(upbeat music)
(car engine roaring)
(laughter)
(upbeat jazz)
- The Ford Focus popped out and into the world in 1998,
but only in Europe.
The US got it shortly after, in 1999.
Which is the same year SpongeBob came out and I was 5,
so the only focus out of me was watching SpongeBob.
The Focus was seen in many generations in everything from
boring sedans to boring hatchbacks.
(fart sound)
- It has some roots in rally and touring cars
and also grandmothers like to own them.
My grandma had one.
Now, of course, Europe got the goods before the US,
but in 2013 (cannon ball exploding)
(whistling) the Ford Focus ST hit the States.
ST stands for Sport Technologies because I guess there's
a lot of sport and a lot of technology
going into a 250 horsepower and 270 torque hot hatch.
It has a base MSRP of $24,500, but you know you can get
1751 Taco Party Packs from Taco Balls for that.
Let that sink in.
It came in thirteen different colors and
three different trim options
to try and make you find a reason
to buy one of these things.
This car is known for its obnoxious blow off valves
(hissing) and littering every local car show.
Today, we sit down with a very special owner
and we have a good old chat.
Driver to driver.
(upbeat jazz)
- Right hey, and don't forget,
wheels, tires, suspenders, suspensions,
all that good stuff at fitmentindustries.com,
we don't have suspenders yet but I'm working on it.
Anyways.
Today, we're here with Dakota, alright?
You be North and I'll be South.
- I've never heard that one before.
- But let's not beat around the bush,
how much did you pay for that EcoBoob?
- Alright, so I paid about
18 grand for it, it had 48,000 miles,
drove down to Illinois to get it.
It has depreciated hard.
Really hard.
- (chuckles)
18k, sounds like you got ripped off.
If you were gonna spend that much,
why not just get, like, some cool, like, RS?
(bell dings)
- You know, initially, I wanted the RS more,
but it was also more,
at the time I bought it, it was still a pretty new car
and they were going for upper 30s,
I think even low 40s, and that just wasn't in
my price range at the time.
So, I went with the ST, I kinda settled.
- That's true. - But in hindsight,
I do wish I went with the RS, I think.
They're pretty much the same car,
one's all-wheel drive a little more power.
- So, why did you go with the wrong-wheel drive car?
You know, like, they make cars that are all-wheel drive
and rear-wheel drive.
Fun.
- I like front-wheel drive cars,
I think torque steer is fun.
The car itself handles really well.
I know people always say 'wrong-wheel drive'
but like, I don't know, I enjoy front-wheel drive cars,
I genuinely do.
I guess, I just don't like going fast, I don't know.
- Alright, okay.
You do you, boo-boo.
I notice you didn't drive your Focus here today,
where is it?
- I actually have it stored for winter, right now.
- Why are you storing a Focus?
Shawn drives his Lambo all winter.
What's your excuse?
- Well, (beep) I guess I just wanna keep the rust off of it,
keep the mileage a little bit lower.
- It's a Ford,
I feel like they come with rust from the factory.
I don't know.
And keep miles off it?
It's already not worth anything, what's the point?
Just, try and have fun with it,
try do something with it.
Don't keep it in a garage,
it's kinda stupid.
(beep)
Alright, enough from me, let's hear from our
extremely cool and loyal YouTube community.
(white noise)
(upbeat trumpet music)
Vang96 wants to know,
- Honestly, I think it's a great first car to own,
they're, like I said, depreciated
so they're super affordable.
The aftermarket list is absolutely insane, like,
there's tons of mods you can do to them.
So, I think that's awesome.
I think it's perfect for, like,
a 16 or 17-year-old.
- So, not a 25-year-old?
- Yeah, that, I suppose that's true.
- (snickers)
Tyson Mandseth asks,
- What?
These things come with a purse?
I already got ripped off enough,
I guess I would take a purse if they (beep) came with one.
I mean, maybe I could sell that,
get a little bit of money back. It's Ford depreciated,
it's not worth (beep) anymore.
Yeah, I'll take a purse.
(beep) (piano music)
- Looking for aftermarket wheels, tyres,
or suspensions, be sure to check out fitmentindustries.com.
- Troy Higgins has a good one, he asked,
- Honestly, I like the looks of the ST,
I think they look pretty aggressive,
and then, the price point
was pretty fair on it.
- You like that they were over-priced?
- At the time, they were,
it seemed like a good deal,
it was before they depreciated,
and then I got the ST3 model,
so that, like, came with all the bells and whistles,
it had navigation touchscreen,
projector headlights and Recaro seats.
- Didn't you rip the Recaros out?
- We'll get to that, we'll get to that.
Yeah.
- Alright.
Giovanni Gomez asks,
- Honestly, I think they are pretty reliable
for the most part.
I know some guys have had like,
Ringland issues
and low-speed pre-ignition failure.
- What is that?
- So, that's when you're, like,
going into boost at a low speed or low RPM,
they don't like that. - Oh.
- Don't do that.
Not good for them.
- Oh, okay.
- So, like, don't merge onto the highway
in sixth gear, flooring it.
You're gonna blow it up. I promise.
Also, talking about failures,
Ford absolutely (beep) up the paint on these.
They're terrible, I swear.
Literally every time I drive the car,
more rock chips, everywhere.
Top of my roof, the front bumper, the rear bumper.
Don't know, some of the spots, how they get there,
just chipped, always.
- So, I guess you could say Ford went
soft in the paint.
- Yeah.
Ford definitely went soft in the paint.
- (laughs) - Because it's trash.
- Sebbyboo is curious and asks,
- (stammers) I am trying to buy a house, I guess.
- Alright, moving forward.
Anyway, my boy Will Santiago asks
or here in America, the Party ST.
- Look at me, I'm a big guy,
- I don't really- - Yeah, you are, sheesh!
- Fit in it, you know? - Go back a little bit.
- And I like the looks of the Focus more,
to be honest with you.
It wasn't too much past that.
(white noise)
- Bobthedino makes a good point and says
(loud hissing)
- (laughs) (hissing)
Yeah, the blowoff valves are extremely obnoxious.
I know the Boomba one, like,
it sounds good at first, it's loud and-
- (hissing)
- It gets annoying real quick,
real quick, anytime you let off the throttle.
(mechanical hissing)
- So, what do you have all done to that big dig?
- So, I've done quite a bit to it.
I have Air Lift performance,
Suspension 3P,
VIP Modular VLS 910 wheels, 18 by 9.5 plus 30
wrapped in 215/40 Nitto NeoGen tyres.
Pretty much a stance-y setup.
I'm tuned by Stratified, I have the crackle tune
so I'm full bolt-ons, I have a COBB air intake,
COBB exhaust, MBRP catless downpipe,
CX Racing Intercooler, with the hot and cold side piping,
I have the Rally Innovations wing,
AeroFlow dynamics, splitters, canards, diffuser.
I really like their products,
they have good stuff.
So, yeah and interior, I have a few things done.
I have the alcantara carbon fiber SS tuning shift knob,
and then I have an Agency Power,
painted white, harness bar to match the car,
- Mm hmm. - With sparkle harnesses,
and like I was saying earlier,
I have the core, - Alright, alright.
- I have the Corbeau RSS seats
that I really like, they're dope.
- That was a long list.
(beep) Wait, didn't you buy the ST because
you liked the Recaros?
What the-? I don't get it, you know?
- Yeah, to be honest, I don't know,
they're a little over-hyped, like,
the initial, when I got in it to test-drive it,
I was like, damn, Recaro seats,
bolstered, they hug me!
But, I'm a big dude and
they kinda dig into me a little bit,
not gonna lie.
And then, with the harness bar I put in,
I couldn't put the seat all the way back,
so then, I had like, no headroom
at all, especially if I was wearing a beanie like this.
And then, my knees were like,
touching the dash too, 'cause those seats are kind of thick.
- So, you put in a harness bar
that made you not fit into your own car.
Okay. Alright.
- Yeah. - That makes sense.
- Yeah, that's... - I got you.
- I (beep) up. - So, that's a lot of mods,
how much money do you have into this damn thing?
- I'd say
I haven't, like, I added up half of it
and I got about like,
16, $17,000 into the car.
- Brother, you were saying and RS is too expensive...
- I guess it wasn't, at the end of the day.
- How much power are you making?
- So, that's the one big gripe about these cars.
I'm probably making like, 270, 280 horsepower.
You can't get over 300 horsepower with these cars
unless you,
like, you go big turbo on them.
That's pretty much the only way.
Full bolt-ons, you're just not gonna cut it.
- You put 17 grand into a Focus
and you make 270 horsepower?!
Focus RS makes 350 from a factory!
What a waste!
What are you doing? - Yeah. I (beep) up. I know.
- Yeah, you did!
And what's this Rice Krispie (beep) tune
you said you had on it?
- Yeah, so, I got the crackle tune,
not the Rice Krispie tune, might as well be.
It just makes it pop and gurgle and stuff on diesel,
you can make it, it's pretty obnoxious,
that's, the license plate's got pops.
- That sounds stupid as hell.
You know you could've bought a car
that just did that, I don't know, naturally,
instead of like, a fake T, you know.
That sounds like them cars that come with those
sound Symposer things that put, like,
engine noise into the cabin and just fake noise.
- Yeah, the Focus has one of those too.
- Yo, what the (beep), these things sound wack!
Why the hell'd you buy that?
(saxophone)
Please tell me you at least haven't had like,
many issues with it or anything like that.
- So, yeah, it has 70,000 miles on it,
I put about 30,000 miles on it
and I beat the hell out of it when I drive it,
honestly, like I beat the (beep) out of it.
I've taken it to the dragstrip and raced it,
I've taken it to Autocross and done that,
super fun, handled great.
That was before I did all the stance setup to it
and everything like that.
But, the only other issue I've had
which is self-inflicted is I
buckled the fenders airing out.
- Way to go, jackass.
- I feel like a jackass, it was just
flat ground, concrete, aired out,
and they buckled, I aired out a hundred times
without ever having an issue, and this time...
- You know, if you need any fitment tips
you can go to the gallery at fitmentindustries.com.
- I know, I know. I'm aware, believe it or not.
- Do you have any advice for someone
thinking about getting a Focus ST?
- Yeah, go test-drive one, I guess,
and see if you enjoy it.
A tune really livens these cars up.
- Yeah, you can go from 250 to 280.
- Basically, yeah, you're not gonna get
crazy power out of them.
I would recommend getting the RS
if you got the cash for it.
Otherwise, if you don't have the cash
and you're just looking for something for fun,
they depreciated, they're not worth anything,
so you can pick one up for cheap.
And, they're a good time, they're fun.
(upbeat saxophone jazz) - That about wraps it up,
thanks to North for coming on the show
and letting us poke fun at his
wrong-wheel drive, depreciated car thing.
If you need wheels, tyres, or suspension,
(metallic clang)
don't forget wheels, tyres, suspension,
fitmentindustries.com.
Bye, bye.
Oh, see ya.
Bye.
So long.
Toodle-oo.
Lord have mercy.
Bye.
(upbeat saxophone jazz)