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It doesn't help you out a whole hell of a lot I know. However after I do know a little first hand of what you are going through. Just don't wreck your car like I did. Somehow getting involved in two major accidents (though not my fault) comes across as a lousy way obtain the car you feel you have bought. If Hadn't wrecked my Black ZX2 I would be looking at a MANUAL econo Zip box as a back up instead of a crappy auto econo NON Zip box. My plans would also not hinge upon what the insurance does to me in the January.
I have priced out a set of 4 16"x6.5" Contour SVT wheels (4 bolt), and was wondering if a wheel of this dimension would fit properly in the zx2's wheel well if it was mounted with 225/55 tires?
Any advice would be appreciated...
A 205x45 is 1.5 in less circumference than stock
A 205x50 is 1.0 in more circumference than stock
Either will work fine - the 50 is closer to stock.
Probably have to run what you can find.
Photog:
About your auto trans car fantasy thing, I wouldn't recommend a used Hyundai. I've got a friend who works at a Hyundai dealership. ( he just went back there) If you're gonna get a Hyundai, only buy new (to get the free warranty, which shrinks if it's ever sold). You'll be making use of it. Other than that, I don't have any opinions. Supposedly Fords have terrible autos, in general. Though my 90 Taurus is still going strong after 100k+ miles. (Speaking of which, anybody wanna buy it????) If you ever do get something though, let us know. I might do the same one day, assuming I ever make any real money.
Jimi:
That's got to be a bummer. I didn't even bother test driving the auto. Even though it's been a tough adjustment to driving stick, the recommendations here steered me away from the auto. Especially the one story about how hard they are to work on (high labor costs). But really, when it comes to cars like this one that aren't produced in extremely high quantities, you can't always have everything you want. (I would have preferred the Disc Changer or the alloy wheels to the moonroof) But hey, it's cool. Enjoy the thing. It's still a nice new car, that handles great, and looks cool too. Just don't try to race the rice boys.
Ralex & everyone talking about wheels/tires:
I know NOTHING about this sort of thing. But I have thought about getting different wheels someday. The swirls are *alright*, but the factory alloys are much cooler looking. So I guess I'd like to know, what options are out there for wheels/tires? Where should I start looking to learn about such things? Thanks!
I must say, thanks again to everyone here. You've been great help to me and others, not only in deciding on a car, but learning about the little things too.
MjC
Would this be intrusive to the wheel well (if you cranked the steering wheel to the farthest it would go, would the tire rub against the body?)
What do you think the maximum profile I could go with on these rims? I'm also looking in to the 15" 1996 Escort GT 7 spokers, what would be an appropriate tire for this?
Thank you
As for the 225s, the wheelwell my not be able to accomadate them even with no load, so be double sure first, although everyone agrees these are overkill.
If they do, let me know because I would like to get some Contour wheels for my ZX2 too!
Thanks ralex for your in depth response. I'll keep you all posted.
My source for this vertible fountain of useless, but mildly interesting information was a chance meeting with someone who works for Ford (not the dealerships). I ran into him while shooting some late night shots of some aircraft. It seems in his free time he is part of the support crew for several Warbirds that fly for the CAF (Confederate Air Force). As for where he works within Ford? You guessed it the division that deals with assigning the colours for the various cars. Now granted all this sounds a little bit funny, as I am quick to point out. However on his advice I had a look at the dealers delivery ticket (you know the one that lists all the "loose items" such as antenia and radio fuse, etc.) that was in my owners packet. According to this piece of paper, guess what the colour of my car was listed as? Amazon Green. So maybe there could be some truth in what he said.
2001 S/R...
While I had his attention I did ask him about the future of the ZX2 . The year 2001 IS THE LAST year for our beloved cars. Apparently as of last month there will be a new seriously improved incarnation of the Focus appearing in 2002. He did say that there MAYBE A VERY small run of Super S/Rs, as they still have a few new build S/R sub assemblies left. IF they do release a Super S/R (and he was quick to point out it is a mighty big IF) to make up for some missing items; they are going to borrow a couple of pieces from the Focus line, and use some left over Contour parts. Which parts he said he was uncertain of.
He also said even if they do decide to release this Super ZX2 S/R, it may not make any news. It seems Ford has a special customer list, and these cars would qualify as "Manufactuer's Custom Cars". As result any that come out of Mexico will go to the lucky people on that list.
Take the gentleman's words for whatever they are worth. Truth or fantasy, though he was dead on the mark about the colour of my car, and where I could find the written proof of his words.
Thanks
The regular ZX2 is actually very similar handling to the old GT's. The Escort GT was a very capable little car, with a very similar suspension, same acceleration and better brakes. I loved my GT even more then my ZX2, I'm just curious, what did you not like about it?
I did like the car other than that - great little engine. I hope that Ford has engineered out that passive rear steering in the ZX2, and everything I have read indicates this is true. I know from driving the Focus that the Zetec is a sweet little motor as well.
I actually liked the 1.8l in the GT better then the 2.0l in the ZX2. Not as sturdy, but it seemed better quality - quieter and smoother.
I find the 2.0L Zetec in my girlfriend's Focus automatic to be pretty smooth and sweet sounding, but I agree that the 1.8L Mazda engine in the GTs was great. The 2.0L is not great on gas, either.
-Beanboy
Also if you have a sunroof be greatful it is a powered, or pop top style. I saw a customer of my mine struggle for a full 15 minutes trying to get the T-Top on her shiney new Trans Am today. Now granted the Trans is a world different from our faithfull little steeds. However when I went out to my car it took me a whole 8 seconds to open my sunroof. Versus her 15 minutes.
I wouldn't get t-tops anyway because you have to store them in the trunk, and I hate having things in my trunk if I don't need to.
Besides, I can get the Miata's entire roof open in about 12 seconds... ;-)
Still I agree with Freddy, I don't think I would enjoy a sunroof that I have to stow in the trunk. I am surprised that they don't create some sort of powered version of it. There again I am relatively ignorant of the higher end sports car options. I like the looks and feel of the Camaro but I prefer it with the standard powered sunroof option. Curiously the Trans and the other sisters of the Camaro just don't do a thing for my when it comes to looks.
Yesterday I pulled too close to a curb in a drive-thru and be danged if I didn't scrape a portion the outermost edge of my driver's side front rim (swirlies!). Any ideas to make it purty again? Short of having it replaced? Can it be sanded down or something? Is it obvious that I know *nothing* about rims???
I smiled, looked him straight in the eye, and said politely, "Seventy-two !" He laughed and sent me on my way ticket free.
In the spirit of good fun...
My favourite two tickets occured in my reckless early 20s. The first was when I parked my brown BMW illegaly in Old Town Alexandria. The only problem was on that particular day I was with my parents on the ocean liner QE2 half way between the US and the UK. Six weeks later when I was back state side I got a letter threatening me with a suspension if I didn't reply at once. I called the Police Department to ask them about the ticket that they said I had recieved. Their reply was I will just have to go to court and try to fight it in front of the judge. After a couple minutes of not even listening to me the silly cow rung off. So I called back and asked for a Superviser. Where I explained to him:
Number 1. I have never owned a BMW let alone a brown car (at that time I owned a white Mazda GLC).
Number 2. That it was phyiscaly impossible for me to have even been in Alexandria as I was on that very day 3000 miles out in the middle of the North Atlantic ocean. What's more if they insisted upon dragging me to court I would be more than happy to provide phyisical proof of my where abouts at the time of the offense.
At the end of all this he apologised for bothering me, and told me don't worry about the ticket, as it will be taken care of. The cause of all this was a cop with very bad hand writing , it seems the "D" in my license plate was mistaken for an "O" by the clerk of the court.
My second favourite ticket was also in the GLC. While coming back from vacation I was stuck behind a line of trucks. I saw a chance to overtake them so I floored it. The only problem was smack in the middle of them was a North Carolina State Trooper. I didn't even bother to see if he had got me; as soon as I cleared the trucks I just pulled over and waited. A few seconds later the police officer was asking me if I knew how fast I was going. I said 65mph as that was the top speed of my speedometer. He said try again. I said in that case I honestly don't know as my speedometer only went that high. He walked me back to his cruiser and showed me his radar gun which said 87mph. My reply was cute if not especialy original. "Thats impossible as the car won't go that fast". He wrote me up for 65mph in a 55mph zone, with of course the appropriate warnings. His logic was "well we can agree that you where doing 65mph" so thats what I got.
Just to make this into a ZX2 dialogue; how is this for frustration. LAst Saturday I went all out and polished up my ZX2 and really did make her shine. I felt so proud of how clean she looked. The next day I went to an Airshow and while driving out of the grassy parking area, some drip comes along in a 4x4 and aims for a roped of area that is deep in mud. You guessed a huge splash and my car is covered in the stuff. Damn what an unholy mess it made of my car. Thankfully I had only just closed the windows and sunroof because me car was really caked in it. Sunroof to tires, nose to spoiler thick gooey brown mud. For a few seconds Murder went through my mind following this. My wheel wells still have some mud in them. I think I am going to have to go to one of those car washes with the high power spray guns to get it all off.
I used the same excuse in my olds cutless supreme, "It won't go that fast" but it didn't work for me either!
You shouldv'e really had some revenge on that guy and cleaned his truck!! :-/
MjC
You Freddy where very lucky with the cop.
After the truck splashed me I was so angry I didn't trust myself to say anything. Funny thing that day was full chance encounters with idiots. A couple hours early at the Air Show some guy recognised me from the Camera Shop I work in. As I was waiting for the F-14 Demo begin he asked if he could see me other camera that was on a Mono-pod. I told him to be careful as it was loaded with film. Just as the Tomcat roars down the flight line I hear this "twang". The imbecile had opened my camera back. His response was "oh I am sorry I didn't know it was loaded". My reply was through tightly gritted teeth "it's okay" and I grabbed the camera and ran. If I had stayed there one more second he would have needed proctologist to remove my mono pod from a certain orifice on his anatomy. As it is I only lost 6 or 7 frames but damn was I angry. There was also a couple other idiots I met there but I will save them for another days tales.
Over all I would say this qualifies as one of the tackiest ZX2 mods I have seen in recent memory.
With my apologies to any who maybe offended by my next paragraph. In parts of the Washington Metro area that are heavily populated by immigrants, and minorities, we do seem to see an over abundance of these types of Mods. Radical Ground Effects, seriously lowered bodies and sound systems so loud you can hear them a mile away. What I don't understand is why? I could go along with it if it improved performance or comfort. But not if it takes away from the handling of the car. Most often these mods usually appear on Hondas with only a smittering of the other small cars getting them. Seeing the ZX2 so moded out was rather strange. Maybe it's a cultural thing that this poor Brit can't grasp.
I am curious did that red S/R I mentioned peak your interest Ralex? I know it is a hell of long way from you. But it is still there as of Tuesday evening.
I have really decided to avoid the S/R, Photog. It still has most of the features of the ZX2 that I dislike; shifter position, bad seats, pedals too close to the steering wheel, goofy steering, gear ratios too far apart, etc. It's still an awesome car for the price, but I think I will hold off for something German or Japanese just for the ergonomics. They build cars to fit human beings whereas Ford builds cars to fit general ledgers. The right VW or Miata or Celica will eventually come along. I'd like to find a used 6 speed Celica next year (if I knew the owner) or even a used MR2 in a year or two. In this part of the country such vehicles rarely show up on used lots though. Going to be a tough search.
It will be tough to avoid modifying the Z anymore between now and then. Seems like that will be wasted money if I'm not going to keep the car. It desperately needs struts. The Eibach springs are just too bouncy with stock struts. They are under 200 bucks, but hard to find. Of course they are a pain in the butt to put on as well.
Here's a question for the group assuming whe have a group. My B&M short throw shifter does not have enough angle on it and ends up being a reach. Is it possible to bend these shifters, or do they just break? I need to put enough bend in it to move the shift knob back about 2 inches.