How Ford 'Fixed' The Focus RS's Intercooler After Discovering That It Was Too Cool

When Ford designed the intercooler for the Focus RS, it inadvertently made it too efficient. For that reason, a blanking plate had to be found from the Ford parts bin, and that very plate came from a diesel Transit van

Alex Kersten

21 Jan 2016

During the Ford Focus RS launch in Valencia earlier this week, I asked Ford’s vehicle engineering manager, Tyrone Johnson, about a rather large blanking plate on the RS’s intercooler. As you’ll see in the video, the reason for the plate is to reduce the efficiency of the intercooler because Ford discovered that in particularly humid conditions, the intercooler was working too efficiently, which caused a build up of water vapour. And because water in an engine is bad news, Ford searched through its parts bin and took the same blanking plate that it used for its diesel Transit van intercoolers and placed it over the intercoolers of the Focus RSs. So you could say, then, that the RS is part super hatch, part practical van…you know, in case you need to justify the purchase to a wife or girlfriend.

In the video, you’ll also hear about a few other cars the Focus RS owes its life to.

Comments

Moore poowaaar

Transit van

Highly useful and versatile since 1965

Can’t wait for the ST and RS version of the Transit

Because why not?

Hipster Ford fixed Intercoolers before they were cool

I like Doge.

heavy sigh

bruh

This made me laugh way too hard…

Someone needs to fix your comment because it is too cool. Made my day.

May I introduce myself, I’m the dutch premier minister Transit Van Blanking plate

Aw man i’m crying :D :D

If it was my car,I’d remove that stupid plastic immediatley,, more cool air=more POWERRR

Did you miss the point as to WHY they put it there?

Ummm, how about you read it thoroughly first, before commenting

Well you will frost the block or waterhammer the cylinder instead the boost…

a guy in a college I went to stuck a sheet of cardboard behind the front grill when it was cold. guess it kind of makes sense

That’s very common in cold areas.

It is common to put cardboard infront of the radiator so the enging temp. would be heigher at winter

I run a big piece of cardboard that covers 60% of my radiator and it’s still struggling to get up to operating temperature. That’s -30°C life for you :p

Focus rs’s cooling game is 2 strong

But water injection bro

This is most likely an issue that came up in development after what happens to the f150 and the 3.5 ecoboost. It had the same charge air cooler issue where condensation would build up and be ingested into the engine under high boost.