Pleasure of autoxing a Focus

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

Well this past weekend I had the pleasure of autoxing my friends '01 Focus in HS. It was bone stock and we had 225/50/16 Kumho Vicotoracers all the way around on it. The Focus was incredibly fun to drive. Point it where you want it to go and it follows. The car transitions incredibly well and would absolutely embarass the Contour in a slolom. The transmission felt great, I love the MTX-75 for autoxing anyway because it drops into 1st gear so incredibly easily.

My biggest complaint about the car was you couldn't hear the engine at all. But an exhaust would help this. You really had no idea where you were in the rev range unless you took your eyes off and looked at the tach, which by the way has no marking for redline. Also if you have never hit the rev limiter in a stock Focus before you're missing a treat. The car does not slam you into the seatbelt as in the Contour. In fact it does the exact opposite. It just rests on the limiter and doesn't make any noise. I disliked this attribute too though because you could be hitting the limiter and not know it. The car did lack in power, but what do you expect out of an HS car?

Overall I had so much fun racing this car that I called my friend up that races one nationally and we are trying to work out an agreement for me to co-drive for him at the SCCA Solo II Nationals in Kansas this September. He competed last year and placed 13th. Last year he tried a new setup for nationals on the first day and couldn't figure out what settings he needed and blew the first day but had the 4th fastest time in HS on the 2nd day. The car has potential to be a national competitor. He also has added some more HP since nationals last year, so he should be even more competitive. I can't wait to run for a national championship with him!

I've always said that the focus has surpassed the Tour as Ford's most refined package. The SVT Focus is awesome too, but it seriosly lacks power. I know that the Special Vehicles Team has a prototype with the 'Tour engine in in. Why don't they just make it as powerful as the Dodge Neon SRTs? It pissed me off to think about it.

They have a Focus as powerful as the SRT... we just can't buy it

Awesome car. You are right, it is sad that it wont come to this country.

Originally posted by Qbert:
Well this past weekend I had the pleasure of autoxing my friends '01 Focus in HS. It was bone stock and we had 225/50/16 Kumho Vicotoracers all the way around on it. The Focus was incredibly fun to drive. Point it where you want it to go and it follows. The car transitions incredibly well and would absolutely embarass the Contour in a slolom. The transmission felt great, I love the MTX-75 for autoxing anyway because it drops into 1st gear so incredibly easily.

I have not experienced either in autocross but one thing that bothers me about the regular ZX3 (not FSVT..have not tried it) is the high center of gravity...its tippy! It is a couple of inchs taller than a Tour IIRC and you feel it. Steering is nice though, though not clear better than CSVT. This is a perceptual thing and it may get around a tight course faster because it weighs less but I was not fond of the minivan center of gravity.

Just curious. I was under the impression that the HS Focus came stock with 15" wheels. Did you just mount the wheel/tire combo you normally use for your 'tour on there to see what would happen?

I toyed with the idea of taking my Enterprise rent-a-car (5-door Focus) to a divisional meet and running it with my 'tours V700s, but work obligations forbid me to attend the meet. I was always very curious how I might have done, though, given the competitive nature of the folks at the divisional level, I figure I would have been protested.

I did once an Enterprise rent-a-carlo (2002 Monte Carlo) to a divisional meet last year, and ran. It was, well. strange. Street tires, of course, in the GS class (was going to try for season points at that point). Finished DFL in class... no suprise there. Never drove a car that sucked so bad in the slolam as that one. Still had a great time at the meet, though. A lot of the fun is the people you meet and know.

Anyway, was just curious about the wheel thing, since I almost did this myself once. Glad you had fun. Good luck this season, and keep the shiny side up.

Actually a intake system like short ram is all you need to hear the motor. The cars are very nimbel. I love my wagon. It handles as good (if not a little better) as the ZX3 I have 15's with 205/55/15 Yokohoma Advin V4's on it. For those that may test drive one. The stock 15"ixe are 195/60/15 and if you drive one with 16's or 15's that have Goodyear or Firestone tires on it, that is not what it handles like. I went from the stock Goodyears to the above mentioned and it is a completely new car in the way it feels. The Focus as much as hate to admit is a much superior car to the tour.

As far as power well my wife made my tour look like a pinto the other night. We both comming home at the same time and at the last light out town she decided to try to race me. (beyond the light it is 65MPH and thats as fast as we got) needless to say all i seen the tailights of my wagon go by by. as i sat there making noise but not going anywhere. The focus really does kick ass.

Originally posted by TheMark:
Just curious. I was under the impression that the HS Focus came stock with 15" wheels. Did you just mount the wheel/tire combo you normally use for your 'tour on there to see what would happen?

Actually they come with 15's or 16's depends on if you selected that option on the car. Yes I did bolt up the wheels from my Contour so the car wasn't exactly HS legal, but this was at a local event. I do have a friend though that runs 225's on his 6" stock Focus wheels so the handling characteristics between a 6.5" wheel with 225's and a 6" wheel with 225's isn't all that far off. That might be good for 1/10th or a second or so. I actually was probably giving up a little time do to the fact I was using 225/50/16's making the gearing worse and the wheel weight even more. My friend runs 225/50/15's when he runs so they were 1" shorter and the wheels are 5lbs lighter a piece.

Quote:

Actually a intake system like short ram is all you need to hear the motor.

That will however move you from a stock class. The use of a catback exhaust system is allowed in stock classes, IIRC.
That would give you an audible engine note, to help determine engine RPM.

Originally posted by Dan Nixon:

I have not experienced either in autocross but one thing that bothers me about the regular ZX3 (not FSVT..have not tried it) is the high center of gravity...its tippy! It is a couple of inchs taller than a Tour IIRC and you feel it. Steering is nice though, though not clear better than CSVT.

The big problem with the Focus it your perceived angle. You are sitting alot higher in a Focus than in a Contour. Your angle is amplified because of this, it's not really confidence inspiring but you eventually get used to it. The FSVT has the exact same preoblem, the suspension in the FSVT helps a bit, but the extremes in the FSVT are very high, so you get the amplified thing happening again. It gets really bad in transitions, I doubt very highly the car is about to tip, but any of my non-regular passengers are about to crap thier pants.

Easiest way to make the Foci's engine note louder is the simple removal of the intake resonator, it sounds like crap, but you can hear it better.

It's a good idea to remember going in thatthe car can do more than you feel safe doing. I think for sheer fun in tossing the car around, the Contour was a much better car, but the Focus is just as capable, it just needs some lowering springs and a lower seat.

Originally posted by Qbert:

Originally posted by TheMark:
Just curious. I was under the impression that the HS Focus came stock with 15" wheels. Did you just mount the wheel/tire combo you normally use for your 'tour on there to see what would happen?

Actually they come with 15's or 16's depends on if you selected that option on the car. Yes I did bolt up the wheels from my Contour so the car wasn't exactly HS legal, but this was at a local event.

I hate to bring up a old post, but the 4dr LX model comes with 14x5.5. I got lucky and found a set of old contour rims in a junk yard for next to nothing... I just cant find that pic right now.

Yeah, the LX's do come with 14's, but all ZX3's have at least 15's.