an upgraded valve body will help change shift points or even an ECU tune can adjust shift points.

 

well it's not really the shift points I want to change, it's the rate the gears accelerate at. (again, comparing to similar cars, and man. 2.0 zetecs)

 

yes but if you can change your shift points to be higher in the rev band, you'll continue pulling from down low where your power is made isntead of up top where the motor makes no power.

 

High-dollar option: Looser convertor and/or shorter final drive (higher number axle ratio).

Low(er) dollar option: Smaller diameter tires.

I like DisrupTer's suggestion of raising the shift points, but that may require (depending on the year and engine of your Focus) the purchase of an SCT X-Calibrator or whatever chips are used in the Zetec cars...


Which engine do you have? I know that the 2.3 Duratec autos are geared with a 3.73, the Zetec has a 3.91 or 3.92... then again if you had a 2.3 you might not be complaining...

The price of "looser" convertor is about the same as a set of tires, but the labor of installing it is another matter...

Tires are not really an option, though; you'd have to go MUCH smaller to gain an acceleration advantage.

 

Yea, if I had the 2.3 I don't think I'd be complaing either.
But I have a 2.0 zetec, and I have a sct tuner on the way, so I can adjust shift points then.

My tires overall diameter are slighty smaller than stock, but thats only by .2 of an inch so that doesn't make any difference.

 

can I change the final drive on an auto though?

 

Not inexpensively; no. You'd have to have a gearset custom-made and that would be expensive. I don't know how much, though.

Your Zetec auto is geared with a 3.92 which is the "shortest" of both Focus automatic final drive gearsets.

Say you had the 2.3 Duratec automatic's "taller" 3.73:1 final drive ratio in the differential and wanted a little more punch at the expense of cruise RPM... you could swap in the Zetec's gearset for an almost 0.2:1 change. That's just enough of a gear ratio change to notice a boost in acceleration.

In other news... and this may seem odd coming from a user with such a high postcount... but you can use your post's "Edit" button to add that second thought or question within five minutes... no need for two successive posts inside of two minutes in the same thread.

:thumbup:

 

hmm so Z6, your saying that the zetec atx has a better gearset for acceleration while teh duratec atx has a better gearset for cruising?

 

Yes, in the 2.3's 4F27-E trans, and not by much; prolly 300 (give or take; I haven't done the actual math) revs at cruise. I don't know what the 2.0 Duratec autos have for a final drive ratio. Hmmm...

In other words, say you have the 2.3/3.73 and you cruise at 3000 revs @ 75 MPH (where posted, and the RPM numbers are rounded off for the sake of discussion). If you changed to a 3.92 gear, your 75 MPH cruising revs would now be 300 revs higher at 3300 revs...

As I said earlier, it's just enough of a change to notice and with the 2.3 4-speed automatic, it'd mean that second gear would become much more "usable" in getting off of tighter corners. The car would have a bit more snap. It would be a bitchin' swap, and I've daydreamed of doing it someday although it wouldn't be easy: the trans has to be disassembled completely to change the pinion gear...

Too bad there's not a shorter gearset already manufactured for the Zetec; say a 4:10. Wait! I THINK (not sure...) there was something like that for the Ford Escorts. Perhaps a little research by a Zetec guy would bear fruit on this subject.

There's no swapping in an MTX-75 gearset, unfortunately; the gearsets are of a different physical dimension due to the difference in the design between the coaxial automatic, and the main/countershaft design of the manual 'box. This is the reason that, at least in our Duratec cars, the engine sits one inch closer to the firewall than the MTX-equipped car.

 

The last time I spoke to Chris at Lentech he said they can drop a 4.08 into a Zetec...Might be worth considering if you’re going to go full Lentech, but if you’re going FI he recommends staying with the stock gearing.

 

well, i'm n/a so thats ok for me? any idea on how much it costs?

 

well, i'm n/a so thats ok for me? any idea on how much it costs?

Give Lentech a call, they’re extremely helpful & are great guys. As “Z” said: expensive if that’s all you’re going to do, but if they’re setting up a complete Lentech trans for you then it’s just a matter of installing it when they’re setting up the trans.

 

so how would teh 4:08 gears be for acceleration/drag strip runs?

i get piss poor milage as it is so that's not to big a concern for me :lol:

 

so how would teh 4:08 gears be for acceleration/drag strip runs?

i get piss poor milage as it is so that's not to big a concern for me :lol:

There was a post awhile back in the Drag section by a guy who had an N/A Zetec which ran 14.02 in a 1/4 mile, he said the 4.08’s made the biggest difference in cutting down his ET. McNews’s N/A car ran a 14.03 & they’re also at 4.06. (Both are MTX’s by the way)

 

McNews is also having a clearance sale on the High Performance TQ (23 spline-lock out) & Input Shaft. At 50% price. Might be a good time to have it all done by a transmission shop at the fraction of the cost of a Lentech.

 

I asked about that earlier on a few different forums, noone really had an opinion of it :/ noone could also give me details on it, except one guy across the way here in N.C. said it should be able to hold up to the power of a stage 2 turbo.

I myself am still looking into a full automatic transmission rebuild to make my own lentech type tranny at a fraction of the cost :/

 

well I contacted the guys at lentech and they told me the only gears they know of for the autos is 3.7 and 3.9

 

yea 3.7 I think for dura 3.9 for zetec

 

so no 4.08 like opus said?

 

i'm sure with enough $$$ you could get something made :lol:

 

cornercarverzx5

so no 4.08 like opus said?

No, like I said in Post #10...

He posted that then retracted it in a way by saying that the 4.08s were in a[n] MTX car... all along knowing (or not) that this is a thread about automatics.

:-/

 

ooo, oops. well then i guess i'll just have to deal with it huh.

 

well I contacted the guys at lentech and they told me the only gears they know of for the autos is 3.7 and 3.9

I spoke to Chris again at Lentech this morning & he said if you can pick up a Euro 4.10 gear it would work or they can modify an MTX 4.08, but they have never done one. Also one important note—he said between the stock 3.90 & a 4.10, it is not that noticable of a difference & with their FI shop car they feel that the stock 3.90 is too much & are considering the 3.6.