Yeah, the main difference I felt between all of the cars was the clutches. Kerry's felt stiff (but acceptable), while Darren's engaged about 1" from the top, and Mike's felt incredibly nice (I loved the firm feeling that the centerforce clutch gave). Mine clutch feels pretty light and engages about 1/2 to 2/3's of the way up.

Kerry's car felt very refined and incredibly smooth in the upper revs, no vibration when the clutch was depressed at high revs. One of the oddest things about Kerry's car was driving a car that showed KPH instead of MPH. I went to heel-toe into first and took a peek down at the gauges before I did and saw 45 and almost freaked until I realized it was KPH.

As far as Mike's car feeling heavy, I would guess that would be old suspension components. Bushings, shocks, and possibly springs all showing some age. It probably wasn't a snappy as the others, which all had 34K - 45K miles compared to 100K+

I wouldn't worry so much about a performance decrease Lance. I think the biggest thing you'll realize is the abilitly (or lack there of) to rev quickly in 1st. But as a daily driver smoothness should far outweigh the loss. I would bet that with the SVT intake manifold you'll be really close to us. The SVT manifold will flow almost 20% better (99-00 manifold) then the stock Contours. To get the most out of it I would recommend getting a new exhaust and intake (I know you have the SVT exhaust, but it has limitations). Borla would probably be a good choice for that, not loud but flows much better. I seriously wouldn't doubt if your car could keep up with an SVT fairly well due to the weight advantage.


2004 Focus PZEV 2.3L - KW sport suspension, SP camber plates, Eibach front swaybar, FS intake, FS Stealth exhaust, 3.82 Final, Torsen ATB, Prothane MM insert, E1 CSVT wheels 1/4 mile - 15.201@89.4mph