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There are so many Focus websites around today. We have lost count. You know the one’s, running parts from their sponsors and not doing a thing with them. We all wanted feedback from these sites. You wanted reviews on those parts. We all begged for help on how to install those parts, but no one helped. All of us at randyryanracing.com have asked ourselves those same exact questions. This is why we bring you this article. We at R3 are here to answer those questions and hopefully help you in future purchases.
As you know, we are members of our local SCCA region, which is Fort Wayne. No, not Texas! We are in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Our favorite and most economical form of racing is SoloII. This is a one at a time, road-course event, set up to compete against the clock. For more information on SoloII, visit SCCA.org.
What we wanted to do here was take a bone stock Focus ZX3 and put it up against another Focus ZX3 with bolt on after-market suspension, and engine parts. We took two different drivers, and let them take the cars out on course for three runs a piece. There was also a none Foci driver that took each car out once as a surprise just to see what evolved.
The course was set up at Grissom Airforce Base, near Peru, Indiana. This is the home to very large Divisional, and National SCCA Solo events. The Base allows the creation of a very fast concrete course. Personally, it is my favorite of all courses we run. This event was a TestNTune event, and let me say, that is exactly what we did!
The date was May 4th , 2002 where the skies were blue and the temps ranged in the mid 70’s. It was a great day to test these little Euro inspired puppies. I know you have been waiting for the information, and I can no longer wait myself. Let’s get to it.
The 1st challenger was a 2001 Silver ZX3, bone stock from the factory. If you know the Focus you know what the stock features are. So I am not going to bore you all with those details. If you do not know what the stock ZX3 offers its driver, stop by Ford’s website or Car & Driver after you read this.
Our two drivers for the day are Randy and John. We took the stock ZX3 to the skid pad. The best result we were able to achieve was applying 40 lbs. of air to the front and 42 lbs. in the rear. Please note tech whiz, we tested by time and car dynamics of feel. We did not go and get a G-Tech to give real data. We opted to give data that would be used by most competitor's. These are Chalk, Tire-Gauge, Air-Tank, and SCCA Timimng & Scoring.
After we adjusted the air pressure, it was time to strap on the helmet and click that belt. We were now ready to test those 130 ponies. The times for John were 46.086, 42.236, and 41.836. His best run of the day in the Stock ZX3 was 41.836. Pretty descent compared to the balance of all cars testing for the day. He was proud of his times.
Randy jumped in and took three runs himself to achieve times of 43.795, 40.624, and 40.559. The best lap for him was 40.559. He had to get used to the stock ride and brakes from his H-Stock days of last year. Both drivers feel they could have improved the times but this is a test and just a test.
Now was the time to see if all the cash, sweat, busted knuckles, and many hours in the garage were going to finally pay off. It was now time to jump in the randyryanracing.com TeamFocus01 test vehicle. First of all, we have to thank our sponsors, myZX3.com, SHOX.com, and GreatBrakes.com. Thanks for all the assistance. For a complete list of the mods applied to this vehicle see the chart to the right.
We took the R3 test car to the skid pad. We adjusted the air pressure as well as tuned the Koni’s for the best neutral feel. If you are unfamiler with the skid-pad test, it is a 250-foot circle created on flat concrete. You go as fast as you can around, stay in control of the car outside and listen to the handling of the car. This allows you to apply the chalk to the tire and insure you are running the proper pressures.
We do not have camper plates, so that was not checked. We could only manipulate shocks and air-pressure. The selection made was 40 lbs. in the front tires and 45 lbs. in rear. The Koni Adjustable Shocks were set on firm in the rear and full soft on the front. We tried all configurations and this resulted to be the best.
On to the test track runs. John went and turned a 41.345, 40.633, and his best was 40.448. Randy’s turn created times of 38.666, 38.242, and hold on to your tube top 37.765. "He beat Rowdy’s time. That was fast enough to take the pole at the last race here" – Days Of Thunder.
After a long day of testing, tuning, and just a little fun, we were able to bring you some results that will hopefully help you make future purchase decisions. The final tallies for a hard day at the office were as follows (professional driver, closed course, do not attempt):
| John HS |
41.836
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| John STS |
40.448
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| Difference |
1.388
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| Randy HS |
40.559
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| Randy STS |
37.765
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| Difference |
2.794
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We had one more thing up our sleeve to help our readers before we let you go. We spoke with a young lady named Joyia. This is her 1st year in the SCCA SoloII program and we asked her if she would like to take our Focus’ around the track for a non-bias result. She is an excellent driver and may step out of the Ladies class to run with the big dogs.
Joyia took both the Foci out at different times, for one run each. She returned with the Stock Focus time of 41.568. When she returned with the STS Focus, our jaws dropped with an amazing time of 38.964. This was a difference of 2.604.
In conclusion, does the cost justify the means? We at R3 say yes! The results we ended up with were very pleasing. For the same car to improve itself by over 2.7 seconds, we were happy. Remember at the last race, Randy placed second by only 7 hundreds. In this type of racing the compitition is close, very close!
Randy Ryan
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