05 zx3 governor setting?

ridgeracer · Feb 12, 2006

well, I just read that the 05 zx3 s is governed at 112? I was driving a while back and found a stretch of road basically to the horizon, no cars, no deer, no nothing, and the road was excellent and had been for 60 or so miles- so I opened her up and she did 120-121 ish, right in there, and wouldn't do any more. It got there slowly and just decided to sort of hang in there, it didn't want to do any more but it didn't feel 'governed' as a typical governor sometimes chimes in with a rude 'NO, I DON'T GO ANY FARTHER' cutting the engine out.

well anyway I don't encourage speeding unless there is some emergency that truly justifies it. The focus felt very stable at that speed but once the speed topped, I brought her right back down to a legal cruising speed. I don't think I'll do it again outside of a track designed for top speed and some more appropriate tires.

SO HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS:

is the 05 zx3 governed? if so do some cars do a bit more/why?

what is the focus top speed potential stock ungoverned?

what is the focus top speed record for a modified focus?

are there tracks designed for top speed in the midwest/west coast?

PS if this forum has an issue with posting speeds or talking about excessive speed, i completely understand and do not support it outside of a closed track and compitent vehicle. I will not be offended if this thread is moderator-edited or removed.

thank you

ax0n · Feb 12, 2006

ridgeracer said:
well, I just read that the 05 zx3 s is governed at 112? I was driving a while back and found a stretch of road basically to the horizon, no cars, no deer, no nothing, and the road was excellent and had been for 60 or so miles- so I opened her up and she did 120-121 ish, right in there, and wouldn't do any more. It got there slowly and just decided to sort of hang in there, it didn't want to do any more but it didn't feel 'governed' as a typical governor sometimes chimes in with a rude 'NO, I DON'T GO ANY FARTHER' cutting the engine out.

well anyway I don't encourage speeding unless there is some emergency that truly justifies it. The focus felt very stable at that speed but once the speed topped, I brought her right back down to a legal cruising speed. I don't think I'll do it again outside of a track designed for top speed and some more appropriate tires.

SO HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS:

is the 05 zx3 governed? if so do some cars do a bit more/why?

what is the focus top speed potential stock ungoverned?

what is the focus top speed record for a modified focus?

are there tracks designed for top speed in the midwest/west coast?

PS if this forum has an issue with posting speeds or talking about excessive speed, i completely understand and do not support it outside of a closed track and compitent vehicle. I will not be offended if this thread is moderator-edited or removed. thank you

1. They should be governed at 112 still. The ST is limited to 120 though, perhaps all '05's are? Also your speedometer could be off (it's a real problem on some Foci) or perhaps yours is a quirk.

2. Aerodynamically, your horsepower will be unable to conquer drag at about 120-125 MPH if there are no speed governors in place.

3. A G-production 2001 Focus Wagon hit 141+ MPH averaged on the salt flats. However, if you want to talk about modified, the sky is the limit. Shaun Carlson's NuFormz/Meguiars Tube-Frame/Carbon Fiber FWD turbocharged 2.0L Focus was running 8 second quarter miles. While I don't recall the trap speed for that run, most cars that run 8 second 1/4 mile times clear the trap at 150-165 MPH, and that's just in 1,320 feet! Imagine if you gave it a longer stretch of road!

4) Hallet, heartland park and I believe gateway international all have road courses. If you're just looking for 1/4 mile tracks you can find one in almost every major metro area.

biscuitninja · Feb 12, 2006

Mine governs at about 110ish.... And yes i push it that fast....
Maybe yours has some sort of governer delete?
-bix

2focusd · Feb 12, 2006

I'm thinking my old '00 ZX3 would go up to about 118, but the new one hasn't been above 100 yet :thumbup:

-Brian

Cameroon · Feb 13, 2006

It's actually 108. The same as the speed rating on an "s" rated tire.

The ST has 120 and comes with "H" rated tire.

SVT's didn't have one (or it was really high) and had "Z" rated tires.

Oh BTW the reasoning for the limiters is due to the speed rating of the standard tire.

Ford really would like to avoid repeating the explorer tire issues.

I've read several articals about just how far off most speedo's really are.

Zx3_Ryder · Feb 17, 2006

I've gone 120 mph in my 2005 zx3. I'd assume it could go 125 max.

pitchblack23 · Feb 17, 2006

Your speedometer says you've gone 120 mph (on a closed track, I presume). As was already pointed out in the thread, your speedometer is not neccessarily correct. IIRC, the legal requirement is only that a speedometer read within 10% of actual speed. The only car I know of that comes with a guaranteed-accurate speedo is the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

OmniFocus · Feb 17, 2006

Just as an FYI to all... the maximum speed is clearly defined in the ECU as a parameter, and reading the parameter is easy for any of the ECU tuning folks.

...this stuff isn't too mysterious. On our 03 2.3L it was set at 105/106 for the cut, with torque retards beginning as early as 100MPH.

BLUE_02_ZX3 · Feb 18, 2006

oh and yea, not sposed to talk about being bad on the road.
but I think its kinda up to the mods to descide whats "bad"

Hot_SVT · Feb 18, 2006

I've seen just shy of an indicated 140 with basic bolt ons on the SVT (before tune and ORP).

Olek · Feb 21, 2006

OmniFocus said:
Just as an FYI to all... the maximum speed is clearly defined in the ECU as a parameter, and reading the parameter is easy for any of the ECU tuning folks.

...this stuff isn't too mysterious. On our 03 2.3L it was set at 105/106 for the cut, with torque retards beginning as early as 100MPH.

So how easy is it to get rid off? (the limiter I mean).

I know there's a time and place for driving fast but when it comes to the focus i'm a newb, is there anything like a hypertech (that I had for my f150) out there for the focus?

pitchblack23 · Feb 21, 2006

You can pick up an SCT XCalibrator or XCalibrator 2 from several of our sponsors for about $300. Those will reflash the ECU and can remove the limiter, among other nice benefits.

biscuitninja · Feb 21, 2006

Its not hard, I wanted to remove my limiter settings, but i'm not going to do it until i have more mods to take advantage of the SCT tune....
And realistically I only use this speed at Fontana raceway and Willowsprings.
-bix

boostedzx3 · Feb 22, 2006

I had 150 once, on air strip of course

05 zx3 governor setting?

ridgeracer

ax0n

biscuitninja

2focusd

Cameroon

Zx3_Ryder

pitchblack23

OmniFocus

BLUE_02_ZX3

Hot_SVT

Olek

pitchblack23

biscuitninja

boostedzx3

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities