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Comments
-they recommend using only ford brand oil filters because they do not fill with oil when the motor is off which allows more oil to splash around when the engine starts again. Reduces wear.
- stay away from Quaker State oil because it has a wax in it that will gum the engine.
- do not need to use artificial oil but if you do, change the oil at 5000 miles. Recommend 5000 miles oil changes unless you drive it real hard or dusty. Then 3000 miles is Ok. Avoid waiting 10,000 miles. Seems water if a by product of oil breakdown.!?
- do not use high octane gasoline as it will result in a build up of carbon and cause knocking.
-do not use dish detergent to wash the car. That will slowly eat away your clear coat and damage your paint job. Only use car washing detergents designed for clear coats. Also waxes too.
-If you go to a car wash and get the wax treatment it will wax your windows also making it hard to see at night. To treat, use cloth, water and cleanser (ie.Ajax)on the window to remove the wax.
There was some talk about the extended warranty but not much.
Mostly they introduced the service reps and spoke about how to make service appointments. They have a quick oil/lube bay where you do not need to make an appointment, average wait is 20 minutes.
There was also a drawing for some free oil changes, a detailing kit and a real cool watch in a nice oval ford emblem tin box.
They also have not heard about the watch giveaway either.
And they said they have the recall parts in stock and are just waiting for me to make the appointment.
I'm one happy camper. If you are in South Jersey, stop in Holman Ford, they are a quality act.
I am considering a twilight blue zx3 with a dark charcoal interior.
If the zx3 has standard metallic accents, do they look sporty or cheesy? Do they go well with a dark interior?
Frederick
I also get shocked everytime I get out of my car. Out of habit now I tough the door with a body part that is covered in clothing everytime I get out now to keep from getting shocked too bad. I actually got the spark to jump about half an inch off the door to my hand.
This should keep your car discharged...
It happened to me many times with many other cars
Good luck
Igor Parsadanov
You might try rubbing the seats with a dryer sheet, or filling a small spay bottle with liquid fabric softener and lightly misting the seats.
Our old office environment used to cause lots of static shocks between workers and keyboards; more than one keyboard has been burned out because of this. Usually one or two workers had the most problems, and they were the sort to wear polyester stretch slacks, etc.
Aside from the usual solutions of anti-static mouse pads, et cetera, there were aerosol spray bottles of "anti-static" guard to spray on surfaces around the workstation. These were quite expensive. One of our techs discovered that liquid "Downy" fabric softener, like you'd put in the wash, in a pump-action plant mister, worked as well and was alot cheaper. It smells nice too! 8-)
As far as the tire theory, I drive a Passat with leather interior, and experience no static shocks. Lots of people on the Passat boards complain about getting static shocks in their cars with fabric interior. (They also claim their seats are lint magnets.) Their cars have the same stock tires as mine, so I figure it isn't the tires.
In case you're wondering why I'm hanging around the ZX3 conferences, well my daughter bought a ZX3 last month. Just to add more data to the age demographics, she's 20. I'm 40.
--Mike
I get a huge shock every time I get out of my car as well. I touch the door frame to discharge some of the static.
Seats:
Does anyone have a lint problem? I tell you my seats sometimes look like one of those lent screens in a dryer.
Perfomance springs:
Does anyone know if Eibach is making the performance springs for the Focus. Also, does anyone know if Tokico makes shocks for the Focus.
I know that Ford offers these perfomance parts for the Escort ZX2 SR edition.
Update:
My recall problem was taken care of when I took my car in for an oil change about a 3 weeks ago. However, I am sending it back under the knife to check the springs again. I think my rear drivers spring is defective. The drivers rear sits slighty lower and it does seem as sturdy over bumps. As well, does anyone have noisy front struts?
Headlights:
I like the xenon headlights on those expensive luxury cars. Those lights put out an enormous amount of illumination. Is that the type of headlights you guys are buying?
thats all
//clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/fordfocusplace
Igor
I really like the styling of ZX3 so I'm waiting for the ZX3 R, or SVT, or whatever they decide to call it. One of the advantages of being old is you have more disposable income. Oh yea, insurance costs less too.
I also own a Civic HB. It's my big car :> It's a great car but the styling and handling of the ZX3 has it beat by a long shot. At least it's a hatchback and not an SUV. Just ordered vanity plates for the Miata...... NOTNSUV
It's black with a black and frosted strap. Will go well with my silver ZX3.From a marketing standpoint this is a good move by Ford. Since their primary target age is the young, this will make a good impression on them and create repeat customers. I'm 53 and I'm impressed.
Don't miss rear wheel drive. Can drive the pick-up any time I want to. Plus I drive a rear wheel drive everyday. It's got 8 wheels back there and another 8 on the tanker it pulls. All are 11-22.5's including the other two on the steer axle. It's a blast when it's empty on snow covered roads when no one is around, behind or coming at ya. After parking it I get to get into my ZX3 and enjoy driving it home.
Pat
It's good to know there's a class dealer in South Jersey. Just in case. I'm in the area now and then.
Oh, PCleveland -- yes, I had the dual carbs on my Volvo (at least that's my recollection. it was the '70s, man, give me a break!)
Scott
Scott
Will they travel all day ay 80 mph.
Do they handle long steepish hills with out losing speed?
Does passing require a downshift.
Thanks
PCMagazine has rated ten car buying online sites and you can read the review at:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/
Scroll down to the car buying article.
I hope it has the metallic accents that everyone is talking about. I haven't seen the accents on any Zx3s that I've been in.
Best of luck with all of your ZX3s
a 25 yr old hatchback enthusiast in Milw, WI.
I bought mine in november and still havent recieved my watch yet??Also mine is an auto with the mettalic accents.
The engine revs sweetly all the way to 6000 rpm without any hint of strain. I commute for over 2.5 hours each day and it drives great.
How much did you pay for your armrest and are you still able to fold up the rear seat? I was told that the armrest console is longer than the factory console in our ZX3 and that we wouldn't be able to fold up the rear seat? I hope it does work because I really want one.
Thanks
Eric
Rainforest Green ZX3
I have an auto w/ the metallic accents on the door interior and around the radio. Itis actually barelly noticeable with the light grey interior.
chadphx,
Do you have a Ford part number for the console/armrest? Did you have to remove the shifter and e-brake handle? Thank-you
Just thinking.(Always my first mistake)
There is also a small compartment inside the actual armrest it is to small for CDs though.The entire armrest also pivits up and down.Hope this info helps.
Also, still no word on any recall at my dealership. (and I have an awesome dealer, so I don't think they are "keeping it from me").
One more question: if I decide to go with performance tires (that's a big IF), will I have to get an entirely new wheel base, or can I go with something like Pirelli ps6000 without too much change to my ZX3?
Thanks in advance, everyone! Having a car hasn't been this much fun since my '67 Mustang! (the car after/during the Capri years, for those of you who were paying attention to my earlier message)
HEADLIGHTS: Watch out with aftermarket headlight bulbs. Put GE Super Whites on my old car and the heat burned up the connectors. They were suppose to be regular wattage. The connectors suddenly weren't connecting, turned white and partally melted. Had to get new connecters from a junk yard as thru the dealer I had to buy whole light assembly which I didn't need.
Miata - Don't know how we ever got started on that. The Miata is a darn nice piece of Automobile. A class all its own! It's like comparing Apples and Bananas.
Mr Gimble, If my automatic handles the Pennsylvina hills without dropping out of overdrive to much, the manual you want should make you real happy. I was really amazed, especially considering how I heard the auto was slow and sluggish. If the manual is as much better that the auto as they claim, it must really be something else. 70 is about 2900/3000 rpm on my auto. Ride from western NYS to western Virgina was not tiring at all. Very confortable trip.
Pat
I got my watch on Feb 29th (picked up car on Nov 30) I didn't fill out anything or even Ford's customer service survey. I think this is a promotion from their HQ. The dealers seem to know nothing about it. I think it is kind of a "thank you" and not a sales incentive. Also if they do not officialy announce it the can end it @ any time without notice. This makes it simple for them. A promotion like this has the potential of being a logistics nightmare. Some times it is best if the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing.
If the buyer (on the invoice) is a female you will receive a Baby G, if it is a male you will get a G Shock Glide DW-003 (I just bought a Focus Baby G for my girl friend on Ebay for $40.00)
The "sweet spot" on my auto ZX3 is about 80 mph @ about 3150 rpms. We have a 70mph speed limit and you can run 80mph all day long without a problem (ticket). what I mean by sweet spot is kind of like a harmonic balance it is not bogged down or revving wildly the car seems very "happy," smooth & without struggle at this speed. Hard to describe but mechanical people will understand what I am saying.
Scott
I'm also thinking of asking what it would cost to add the Sony options to my Zx3. If you look at the Foci sedan options here at Edmunds.com, you'll see the package. the ZX3 has pretty much everything except the stereo.
If I can part out the armrest, then why not the stereo... Just a thought.
--------------------------------------------------
I got home from my trip and what should I see but the yellow box from Ford. I couldn't believe it, My G-Shock finaly came after all the fuss I made about it. I remember we were all wondering if we were getting the watch to match are car but concluded that we weren't, which is true since my car is pitch black and the watch is gray and red. The cool thing about it is that I'm going with black and red accesories for my car so I was pleasently surprised that the watch is red. Now I have to go and return my new Fossil "Brain" watch that I just bought today, which was dumb of me since a bunch of you had posted that you got your watch this past week. By the way, I a male and my watch is a regular G-shock Glide, not a baby-g, so I was wondering if all of the males got the G-shock and the females got the baby-g? I was just curious and was wondering if any one could confirm?
Pat
i just have to find an aftermarket one and install it. Since i have a silver zx3, that trim would look great in the car. and by the way...i'm still looking for someone to swap there g-shock for mine. I got a light blue one and looking for a black or grey. Sorry baby g's you're excluded in this offer.
Here is the best tire size conversion chart I have found. It is very good.
http://mr2.com/FORMS/tire.html
Forms must be caps everything else lower case
put on your fav list it will come in handy!
Scott