Since I'm auto illiterate {sp} - and I just bought an '05 Focus... I was hoping you could tell me a little about it... other than the basic research you do on all cars, this seemed like the best one.
It's an '05 4dr SES SRT whatever that means... I personally think it's just a bunch of letters strung together to get you to pay more - but hey - it's a full load and I'm incredibly happy with it. Apparently it's been winterized for cold Edmonton weather {Any idea what this means?}
Anyways - I thought I'd dig up some research on the car. I didn't realise the ford focus was such a focused group but I'm certainly glad to be a part of the community.
Ciao for now.
TheCGS - Edmonton
TheCGS,Apr 7 2006, 08:54 AM Wrote:Since I'm auto illiterate {sp} - and I just bought an '05 Focus... I was hoping you could tell me a little about it... other than the basic research you do on all cars, this seemed like the best one.
It's an '05 4dr SES SRT whatever that means... I personally think it's just a bunch of letters strung together to get you to pay more - but hey - it's a full load and I'm incredibly happy with it. Apparently it's been winterized for cold Edmonton weather {Any idea what this means?}
Anyways - I thought I'd dig up some research on the car. I didn't realise the ford focus was such a focused group but I'm certainly glad to be a part of the community.
Ciao for now.
TheCGS - Edmonton
[right][snapback]179578[/snapback][/right]
Welcome to the forum. Never heard of the "SRT" designation for the SES model so it might be a local thing out your way. I've got the same SES '05 as you and find it a comfortable ride.
I'm assuming that your Focus came with the Pirelli P6 tires, if they are, I'll immediately suggest winter tires & rims or budget for replacement before winter because those tires are evil handlers in the snow (Traction control & ABS only gets you so far)
If you have any questions, please ask, there are many of us more than willing to help :)
NefCanuck
SRT heh? Yeah, I think that may be a dealer add on (just the letters). From what I recall there is no Focus SRT model. SES, yes, but no SES-SRT. I could be wrong, Im sure another 05 owner will pipe up. they didnt have these "Se" & SES" badges when I bought my focus in 00.
what do you want to know about the car? Planning on doing any modifications to it?
oh, and, :hi:
:hi:
I don't think Ford ever made a SES-SRT.
Flofocus,Apr 7 2006, 08:02 AM Wrote:SRT heh? Yeah, I think that may be a dealer add on (just the letters). From what I recall there is no Focus SRT model. SES, yes, but no SES-SRT. I could be wrong, Im sure another 05 owner will pipe up. they didnt have these "Se" & SES" badges when I bought my focus in 00.
what do you want to know about the car? Planning on doing any modifications to it?
oh, and, :hi:
[right][snapback]179583[/snapback][/right]
Actually, the Focus manual says just SES but there's a crap load of hand-writing inside the front cover so it's likely just the reader...
I gotta say, I'm really impressed with the car having given up my '91 Eagle Talon {with only 175K on it... } I don't like going from standard to auto - but this Focus is a lot of fun to drive...
Any ideas on chip replacement?
Unless you have some serious mods to tune, dont waste your money on a chip.
It would be better spent on a Air intake or some nice mild lowering springs.
Flofocus,Apr 7 2006, 09:03 AM Wrote:Unless you have some serious mods to tune, dont waste your money on a chip.
It would be better spent on a Air intake or some nice mild lowering springs.
[right][snapback]179595[/snapback][/right]
Again - for the auto illiterate - why an air intake?? And any particular brand??
Welcome to the forum.
I personally would suggest a Cold Air Intake, an Under Drive Pulley and an Exhaust system. I think you would bennifit more from those mods first and then you can add your chip or tune your computer. But that is only my opinion.
Nef should answer this one....he just installed a nice steeda intake I think.
An intake will make your car super crazy fast. Nah, just joking around :P
It will maybe add a couple of hp in the upper rpm range, but you will notice an increase in throttle respose and help with your "power curve". Dont know if youve ever seen a dyno chart of a car, this chart displays the cars horsepower and torque at a certain RPM. What you would see is the power line would flatten out more at certain rpm instead of shootting straight up. So the power is at XXX RPM for longer than before.......dont know if that makes sense to you. <_<
Example....lets say the car makes 100whp at 5000rpm and shoots to 110whp at 6000rpm in stock form. What that air filter *could* do is make that 110whp come on at 4500rpm and stay that way all the way up to 6000rpm, so your not seeing a power increase overall, but better 'managing' of what power already exists. ;)
You wont notice a huge improvement in high end power, but you'll def feel something is different.....in a good way. :D
And it sounds cool to. :P
Here is a photo of NefCanuk's CAI.
Linky
It is on a 05 2.0L Duratec
TheCGS,Apr 7 2006, 10:08 AM Wrote:Flofocus,Apr 7 2006, 09:03 AM Wrote:Unless you have some serious mods to tune, dont waste your money on a chip.
It would be better spent on a Air intake or some nice mild lowering springs.
[right][snapback]179595[/snapback][/right]
Again - for the auto illiterate - why an air intake?? And any particular brand??
[right][snapback]179596[/snapback][/right]
The stock Focus airbox leads to a restriction in the amount of air that the car can breathe in at any given time. You may have noticed a small delay in response if you've ever had cause to mash the gas pedal. That's the fault of the airbox and its internal air passages which are very restricting.
A cold air intake does away with that restrictive plumbing, leaving a simpler K&N air filter in its place without all the extra useless crap. I dynoed my Focus last year, 108HP at the wheels, I intend to get it dynoed again this year to see what the "at the wheel" difference is.
An added bonus is that by going with a CAI, you'll avoid the nasty surprise of paying to replace the stock Focus airbox ($400) (They claim "lifetime of the vehicle" but my dealership has it listed as a maintenance/replacement item at 100,000KM)
NefCanuck
When they said it "winterized"...did they mean the car came with the "canadian winter package"? Pretty much get heated seat, block heater, and traction control. Myabe more but those are the main upgrades.
The best mod you will get is the intake, a little more power, and better fuel economy, correct me if im wrong.
Welcome to the site...ask away and we will do our best.
Yah - the Cdn. Winter Package...
I put some parts into it - K&N air filter and timing belt, some kind of exhaust manifold and clutch...
But I don't know the technical aspect of these things. Everything said above makes total sense and a CAI is the first thing planned. It's really a question of - where do I start.
This is where playing Need 4 Speed Underground really helps.
TheCGS - Edmonton
You can try steeda.ca for the cold air intake or our sponsor, ZX3Tuning on this site there is an area. His name is Mitch and he can steer you in the right direction for your price range.
You'll be really happy with the cold air intake and anyone with minor knowledge of a car can do it. I think there is a how to on the site that can help you install whatever intake you chose. If not, ask before , during and after the install and we will be happy to give advice.
Welcome to the site.
it all depends on where you want to end up with the car .. if your building it for speed/track use then you'd want to start with springs/dampers or some engine mods
if you just doing it to imporve the daily joy of driving it around .. then a udp is a good start, or a decent set of summer tires well greatly improve the way the car feels
Put in an AEM or Steeda CAI, and an MBRP exhaust, combine with a larger throttle body, etc, and the car will be obviously more responsive from stock. However, I get the greatest amount of satisfaction in my car from the mods to the suspension and wheels and tires. The Foci may not be the fastest car out there by any stretch, but it can certainly spank/embarrass more expensive cars in the cornering and handling departments. This can be found right off the bat if you replace the tires with something made by Bridgestone or Firestone, or a few others. Tires are the biggest single improvement for the money (besides a turbo or supercharger) you can make to your ride. I have no doubts that others here will chime in to the same tune. Speaking of tuning, chips, etc...don't bother with any of that stuff until you've got several bolt-on parts on the car first. I have a freind of mine who has an 00 ZX3 that was dynoed at over 170hp at the wheels with an intake, exhaust, and stage 1 camshafts, and a stage 2 superchip.
And where are my manners?
:hi:
Welcome -- and as you can see there's lots of folks on here willing to give you their thoughts and opinions and most of it is the result of hard-earned personal experience.
About the only thing that hasn't been mentioned but you should know ... is that Ford made some significant changes to the Focus beginning with the '05 model year, including a new engine, different brakes, a new interior, a couple of new body parts and a few other things.
What this means for you is that not all the mods you'll read about here are available for your car, as most here own cars from 2000 to 2004.
There's a few members who do own '05s (not sure about any '06s) and others who work for Ford or a Ford dealer, and I'm sure they'll help you figure these things out.
Cheers
i really would be wary of UDP, if you don't install it right you could pretty much screw up your engine.
oh and welcome to the site.
an SES-SRT is a special edition limited focus, just ask DD1, he has one too.
UDP was an easy install. Dont know how you would cause damage unless your using thew wrong belt. ;)