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...you're right.. After my last post I decided to go out and inspect it... it does look like it is lower than other foci.. maybe it is just the color?, but i'll let you be the judge
Just a thought. The ZX3 has "sequential electronic fuel-injection", while the Civic has "multi-port fuel-injection". I really don't know what the difference is. I bet SB does! Could these different systems have any effect on gas mileage?
after consulting my 2001 product brochure, whith a wonderful pic of a Egg Yolk Yellow ZX3 I can confirm the 16" wheels are those 16" wheels on the Kona. These will also be the same 16" wheels on a ZTS sedan
also, i agree with other another poster in saying beauty is in the eye of a beholder. I would rather have the 15" 5 spoke over the "thick" 6 spoke design of the 16". but on the other hand if i had the choice of wheels i prefer the wheels on a euro spec focus that has some 8 spoke wheels (saw them on a pic of a yellow 4 door ZX3- my new dream!)
brett- you sure it wasnt a heavy-duty clothes line. that was our first and only dryer for many years. seriously,that is very cool that you were abled to fit it.cape may+back again this past sat.again 28.5 mpg.air on all the way.you did mention last that legal speed varies from 60 to 80 mph didnt you?
When that picture was taken, wasn't your Z parked on the slight up-hill,so front was higher than rear and the balance(weight) of the body was shifted toward the rear? Is there any logic here?
Without getting too technical, virtually all fuel injection in cars today is "electronic", as opposed to mechanical. If you have more than one injector (usually one per cylinder, but some high performance cars have two), you now have "multi-point injection" - the alternative being a single main injector, like the early throttle-body injector systems on GM cars (kinda like replacing one carburetor with one big injector). Current state-of-the-art injection systems are all "sequential multi-point injection" systems, in that only the cylinder that is ready for a squirt of fuel gets it; a non-sequential system (like mid-80's BMW Bosch Motronic) had injectors that pulsed in pairs, usually, instead of one at a time. This approach wastes a small amount of fuel, so has been replaced by sequential injection in almost every application you will encounter.
Ask Pat about diesel injection systems - I'm not much of an oil burner fan
hey brett, That's great that you fit the dryer in your hatch. I had to pick up my computer monitor from fedex the other day and just put down the the seat and the 60% seat back and I was on my way home. I would always have so much trouble with my old car trying every which way to get things in. That is why I was sure to buy a hatch this time. Ironicly I was looking at the Lanos, as mentioned above, but they would not approve me for financing. Which leads me to belive that it was devine intervention. I liked the ZX3 so much better but thought that I could only afford the Lanos. To my suprise the Zx3 was in my price range it was a much, much better car than the lanos and I got the credit approval. I became a happy Focus 3 door hatchback owner on January 7th 2000, little did I know that it would be 4 months before i could drive it again, but thats old news.
Silver bullet, I have another question. I hear here and there that the NA Focus fuel system doesn't have a fuel return line. Are you aware of pro/cons of this system if any?
Some items of note. On my vacation, I was forced to drive a '95 Corolla and a '96 Saturn. and was interested how different these cars in the ZX3's "class" would feel. Granted, they're a few years old, but...
Man did they feel like econo-boxes. One thing I noticed in particular was body roll in cornering. So I came back and jumped in my baby ad went for a long drive. What I noticed was this. In the other cars, the body roll sensation was one of the high side of the car lifting. While the ZX3 gets body roll due to its high stance, the sensation is different. It's more one of the low side of the car planting itself. A much more stable feeling.
What a dream to be back in my car. I was actually telling people that I MISSED my car. Am I nuts? Does any of this make any sense? _______
By the way, njzx3, congrats...I know the wait was killing you.
Also, Still no abnormal dieseling. I do get a diesel sound fro the transaxle when I'm in too high of a gear for my speed. I consider this normal.
Also...I don't get a hesitation. Of course I'm never in the 1800-2000 rpm range unless I'm zipping by it in first... But I have tried to re-create this to no avail.
I need to do a bit of snooping on the service CD to answer your question. Most systems I'm familiar with (mainly Bosch) use an electric fuel pump to deliver fuel to the fuel rail, which is basically a tube to which the injectors attach. The rail acts like a reservoir, and a pressure regulator of some sort keeps the fuel pressure in the rail constant - excess fuel supplied by the pump is bled off and sent back to the tank, hence you have a circulating fuel system. The frequency and duration of the pulsation of each injector is determined by the control unit, and this determines the quantity of fuel injected, since the pressure is constant. I'm not quite sure how a non-return system would work to maintain constant pressure. Ditto for the pros and cons of each system.
I'm leaning toward a ZX-3 because it's a hatch and I've had great luck with Fords but I know I'd be unhappy if I did not do slightly better than the EPA estimates, as I've done on every car/truck I've owned since these estimates have been used. I've skanned these postings and can recall only 1 poster doing better; most do worse & only some have an explanation (air, lead foot, etc.) Perhaps if I have twin with a 5-speed, he could report his mpg: I'm never in a hurry, shift quickly but don't lug the engine, leave as much room behind the guy in front as traffic allows, cruise 60+ usually unless caught in a pack going faster. Thanks. For those interested, the Echo (appliance that it may be) seems more consistent; I don't see any postings in that topic of very low mpg.
yes, you are correct about my Z being parked at a slight incline in the pictures, but it looks exactly the same when parked level... I'm pretty sure that it is just the dark blue blending w/ the grey/black wheel wells that make it look lowered... bet hey... if in fact it is lower than normal... thats just one less thing i need to buy
I'll quote from the factory service CD: "The Focus is equipped with electronic multiport fuel injection that is supplied by a new electronic returnless fuel system. The powertrain control module (PCM) receives pressure information from a fuel pressure sensor mounted on the fuel injection rail. The PCM is able to maintain constant fuel pressure by varying the fuel pump module output. This is accomplished by increasing or decreasing the voltage supplied to the fuel pump module. The returnless fuel system offers improved fuel economy, lower fuel temperatures, and decreased fuel vapor in the fuel tank."
now that you mention them,i can recall they were infamous for clogging-up.cars would just stall-out right on the road with no warning.those injectors brought about all the injector cleaning system products.i dont believe it is likely it would happen with the type employed today.however,i guess anything is possible.
kengilbert- given the parameters you laid out,i dont think you would have any problem surpassing the epa estimates.you are right,the echo is all about fuel economy.if you consider and weigh all the other zx3 strengths over the echo,fuel economy would not be a major issue.this is one comparison where a ford product out performs a toyota on many levels.give the nod on fuel economy to toyota. it all comes down of course to what you are after. best of luck in your search.
With the success of the PT Cruiser and the VW Golf/GTI 5 door, does anyone think we could talk Ford into bringing over the ZX5 [my name for the 4 door hatch] that can be had over in Europe. I'll take mine with the 16 inch wheels from the SVT Contour. Has anyone else noticed that the ZX3 could really use a 6 speed tranny?? My best bud's Golf has a shorter 5th gear than my Focus and can pull better when hitting the go pedal, but the car sounds buzzy when cruising at 70 mph. I think the Focus should have the 5th gear of the Golf [1:.85] an have it's 5th [1:.77] be a sixth/overdrive.
on the 5 door Z... I have 3 years left to pay off my 3 door... and i plan on havin it for some time after that... it's definately cool that Ford is recognizing that Hatches are definately a growing market here in the US.
Im pretty sure the 5 door hatch will be 2002-2003. I like it, but I still think those crappy plastic strippings on the bottom and along the door need to be painted to give the car a better look... If you dont believe me, there are some cars to use for reference, like a Civic Si vs. a DX (dx has plastic, Si doesnt) or the Suburu Legacy (non-outback) Sedan lower models vs. the GT/Limited... When you paint the whole car, it just looks so much better (The weight/price decrease just isnt worth it).
About the 2001/Kona Wheels... Ive heard alot of dislike towards them, but they are about 2 inches wider than the standard ones, and have a little less profile. Which will increase the cars handling and stability (when i test drove a kona, i didnt notice much body roll) and ive heard coments from consumers and other reviews that the tires need a little more width anyway... So thats a good thing. But the look IS in the eye of the beholder of couse for the rims, and I still have to say that the standard ones just look so darn cheep to me. If they were 6 spoke instead of 5, that seperation in the spokes would look more natural and less spread out like it is. The kona ones arent perfect, but wait til you see a black or twilight blue Zx3 with 'em... then post up what you think
In response to the guy who is considering a Focus if he can get better than the posted mpg. Don't bet on it. I am sick of my gas mileage. It actually improved to 21.9 this tank. Ha. That is a 50/50 mix of city/hwy and I drive conservatively. It is a definite gamble from the posts throughout this topic and a "gamble" at best. If you want a sure thing on mpg do NOT go with the focus. I love my car in every other way, but am disgusted by the mileage. Sickeningly enough as my husband drives more hwy miles he is actually getting BETTER mpg with an SUV, his last tank being right at the 22 mpg mark. Okay, I'll shut up about it already, if you want consistency look elsewhere.
Re: tires. I have the Kona, so if you tell me where to look, I will be more than happy to post the size/specs of the tires. I assume it is printed on the tire somewhere????
Yes, I've very positive it was the whole dryer and not just the clothes line, LOL. Amazing, isn't it?
You're funny - 60 to 80 - legal speed limit. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket: the speeding ticket that is! How was Cape May. I love it down there, it's so pretty. Went running at the crack of dawn, barefoot, on the beach down there a couple years ago for MILES. It was extremely liberating (although my calves ACHED the next day!).
OK, enough of that. My mileage still sucks too. My newest mpg is 19, which is a 2 mpg improvement. Would you call that progress or just less airconditioning??? I say the latter.
BUT, even with the really sucky gas mileage I would still recommend this car to anyone. I really haven't had serious problems with it. I've had the sending unit replaced (like so many have)and the recall item was done. That's it as far as things go that Ford is responsible for. I snapped my antenna off in May, but that was my fault. $140 dollars for a new antenna!! I was backing out of my garage and the rope loop was hanging down and I managed to thread my antenna perfectly through the loop and kept backing up and snapped it off. I didn't realize it until it rolled down my windshield. I'm sure I couldn't do it again on a bet for a million dollars. We've since cut the loop.
I just wanted to let everyone here know that this post place is great and everyone's feedback is really helping me acquire much information about the Focus. I should be receiving my own sometime in October, (Argg! the waiting game!)Though, I'm looking foward to adding my own first hand comments:-) I was torn between the zinc yellow and Malibu blue- and well, I've had my share of speeding tickets and decided to stay away from a loud color. I'm a New Jerseyian and boy those cops can be ruthless! My sentiments about the Parkway! I have to travel it back and forth everyday in the worst areas to go to Kean U. But it sure keps me on my toes! Jen
I'll take a wheel off and check it out tonight or tomorrow and let you guys know what I find. I really do know the difference between a wheel and tire, just wasn't paying attention, sorry for the mix-up. Anyway we'll see what the deal is....
I called the NHTSA today. I wanted to find out how many days Ford has to provide a remedy and schedule for the recall for the Focus that was posted on the NHTSA database early last week.
The representative at the NHTSA told me that they give a manufacturer 60-90 days to come up with a remedy and schedule.
On my first tank mpg was 24.8. Now at almost 5000 miles I am getting between 26 and 30 mostly highway driving at 80+ mph. (I-10 legal limit is 75mph). For info I have the automatic and AC on %100 of the time. My only mod is the K&N air filter at about 500 miles.
0 problems to date.
Love my Z.
Anyone know of any info on when the Focus R is coming to the U.S.? Hopefully in 2002. I'll be the first in line. I saw that in Europe they have a Focus 220R. Picture your ZX3 with better wheels, tires, brakes, and 220 horsepower!! And all for probably no more than $20,000 in the U.S.
I believe that my idle is loud on my zx-3 as I have been endlessly describing to my fellow owners. I was wondering if people could take the time and describe the sound of their idle after their car has been well warmed up.
For example:
After driving home from work or the mall (15 minutes minimum):
1. Turn off radio 2. Turn off air conditioner 3. Turn off fan 4. Allow the engine to just idle 5. Listen to the sound 6. Write a brief description of what you hear
This would help me very much. This will help me know that my noise is either normal or abnormal. I can then share the info with the tech at Ford. I feel I hear at times a rattle sound and fairly loud engine noise. I believe earlier, the engine was very quiet.
I turned off everything and listened to my idle while I was stopped at a light today im just over 3200 miles and it is very quiet, I believe that ford even fixed the quiet ticking that I was hearing for a while coming from the front, they said it was a clip or some thing that came lose. I was complaining about my MPG but I'm at the half mark and have gone 95 miles, is this good or bad?
My MPG hasn't been stellar (or so I thought) but seems to be better than a lot. Usually anywhere from 170-190 to 200 miles once when the tank shows half.
I average about 30 MPG during the week with my commute so its about 80% highway 20% city and A/C on 75% of time. That's with some fast starts and erractic speeding up to 80 at times (depending how late I am But I AM easy on the brakes (nothing to do with MPG but I just want y'all to know that is not why the other probs occur
The best I got was 36 MPG PURE highway miles easy on the A/C.
I will have 7,000 miles at the end of the day today after commute home.
On another note I was wondering about the tank capacity. What does it mean in the manual when it says if the gas light goes on and you keep driving you are going into the reserve and when you fill up the number of gallons will be off or something? I dont know its been awhile since I read it in the manual and I saw them discussing in the other Focus forum, but still didnt know what the heck they were talking about.
konagirl-- I think that you're mileage is abnormal. Give it another 1000 or so and see what happens. After that, I'd insist on a full diagnostic eval from the dealer. I still say that if you're looking for pure economy, however, this isn't the car...
Comments
Http://members.xoom.com/utcobol/index.html
you may need to hit refresh... the page seems to be havin trouble loading today
...you're right.. After my last post I decided to go out and inspect it... it does look like it is lower than other foci.. maybe it is just the color?, but i'll let you be the judge
NJ
pcleveland almost got me lost on that one.
also, i agree with other another poster in saying beauty is in the eye of a beholder. I would rather have the 15" 5 spoke over the "thick" 6 spoke design of the 16". but on the other hand if i had the choice of wheels i prefer the wheels on a euro spec focus that has some 8 spoke wheels (saw them on a pic of a yellow 4 door ZX3- my new dream!)
I'm big on getting people to do their research. Lots of info way back there in cyberspace.
Pat
Thank you for the tip, man.
that was our first and only dryer for many years.
seriously,that is very cool that you were abled to fit it.cape may+back again this past sat.again 28.5
mpg.air on all the way.you did mention last that
legal speed varies from 60 to 80 mph didnt you?
That link was a joke, literally
Is there any logic here?
Ask Pat about diesel injection systems - I'm not much of an oil burner fan
That's great that you fit the dryer in your hatch.
I had to pick up my computer monitor from fedex the other day and just put down the the seat and the 60% seat back and I was on my way home. I would always have so much trouble with my old car trying every which way to get things in. That is why I was sure to buy a hatch this time. Ironicly I was looking at the Lanos, as mentioned above, but they would not approve me for financing. Which leads me to belive that it was devine intervention. I liked the ZX3 so much better but thought that I could only afford the Lanos. To my suprise the Zx3 was in my price range it was a much, much better car than the lanos and I got the credit approval. I became a happy Focus 3 door hatchback owner on January 7th 2000, little did I know that it would be 4 months before i could drive it again, but thats old news.
Here is a link.
According to this page Seq Fuel Injection is a type of the MPFI.
So which one Honda has.
PFI or SFI?
I'm puzzled.
http://www.acdelco.com/parts/tech/1520d.htm
Sorry, silver bullet.
Didn't read post.
I have another question.
I hear here and there that the NA Focus fuel system doesn't have a fuel return line.
Are you aware of pro/cons of this system if any?
Some items of note. On my vacation, I was forced to drive a '95 Corolla and a '96 Saturn. and was interested how different these cars in the ZX3's "class" would feel. Granted, they're a few years old, but...
Man did they feel like econo-boxes. One thing I noticed in particular was body roll in cornering. So I came back and jumped in my baby ad went for a long drive. What I noticed was this. In the other cars, the body roll sensation was one of the high side of the car lifting. While the ZX3 gets body roll due to its high stance, the sensation is different. It's more one of the low side of the car planting itself. A much more stable feeling.
What a dream to be back in my car. I was actually telling people that I MISSED my car. Am I nuts? Does any of this make any sense?
_______
By the way, njzx3, congrats...I know the wait was killing you.
Also, Still no abnormal dieseling. I do get a diesel sound fro the transaxle when I'm in too high of a gear for my speed. I consider this normal.
Also...I don't get a hesitation. Of course I'm never in the 1800-2000 rpm range unless I'm zipping by it in first... But I have tried to re-create this to no avail.
Like Jimmy noted a few pages back, I don't consider this too bad considering I like to accelerate, and it is a rev-happy, 16-valve engine.
The variation among drivers is odd. I think I drive my car in the least fuel-efficient manner, and I get better than some.
I never considered this an "economy" car, and I think that 25-26 total MPG is fine.
NJ
So now we both learned something today
Thanks.
right on the road with no warning.those injectors
brought about all the injector cleaning system
products.i dont believe it is likely it would happen with the type employed today.however,i guess
anything is possible.
dont think you would have any problem surpassing
the epa estimates.you are right,the echo is all
about fuel economy.if you consider and weigh all
the other zx3 strengths over the echo,fuel economy
would not be a major issue.this is one comparison where a ford product out performs a toyota on
many levels.give the nod on fuel economy to toyota.
it all comes down of course to what you are after.
best of luck in your search.
Has anyone else noticed that the ZX3 could really use a 6 speed tranny?? My best bud's Golf has a shorter 5th gear than my Focus and can pull better when hitting the go pedal, but the car sounds buzzy when cruising at 70 mph. I think the Focus should have the 5th gear of the Golf [1:.85] an have it's 5th [1:.77] be a sixth/overdrive.
Any thoughts are welcome!!
Jimmy!
engine type or equipment? thanks!
NJ
About the 2001/Kona Wheels... Ive heard alot of dislike towards them, but they are about 2 inches wider than the standard ones, and have a little less profile. Which will increase the cars handling and stability (when i test drove a kona, i didnt notice much body roll) and ive heard coments from consumers and other reviews that the tires need a little more width anyway... So thats a good thing.
But the look IS in the eye of the beholder of couse for the rims, and I still have to say that the standard ones just look so darn cheep to me. If they were 6 spoke instead of 5, that seperation in the spokes would look more natural and less spread out like it is. The kona ones arent perfect, but wait til you see a black or twilight blue Zx3 with 'em... then post up what you think
Re: tires. I have the Kona, so if you tell me where to look, I will be more than happy to post the size/specs of the tires. I assume it is printed on the tire somewhere????
: )
njzx3,
The part # is 70243
found at www.http://www.macneilauto.com
You're funny - 60 to 80 - legal speed limit. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket: the speeding ticket that is! How was Cape May. I love it down there, it's so pretty. Went running at the crack of dawn, barefoot, on the beach down there a couple years ago for MILES. It was extremely liberating (although my calves ACHED the next day!).
OK, enough of that. My mileage still sucks too. My newest mpg is 19, which is a 2 mpg improvement. Would you call that progress or just less airconditioning??? I say the latter.
BUT, even with the really sucky gas mileage I would still recommend this car to anyone. I really haven't had serious problems with it. I've had the sending unit replaced (like so many have)and the recall item was done. That's it as far as things go that Ford is responsible for. I snapped my antenna off in May, but that was my fault. $140 dollars for a new antenna!! I was backing out of my garage and the rope loop was hanging down and I managed to thread my antenna perfectly through the loop and kept backing up and snapped it off. I didn't realize it until it rolled down my windshield. I'm sure I couldn't do it again on a bet for a million dollars. We've since cut the loop.
: )
The representative at the NHTSA told me that they give a manufacturer 60-90 days to come up with a remedy and schedule.
0 problems to date.
Love my Z.
Anyone know of any info on when the Focus R is coming to the U.S.? Hopefully in 2002. I'll be the first in line. I saw that in Europe they have a Focus 220R. Picture your ZX3 with better wheels, tires, brakes, and 220 horsepower!! And all for probably no more than $20,000 in the U.S.
I believe that my idle is loud on my zx-3 as I have been endlessly describing to my fellow owners. I was wondering if people could take the time and describe the sound of their idle after their car has been well warmed up.
For example:
After driving home from work or the mall (15 minutes minimum):
1. Turn off radio
2. Turn off air conditioner
3. Turn off fan
4. Allow the engine to just idle
5. Listen to the sound
6. Write a brief description of what you hear
This would help me very much. This will help me know that my noise is either normal or abnormal. I can then share the info with the tech at Ford. I feel I hear at times a rattle sound and fairly loud engine noise. I believe earlier, the engine was very quiet.
thanks in advance
Doug
I average about 30 MPG during the week with my commute so its about 80% highway 20% city and A/C on 75% of time. That's with some fast starts and erractic speeding up to 80 at times (depending how late I am
The best I got was 36 MPG PURE highway miles easy on the A/C.
I will have 7,000 miles at the end of the day today after commute home.
On another note I was wondering about the tank capacity. What does it mean in the manual when it says if the gas light goes on and you keep driving you are going into the reserve and when you fill up the number of gallons will be off or something? I dont know its been awhile since I read it in the manual and I saw them discussing in the other Focus forum, but still didnt know what the heck they were talking about.
konagirl--
I think that you're mileage is abnormal. Give it another 1000 or so and see what happens. After that, I'd insist on a full diagnostic eval from the dealer. I still say that if you're looking for pure economy, however, this isn't the car...