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Discouraged

6.8K views 118 replies 34 participants last post by  Adrian  
#1 ·
Guys I have to admit I'm starting to get a bit discouraged with most of the posts here about problems with FI and the focus.
I bought my car around october of last year and its been working great stock. But the reason I bought it is because I wanted to build a street car and start with a vehicle with some life in it. Preferably not a car older than 3 years. Mine is a 2000 ZX3. The goal was always around 200hp at the wheels and 200lbs torque. But after reading many of the posts here it seems that one can expect serious problems within a year of dropping a turbo on the car. Understandably, with any project car you'll run into problems, but even with so many turbos out there now its seems that the majority of people are still blowing up their engines. I can chalk it up to inexperience, but so am I. Inexperienced that is... I have however been learning over the past eight months, and with a turbo I do plan on going to a dyno and get some custom chip work, but after spending 5 grand I don't want to spend a grand rebuilding my engine every two years.
Somebody tell me why I shouldn't just go out righ now and get a subaru WRX. I mean its four door, factory turbocharged, and all wheel drive, on much nicer suspension. Somebody help me out here. Is it possible that I'm just trying to take on too much.

-Dan
 
#2 ·
Honestly Dan, unless you have a lot of time and patience, buy the WRX. Look at the bright side though. If you want to take on this project there are many ahead of you now that have found alot of the booby traps. You should be able to research here and find out exactly what you may be getting into before you start.

[ 06-10-2002: Message edited by: Welding Rod ]</p>
 
#4 ·
No kidding Dan, Buy the WRX.

You have to expect, that when doubling the factory HP, you will run into some problems, and one of them beeing the engine might blow, or just need to get rebuilt with better parts.

I mean, It's not like Ford designed the Focus to hold up when people were turbo Charging it. The parts in the engine are perfect for the stock HP levels but when you double that you can expect failure.

Honestly, put an aftermarket turbo on your car, if you are willing, and able to tune/tweak the car, pretty much ALL THE TIME. I mean, things can go wrong at any time. You are driving on the highway, you stomp on it to pass someone, you let go of the throttle, and bam, engine dies. You pull over, check it out, a Intercooler hose blew off. So you gotta fix it right there. Just little things that keep happening.

Personally, I LOVE working on my car or cars in general, and I can do it all myself. So that is why I did a custom Kit. But I know that if I would have bought a kit, it would have been the same tuning/tweaking.

SO, Get the WRX, or the Lancer EVO VII!
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. I will save and then we will see. The posts at Focaljet have been very enlightening at times. I stop here more often then anyother site. Who knows, I might end up going with a few kits instead.

The WRX is looking nice though.

Best wishes with your cars.

-Dan
 
#7 ·
dont get the wrx...cause i dont have one and u cant either
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damn do i love that car, its like a 4 door porsche man...it sounds so damn cool cause of that engine, i love that damn car, with a few hundred bucks, that car is seriously fast, i got a ride in a high 12 second wrx yesterday, 90* heat, with 3 people in it, it was sickening fast, taht thing just takes off and keeps goin, up hill, sideways, anywhere, it just goes, its so damn cool man, i love it. And with 4wd, you dont worry about having too much power and wheelspin, just hit it and go, i love that damn car, if i could, i would trade in and get in now, but i gotta keep this car till i graduate college, so im getting a turbo for it so i can at least get a taste, but yeah, like they said man, GET THE WRX....or wait for the lancer
 
#8 ·
I enjoy the focus, But I now realize I was being a bit disallusioned when I purchased it. I went from a Turbocharged 5.0 mustang to the Focus.. The drop in HP was way more then I wanted.....
Personally I would wait for the EVO VII or a 1991 mustang LX and throw in a Ford Racing crate Motor.
Nuff Said....
 
#9 ·
ummm....i dont know bout u guys, i diddnt buy it cause i liked it, i bought it cause i had to get a new car and its the only 1 i could afford, i DID NOT BUY IT to modify it, they only reason im modifying it, is cause i couldnt stand it stock...i hated that car
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Slow, ugly and funny lookin, sorry guys, thats just the truth...it sure looks good now though, but thats after 2 years of paycheck after paycheck going into it, and $12000 later, im only now starting on it, another $7k goin this summer towards the engine...oh well, its just money right...

i think thats the biggest difference of people here, some bought it cause they loved it and wanted it, others, few, like me, had no choice. I had to do something about the stock status of my car, i couldnt stand it
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But its cool now, i like it now...just needs more power...oh wait, im workin on that too
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#10 ·
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by nazthug:
Slow, ugly and funny lookin, sorry guys, thats just the truth...<hr></blockquote>

Bah, that's your opinion.. it think it looks pretty sharp even in stock form .. probably will leave it has is even when i get the turbo installed (sleeper ?!
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)

I mean, I will drop a few inches of course
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but other than that, i'm not gonna go for big show car .. i think its looks fine the way it his (can look better of course.. like any car)

I just turned 19 and I think its a pretty decent car for a guy my age and for where i live (compared to others..) and I'm still studying and paying for everything ..

I DO think the focus is becoming a VERY VERY popular car when you compare to other models that haven't caught attention as much ..
 
#11 ·
hfatboyd,
I think you are way too addicted to the Focus. Focus is not the best car out there you know? No offense, just want to share my opinion.

SoulNTransit,
Yeah man, get the WRX over the Focus or even the SVT Focus. Best power to cost ratio in the market today. Not to mention great start up platform and with little effort, you can take it to 250 wheel hp easily.
 
#13 ·
the problem here is not the focus

the problem is the companys selling there turbo kits saying put them on it will be fine

and not knowing what they are talking about ,i have had no problem so far and just did 18 13 second passes at the track in gainesville this weekend

dont blame what you read here on the jet on the focus blame it on the companys selling the kits knowing there is problems

stay with the focus it is a great car and will only get better

tom

[ 06-10-2002: Message edited by: 1turbofocus ]</p>
 
#14 ·
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by hfatboyd:
This thread cracks me up ... asking advice to get rid of a Focus on a Focus forum. And members are telling him to get rid of his focus for different car??
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Cracks me up.
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<hr></blockquote>

I didn't think much about asking advice here because in general people seem open-minded and honest. Apologies if I offended.

I really appreciate the honesty. And actually I like the foci. It was stated earlier though, that unless you have time and patience...

The focus is a good car, but it seems that unless you're looking for a serious project and don't mind being without your car for weeks at a time several times a year, go somewhere else, because you're not going to be turning 13's for any length of time without either alot of time or money or cheap access to a shop and dyno.

Beats me why they're not introducing the RS over here. I do know that its been postponed for as long as it has been for reliability issues. I'd love to see the R&D papers.
 
#15 ·
I was just about to say that I havent heard any dramatic stories coming from Turbo Tom and look at how much freakin power he is making! Also one of our members from So Cal (f242) has an F-MAX turbo kit pumping out 190whp as his daily driver and its been on for quite sometime with no problems or at least nothing major that Ive heard about so far. As tom pointed out its the company not the car. I would seriously wait for the JRSC Big Boost Kit as the fuel situation and will be taken care of and the power is good and reliable IMO.
 
#16 ·
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 1turbofocus:
the problem here is not the focus

the problem is the companys selling there turbo kits saying put them on it will be fine

and not knowing what they are talking about ,i have had no problem so far and just did 18 13 second passes at the track in gainesville this weekend
<hr></blockquote>

Woah... do I stand corrected?
 
#17 ·
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 1turbofocus:
the problem here is not the focus

the problem is the companys selling there turbo kits saying put them on it will be fine

and not knowing what they are talking about ,i have had no problem so far and just did 18 13 second passes at the track in gainesville this weekend

dont blame what you read here on the jet on the focus plame it on the companys sell the kits knowing there is problems

stay with the focus it is a great car and will only get better

tom
<hr></blockquote>

How reliable have your mods made the car, Tom? How long have gone without it? This is my only car, my daily driver.

-Dan
 
#18 ·
I know mine will get better, my cousin is beating up my AC3 Focus badly in Toronto so he could do the V8 conversion. Those who don't know, I gave my car to my cousin. Anyway, when he calls, he always says when is the little Zetec **** is gonna die? I want Ford Racing 302 short block in it!!! hahahaha, I am waiting patiently for that day to come.
 
#19 ·
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 1turbofocus:
the problem here is not the focus

the problem is the companys selling there turbo kits saying put them on it will be fine

and not knowing what they are talking about ,i have had no problem so far and just did 18 13 second passes at the track in gainesville this weekend

dont blame what you read here on the jet on the focus plame it on the companys sell the kits knowing there is problems

stay with the focus it is a great car and will only get better

tom
<hr></blockquote>


What he said...
 
#20 ·
its like buying a 318is and trying to modify it to perform like an M3. if you really really like playing with your car.. cool.. go for it. do the swap.. etc etc.. whatever you gotta do. if i had the $$.. all things being equal i'd personally would go with just buying the M3 and spend time driving it.. instead of working underneath it

personal preference i guess
 
#21 ·
For most of the member's on this site (and probably 95% of those that frequent FI) just buying a car leaving it alone is a rediculous statement. Novel, but rediculous. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt .. that if I bought a brand new M3 (in all it's badness) .. I honestly couldn't resist adding something performance oriented to it!! Ask yourself .. if you owned a SVTF .. would you leave it bone stock?

My point exactly. You cannot expect to put performance enhancers, that didn't come from the factory, to not to have bugs. Nor, require fine tuning.

Does it suck that in order to run FI you will most likely need new rods .. you bet your sweet ass it does. Am I running out to buy rods tomorrow? No .. I'm driving my car like I have some sense and addressing the fueling issue. Am I afraid to drive my car .. not really. Is it my daily driver .. sure is. Has it been reliable .. yep. The point being is you need to drive with some common sense. Don't over rev the car. Address the fueling issue properly. Use good oil and change frequently. Run colder plugs. Install a 1 way PCV valve ... etc. Get it?
 
#22 ·
Wait a while, save some more money and see what the Lancer Evolution VII looks like when it comes to the states.

Though personally I don't see why you can't take the lessons being learned by others who've posted and use that to build your own good setup.
 
#25 ·
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by hfatboyd:
[QB]Ask yourself .. if you owned a SVTF .. would you leave it bone stock?
[QB]<hr></blockquote>

own an "SVT" focus..that's a hard thing for me to imagine myself doing... nice car.. yes.. worth the money.. nope. (IMHO) would i leave it bone stock if i had one? ya probably.. most drivers here (myself included) would probably have a hard time using that car's full potential on the track in stock form
 
#26 ·
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by hfatboyd:
This thread cracks me up ... asking advice to get rid of a Focus on a Focus forum. And members are telling him to get rid of his focus for different car??
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Cracks me up.
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<hr></blockquote>

That's doesn't mean we don't like the focus.. but most of us bought it because of cost ..

its not that we don't like them or anything, but if we had the money to get the WRX, we would've gotten the WRX, simple has that.. hell, if I had ALOT of money I'd have a ferrari but I not that fortunate
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