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Ford Escort ZX2

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Comments

  • jimithingjimithing Member Posts: 2
    Damn...I was really hoping that I'd be able to get good performance out of this piece of junk auto transmission that I had to pay $800 for...The thing is, I still haven't seen a 5 speed at my local ford dealer..I don't know why that is, but it doesn't make me too happy about my car purchase.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    jimithing,
    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.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    According to Edmunds the ZX2 is a go for 2001. Apart from the slight price increase, the only differences are the colours and a lack of the S/R option.
  • Anyone interested in a yellow ZX2 with S/R contact me by my email address available in my profile. There is one at a dealership in SW Ohio.
  • ddoggddogg Member Posts: 13
    Hi all... I've lurked in this group for awhile and have found the conversations rather interesting, if not informative. I was wondering if someone could help me with something...

    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...
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    The diameter of you tire/wheel combo is 25.75 in. The stock tire/wheel diameter is 23.74. The extra 2 inches of diameter combined with the extra tread width makes it extremely unlikely they will fit. If you want to go with 16" rims, try a 205 x 50 for a 225 x 45. For the ZX2, I would think 205 x 50s would be plenty of rubber. You don't want to overtire the car. The 225x55s would also make your speedo useless - circumference would be way off.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    Actually, on a 16" rim I believe the tire should be a 45, not a 50. I think you need bigger then a 6.5" for a 225 tire (probably a 7:) but 225 are overperforming the car, meaning there is no point because a stock Z doesn't perform well enough to use them. What they will do is slow the car down, both acceleration and top speed - which is limited anyway.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Fred, it depends on the tread width. 45% of 225mm is 101.25 and 50% of 205mm is 102.5. Only one and a quarter millimeters difference.

    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.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    as a general rule, performance tires should be mounted on rims that are 90% the width of the tire. A low profile 225 would require an 8" rim and 205s would fit 7" rims nicely - 6.5 in would be OK.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    All I know is that my 16x7 rims with 205/45 rubber work exactly as I had planned them to, and I have no problem recommending that combination. I'm sure 205/50's would work just as well.
  • mcalvert1mcalvert1 Member Posts: 25
    Hey all, I'm still alive, still getting used to driving stick. Certainly better, though I'm far from completely comfortable. Got a few comments. 2001 ZX2? Cool. No matter what the specs and reviews say, the ZX3 doesn't look anywhere near as good as the ZX2.

    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
  • ddoggddogg Member Posts: 13
    So basically, I could go ahead w/ the 16"x6.5" wheels, and mount 205/50s on them?
    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
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    The same goes for the 96 GT. I went through this whole deal with my 94 GT first.
    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.
  • edswordsedswords Member Posts: 47
    DDog, you might want to check that the bolt pattern is the same for the Contour and ZX2. While they both might be 4 bold, I think the Contour has a larger pattern and the Contour wheels won't bolt up directly to the ZX2 hubs.

    If they do, let me know because I would like to get some Contour wheels for my ZX2 too!
  • ddoggddogg Member Posts: 13
    I've checked quite a few online rim stores that sell OEM/factory parts, and I've seen the configurations between contours and zx2s. They appear to be the same. They both say 4 stud, 100mm(4 inches). This leads me to believe that they are universal fits for 4 bolt Fords. However, I guess one shouldn't be too sure. I'll e-mail my Ford parts dealer (the one who quoted me the price of the SVT rims) and double check.
    Thanks ralex for your in depth response. I'll keep you all posted.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I am ever so sure you where all mystified by my strange discover of the Unlisted colours (Try not to Yawn too loudly). Well Today (actualy Sunday) I figured out part of it. It seems the Ford distrubtion centers have some colours of their own that are not listed AND they have different names for the more popular listed colours. Those of us who own Tropic Green ZX2s will be delighted to know that the "Tropic Green" is also known as "Amazon Green". Conversly those of you who own "Cloud Nine white" ZX2s will be thrilled to find your colour is also called Ebony White. Are you asleep yet?

    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.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    ...now, how to get on that list. I suspect Ford has me on a list alright, but not that one. :)
  • XLR8RXLR8R Member Posts: 1
    Does anyone else have a problem with a musty odor coming from the AC vents? I've read all the other posts in the other discussion groups in regards to this. Just wondering if it's a common problem with the ZX2.
    Thanks
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    I have never had the musty AC problem, but have heard others in this group complaining about it. It appears to have something to do with condensation collecting in the AC vents. It's unclear why some have it and some don't. It may even be regional (temp/humidity).
  • edswordsedswords Member Posts: 47
    As far as I can tell, The 4 bolt Contour/Mystique wheels are 4 1/2 inches where the Escort/ZX2 pattern is 100 mm which is not the same.
  • dmoulddmould Member Posts: 76
    I finally saw a ZX2 S/R here at a dealer in Ottawa, Ontario. Pretty cool looking, although I was a little disappointed in the wheels. Waiting for my back pay cheque before doing any shopping for a summer car. Price with moonroof just over $22,000, red in colour. Would like to drive it to see how it compares to my girlfriend's Focus SE. I previously owned a 1994 Escort GT, but I didn't like the handling on it. I trust that the ZX2 is much better.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    The ZX2 S/R you will find better. no question.
    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?
  • dmoulddmould Member Posts: 76
    I didn't like the 'passive' rear wheel steering that was built into the rear suspension of the 1991-1996? generation of Escorts. The rear end would step out at different times, and this is not a great thing in a front wheel drive car. Maybe I just wasn't used to it (and I had owned high powered rear wheel drive vehicles - 5.0 Mustang, etc.), but this led to me wrecking the car when the rear stepped out when coasting through a sweeping curve at about 100mph. The insurance company wrote off the car - $8000 damage to wheels, suspension, and brakes on a $17,000cdn loaded GT. I ran over the curbed median backwards, and this caused the airbag to go off ($1000) and one ABS sensor ($1200) to get wrecked, among other things. Less than 1000miles on the car.
    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.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    Do you mean the rear tires actually steered too? My 94 GT had nothing of the sort!
    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.
  • dmoulddmould Member Posts: 76
    Some movement was purposely built into the rear suspension of this generation of Escorts to allow some 'steering'. It might have only been one degree of deflection in the bushings, but it was definitely there, including the 1994 Escort that you owned. It was supposed to reduce understeer, there by improving handling of the FWD car, but actually worked too well at higher Gs (higher speeds), causing oversteer. If you would have pushed your car often in the corners, you would have found that the rear end would slide fairly easily, sometimes unpredictably.
    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.
  • edswordsedswords Member Posts: 47
    I am getting 33-34 mpg with mostly 70-75 mph highway traveling in my ZX2 S/R. I think that is pretty good.
  • beanboybeanboy Member Posts: 442
    For the most part, any of these small cars that are a blast to drive get 30+ mpg on the highway, not too shabby at all. Each new model is getting heavier though; can't beat the curb weight of those late eighties/early nineties pocket rockets. Doubt we will ever see a sub 2300 pound performance vehicle with 4 wheels again. Heck, even the Miata has gained over 120 pounds over the years... One of the best reasons to grab a ZX2 over a ZX3 from my perspective.

    -Beanboy
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    Take a trip to europe and you will find some. North america is still hooked on the 'bigger is better' idea.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    There is a method to their madness. They know that gas is going to get very pricey, very soon. They want to put everybody in a pickup or SUV now so that when the fuel hits the fan, everybody has a gas hog to trade for the efficient, lightweight, 3 and 4 cylinder cars they are designing, but not building now.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I saw a white 1998 ZX2 on Thursday with a different rear spoiler on it. The car appeared not to have customized in any other way. Apart from this visibly smaller Rear Spoiler. Most likely a cheap after market addition. I think I prefer the existing one as this one had no style at all to it. Almost piece of flat fiberglass with square edges.

    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.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    Perhaps you are putting the blame in the wrong place. I've worked Z28 T-tops before, as well as 300ZX tops, and It has never taken me more then 2 minutes to remove the tops and store them. That woman might have been working them for the first time?
    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... ;-)
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Women!
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    The T-Top may not have anything to do with the gender. This customer is a bit of a character. You know the type whom all the associates run away from or find projects to do when they walk in the door.

    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.
  • dmeldmel Member Posts: 4
    ...dangit. Owning my first new car has turned me into one seriously paranoid freak. I noticed a teensy almost invisible ding in the door (obviously from another vehicle's door) last week and I've been taking great care about where I park! This is insane.

    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???
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    take them to a custom rim and tire place, they should be able to smooth out and polish the scrape.
  • dmeldmel Member Posts: 4
    Thank you kindly! Knew I'd come to the right place for help! ;->
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    MAny years ago in my Acura I banged the right wheel into the guide track in a car wash and cracked the hub cap badly. It only cost me $25 at a junk yard to replace the hub cap. Perhaps one of the two good things about hub caps is they are far easier to replace and the 2nd is they don't show the dirt of the brakes.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    I got pulled over for speeding the other day. Damn pulse radar! He came up to my car and asked if I knew how fast I was going. I said no, he said 30 over. I had just washed my car at one of those do it yourself coin wash places and the car was still a little wet. I told him I was just air drying my car cause I forgot something to dry it with. He told me that next time I should use the freeway, and that he'd better not catch me doing that again and let me go!
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    I got pulled over for doing 72 in a 55 on my old Suzuki GS750ES one day. The patrolman had made a u-turn to get me, so I figured he was going to write me up. He looked the bike over closely while explaining that I couldn't do 72 in a 55 even if I was passing somebody. Then he said,"Thats a good looking bike. How fast will it go?"

    I smiled, looked him straight in the eye, and said politely, "Seventy-two !" He laughed and sent me on my way ticket free.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Freddy did the cop give you the ticket, or just the stern warning?

    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.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    No, he let me go. He said "I'll let you go with a warning this time, and I won't catch you doing this again right?" Good enough for me :-)
    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!! :-/
  • mcalvert1mcalvert1 Member Posts: 25
    I was at work the other day, and I unfortunately had to park at the far end of the lot, right next to the picnic/park area. When I went to go home, I found bugs of all kinds (termites, flys, etc...) covering my car. What the heck? Apparently someone tossed a soda on my car. I wiped it down with a wet rag, but that didn't help much. So, I just went home and hosed it down. Too dark out to really wash it, but at least I didn't have to step into the Temple of Doom the next morning. Oh well. At least I know not to park there anymore.

    MjC
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I feel for you Macalvert... I have never had the bug problem like you desribed. However several years ago at the beach in my Toyota Truck I once made the mistake of parking beside a family. When I came back they had a little girl throwing popcorn to the seagulls. Looked rather cute at first until I realised they where making little white bomb drops on my truck bed. Damn was it hell to get clean out. I miss that truck every winter but I don't miss cleaning it up.

    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.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Today (Wed) I saw a another Tropic Green ZX2 but this one had a realy cool white stripe on it. The stripe started out in a point on the hood just in front of the Ford Badge; then flared back into a V, and came down in to a 9 inch wide stripe on the doors. Very nice looking indeed. It also had a a pair of white stripes on the spoiler, with a small thin strip between them. The white on the green looked realy good, and had even me wondering about doing something like this. Probably not given that I hate to ruin the paint work.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    On the way into work this morning I saw a Black ZX2 in flames. I am not to sure what had happened but there was the Fairfax County Fire Department battling the fire.
  • bp6343bp6343 Member Posts: 1
    I bought a new ford zx2 a month a go i had a couple of questions.The first is when i start the car and it comes to idle i here a faint knoking noise of course the dealer could not here it because it was to noisey in the garage,could any one tell me what the noise is the car is automatic. The second question is the gear shift selector has a lot of play in it is this normal.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    On the way into work today I saw a 1998 ZX2, with some rather tacky mods done to it. Picture if you will, huge oversize ground effect fender flares. Undersize tires and wheels with the axels extended out from the body on each side by about 8 inches. Between the wheels and fender flares the car looked to be about 2 foot wider from left to right than my car. They had also attempted to smooth and polish out the Escort ZX2 logo engraved in the rear bumper. This you could tell because what was left of the ZX2 was off center on the Bumper. There was also a little bit of a recess where the word Escort was. The tail pipe had also been replaced by a huge coffee can style one. The paint job wasn't too bad and consisted of white center section fading to the Bright Atlantic BLue on the front and tale sections.

    Over all I would say this qualifies as one of the tackiest ZX2 mods I have seen in recent memory.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    I'm starting to see a lot of cars out here with those mods now. Some [non-permissible content removed] even pulled that setup on a BMW. I never will understand it, unless they just miss the "Hot Wheels" cars mommy bought them when they were children - or maybe they are still children. Not only is the handling going to be goofy, but wear on the front end components will be terrible and of course there is the bonus of the world knowing you are a moron. Damn, I'm sounding like my father.....
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I personally don't see the point of changing the wheels and axels like that imbecile did. I could go along with it if improved handling but if anything it would make handling worse. Especialy in inclement weather such as snow or ice. I guess I am just a bit too practical and old to appreciate the esthetics of this type of mod.

    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.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    The cars in this area that have small wheels sticking 10 inches outside the fenders seem to belong to our Mexican population predominantly. Each culture seems to have it's own concept of "custom" car. Here, we see few Hondas treated that way, but rather 10 year old American cars, even station wagons. I subscribe to the notion that in this country a poor mans car is his art. The automobile has always been the subject of it's owners artistic expression. Some choose to take advantage, others do not and even those who do not modify their ride are still expressing themselves. Their choice of vehicles and reluctance to personalize them speaks volumes. Most are probably not unlike you and I who wish to leave our car pretty much stock, but something must be done to personalize - one or two little things that distinguish our car from it's assembly line siblings. Of course, give me and MR 2 and I will probably leave the factory configuration untouched.

    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.
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