Some pictures of my SVT Focus

Ilikeshinythings

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I just detailed the heck out of her. Her name is Silvia, by the way. She is a 2004 Ford SVT Focus. And yes, those are HID headlights that came stock on my car. It's a lot of fun to drive..it's quick off the line, has a 6 speed manual transmission and handles like a BMW M3. Enjoy!

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NA8

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Silvia looks like one sweet little car.
 

Ilikeshinythings

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thanks na8. By the way she's for sale if anybody might be interested. I'm not pitching an advertisement, but just shoot me a PM if you think you might be interested! THanks.
 

JimmyM

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I'm not crapping on your pride and joy. I'm not. Honestly.
When were the suspension collape recalls made? I know there were several severe recalls made in the "early years". Otherwise I've heard that the SVT Focus would be reclassified by SCCA due to its performace exceeding their initial evaluation.
Can't beat a light car with a nice motor!
edit: What kind of brake pads do you use? Anything "special"? Also, this is no drag race car. More of a road course or auto-cross car. Have you done any heel-toe downshifting practice. It's really quite spectacular once you got it down. No one will ever forget a ride after that. It "sets the tone" for a ride.
 
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Ilikeshinythings

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I'm not crapping on your pride and joy. I'm not. Honestly.
When were the suspension collape recalls made? I know there were several severe recalls made in the "early years". Otherwise I've heard that the SVT Focus would be reclassified by SCCA due to its performace exceeding their initial evaluation.
Can't beat a light car with a nice motor!
edit: What kind of brake pads do you use? Anything "special"? Also, this is no drag race car. More of a road course or auto-cross car. Have you done any heel-toe downshifting practice. It's really quite spectacular once you got it down. No one will ever forget a ride after that. It "sets the tone" for a ride.

Hey JimmyM,

I haven't heard anything about a suspension collapse recall, but there have been a few other recalls, particularly on the 2002 model year. As with most cars, the first new model year usually sucks horribly for reliability..I know first hand that this is true since I had a 1999.5 volkswagen jetta and I can't even count how many things randomly FELL OFF the car..like the glove box, and the window shattered when it randomly fell in the door.

By 2004, though, they had fixed most of the problems. One problem that was prevalent was the clutch. For some reason, the clutch had problems again mostly on the 2002 model, but mine started making a funky noise after a little while owning the car, so it went right to Ford and they did the clutch under the TSB recall.

I haven't put ceramic brake pads on or anything like that, but they have semi-metallic pads that Ford installed. The front rotors and pads were done a couple months ago, and the rear rotors were turned and resurfaced about 6 months ago. Unfortunately, the semi-metallic pads cause the car to squeel sometimes. I can't figure exactly the conditions that cause the squeel, but I have gotten so used to it that I could care less anymore, especially since the brakes work so well.

You're right about one thing though..this car handles SO well. I have practiced heel-toe shifting a little bit, but I try not to drive the car too fast mainly because I'm terrified of taking out a pedestrian or something..I can't think of anything worse. There are some really nice roads around this area to test the cars handling capabilities and I will admit that it feels like it was made for the twisties.

Since it has 6 gears and such a tall first gear it is not much for a drag racer. I think they quoted 7.2 0-60 stock, and with my setup I would guess it is in the mid 6's to 60 MPH, but first gear doesn't top out until about 42 MPH, and it's a high strung motor (10.5:1 compression ratio), so 5000-7300 RPMs is when it really pulls. But for a 2.0 liter 4 banger it makes a lot of torque from 3000-5000 too. From a standstill until about 2800 RPMs it doesn't do much though, so climbing hills is a pain if you're not in the right gear, and it really eats gas if you don't drive it right.

I love it though, it's such a fun car to drive and it is so forgiving on the road that I think my next car will HAVE to be a BMW because anything else would just be a step in the wrong direction.

Oh yeah, and I think you guys can all appreciate the HID headlights ;)
I'll never go back to incandescent.

As far as the wheels go, they came stock with the car. They are a part of the EAP: european appearance package which includes heated REAL leather seats from Recaro, heated mirrors, an engine block heater, a sunroof, the sweet looking wheels, and the HID headlights.

For those who do not know, Ford in Europe has a far better reputation than it does in the states. For some reason we get stuck with crappier models, while the Europeans get the RS focus, the ST focus and a few others, which are far superior. In Europe, the SVT Focus is sold as the "ST170" model and it is basically the same car as the SVT Focus, with most parts developed by Cosworth Racing, but the difference is that the ST170 is made in Germany, and the SVT is assembled in MEXICO (yuck).

It is a world-class auto-cross car though, but I wouldn't want to punish poor Silvia like that!
 

JimmyM

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Yeah. I got a "front suspension collapse" recall On my 99 Dodege Interpid. There were documented instances, but mine fit the recall parameters. Mine never had any problems, and I beat the SH*T out of that car. Nearly intolerable body flex left it wanting in any real road course situations. Cowl shake was like a poorly designed convertibale. And it was a hardtop.
I put Hawk APS pads and ProStop slotted cryo-treated rotors on my GMC Denali. It's made huge difference in longer than average "hot stops". Braking power doesn't fade. From a hard stop from 70 MPH, I can get into the anti-locks, then get back out and re-engage them if needed. On stock pads, I've used both feet and couldn't get enough pad bite to get back into the anti-locks. They bite like stock when cold but get better when hot. The Hawks squeal a little under just the right conditions, but it's a small sacrifice. I can drive hard into 2 or more corners without fade. It's a 5400lb truck. Trail braking makes spirited driving all that much more "worth it".
 

Ilikeshinythings

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wow that's cool..those denali's are beasts. I took off the line one time in the right lane, and in the left lane there was a denali. I KNEW he was goin to try and pass me and pull into my lane to get on the freeway at the entrance coming up on the right, so I punched it, but since he already had the gas to the floor before me, there was no chance, fortunately for me the onramp was a hard 180 degree right curve, so I blasted past him and actually oversteered a tiny bit (hard to do in a front wheel drive car!), just a testament to the SVT's relatively weak acceleration, but kickass handling. I kinda want a high sitting truck though just in case I get in an accident...I saw a lady get decapitated in her Miata recently..not a pretty sight I tell ya. When I have a family, I'll definitely be owning a battering ram vehicle!
 

Stillphoto

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I remember going with my buddy to look at cars and he saw an SVT contour I think it was. We went on a test drive and about 45 seconds in the saleswoman said "Ok enough, I have a kid, lets go back to the dealer and someone else can take you out." Guess he shouldn't have hit the gas like he did lol.
 

JimmyM

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wow that's cool..those denali's are beasts. I took off the line one time in the right lane, and in the left lane there was a denali. I KNEW he was goin to try and pass me and pull into my lane to get on the freeway at the entrance coming up on the right, so I punched it, but since he already had the gas to the floor before me, there was no chance, fortunately for me the onramp was a hard 180 degree right curve, so I blasted past him and actually oversteered a tiny bit (hard to do in a front wheel drive car!), just a testament to the SVT's relatively weak acceleration, but kickass handling. I kinda want a high sitting truck though just in case I get in an accident...I saw a lady get decapitated in her Miata recently..not a pretty sight I tell ya. When I have a family, I'll definitely be owning a battering ram vehicle!
It goes through gas like it has a hole in the tank. I like that it has some real power. When you drop the hammer, it GOES.
All the safety shows that show crash test videos say. "Oh the big SUVs don't do well in collisions". Yeah. maybe if they picked up a physics book they'd realize that those tests are equivalent to hitting another vehicle of the same weight, head-on, at the same speed. When you're driving a truck that is larger than 80% of the vehicle on the road, your odds of hitting something smaller go way up. I'll hit a 5 star rated small SUV with my 3 star rated Denali any day.
edit: I just looked on iihs.org. They don't even test large SUVs. Perhaps their test rig can't take the impact of 6000 lb. trucks.
 
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Ilikeshinythings

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Thanks manzerick, the leather is in great shape and it takes some abuse. I'm 6'2, 220, and it doesn't even have wrinkles yet amazingly. I think brand new the EAP package cost an extra $1,500. That's a seriously good price considering the seats, HIDs, 15 spoke wheels and other perks. Most car companies would charge at least $5,000 more for a "GT" or "EX" or "LS" model with comparable upgrades. I have the original window sticker and it reads $22,500 brand new. So when I got it in 2006 at $14,500, it was a total steal, especially with only 25,000 miles on the odo. Ford resale is absolutely horrible though, as I took my car to the stealership and was offered $6,000. Don't dealerships recognize a "rare" car when they see one!?
 

unnerv

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Since someone mentioned the SVT Contour, I hope no one minds a few pics of mine. I got her in '99 and she is still running well. She also has the Ford European blood like the Focus. Over there the car was the Mondeo ST200 I believe. 200hp and handles extremely well in the corners. Tops out at around 140mph (not that I have been there.) It is a little under powered in today's v6 market but at the time it came out it put a whuppin on the BMW 3 series and the Audi A4's. For a short while it had the distiction of having the highest specific output motor (power/size.) I drive her almost every day still.

A friend of mine had a SVT Focus and I was jealous of the 6 speed close ratio gearbox, the great seats and the fact that they came with 17 inch wheels stock. They really did that car right.

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Ilikeshinythings

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NICE SVTC Unnerv. I love the way those cars look, and yours is pretty damn clean I must say. If you ever come down this way drop me a line so I can check out your ride. 140 you say? That's haulin ***. My speedo says 165 MPH, but I think I would need a solid 20 mile straight line drag strip to get there, but I have heard of people breaking 150 on a good hill..god that would be terrifying in any Ford short of the GT!
 

unnerv

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Thanks!

I agree going that most fords would be scarry at that speed. The fastest I have taken mine was about 120 mph late at night on an empty freeway. It was pretty stable, but that last 30 mph can make all the difference.

Since you are selling, what are you planning to replace it with? Anyway good luck and nice to see a few SVT's are still around.
 

Ilikeshinythings

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I have been eyeing a Honda Accord EX V6 Coupe with a 6 speed manual transmission. Unfortunately, if I want a decent used model, pref. a 2005-2007, I will have to pay 18-20,000, and at this current stage it is just not really doable. I owe a good amount on my car still so if I sold it, I would lose money, so I'm not really actively trying to sell it, but if I thought I could get a good price for it I would sell it. Just like the flash light habit, I get tired of cars too. The only thing I don't like about the SVTF is that it doesn't have great amounts of useable torque...it is FAST fast fast, but the way you have to drive the car is fast..there is no "every day driving" torque. It is a driver's car..and it would be a fantastic car to have in my garage for spirited driving parked next to my automatic 40MPG commuter car, but I'm a long ways off from that point.

120 is quick for sure. When I went to palm springs a while back, I was going down that final stretch of highway and freeway traffic was cruising at 110--including the cops that flew past me at about 120. Anyways a honda civic cruised past me so I decided to juice it a little bit, and while I do not condone driving over the speed limit, let alone two times the speed limit, the SVTF felt more planted at those speeds than it does at 70 MPH. This was before I had done any of my "go fast" modifications.

RIght on! Cars rule!
 

unnerv

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The SVT Contour has most of its torque down low (2.5k -5k rpm) and is about 1.5k revs between gears. I can lug it around at 35-40mph in 5th but it seems to run out of steam pretty quick above 5.5k, esp past 3rd. I remember my friends SVTF and it always impressed me how when your on it it takes off, and when you need to stop it would slow down in a hurry. If I recall correctly your front brakes are an inch bigger than mine and your car is 300 or more pounds lighter. The Focus was really tossable.

If you ever get up towards SFO let me know and you can take the SVTC for a spin.

The SVT Focus is a great drivers car. Maybe you could keep the focus for a weekend driver and get an older civic or toyota as a commuter. That is what I eventually did, although the CSVT is my daily and my weekend car is a 93 RX7 twin turbo :devil:
 
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