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Ford Escort ZX2

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Comments

  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Though it's been a couple years I have seen that gathering of car enthusists. I was never sure if it was a club or what... They did have a huge assortment of interestings cars. Mostly restored older cars and custom built hot rods and the like. Not very many current cars though and the few that I remember seeing where so decked out as to be almost unrecognizeable.
    Truth be told its not very far from where I live now. Approx 8 miles south of me (I live very close to the Prince William/ Fairfax county line). Depending upon where I move to in the spring I may try and shoot a roll or two down there.

    Though I haven't even realy had time to check out Ricks newsposting. I am sort of wondering if it might be possible to set up a newsgroup regarding the ZX2. Does anybody have any experience with setting up a newsgroup? As hard as it is to believe not all are porn or spamer haunts.

    Unrelated news later this week I need to shoot down town I to do some night shots of the NAtional Christmas Tree in Washington Dc. Every tried taking a tripod and full camera rig on the Metro? Thats brutal!!! I had an idea to do an interior shots of my ZX2 with Christmas lights in the window... Hmmm I will have to work on this idea. I may have a simple but effective shoot.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I noticed on the way home tonight that my car radio won't scan anymore? I assume it's under warranty so when I take it in for the Oil Change Tuesday Am I will ask them about it...
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    Hey Photog,
    I think on your page you said you bought your car from Ted Britt. How's their service shop?
    I go to Sheehy in Springfield, a long way from home. They always seem too busy to really pay attention to each customer. When I asked them to fix the leaking windshield washer nozzles, they completely missed the Technical Service Bulletin. Instead they ordered a reservoir, which has nothing to do with the leak. But that's the way they are. I like to bring the car early in the morning, and wait while they work on it. But it takes them 3-4 hours because they have so many customers. I don't like renting cars just to get to work. I figure there must be a better, less busy shop around.
    There's Leesburg and Sterling Ford which are both closer to where I live. Does anyone have experience with them?
    Thanks,
    rickgonz
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    I was involved in creating a newsgroup on a computer related subject several years ago, but it works similarly if you want to create a recreation related topic.
    rec (recreation) is the general prefix where hobbies, sports, etc fall under.

    Creating a newsgroup in the Usenet service is a long process:

    - announce your intention to create a newsgroup
    with an RFD (request for discussion). The RFD discusses the charter of the group, and whether it is to be moderated or unmoderated.
    this has to be sent to the moderated discussion group of news.announce.newsgroups as well as to other related newsgroups. for example if there is already a rec.cars.ford, you would have to send the RFD to that also.

    - The discussion period ensues for 30 days. People will comment on whether there is any benefit to creating a new newsgroup or whether you should join an existing one.

    - after the mandatory discussion period, a Call for Votes is posted to the same initial groups

    - voting is from 21-31 days

    - a count has to be made, along with the collection of email addresses that voted either pro or con

    - the vote is posted, and a 5 day waiting period starts

    - there has to be 100 more votes Yes over the No votes, or 2/3 of total votes must be Yes, otherwise the newsgroup can not be created

    - If all is well, the newsgroup is created and as if by magic is proliferated to all usenet servers around the world. (Each ISP, school, government agency, company, etc. normally have a Usenet server) It gives the opportunity to
    to all Usenet users to read and post messages.

    - If the vote fails, the next try can be made in six months

    As you can probably guess, I'm not too enthused about creating a newsgroup.

    Discussion forums are a lot simpler to use and set up. All it takes is for a dedicated bulletin board service that is available over the web. It in fact grew out of the dialup bulletin board technology dating back ten years ago. Each BB was accessed by separate dialup scripts, each one required you to have one userid and password each. Now it is much more convenient being available over the web.

    There are some free services available, and others are software that you have to set up on your own internet server which is hosted by an ISP, or one of those giant server farms.

    Examples of forums with relevance to our favorite topic- ZX2 can be found on zx2.com and zx2racing.com As a guest, you can read the posts, but have to register if you want to reply or start your own topic. ZX2.com runs its own server, and zx2racing.com runs from a hosted machine that holds other BBs.

    The simplest discussion tool to set up are mailing lists, also available for free or fee.
    This is just a means to set up a list of addresses that can be addressed with one "alias". One note sent to that alias gets sent to all the email addresses that are on the list.

    This can be also moderated or unmoderated, sometimes it is used just as a broadcast list, where no one can reply but can only receive mail.
    You still need to sign up, and these days it is easy to do so on simple web pages.
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    Using dejanews.com, I found that there is a newsgroup called alt.autos.ford.
    If you use dejanews, you can search through the newsgroup and you will find lots of posted messages about ZX2.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Well I now have a new insurance policy, my apartment is decked out for the holidays and my ZX2 has had it's first oil change. A busy day to say the least.

    As for todays oil change, that went off without a hitch. I mentioned in passing my strangely high gas mileage to the shop and the said "some of the newer ZX2s do get better gas mileage than the older ones". I asked the guy why and said wasn't sure. Given that my car had been on the dealer's lot for all of 24 hours and still had the white plastic all over it; I suppose it's not suprising then. So perhaps there maybe something to Ralex's suggestion that there may have been some minor computer change. Again as long as I keep getting the apparent mileage I am right now I will be happy.

    The guys also managed to fix my radio's scan feature. HE said the button was sticking and he believes, he cleared it up. Whatever he did I tried it on the way home and after a grocery run and it seems to work fine now.


    Rick, I see what you mean about joining newsgroups being a pain in the backside. I honestly had no idea how much work would be involved in it.

    In the interests of promoting the first discusions over at E-groups I will post my comments, and thoughts about Tedd Britt for over there. Similiarly I hope to have the link posted to my web page also by morning.

    Fellow "ZX2ers" at the risk of alienating those who are not privledged (or who are cursed) to live within the Washington Dc Netro Area. I Encourage ALL of you to subscribe to the Forum over there. Granted at the moment it is just myself and Rick at the moment HOWEVER it sure would be nice to see it grow.

    www.egroups.com/subscribe/MidAtlanticZX2

    It looks like this may actually be interesting place to hang out. Contrary to Rick's initial reservations about Spam, it looks as though you can keep your E-mail address private. I do plan on doing a little exploring over there. I fancy there may in fact be a few groups worth while exploring.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Well after a marathon sitting at the computer I have almost finnished repairing my ZX2 pages. There is also refs to the new forum over at E-groups. I also made a couple minor changes to the rivals pages, which was also split up. Check them out: http://sites.netscape.net/photogsweba/ZX2Page.htm

    OH great I glanced at my clock, and realized I have to get up for work now in 4 hours. I suppose now I will be trying to sell Canon FD mount lenses for customers with Contax G series bodies and wondering why they don't fit. Well at least my pages are updated.
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    I don't know where you live but if you happen to be in the D.C. area, read on.

    I found a Used S/R on the web:
    Black 2000 ZX2 S/R with under 2000 miles on it, for under $14,000 at Bob Bell Ford in Glen Burnie, MD.
    There was another one, color Red at Conshocken Ford in PA, for about $15K.
    traderonline.com is how I found them.

    BUT the adverts did not say they were S/Rs, I relied on the pictures. Saw the Red S/R decal on the doors.

    Happy shopping!
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    My computer is displaying the new Townhall Format and I DON'T LIKE IT ALL!!! VERY VERY CONFUSING!!! I went looking for my favourite group which is under my favourites list and it won't let me access directly anymore. I have to go through several other screens worth of topics just to get to the one I want.

    Minor note of personal history. My Car officialy made it 5001 miles today. The last ZX2 I owned made it upto 4998 before that twit pulled off the shoulder; and then I discovered what happens to a ZX2 in a very high speed impact. She dies and saves the driver..
  • boltmom4boltmom4 Member Posts: 15
    I have been at both postings. You are the only one on this one they are up to 679 on the other old listing. Just thought you might like to know. They just changed me from Dellnet to Dellnet MSN so I get lost now too
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    Boltmom, I don't know what you mean.
    First time I saw the new improved version, it had an announcement from the moderator as to the old link if we wanted to see it.
    Now I can't even find that note. So I don't have the address of the old thread. How do you get there?
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    I was under the impression the old board was gone. I sure can't get there. Acutally this was seems ok and whatever problems remain will be addressed soon. Shifty is the kind of guy that stays on top of things.
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I use MS Explorer 5.5 and access the internet pretty raw. Is in with none of the usual portals and comunities used By AOL, Mindspring, MSN and others. My problem is I can't save this groups specific address to my favourites list. Before I could save pretty much any group to the list.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Theres your problem Andrew, Gatesware. I use Netscape 4.7 and bookmarking this page works fine. I have heard that Netscape 6 is junk though. I think AOL bought it up and trashed it. Alternatively, you might try Beonex 6. It's based on Communicator and doesn't have the commercial pollution of Netscape 6.
  • boltmom4boltmom4 Member Posts: 15
    Well I can get to both listings through my favorite list. There are 679 listings on the old one, more talk about mileage at the end, so they must not have sent it all to the new one when they switched. I just got switched to MSN explorer from the old MS explorer. I miss the window you can pull down to go where you were before. It will type in if you start the right letters but it won't show the last 15 or so places you have been. That was the way I always got here, I usually check every day or so to see what is happening. Now I have to save everything to my favorites. I don't like as well but since they are giving me a free year of internet instead of charging me $15.95 a month I won't complain till next year when they start charging me $21.95 a month. I got a whole year of dellnet for $50 when I bought my computer so it hasn't been that expensive so far.
  • cbriscoecbriscoe Member Posts: 1
    The mileage problem... today I drove it until it was on I, I filled it
    up and it did shut off just a ad over 10 gallons....hmmm..anyways, I
    went ahead and filled it ail the gas wouldn't go down any more. That put the 12.8 gallons in it, it's suppose to hold... so we will see...
    I will keep in touch and thanks for the pointers so far...
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I have been trying to post here for the past week without success.
    The problem is the damned stupid new and improved Software only gives us 10 minutes to post a reply. Before it kicks us out..
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Now that I know the problem I shall try and type faster.
    The other day I had my first taste of snow in the ZX2 and I am impressed by it. Granted we only had a couple of inches but the snow the car handled pretty well. In one instance a certain hill of some infamey around here whick leaves everyone spinning their tires on was handled quite easily in First Gear. One benefit I suppose to the super low first gear..

    In the Meantime,

    MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

    Andrew
  • 2000zx2guy2000zx2guy Member Posts: 15
    Happy Holidays to All!
    from
    The 2000zx2guy!
  • floridianfloridian Member Posts: 219
    How supposidly intelligent "experts" could totally screw-up our site is beyond me. What are you morons at Edmunds thinking?? "If it ain't broke don't fix it" or at least replace it with something that works and looks like someone spent more than five minutes concocting it. I know, I know, all that blather about WE, etc. No excuses.You folks should know better !! Shame on you !

    Floridian, over & out !
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    I see no evidence that this site is improving.....maybe it's time to move on....good luck to you all and happy holidays. It's been fun.

    R Alexander
    ralex
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    It seems Edmunds is the victim of poor planning and anticipation. I feel for them, but their lack of candor across the boards is almost insulting. Why not post a mass message to every forum state the problems and the current posting limitations? People would be a lot more understanding if they realized the Edmunds is having problems. Instead we have to wallow and swear until we find own answers.

    Bad Planning can be forgiven, ineptitude can even be forgiven. However leaving people without clear simple explanations is ridiculous, and insulting.
  • boltmom4boltmom4 Member Posts: 15
    I don't seem to have trouble posting but then I don't have much to contribute. My son's car is do real well in the snow too. We have had so much snow I am already tired of it. We have had over 14 inches when we usually only have 25 inches all year. Again Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    About the posting problems - this is a transient issue that has not been reproducible on demand. You can imagine how difficult that makes it to diagnose and correct. I am assured that the WebCrossing folks are working on this very serious issue full time.

    It is affecting a lot - but apparently not all - of our members. For me, it seems to intensify on certain boards, yet on other boards I don't have the problem. Others are complaining on the boards that don't kick me out, though, so it doesn't seem like it is specifically board related.

    Some of you do not seem to want to hear the fact that there was absolutely no choice in leaving Well Engaged. However, that is a fact. Had we stuck with WE, there would be no more Town Hall at all as of next week.

    photog0264, we have not identified any "posting limitations" that we can explain to anyone. I posted freely with no problems whatsover for over two hours on one board a few days ago. Yet I come to this one, read one discussion, try to make one post in another topic, and I am kicked out. There really is not a "ten minute" limitation, although I certainly understand why you might conclude that.

    Believe me, once the problem is identified, there won't be a need to post a message such as you suggest, because identifying it will create a fix. It ain't s'posed to be this way!! :-)

    Meanwhile, to protect your post, I highly recommend selecting and copying it prior to hitting the "post" button. Then, if you are thrown back to the welcome page when you do post, use the links (not the browser's back button) to find your way back to your topic. You should then be able to post successfully - this has 100% success rate for me.

    Sometimes when you post, the topic itself simply redisplays but your post is not there. In this case, check to see that the "Welcome" message in the upper left has your name in it - if so, you should be able to paste your message back in the box and successfully post. If the message says instead that you need to login, use the Town Hall link in the upper left to return to the Welcome page, and follow the links back.

    (And if you tried a post unsuccessfully without remembering to copy your message, you can then use your browser's back button to go back and copy it. After that, though, you MUST use the links as I described above to get reconnected to WebCrossing.)

    Let me assure you, this is as much - if not more - of a pain for your hosts here as it is for you, and everyone is doing everything possible to get it resolved.

    Meanwhile, thanks to all of you for hanging in here. These issues will be resolved, and when they are, Town Hall will be a great place to be, far better than on the old, crumbling Well Engaged platform. Honest!!

    Happy Holidays to everyone.

    Pat/Roving Host
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Pat,

    I have been having difficulty finding specific groups. As a remedy, I selected 'alphabetical order' in my prefferences. It didn't make any difference. The groups were not listed alphabetically. A few minutes ago I wrote you a nice post expressing my appreciation for your info on the transition and I posted it. When I hit post, I was taken back to "log in" and there I was told I did not need to log in again. The post was lost. For now, I'm going back to 'preferences' and see if I can find something there that will organize the goups in some navigable order and trust that the powers that be will eventually resolve the posting issues. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

    Ralex
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Problem solved. Everything in alphabetical order now. Operator error this end. Sometimes I just pull my head out long enough to put my foot in my mouth.

    ralex
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    I'm glad the topic sort issue is resolved for you.

    In my post above, I was specifically trying to offer a work around to the other problem you experienced (posting and ending up at the login page losing the post), as well as trying to explain it.

    Is it too confusing, is there a way I can clarify what I wrote? If you can follow what I was saying, I think it will help you to deal with the problem while we are waiting for a fix. But if I need to clarify anything, please let me know. It was a terribly long post! ;-)

    Pat/Roving Host
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    I will read a post in Edmunds, log out then compose my reply to the post in my Outlook, then log back into Edmunds and paste my reply back into it. Granted Edmunds didn't seem to have a choice in the matter, but the designers of this software should have tied to chair and forced access several forums and post test messages. IT realy is frustrating.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    all of us at edmunds are at least equally as frustrated as you are. Probably more so!

    There are some things that just do NOT appear until you go live, no matter how much testing you do. This getting kicked out problem is one of those.

    It is my understanding that the folks responsible for fixing this are INDEED tied to their chairs trying to fix this.

    Thanks for sharing your solution. And THANKS for hanging in here with us.

    :-)

    Pat/Roving Host
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Everything fine now, Pat. Tks. Your post was clear and logical. My problems were mostly of my own making.

    ralex
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    My well meaning parents got me "The Solutions Lock De-Icer" as an XMAS Stocking Stuffer. A visiting friend got the great idea to test it
    out. Forgetting that I have a Keyless Entry. He took a squirt gun reserved for misbehaving kittens, and shot the lock of my car with
    water hoping it would freeze. Yes it froze the lock solid, however when he went to insert the heating wand into the lock (no rude jokes
    please). It tripped the alarm on my car. What's more it wouldn't shut off till I came out and started the engine. Everything seems okay now and the alarms, locks and electrical system seem fine. However a quick phone call to Ford suggested that between the water and the foreign object insertion (again no rude jokes), he could have shorted out my electrical system. I honestly had no idea he was going to do what he did. He said he was going outside for a smoke, the next thing I know I hear the car alarm blaring. Luckily for both of us everything is fine now though.

    Talk about near misses and Christmas Comedy; you should have seen the look on face when he had to fess up to his error...
  • floridianfloridian Member Posts: 219
    ALERT: All ZX2 fans. Just was surfing around in the "Blue Oval News" site (UNofficial info site for ALL things Ford)They say Ford plans to dump the 2.0 vtec engine in Jan. 2001 (NEXT month for god's sake ??)as well as the ZX2 and Escort cars themselves (the Escort only being sold to rental operations anyway) CRAP !! I have finally decided to get a ZX2 and NOW they are going to flush it down the dumper !! It seems that they have a new 2.3 vtec engine in the wings and that will be the new Focus motor soon.

    I guess if I really want one I'd better do it this weekend while they still have some cars and the cash incentive is up to $1500. I also heard that the Mexico plant is shut down due to the potential blow up of a nearby volcano. What a bummer.

    Floridian
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Floridian's tale is very believable. Tedd Britt Ford where I got my ZX2 from appears to have dropped the ZX2 completely. I have been by there lot 3 times in the past week or so and I haven't seen a single ZX2 anywhere on the lot. I think battlefield Ford In Manassas Virginia may have a couple left, but as near as I can tell thats it for New ZX2s in Northern Virginia.

    I think we shall all have to rededicating ourselfs to making sure the ZX2 becomes a classic. As it looks as though production for our favourite car is finally at an end. I suspect that the volcano in Mexico may have just hurried things along a little sooner.

    Tis ashame to say the last.
  • floridianfloridian Member Posts: 219
    photog: Scarcity may indeed put our beloved "Z's" into the desirable catagory. Much as the Honda Civic hatchbacks have become the "pet" of the "tuner" crowd mabe the ZX2 will become one as well. I have procrastinated long enough and WILL be getting my "toy" before next week is over. There semms to be plenty of cars here in Florida and color/equip. choices very good. I have a firm quote for $100 UNDER invoice and + $1500 cash back as well. That's about as good as it's gonna get I guess.

    Ford must be planning to continue production for at least a little while longer (volcano erupting not withstanding) as "Blue Oval News" stated this morning that they will be increasing prices on all ZX2's built after 12-22-2000 by $95.00. No big deal to me tho as any car I get next week will not be affected by that.

    Wish me luck as I go forth to "joust" with the "pond scum" dealers !! LOL

    Floridian
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Just curious....are you going after an S/R?
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    The more I drive my ZX2 the more I love it. Even if I have the distinction of having the most expensive one on the east coast. My new insurance company is suddenly claiming I didn't mention my one speeding ticket in the past 5 years and has chosen to up my rates from the $189per month to $288 month. This is inspite of the lengthy discussion had with the girl regarding my driving record. She seemed as amazed I was that in the space of one year, I could have had so much go wrong regarding a car. Somehow I think I will be looking at some of the other offers I have had on the table for insurance. Most of those where around $250.

    Tell you what though pray for that twit who caused this daisy chain of events. If ever I encountered him again I will have to be locked up. All told my descion to buy a zx2 has now cost me upwards of now $17,000. My coworkers can't understand why I am so protective of my car. Can you?
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    floridian: those numbers sound really good.
    Take care they don't suddenly slap you with a 12% APR on the loan which is how they will try to make a profit on your car.

    About the 2.0L Zetec engine. It's also currently manufactured in Europe at 1.8L which powers cars like the Puma. The 2.3L engine is planned by Ford to be California ULEV rated. The current 2.0L engine would fail that category.

    As for killing off the ZX2, Ford has been known to do stranger things than that. Like killing off the Thunderbird coupe. And not selling the 2001 Mondeo in the US because it's a better car than the Taurus and with its larger size (than previous Mondeo/Contour)would compete directly with Taurus.

    By the way, the ZX2 has suffered only one safety recall - on some S/Rs . Apparently the leather shift knob did not have the gear shift diagram on it. So the correction mandated by the government was to put a small sticker diagram on the console where it would be visible.

    The Focus has had three recalls in one year, including one recall that would correct the rear wheels falling off!
  • floridianfloridian Member Posts: 219
    ralex2: I waited too long for a S/R they are as scarce as hen's teeth, even used and of course no 2001's anyway. I will just have to be content with a regular ZX and mabe do a little "tweek" here and there. I did drive one last year and it did handle a little better than my son's stocker 1999 but it did not seem to be any faster 0-60 than his, go figure. It was brand new tho and could be a little faster when broken in. The only thing done to his is a K&N intake, modified mass air flow/temp sensor circuit, pirelli rubber and a Hurst shifter.

    rickgonz: No, the dealer knows that I can get 7% money set up but with my year-end "Bonus" I think I will just pay cash and be done with it.

    Floridian
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    When I drove the s/r, I didn't fell it eshibited anymore power than my regular Z, but like you, I assumed it was because it was still tight. I do think the "Superchip" may well have a better program in it than the S/R chip. With a chip and a few suspension mods, the regular Z ought to be functionally equivalent to the S/R. The only thin that irritates me is the clutch. I definitely like the S/R's Centerforce clutch, but I'm not going to pay out the nose to install one - unless the stock unit dies an untimely death.
  • floridianfloridian Member Posts: 219
    ralex2: It may not be for everyone to attempt but my son runs his ZX in "showroom stock" SCCA events and has had occasion to replace the clutch many times (unfortunately)He and "wrench head" buddy can do it in about 2 hours !! he does not use the Centerforce replacement but got them from a co. in Daytona Beach. Those 6000 RPM launches and speedshifting do take their toll tho. I think they run about $150.00 each, exchange plus shipping.

    Floridian
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Thanks for the info Floridian. I may rethink the clutch.
  • ddoggddogg Member Posts: 13
    Hello all, hope your holidays were good.

    I'm on the verge of replacing my stock Goodyear Eagle GA 185/65 r14 tires with GoodYear All American 195/60 r14s.

    1. Would this slight drop in ride height affect speedo readings/odo readings drastically?
    2. Will these tires fit on the stock 14" rims?

    Also, where can I find a K&N air filter for my car?? I live in Ontario, Canada.

    TIA
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Ddogg,

    The difference in those two tires would be just over 3 mm, or maybe 1/8th of an inch tops. You will never notice any difference. The 195s will fit your stock rims. As for the K&N, I wouldn't waste my money unless you live in an unusually dusty area and paper filter replacement is expensive.
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    ddogg:
    Your buddies in Ontario would know local sources for parts: http://members.tripod.com/fast_wheels/teamzx2/teamzx2.html

    My understanding is that the K&N filter and others like it may add 1-3hp. If you want more hp on top of that (claims of up to +10hp), you may want a cold air intake which will cost up to US$250 depending on the brand.
  • freddy_kfreddy_k Member Posts: 376
    You can grab a K&N filter at Canadian Tire, but you may have to order it for this car, I doubt they have it in stock.
  • rickgonzrickgonz Member Posts: 87
    Jay (dsltech1@verizon.net) is organizing a meet in Richmond on Sat. 27 Jan. More details to follow.
    He is trying to get stickers made "TeamZX2 Midatlantic" in time for the meet.

    Might be a pleasant drive down, depending on the weather.
    rick
  • stevealtstevealt Member Posts: 1
    Bought my wife a new 1999 ZX2. Liked it enough when I test drove it I almost got myself one. I hadn't driven the car for about a year but did for a week over the holidays. It has an automatic transmission and about 9000 miles on it. First, to me it should idle better than it does. It isn't bad. But usually my cars this new have idled smooth to the point that you almost can't tell they're running. Our Tauras(43,000 miles) and Cavalier ( 26,000 miles) are both that smooth. Next I found the car irritating to drive at highway speeds. At 50mph and above it seems very sensitive to shifting with little change in pedal movement. If the speed varies 1-2 mph it seems to shift. There is a frequent couple hundred rpm change with a corresponding downshift and upshift. While testing I noticed if I take my foot off the pedal then lightly put it back, I'll get the downshift even if the speed has not dropped off at all. I've never seen this sensitivity on another car. I took it in to be serviced, they loaded a new program, but the mechanic indicated he didn't see anything wrong. Does this sound like a typical ZX2?
  • floridianfloridian Member Posts: 219
    stevealt: the things you mention are typical of all the ZX's i've driven. The idle which I would describe as "lumpy" is a bad feature of the 2.0 vtech engine as installed in the ZX2. In fact it is the one thing that has kept me from buying one for myself. It seems to be more noticable in A/T equipped cars. If you shift to neutral at idle you'll notice a reduction in the vibration coming thru the steering wheel. That does not seem to be the case with that engine when installed in the Focus. Very smooth at idle. Mabe better engine mounts ? The RPM shift you notice is the torque converter "unlocking". it is not actually downshifting but allows to RPM to rise slightly due to normal slippage of the converer while not in lock-up mode. Most 4 cyl engines are a little cobby at idle tho so the ZX2 is not any diferent in that regard.

    Floridian
  • photog0264photog0264 Member Posts: 314
    Sorry to have dropped quiet for so long. But I have been behind the scenes redesigning and rebuilding my web pages. I am also about to relocate them to another server. So as the old saying goes I have been rather busy overlate. I haven't released anything yet but in the coming weeks there will be a new home and redesigned version.

    At any rate I have a strange a relatively minor wear problem. The rubber pad on my break pedal has worn down to the bare metal on the edges. I never thought I was particular heavy on my brakes but this is strange. On closer inspection I also noticed that my clutch pedal was showing simliar signs of wear though not as badly. Is this normal? Is it under warranty? The car is barely 6 months old yet, on my Acura Integra I was well over 150k before the pads on the peddles wore down. Very minor, but rather strange wouldn't you say? The accelerator peddle only shows a slight wearing.
  • ralex2ralex2 Member Posts: 287
    Andrew, take your cleats off before you get in the car. Mine did not wear that badly, but toward the end of the first year, I hung some aftermarket pedal covers on it to change the geometry of the throttle and brake - easier heel & toe than stock. You may want to try that. Metal pedal covers are available everywhere these days and installation takes 10 minutes.

    Looking forward to your reworked web page
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