[Drivesthebeast]

I know for a fact that the SHM suspension kit makes an obvious difference to the ZX3 in terms of handling, cornering stability and lateral grip. I know this by driving the car with the same tires on both the OEM and SHM suspensions on the same roads. The car rides flatter, is more stable in highspeed lane changes or in tight corners, and when the weather is mild, it has a tolerable ride quality to it. I think that this is an awesome setup because every peice was designed to work together, and work speciffically for the Focus. I say that because Multimatic designs/builds the suspensions on stock Foci in the UK and Germany.

Are there tradeoffs? Of course. The car rides like S*** in the winter because the nitorgen gas is so highly compressed when cold. The springs and bushings have even less compliance and a higher tensile when cold too. There are some days when it feels like I have NO suspension at all in the car, that is, until I take some corners quickly and feel re-justified in my purchase. In summer weather the harshness almost dissapears and the car rides a bit more taught than a stock ZX3...rides like an SVT.

I think that the adage "you gotta pay to play" reigns true most of the time. If I am gonna buy something, I am gonna pony up the dough to buy things that were custom engineered for my car speciffically. Like the MBRP exhaust, the AEM CAI, and the SHM suspension. Not buy some el-cheapo parts from ebay for the purposes of "modding" the car so I am not the only one with a stock car still.

In terms of other things, sometimes what someone calls a mod, should be called an "alteration" instead. I think with alterations or customizeation, people are expressing what they want from their cars, and use it as an extension of themselves. Take myself for example, I like having people ask me why I spend so much money on doing things to my car that make it look almost the same as a stock one in the firstplace. That's coz I like sleepers, and because I want a car that won't attract attention from the wrong crowds, and will attract attention from say, other foci owners that notice little changes compared to theirs, and then perk their intrest in what I've done. It'd be awesome to have a vehicle like some of you do...a car with FI a-la powerworks or vortech or roush, that doesn't look like anything other than "just a ford focus" to the Foci Haters out there.

Oh yeah, in refference to the bigger wheel info...yeah, already knew that, but I don't care. I know my car is slow, both in acceleration, and in top speed (governor still intact). I just want the pinball machine feel of the car at higher speeds, though initial steering might feel slower or heavier. Eventually this won't be my daily driver, so I won't care about such things all the time.

Anyways, I think everybody offered some valid info and opinions, and hope I have too...