K&N Hosts Ford Focus Club Day in Netherlands R&D Test Facility
- 10 Jul 2012
In the Dutch city of Eindhoven you'll find the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, which as the name implies, is a high tech campus housing more than 90 different companies and institutions, comprising a staff of over 8,000 R&D specialists and entrepreneurs and representing over 50 different nationalities. One of the main goals of the Campus is to foster cooperation between companies and to provide avenues for the open exchange of ideas in order to enhance technological and product development. It's for this reason that the Campus likes to refer to itself as an "ecosystem." Last weekend (July 7) K&N hosted the Netherlands Ford Focus Club Day in the K&N R&D test facility in Eindhoven, and everyone fortunate enough to be in attendance gave it nothing but the highest praise. Mind you this was a highly discerning group. The Netherlands' Ford Focus Club is comprised of a wide variety of owners with a vast overall collection of knowledge, large or trivial, regarding Fords popular car that makes people forget about bland budget-conscious compacts. The club's members vary in age from 20 to 60 and they thoroughly comprehend everything Focus, from the 1.4i version to the nearly ridiculous 300 plus horsepower 2.5RS. Their online forum discussions reach borderline smack-talk. The following is an actual forum entry:
"Does anyone have a Ford Focus (USA-version) and use it in the Netherlands - or am I the only lucky one to do so? The Ford Focus Club Day had that sort of provocative scrutiny to live up to, and K&N surpassed everyone's expectations. The day began with a history of K&N's origin, followed by a tour through the product line, with a brief explanation of the development procedure behind it. Then there was another tour, this one through the actual forward-looking Eindhoven R&D test facility. Questions were answered, and filter cleaning instructions were given. K&N displayed a range of products which are available for the various Ford Focus models. These included examples of their High-Flow Technology in the form of reusable panel air filters to the K&N Typhoon intake system. Attendees were also treated to a peek at the soon to be introduced K&N 57s air box exclusively designed for the Focus II and III.
After the tour and presentation all owners with K&N products already on their car were given the opportunity to get their car tested on the dyno. This was an extremely popular feature for all, with competing guesstimates on varying horsepower outputs taking center stage. The test of the Ford Focus II ST, which runs on LPi (liquid Propane injection), was one everyone was eagerly awaiting. The owners gut reaction was that his Focus did feel as though it had more horsepower than the gasoline powered version, and the dyno test confirmed that. Running on the LPi system the ST showed an increase of 12.6 ponies. K&N tested 10 different cars in all during the dynamometer test session, capping off a memorable Ford Focus Club Day for an enthusiastic group of Focus fanatics. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
