which performance parts should i go with?

ok i just got my 2000 se a few months ago. its a 5speed, and i am thinking about putting a cold air intake on it, completly re-doing the exaust (idk how to spell it), and new plugs and wires, and then some new springs, and some other stuff but im not sure what yet. BUT what i need help with is im not sure where to start, and which ones to get. and also on a side note....should i stay with my little bitty stock 15's or go with some 17's, but for other reasons than just looks.

ok...preciate it guys

Keep the 15's now...if you're looking to go to the performance side of things, bigger wheels, especially on a small car like the Focus can have a negative performance effect. I would start modifying the motor first as the Focus allready handles well out of the box. I'd start with the intake, then the exhaust...just start with the normal bolt-on's, then see were you want to go from there.

intake, header, exaust(2.5in), msd coil with ZX2 FR wires, short shifter, cam-gears, superchip. If you want rins then lightweight 15,16 or 17's over that the size of them will slow you down.

I don't think that the order of the header/exhaust matters much, as they give you about that same gains on the Focus...I would throw throttle body in there towards the beginning as the stock TB on the Focus is a really small plastic POS. I've seen up to 8hp gains just from a new TB.

only on turbo or highly moded motors on a basicly stock car it will only net 1-2whp

Not to mention great increases in throttle response, even from an N/A motor...

my friend has a ZX2 auto: header, intake cam, tuned camgear, full exasut, superchip, UDP, when he ran a 16.4 at the track, then 30min later he put on teh Gude TB then ran again. didnt gain anything, didnt even feel different.
same night another friend, ZX2 5spd. POTS mod and intake, put the same Gude TB on, again, didnt gain a single thing, didnt even feel or sound different

That doesn't hold true with a lot of things I've read about new TB's...SCC put one on their project ZX3 and said that there was a much different thottle response. How is the intake set up on the ZX2's Zetec? I know Ford has different intake setups (i.e. the SVT's is much different from the stock ZX3's, even though they're both Zetec's...Maybe the Focus's intake responds better to a TB.

the only good intake on the focus is the 2000 and the svt

The 65mm TB is really only effective on FI. You can port the stock TB and get the same and better results. All of the 65mm TBs that I've seen are not machined accurately enough. Talk with those that have them about the issues they have getting them set up properly. Eventually the computer will adjust to the 65mm TB. That's the best that can be said...

Unless your talking turbo or supercharger.


Stay away from plugs and wires and coils. They're just bling. A N/A car doesn't require a hotter flame front. They'll do nothing for you. For $3 you can port the stock TB, look for "How To" on the web. There's a couple around. Best bang for the buck. I prefer the Iceman intake or Volant. Cam gears if you can get to a dyno. 2000 intake manifold. F/R stage 2 cams. And maybe a chip to bump the rev limiter and speed limiter. After these a race header and exhaust will really help out, and don't forget the flex.

Stay away from plugs and wires and coils. They're just bling.

thats BS just the FR wires dramaticly changed the rough idle of my car it feels so much better now

i would have to agree with him...their not all just "bling" sure you can get them in fancy colors and what not but their still gonna give you a hotter spark which means more power

inless you NEED to upgrade the coil thougth dont, a stock zx2 with a MSD coil droped 2whp

Did it have new wires and plugs running larger gaps? A hotter coil would do nothing without both of those...I don't know how a new coil could drop hp...

go with the full ct exhaust and then intake then upgrade you ignition.

Did it have new wires and plugs running larger gaps? A hotter coil would do nothing without both of those...I don't know how a new coil could drop hp...


ive seen it on a dyno

Yeah, but was it just a new coil, or an entireley new ignition system with wires and plugs?

they dyno'd with a new intake and wires then dyno'd with a the mods listed and a coil, they lost 2whp

What about new plugs? If you're gonna run an aftermarket coil, you need new plugs with a bigger gap to compensate for the hotter spark. It would be possible to lose hp if the gap wasn't big enough for the spark...

What about new plugs? If you're gonna run an aftermarket coil, you need new plugs with a bigger gap to compensate for the hotter spark. It would be possible to lose hp if the gap wasn't big enough for the spark...

trust me, these guy know there shit

do they know the fact that the ZX2 zetec and the Focus Zetec responded differently to mods?

the only difference is the head, and the zx2 comes with more agreassive cams

So...I'm doing that math here...since the ZX2 has less restrictive heads and cams then the Focus, a new TB would help it breath better? And might the Focus have different ingnition settings because it breaths more conservitivly, so ignition upgrades might affect it more? The way you're talking about it would be like saying that a 4.6L V8 in a Crown Vic responds the same to mods as a 4.6L in a Mustang because they're similar...

where did i ever say the zx2 has a less restrictive head? an there is an 11sec focus that still uses the stock ignition so its obvioulsy not a big deal to upgrade

thats what most ppl do is go for exhaust first...but if you have more power under the hood before you put the exhaust system on then you actually have a reason for a high power exhaust system

lol now i feel stupid i was responding to the last post on page 1...i didnt see a page 2 :X

where did i ever say the zx2 has a less restrictive head? an there is an 11sec focus that still uses the stock ignition so its obvioulsy not a big deal to upgrade

Well, you said that the heads are different, and I can't think of any other way that they would be different; why would Ford put a more aggressive cam in, but not but on a less restrictive head? How else, aside from dimensionally, could they be different? If the blocks the same for both, then the head dimensions are the same, the only differences would be different shaped ports...it makes no sense to put more restrictive ports on...

the ZX2 head has the VCT machanism the Focus head doesnt. That allows it to run more agressive stock cams and still keep great emissions. you can put a Focus head on a ZX2 and have a Focus motor, but its a pointless swap. Ther is nothing to gain from doing the swap

I think you just proved that the motors are different, so they would respond differently to intake and ignition mods.

the ZX2 head has the VCT machanism the Focus head doesnt. That allows it to run more agressive stock cams and still keep great emissions. you can put a Focus head on a ZX2 and have a Focus motor, but its a pointless swap. Ther is nothing to gain from doing the swapnot exactly, first you would have to get the EGR manifold and then program the computer, along with various other things, It's not as easy as you make it out to be.

I never said it was easy, i just said it could be done and would be pointless

Very pointless when they have the same power output, EGR is less polution though.

and the VCT lets it cary the tq to a higher RPM

Regardless of how the head is designed, you lost the original argument after you said that the motors are different, therefore they respond differently to different mods. A new TB or wires on a ZX2 responds differently from a new TB or wires on a ZX3. There's no point in continuing argument over it.

yu keep assuming that they are 2 completly differnt motors, same block, the biggest difference is the VCT thats basicly it, intake cames are interchange able from Focus to zx2, Intake mani's are interchangeable(runner lengths are the same for zx2 and zx3), tranny's are interchangeable.. tell me what will allow a zx3 to gain power from a tb where a zx2 wont?

yu keep assuming that they are 2 completly differnt motorswe do :confused:

Intake mani's are interchangeable(runner lengths are the same for zx2 and zx3)You would need quite a bit of modification because focus has EGR, so it'd be a little more complicated.

,tell me what will allow a zx3 to gain power from a tb where a zx2 wont who said that?

did you read what mustangman35 wrote at all?

the FR intake mani was made for the Focus and with very little moding fits on a zx2

the early 2000 Focus Intake mani is almost identical to the ZX2 and after that all they did was go to a 2-pc design and all it would need to get around the EGR is a EGR block plate

One place were the Focus loses power stock is at the top of the RPM range...the ZX3 can gain power from the TB because it can now take in more air that it needs at higher RPM's...VCT does this for the motor already. The Focus stands to gain power from the TB in the top end because it can breath better...not to mention throttle response at lower RPM's.

the intake mani on a post 2000 focus intake mani is more restrictive then a zx2 mani so if it helped either car it would help the zx2 more

the intake mani on a post 2000 focus intake mani is more restrictive then a zx2 mani so if it helped either car it would help the zx2 more

:confused: It seems that a new TB would let more air in into a restricted manifold...the Focus manifold is restricted, but with a new TB, it would let in more air, therefore more air would be sucked into the cylinders then stock. How can you make so many of theses claims if you don't even drive a Zetec Focus?

if the manifolditself is the restriction then it doesnt matted how big the TB is, the TB isnt restricting the air, the manifold is.


Lets put it like this a hose that can flow 3 gallons of water a minute is connected to a hose that can only flow 1gal/min. Even if you replace the 3gal/min hose with a 5gal/min hose it is still limited by the 1gal hose.

so replacing the TB to say 60mm from a stock TB(lets say 55mm) isnt going to do anything if the mani can only flow 55mm, hence the problem is the mani, not the TB.

The ZX2 mani flows better then the 2000+ focus so a ZX2 would respond better then the Focus and if a ZX2 only gets 0-2whp then a Focus would get the same or less.

I understand what you're saying...I think that we can both agree that the ZX2 Zetec and the ZX3 Zetec respond differently to mods...we could go back and forth forever with this :wink:

actually if i desable my vct(just a simple unplug) they should respond exactly the same give or take 1hp difference per mod, and that rull can go for even 2 zx2's with the same mods there will be a hp difference of a couple +/-.

and according to your logic a 2000 focus will respond different to mods then a 2000+ focus due to the intake manifold change

heres what i find most pointless about all this....why does the zx2 and the zx3 have different motors...the zx3 has one more door oh wow they didnt need to trade out the engine..and back to what zx2srdotnet said about mustangman's logic..the intake manifold could make more of a difference then 1hp with the same mod...if the 2000 intake is more restrictable then it wont gain as much with the same mod as the 2001+ models

I said teh 2000+ is more restricted, the 2000 is on par wth the zx2, that means 2001/2/3/4 would gain less then the ZX2.
and Ford wanted to get rid of teh VCT because its not in operation at startup like the EGT so the idle emissions are higher. they originaly planed to cut the ZX2 in 2000 but the fact that the 1 version of ZX2 sold a little over half as many as the zx3/5/se and zts combined encouraged them to keep it till 03

I said teh 2000+ is more restricted, the 2000 is on par wth the zx2, that means 2001/2/3/4 would gain less then the ZX2.
and Ford wanted to get rid of teh VCT because its not in operation at startup like the EGT so the idle emissions are higher. they originaly planed to cut the ZX2 in 2000 but the fact that the 1 version of ZX2 sold a little over half as many as the zx3/5/se and zts combined encouraged them to keep it till 03

You've learned some since I was gone. But your absolutely wrong about coils and wires.
1) Look up flame fronts and combustion chambers. MSDs do not work. Once a flame front has been started.... All of the gasoline by the plug has been burnt away. Sparking after the flame front has been propagated, it's useless.

2) Wires will do nothing, unless you already have bad wires. Same for coils. You need hotter sparks for forced induction and higher compression. That's it. You can feel better knowing you have nice wires though....
If your in doubt, please read what a respected manufacturer has to say...

The TB on the Focus will give No added hp. It just is not the major restriction, even in the upper rpm. Unless we're talking about swapping out rods and mains. It can easily support 170 or more hp. It's good to change when looking to go past that. What most people feel as the added hp is the tip in response. Look at a stock Focus TB to see the hump that limits the tip in response. Porting that out, will give much, much better response than a 65 mm TB. Even the people pushing the 65mm TB claim 1 or 2 whp and that can be caused by a temp change just as easily. Port your own for $3 or buy theirs for much more, it'll still be the same.

The 2000 intake manifold is the best for the Focus motor. Blocking the EGR and even removing the EGR is quite easy. Removing the tube, removes a restriction. The Focus Zetec and ZX2 Zetec are the same block with different heads. Cams too. Think of it this way, the Focus has stage 0 cams and the ZX2 has stage 0.25 cams. :lol:

Please read my previous reply. I've been there and have what could be a extensively modded Focus.

i put the FR wires on from my sotck wires on a stock car, and the idle was NOTICAbLY better, any person on a focus of escort will tell you the same. and a dyno on a zx2 with intake LOST 2whp when a MSD coil was added.

and i said b4 a coil is pointless if a focus can run 11's with stock ignition there is no NEED to upgrade it. which is exactly what you just said, and I had said a few days ago.

and teh ZX2 cams are almost as agresssive as the Focus Stage 2 cams from what i have been told by one of the people that DESIGNED the frick'n ZX2, OWNES a ZX2 and a lot of people think that Ford gto teh Idea for teh S/R by seeing his 98 everyday and being like "hmm we could do that'

and teh ZX2 cams are almost as agresssive as the Focus Stage 2 cams from what i have been told by one of the people that DESIGNED the frick'n ZX2, OWNES a ZX2 and a lot of people think that Ford gto teh Idea for teh S/R by seeing his 98 everyday and being like "hmm we could do that'

I'd like to see that....
I actually own a set of the prototype stage 2 cams..... from Crane/Ford Racing. And if the ZX2 had those cams I would expect much more from the motor. Stage 2 cams with the crappy 2 piece intake manifold, stock intake, race header and a exhaust throws a easy 140 + WHP, that's wheel horse power, to the ground. So adding a race header and exhaust should put the ZX2 over 150 WHP. Don't think so, but please prove me wrong.

Wires... Try backing that up with science. I would tend to believe the people who make them and stand to make money off selling them or not.
Why would Magnacor chase customers away??? Because they's rather have informed customers, than having people expect something that will not happen. Placebo effect....
http://www.magnecor.com/magnecor1/truth.htm

There is also a lot to do with timing, the S/R PCM with the timing already gets 120whp(119.6) from a S/R with the NGP0 if you gave it an agressive tune with a person that know how to tune the VCT could get 130's from it but it wouldn't pass emissions thats why FR stoped with the CWQ3 PCM that was only 45 state legal and putting down 120-121whp and is only more agressive below 4000rpm. I said they are ALMOST as agrsssive, and you are not going to get 33whp from cams and a header unless you have a KILLER tune job and more mods becasue a 4-2-1 header will only give your about 4whp and your not getting another 29whp by just setting in cams.

Steeda got 146whp on stage2 cams BUT they also had:
Steeda short air intake
65mm throttle
Adjustable cam gears
4-2-1 long tube header
Steeda stainless steel "cat-back" exhaust
Underdrive pulleys
Computer chip
Nology wires

Fortunately we do have a killer tuner around here. Thanks :lol2:

And your short ram does very little next to a K&N. It allows hot air in on a dyno.
65 mm TB does little to nothing. Tip in response does nothing for peak hp.
And under pulley adds 5 hp.
Nology is BUllshit

So yes, he did have cam gears and tuned...
It lost power with a D-chip, so the comp was reflashed.

And I had those cams and gears, header, exhaust and a intake and put down 141 whp and 140 wtq.... In 110 degree heat with out the pusher fan running.... Care to see a dyno graph??? Oh, and mine is a 2001 and had the crappy 2 piece....
You should believe the numbers would be much higher on the street...

saleen has dyno'd of all the mods, they ALL added peak hp:

catback and chip +13.3whp
intake +3.8whp
wires +1.7whp
header +1.1whp
tb +.9whp
camgears +5whp

Stage 2 Cams +9whp

saleen has dyno'd of all the mods, they ALL added peak hp:

catback and chip +13.3whp
intake +3.8whp
wires +1.7whp
header +1.1whp
tb +.9whp
camgears +5whp

Stage 2 Cams +9whp

Wires add 1.7 whp?!?! :lol2: Your funny. Still on that kick?? Care to tell me just HOW it makes more power?? I'd love to hear that....
We can rewrite the books on internal combustion engines, because that defies the laws of physics.
You need X amount of spark to propagate the flame front and X amount of voltage to do this. Anything over that is a waste. You cannot make the gas burn hotter... Those simple little laws of physics again. And once the flame front has been propagated sparking after does nothing because the gas has been burnt off... So the only way plug wires could help is if the combustion chamber is not already getting enough spark. If this were true, the Zetec could not meet emissions. Unburnt gas, hydrocarbons... that nasty physics again. Or if the engine has a bad wire to begin with. I'm still waiting to have this one explained....

According to what your claiming Saleen says....
You get more power from the wires than from a header?!?! :lol2:
Where can I line up to buy from them...
That's real trustworthy ... ummm info?? :cwm27:


Oh and tuned st. 2 cams only make 14 whp???? Keep going.... :iceslolan :lol2:


Hey, I'm sure if you ask Focus Central they'll tell you their TB makes 5 or more whp. :cwm27: Sorry I'll trust my dyno readings and some others that have had them done. I have nothing to sell and neither do they. Atleast they don't claim they got extra whp from their plugs wires... :cwm27: :lol2: :lol2:

My fault i ment Steeda

http://www.steedafocus.com/charts/Charts11_14.htm

read the dyno's yourself

and a svtF has gotten 3whp 2tq from a ground kit

They must have gotten a dud. I've seen three different ZX3s with the st 2 and about the same mods and every single one had more than 140 whp. My own car had the cams tuned as aggressively as possible, yet keep out overlap and I still managed to put down 141 whp and 140 wtq in over 100 degree heat. And my chip was only to remove the speed limiter and bump the rev limiter to 7200 rpm.


But then as soon as they claimed those nology wires gained them HP, it showed they're a joke. Please, they're in busness to sell stuff. And those wires cost a bundle. Just look at what the REAL racers use....
How many not sponsored by nology actually use them.. None.
Please, just read the magnecor site. Alot of racers actually use them.
Got to a track and look at real race cars.

Steeda is known for hyping stuff and inflating dynos on the things they sell. Yea, they sell some neat stuff, but they're not the most respected supplier. Mustang guys have known this for years....

im sorry your NOT getting 30+whp from cams, look at Gude they claim 59whp with a full head package, and that was on a car that was heavily modified

read the graphs your self. its ike the people that claim groud wires cant give your hp, you show them a dyno and they still refuse it.

im sorry your NOT getting 30+whp from cams, look at Gude they claim 59whp with a full head package, and that was on a car that was heavily modified


1) I never claimed 30 hp, but it's more than 9whp. And your Steeda Dynos showed they got 9 whp from UNTUNED st. 2 cams. It's been shown on the Focus Zetec, cam tuning gains anything from 5-15 or more whp.

And 2) Gude uses regrinds. That's complete crap. Ask any metal shop person about regrinding hardened steel. :eek7: And you don't know much about the Focus. Everyone in the Focus community knows Gude = CRAP.
How many people lost their motors to the Gude "Turbo Kit"??? After that and them using regrinds, I wouldn't trust anything Gude said or their work. PLUHEEZE

And yea, people like me want hard science behind the things we buy. Not wild claims. And your link wasn't about "grounding cables", it was those wonderful Nology wires. Talk to a electrical engineer about them and watch them laugh.

Keep going, buying into manufacturer's hype, and pushing things that can be proven wrong only makes you look like a young kid ricer.
Research stuff besides what the stores are pushing. Learn why product do or do not work. Nothing is magic, there's always science behind every good product, demand it. Mass produced "ported heads" suck, period. If you want to get a head ported, you should get two charts.
Before and after from a real flow bench. If they can't supply it, don't trust them. There's a reason people interested in building real power pay the money to get it done right.

I really think ZX2 needs to stop thinking he's right all the time, No offence man but you argue with someone about everything and anything untill you claim to have 'won'. You don't even own a focus but yet you come in here telling everyone what is better and what not, I know most mods that fit the focus also fit the ZX2 but that doesn't make them the same.

Stage 2 cams with the crappy 2 piece intake manifold, stock intake, race header and a exhaust throws a easy 140 + WHP a header and exaust will not give you more then 11whp and a stock focus will lay about 107whp so asuming its already at 118whp yo get 140+ you need at least 22whp from the cams.

and you claim Steeda wants to push sales. so wouldnt they EXAGERATE the dyno's? basicly saying that the cams WONT make 9whp, but even less?

Stage 2 cams with the crappy 2 piece intake manifold, stock intake, race header and a exhaust throws a easy 140 + WHP a header and exaust will not give you more then 11whp and a stock focus will lay about 107whp so asuming its already at 118whp yo get 140+ you need at least 22whp from the cams.

What are you saying?? This makes no sense...
Caps and punctuation would help... :screwy:

and you claim Steeda wants to push sales. so wouldnt they EXAGERATE the dyno's? basicly saying that the cams WONT make 9whp, but even less?

No, they would normally say they make more. But my guess is the profit margin is less on the cams than on the overpriced, junk wires, thus no exaggerated claims. But 9 whp from untuned cams is actually not bad. Oh, and how much you want to bet they just tossed the cams in and never bothered with checking the lash... :rolleyes:
That's something every real tuner does.... Mine are. :lol2:


Next time please stay on one topic and make a point. Cams, throttle body, wires , Steeda..... pick one, or two but make a point.


And sk8ter_in_ny he's arguing things he's not really knowledgable about.
Come on.... Reground cams????? :uhoh: :banghead: