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The primary competitors to the ZX2 are the Neon, and Cavalier. Both of those cars failed badly during my shopping center cart tests. Though both in my opinion are far more luxurious cars with nicer and far more generous options packages. My problem with both cars is that I couldn't get past the sloppy handling and performance. Yes I like comfort and yes I am royal furious for not getting the top line fully loaded ZX2 when I could have. However with me I was looking for a car at an affordable price that could compete with my now dead 89 Acura Integra; hence the ZX2.
Luxury and comfort are nice and should not be overlooked BUT good Performance was my first issue after price. Besides you can always add the luxuries later on down the road.
One of the dangers in the ZX2 is that we tend to compare it against cars other categories. I suspect part of this is because the performance is so much higher than it's competitors. A customer of mine in the shop I work who owns one was even suggesting it was a rival for Jaguar and Lexus. To which all I can say is "yeah right". Five minutes behind the wheel of either of those two cars I am sure would have have convinced him of his stupidity. Beyond a passing slight resemblance in Body Style to the Lexus, four wheels, seats, the presence of an internal combustion engine, there is NO COMPARISON.
I have often said many times when people have suggested I could have gotten this car or that car. My only regrets with the ZX2 are that I was too conservative with my wallet and didn't plan the purchase very well. Short of moving into the next category of car I still would have purchased the ZX2. Though with a much higher end luxury package. The car handles like a dream, it can and will hold it's own against most of it's contemporaries. Including many those in the next two categories up of cars.
Right now though I think I will just be happy to get my car back from South Carolina and have my court case behind me. Damn that accident realy screwed my life up for the moment. I keep wanting to plan for this or that, but until I know whats going to happen in the near future I am afraid to get my hopes up. I am starting to see why people sue for emotional recompensation.
A couple weeks ago you mentioned the mud guards. Today parked in the parking lot beside my "rent a @#@#" Escort, was a Tropic Green ZX2 with black Mudguards. It actually looked pretty good. The owner had also added some 1/4 inch thich 3 inch wide black body side moldings around the rear bumper. Very tasteful to look at and though it seems ridiculous to protect your bumper with a bumper. I daresay though very practical for minor nicks and abrasions. The interior had also been dressed up with lots of custom leather around the window frames, roof liner, and doors. Though I question the wisdom of addding a padded leather roof to a car that is notorious for it's lack of head room. IT did however look very comfortable. He had also replaced the seats with some overly padded leather ones that where of a different shape, and the interior was trimmed in simulated wood. I have no idea how much of a small fortune he paid for all the mods; probably a small fortune. Cosmetically though they did look rather nice and gave me lots of food for thought.
Other than the mud guards and trim; exterior wise the car's owner had replaced the wheels with spoked 14 inch ones and added I think Good Year Eagle GA tires. What other mods he had done I don't know, but it was interesting to see. Even if I can't afford a damn thing right now and I am still bemoaning my ZX2s absence.
Silly point Ralex my old dad agrees with you about Focus ZX3. He was checking up on my cars progress for me, and on a lark he test drove one. He fell in love with it it immediately.
The Z is lighter than the Tib and the two are close to being same size. Yet the Tib is very smmall inside by comparison. Personally I like that. It creates a "intimate" cockpit feel that the Z lacks. Z is very "old Taurus" like on the inside. Typical Ford thing - afraid to do the cockpit the right way instead of the Ford way!
Only vehicle with longer shifter throw than ZX2 is coming off Fords truck line.
All the best legal advise also seems to suggest the best I can hope for in court is a "No Fault" declaration. Which basically means both parties are at fault. Meanwhile the $500 loaner allowance looks as though it will run out just before I get my car back, leaving me responsible for the balance. Also the estimate is now upto $5500 for the repairs. My car in theory should be ready by the last week of June. Damn it, I am frustrated, furious, befuddled and just generally feel as though some has hit me over back of the head with brick.
Whatever happened to honour and self respect? In the 21 years I have been driving I have never run from an incident that was my fault this includes a couple speeding tickets I picked up in my youth. The one accident I did cause that was my fault (about 15 years ago) I stood before the judge, and freely admited it was me who was traveling to fast. All my friends said I was stupid for doing it but the judge said "my parents had raised me the right way and reduced my fine". On the flip side though, I have never run away from a fight either, when I believe very stongly in my arguements. In this case what's frustrating me is that it looks as though my enemy is afraid to fight, and admit his error. Good Lord I am afraid to think of whats going to happen to my insurance when I renew it in January.
Anyway, sorry to bore you with the story, but It was kind of crazy at the time.
photog0264" you might have mentioned it already and I missed it, did your airbags go off?
Point of interest to all concerned: Check your insurance to see how high your loaner car allowance is. Mine is at $500 and will probably run out just before my car is ready. Needless to say I will be shopping for better insurance once this episode is behind me.
To those more learned in "tire and wheel othology"
than me. What are your thoughts? The three things I would be looking for in a new tire would be road grip, quiet ride, and longevity. I have a feeling those three though are not compatible with each other.
I recommend 195's for the base rims. It will look slightly more agressive but will not effect foul weather driving significantly.
If your in a situation where you can stay home when the weather is bad I recommend the 205's. They really fill out the fenderwell and give the car a sporty look.
With 185x60s or 195x60s choices of compound, tread, speed rating, etc seem limited. With 205x55s you will have more choices. I'm sure that if you want to go to a 205, you will find one that is better on dry asphalt than your stock RSAs and still has an open enought tread to work well on snow and rain. We are only talking about 20mm difference - not much. Better rubber and good tread design will more than offset the reduced lb/sq.in. Compromises will probably have to be made for noise though. If you want winter performance you will probably get increased noise. Some brands are also noisier than others. The important thing is that you have choices.
Goto Tirerack.com for some good info. Goodyears home page also has lots of info as does Dunlop and various others. I'm still shopping, but will defintely go to 205s. Luckilly I drive on snow only once per year and rain isn't a big factor.
I think the S/R does .85g on the skid pad compared to the standard ZX2s .78g. I'd bet most of that is rubber. Given the gentle application of loads on the skid pad I wouldn't expect the suspension to figure into it too much, except for the lower CG.
Another tire characteristic, just as important or perhaps more important than grip is "feel." Some grippy tires just don't communicate well and others do. Sidewall construction is very important. You want a tire that tells you what it is about to do and does what you ask it to do. Then there is tread life. Just too many trade offs. Everything is a compromise. Maybe the smart folks just go to their favorite tire shop and tell them they want a cheap 50,000 mile tire that fits go home happy! You can certainly overthink it and hell, we are talking about 12,000 dollar Fords here - not 427 Cobra replicas.
I still have that $100 credit for Goodyear tires. Perhaps I when I get my car back from South Carolina, and I have recovered financialy I will persue this a bit further. I do like the look of the Goodyear G/A tires. Curious would these tires reduce the noise much??? Not that I have too much a problem with noise right now... I have read here, and elsewhere that the right tire can significantly reduce the interior cockpit noise...
I guess based upon what people are saying the 195 would be the better compromise.
Curiously the G/A doesn't appear on the websight for tires listed for my car. On the funny side according to the Goodyear web sight Ford hasn't produce any cars in the year 2000. Does anybody have any experience with the Goodyear HP?
At the moment it is all fantasy talk. As I don't even have my car back (and won't till the end of June), and once I finnish recovery from all the bills I will be adding a few luxuries to the car that where in my original plans. However I am planing on perhaps swapping up for a much better tire by the late fall. I have heard from several people that the R/S tires are not the best in snow. Granted it is mid summer now however I do try to plan ahead when I can.
Another person even suggested I get that sunroof I want added in Winter. The theory being the installers will be much more eager to make a deal in the cold of winter when people are not looking at sunroofs. He also suggested that melting snow on the roof it would be the best way to check for leaks.
Sandwhiches for Lunch, as much overtime as I can work, and no dates for quite awhile. Until I get all this accident crap behind me I am afraid. I will also have to finaly give in, and start shooting people if I am requested.
Relax everyone apart from a certain Mexican for whom I have decidedly dark thoughts; I will be shooting with a 35mm and Medium Format Camera.
On the humorous side of this tale, the car behind me was a Fairfax County Police car. Suddenly there was a mild roar, some pretty blue and red lights, along with a siren, and off he went after the imbecile.
Send my 4 disk brakes to a special place where they drill and grooved them for a better braking.
They cut the springs about an inch, it´s not too low but it looks better, the suspensions get a little harder and the handling improve.
Soon I´m planning to install a sportchip, maybe some headers and remove the catalizer converter, then buy some tires and rims 16" 205x50, but I will go gradually because it´s not cheap doing this.
Oh point of interest my new door is on "national backorder" so now there is no saying how much longer it will be for my car. I am planing to call them again on Tuesday. At this rate I am almost tempted to see if could pickup a crappy little high mileage Hyundai Excel used. At least I would not have not to worry about the length of time my car is taking. Of course in REALITY that would in the long term end up costing far more money. However despite how ludicrous such a purchase would be the thought is there.
It is located on the back of the engine block up between the block and the fire wall. I also had to work around the axle shaft.
After an 1/2 hr of reaching and straining I removed the plastic baffle on the passenger front wheel-well (about 6 bolts) and was able to reach the filter from the side.
The factory also overtightenned the oil filter making it even more difficult to remove.
Has anybody else had trouble with changing the oil filter? My other car is a Neon and I didnt realize how easy Dodge made it for us do-it-yourselvers until i tried to change the filter on the ZX2.
Needless to say, the ventilation system in that truck was pretty ripe smelling afterwards. The solution was to locate the plastic plumbing from the fan to the vents, remove it and clean it. Of course on some vehicles that could be very difficult. On his truck it was pretty straight forward.
I have seen pack rats build nests in vent intakes. Those could get fragrant in the summer. What kind of smell do you have in your vents Twig? - hot motor smell, dead animal smell, Gravy Train smell?
Oil change...YES extreme difficulties getting the filter off from the factory. It doesn't help that it is packed in there either. There were a lot of 4 letter words in the driveway on that first oil change.
If I didn't know better I would swear that St Bernard had slept in that Escort I have on loan. This another reason I want my car back. This Escort stinks of tobacco, and dog. It might not be so bad to some, but am an Ex smoker who only smokes under the highest of stress (I have had 7 cigarettes in 2 years), and I am a cat person who prefers the company of felines to canines. Of course cats can also create their fair share of aromas when cooped up in a car.
floridian
As to fixing it, I have no idea. I have changed the way I use the vent setting to reduce the problems though. I either avoid using the vent entirely, so as not to introduce the warm, humid air, or I run the vents for several minutes so the water that does condense on the vent walls gets dried up immediately. The second option means letting warm, humid air blow into the cabin. It's a peeve that I don't think I have ever really mentioned on here before, but there it is.
In summary, Yes I did like the leather interior, the sunroof with the added headroom and I loved the feel of those tires. However apart from the luxury safety and convienance improvements; the improved handling that WAS VERY clearly caused by the tires, it performed was just like my own plain jane BUT very much missed ZX2. Acceleration noise, seats, suspension where all the same. I will say though the Midnight Blue Colour is my favourite one for this car. Classey and sporty at the same time.
Another car I glanced at and test drove on their used lot was the 1999 Chevy Cavalier. Sorry Chevy you really do need to improve that car. IT has terrific potencial the Cavalier, but the design and performance just don't seem to measure up. Perhaps the Sunbird is a little better, but I stand quite firm in the opinions I formed when I test drove a Cavalier about 2 months ago. The ZX2 really is the better car. However will say I have a feeling the Cavalier would have withstood my side impact better than the ZX2 did.
Ralex I have seen a couple ZX2s with the Escort Logo removed like I did with mine (and now you with yours). On the 2000 models they only have the name Escort glued on. Versus the previous years which feature Escort AND Sport Logos. Another little difference between the two Models is on the rear bumper. The 1998s and some 1999s have the name "Escort ZX2" molded into the rear bumper. On the 2000 models they only have name "ZX2" molded there.
Were the tires on that bogus SR 205s?
Glad to hear you are getting yours back next week. Hope they did a good job for you.
I have been chasing a rattle in mine and finally figured it out. I knew it was the heat shield, but every time we had it on the lift and looked for loose screws, we couldn't find any. We would beat on the heat shield and it refused to rattle. Turns out the bottom of the B&M shifter hangs down low enough to rub on the heat shield and in first gear - they vibrate together. Best fix is to shim the shield down closer to the exhaust pipe, but just bending it may be more realistic.
The enhancements though did get me thinking about my own car for when I am free of accident. In particular that thinner Sunroof. Another wierd little detail the sunroofs controls where on the doors. I know this for a fact because I was confused when I glanced down and saw THREE power window toggles and pressed the wrong one (the sunroof opened up rather than the window).
I think if I can get financial house in order I may pickup a used Econo Zip Box next year. This rented Escort I am in is really driving me nuts. What between the smell, the dirt, the lack of performance and the fact that it's not mine (if it was, I would trade it in as fast as I could get to a dealer), I am about ready to have myself commited... Dear God I have been obsessing over this incident in my life! The sooner it is over with the better...
IF it tells you anything during a breif wig out while on the phone to the body shop. I offered the guy the $225 over my rental allowance that I will probably incur. In the hopes of getting the car by THIS Saturday. He politely informed me that "I really don't want a rushed job do I"? Which about a minute after my little wig out passed, suddenly made sense to me. I really DON'T WANT a rushed job on this type of major repair.
Moral to the story: always get a THIRD opionion when you hear strange unexplained noises.
Floridian (killjoy)
Can't order them, Ford says unrecognized option. As I understand it, there were no white SRs. Just Red, Black, and Zinc Yellow. If I see an SR that may be real, the first thing I look for is rear disc brakes. Unlikely fakes will go that far - and if they do, might be as good as the real thing.
It's been two weeks since I ordered the SR struts and they haven't shipped yet. Sounds like a problem - I need to call and check.