very easily and it ends up as a neat job that doesnt require you do chop both ends and fit aftermarket plugs. So simpel case of matching the pins to the correct light and there we have it!

Final fit (or as near as was done) i looked at the big holes i now had for air intakes. The drivers side pointed directly at the water tank and the pasanger side was 50/50 split between the bay and the inside of the front arch... Less than ideal! So as i still have Andys 3D printer i set about thinking how i could make use of the holes to direct air to where i wanted it! Now after a few prototypes to get the hole PCD on the morrette headlights right ( im using the online CAD program tinkercad which isnt exactly professional!) i had a base made that bolts directly to the headlight.

So with that as the start point it was then a case of shaping a duct or 2 to make the most of the air avalible! DS was a sharp 90% that should push air directly behind the water rad into the turbo/wastegate area, and the PS was angled at about 40 Degrees with a tilt down pointing to hopefully where the new air filter will sit.

Not a overly complicated job, but with print times for the ducts being 12-15 hours its been a weekend affair!

Just hope they dont melt 🤣

Cheers

We have boost! Or at least the ability to have boost again!After another trip away on its holiday bobs, the turbo compre...
19/10/2024

We have boost! Or at least the ability to have boost again!

After another trip away on its holiday bobs, the turbo compressor housing was machined, checked and reasembled and posted back!

Little set back, but iv no excuses now! BRB away into the garage to get cracking! 💪

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