Hey all I purchased my Focus SVT about 3k miles ago. Today i decided to go ahead and see how i can get the wheels spinning by dropping the clutch around 4-5k rpms then proceeding to accidently redline for about 1-2 seconds.. put in the clutch then shifted to 2nd gear to releive some stress after noticing it did not drop that much in rpms i let off the engine for a couple seconds then drove normally.. When i pulled into my garage i noticed a very strong burning plastic smell which scared the shit outta me i thought wrecked something. Does anyone know what this smell is comming from and if i really messed something up.

Your motor is still breaking in , when you drive it hard that smell will come back , the hotter you drive it the stronger the smell. Try to drive all types of ways "slow , average and fast" every day so it breaks in nice. Dont be afraid to pop that clutch on those high rpms , its made for it. Just dont do it too often cus with any car no matter how expensive or powerfull can blow a motor. Keep drivin it fairly hard , that smell will go away after a few months.

I've had that smell in my car too after driving it hard. It stopped when I hit around 12,000 miles.

I have an '02 SVT. It has 14,000 miles. I've dumped the clutch above 3500 three times since I've owned it. Every time I've gotten the nasty smell of a burning clutch. I'm pretty sure this is what you're experiencing too. It's pretty much impossible ot overrev the SVT as the fuel shutoff intervenes at 7200 RPM. The only cure I know of is a stronger clutch and pressure plate. A pretty expensive proposition. About $500 for parts and another $500 to install. Just keep it around 3500 and you should be fine. It hooks up better at about that RPM for me anyway.

Its the motor breaking in , i smell it every day at the shop when the tecs pdi vehicles(pre delivery inspection)

it's the clutch...trust me...mine still does it...it's an 03 engine is done breaking in....my buddies 02 svt still does it.

I have a 03 SVT and I get that smell whenever I push it to 100 mph or more

my zx2 does that also so imma say its the clutch i dont see why 1 zetec would smell diff from another lol. but then again i dont have a revlimiter lol i can max her if i ever felt the need lol, wouldnt recomend it lol

I burned a clutch on a zx5 and it didnt smell like plastic but you guys own them so I reckon yer know what your talkin about. I am buying a 2000zx3 are the straight up factory clutches any good or do they malfunction when used agressively? Kinda need to know before I buy it cus I could have a sporty one installed if need be.

stock clutches are good but not ment for racing

Good to know , in the shop most the tecs say they never worked on a focus clutch. Thanks zx2 got any pics of your zx2? I miss those cars :(

www.cardomain.com/id/zinczx2

they were a better platfom for tuing weight and gearing wise then the focus. if they put zx2 gering in the zx3 i might have actually gotten one.

it's normal to smell the clutch after abuse. if you start having trouble with the clutch tho, contact your dealer. there is a TSB on the SVT clutch.

That would be your clutch burnning. redline shifts are NEVER good for a clutch no matter what car or truck its in. Do it often & you'll be in the tranny shop looking at a BIG bill.

i would have to say its the clutch also..it doesnt just happen in my car when i pop the clutch but even in my friends eclipse so it cant be the motor

its probley the clutch that your smellin but look around their could be somethin plastic some where that is tuchin somthin that gets realy hot when you rev hight to heat up car. smells are funny they can come from ne were you can also park you car have some one rev it high and youstand under the hood and smell were the smell is comein from the strongesy