[Fader]

Hi All,
I'm the new owner of a 2002 ZX5 and I am looking for a little help.

I have a bunch of questions and any answers, advice, or suggestions would be appreciated.

Is WheelsNext really a good deal? Seems too good to be true.

Should I consider going up to a 17 inch wheel? If I do, are there any other considerations? Does the increased size effect the odometer/speedometer? Or is that a thing of the past?

I want to put a cold air kit on it. What manufacturer would you recommend?

I want to put a performance exhaust system (cat back) on it. What manufacturer would you recommend?

I have never put custom wheels on a car with drum brakes. Rusty drums are really ugly. Any suggestions that do no include converting to disks? Paint seems logical, but wouldn't there be heat issues?

Any links that you could share for after market parts would be appreciated. I am especially interested in interior items. Bezels, gauge packages etc.

Has anybody put in aftermarket seats? Preferably leather. Experience or recommendations?

Does anybody make a fit in the dash radio replacement that includes a GPS navigation system?

I'm an old Corvette guy who, true to the joke, lost his Vette to his ex-wife. I miss having a "toy" and I miss the clubs. Is there a Focus club that is very active in the Ottawa south to Prescott area?

I'm really enjoying driving this little beast and want to pump so more fun into it.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Fader

[Oscar The Grouch]

Is WheelsNext really a good deal? Seems too good to be true.

- Not sure. Send link.

Should I consider going up to a 17 inch wheel? If I do, are there any other considerations? Does the increased size effect the odometer/speedometer? Or is that a thing of the past?

- Yes go for it. If you do a search here or on FF, there's a link for the tire size calculator. Also, most tire shops can help you on the sizes to keep the same rotation diameter.

I want to put a cold air kit on it. What manufacturer would you recommend?

- AEM. Recommended by ricers everywhere.

I want to put a performance exhaust system (cat back) on it. What manufacturer would you recommend?

- MBRP if you like performance on the cheap.

I have never put custom wheels on a car with drum brakes. Rusty drums are really ugly. Any suggestions that do no include converting to disks? Paint seems logical, but wouldn't there be heat issues?

- I think you can get kits to do that. Check Crappy Trash (Canadian Tire).

Does anybody make a fit in the dash radio replacement that includes a GPS navigation system?

- Do your own.

I'm an old Corvette guy who, true to the joke, lost his Vette to his ex-wife. I miss having a "toy" and I miss the clubs. Is there a Focus club that is very active in the Ottawa south to Prescott area?

- See Flofocus for all your Ottawa and the valley contacts.

[Flofocus]

Fader,Sep 15 2006, 03:07 PM Wrote:Hi All,
I'm the new owner of a 2002 ZX5 and I am looking for a little help.

1st of.....welcome!

Quote:Is WheelsNext really a good deal? Seems too good to be true. 

Should I consider going up to a 17 inch wheel?  If I do, are there any other considerations?  Does the increased size effect the odometer/speedometer? Or is that a thing of the past?

Depends on how, and where you drive. I had 17's on my car for over 3 years but did have some ride quality issues. If I was to do it again, I would run a nice 16" wheel, that way your getting some decent looks with a bigger wheel but not sacrficing the ride quality. Yes, the different sizes will affect the odo/speedo.....theyre online calculators at most online tire shops to measure the difference.

Quote:I want to put a cold air kit on it.  What manufacturer would you recommend?

EBAY. Get a cold air intake kit from ebay and replace the filter. metal is metal, its the fileter you want to worry about. I bought one from ebay and swutche dthe POS filter to a K&N one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-up-For...1QQcmdZViewItem

Quote:I want to put a performance exhaust system (cat back) on it. What manufacturer would you recommend?

Go Borla or go home. :P Magnaflow and MRBP whatever it is, is also a good deal...zx3tuning, or No Limits Auto parts in Ottawa can get these.

Quote:I have never put custom wheels on a car with drum brakes. Rusty drums are really ugly.  Any suggestions that do no include converting to disks?  Paint seems logical, but wouldn't there be heat issues?

Go nuts with the paint, just buy the right stuff. You can pick up caliper paint that will do the trick, I did my calipers and drums a few years ago and there still holding up nicely.

Quote:Any links that you could share for after market parts would be appreciated. I am especially interested in interior items. Bezels, gauge packages etc.

I make stuff out of fiberglass.....pretty much anything...couple of other guys here do to. Pic of my work...

Guauge pod...



Front grills

Quote:Has anybody put in aftermarket seats?  Preferably leather.  Experience or recommendations?

check out teknotik.com or streetimports.com for there seats....I love mine, you'll need to make brackets for them.

Quote:I'm an old Corvette guy who, true to the joke, lost his Vette to his ex-wife. I miss having a "toy" and I miss the clubs.  Is there a Focus club that is very active in the Ottawa south to Prescott area?

I'm really enjoying driving this little beast and want to pump so more fun into it.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Fader
[right][snapback]207266[/snapback][/right]

Last but certainly not least.

turbo the bitch

[ZX5focused]

what he said^

plus
ive heard some review of wheelsnext that are iffy. i personally would stay away.

cold air intake is definitely AEM or the Volant, its a short air. other guys run the ebay AEM knockoff to the same effect, but i personally stick to names i know.

MBRP is the best bang for buck exhaust, but is a little loud depending on you setup.

There are Caliper/drum painting kits at Canadian tire, they are very high heat paint, comes in spray or brush on.

there are actually quite a few members in the Ottawa region now, I'm sure they will chime in eventually

and lastly

:hi:

[Flofocus]

I'm from the Ottawa area....Rockland.

[focusonthis_88]

Flofocus,Sep 15 2006, 03:48 PM Wrote:Go Borla or go home.  :P  Magnaflow and MRBP whatever it is, is also a good deal...zx3tuning, or No Limits Auto parts in Ottawa can get these.

I deal direct with both...let me know.

[Drivesthebeast]

Hi there, and welcome to FC!
In terms of your questions, I have some answers of my own.

1. I put an aftercat exhaust (most commonly and mistakenly called a "cat-back") on my 01 ZX3, and it's the MBRP. It's mandrel bent, tig welded, T304 Stainless, front to rear, with a cylinder resonator and muffler, both of which are hidden under the car, leaving you just with the end pipe and polished tip somewhat visable from the side and rear...NO FART Can. It's canadian made and sold, in Huntsville ON. It's also economical, and it's big enough (2.25" front to rear with a 4" tip) that it'll accomodate mild Forced induction. You can't/won't beat it for the price, and the number of FC.net members who have it on their cars like me speaks for itself.

2. In terms of the brakes, go to Canadian Tire and buy High Heat Engine Enamel to paint the drums. This is what I did to my own car, painted them black, and makes the drums almost invisable behind my SVT Euro rims. It's quick, cures and looks good after using a heatgun to bake it on, and lasts quite a while. Also you'll have no worries with heat, as the paint is used on engine blocks and accesories under the hood.

3. In terms of the tires, you'll have to make sure that whomever you deal with will give you the correct info. I deal with Main West Firestone most of the time In Hamilton on my holidays, and they have all of the correct info there. The correct offset, load index, overall diameter, torque specs, tire pressure, etc, for EACH tire that they sell, and with the info correlating with YOUR vehicle, both in the stock size, and in plus sizes. My 17" tires only offset my speedometer by about 1.5 kms per hour. If you are interested in buying rims, your best bet is to get a correct 4-bolt 108x4 pattern rim, NOT a universal/"Tuner" rims with multiple drillouts. The universal ones are a lot weaker structurally. Also, make sure that you have the correct offset too. This will make a big difference in the way the car responds. So does having a tire that's not too wide. Tires that are too wide will have a more flexible sidewall, will have a bigger contact patch that leads to plowing in corners, etc. Those things will actually make the car steer and respond WORSE than the oem sized wheel and tire. For example, certain 17" rims work best with a 205 width tire, while others work better with a 215. The 215/45 17 is actually what Stock SVT rims call for.

4. Intake....AEM all the way, or Injen. Yes, they are the most pricey (Injen being highest), but they were speciffically engineered for your vehicle, and have dyno tuning and other R&D to back up HP gains. Not only do they give you the info at the AEM website, but Focaljet.com had threads about intakes, and the AEM gave consistent power gains across the mid and upper RPMs. A lot of them will sacrifice low end torque, but will give you a boost higher up.

Hope some of that info I gave you helps...

Also, take a look at my post about the folks North and East of the GTA...

L8tr! :hi:

[Fader]

Thanks to all of you for your help.
I'll be taking your advice.

[ZX3guy2000]

Welcome to the site!

No need for me to repeat what was above! If you want to get together with us we are doing a Gatineau Hills cruise!

See Link below!

Linky !!!!

[ZX5chica]

ZX3guy2000,Sep 18 2006, 09:17 PM Wrote:Welcome to the site! 

No need for me to repeat what was above!  If you want to get together with us we are doing a Gatineau Hills cruise! 

See Link below!

Linky !!!!
[right][snapback]207587[/snapback][/right]

Welcome to FC!!

I'm definately going to repeat what is above.... you should come out to our cruise. We've got some people from Montreal and perhaps even Toronto coming out for the day. It'll be a nice little break and a good chance to meet a few faces from the board. I'll have the specifics up as soon as I can figure them out!!

Cheers!

[reldridge]

:hi: Welcome! I guess I am the closest member, being in Kemptville.

I know at CDN Tire in Prescott I have seen the VHT Caliper paint. That would be more economical and less time consuming than the Duplicolor kits (brush on) for doing drums only. Or, you could just go up to four-wheel discs. :lol:

Ryan