High RPM's at highway speeds Focus ZX3

[Old Tele man]

...what Frank Lee said.

[Arragonis]

You should be able to get 5th at 30 with no lugging. No climbing hills or overtaking but it should be cruisable at that speed.

I would check the linkages etc. and sort out that slow return to idle, if thats what it is.

Other than that taller tyres will increase gearing but your speed will be off.

[Allch Chcar]

The older cars have taller ratios, I believe. Have you tried the Focaljet? They have info on the various transmissions with final drives. You're still looking at a transmission swap unless you're willing to tear apart the setup for the final drive.

The only 6spd is on the SVT, and it is a close ratio gearbox. The 5spds have wider gearing and taller OD.

[royanddoreen]

Oh my God, It just blows me away to see this high rpm problem this day. I mean a transmission should give us power and economy duh!! I can,t think about changing out my transmission or even my final drive ratio.I guess we soon will be able to pick up good used high mileage cars as they become more popular.I love my 350z my rpm is about 2500 at 60mph and I wish it was 1500.Its the only fault I see in the car.

[Miller88]

This is a huge thread bump but ... I'm wondering if he isn't using 5th gear?

55MPH on my focus is a bit above 2000. I don't have exact figures, but 75mph is about 2800 or so. 80 is right around 3k.

Mine has slightly taller gearing ... but not much.

The difference is something like 3.37 to 3.45 (completely made up numbers). The MTX75 in these is not an overdrive trans and uses a higher "rear end" ratio to make up for it.

But still, 3000 at 65 is absurd.

[Allch Chcar]

The first few years the Focus had two engines with different axle gears. A SOHC and the DOHC Zetec. The SOHC had 3.65 gears while the Zetec has 3.82 gears.

The 2005 ZX3 had taller tires(865RPM@60) too, so I get 2750RPM at 65mph for stock gears and tires. I'm guessing someone installed 4.1 gears. Either way, a set of 3.65 gears from the base engined cars would be what you want.

2000-2004 Focus LX gears

2000 Focus ZX3

Then in 2005 they installed the Duratec in all the Foci. Transmission gearing changed but the axle gears were the same numbers as the previous Zetec.

2005 Focus

And Miller88, you are incorrect about the MTX75, it is infact an OD gearbox.

[Miller88]

I stand corrected. I'm trying to figure out where I saw the chart that said 5th gear in the MTX75 was 1:1 ... odd.

[tru]

i assure you i was in 5th, but my rpm's may not have been exactly 3k...I will report back next time im out

[tru]

ok around 2700 at 65mph this morning

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by tru

ok around 2700 at 65mph this morning

Sounds about right. It's surprising how efficient the newer aluminum DOHC engines, like the Duratec, are at the high RPM they typically cruise. The Automatics have a taller OD but high 2ks is typical for cars with a manual, especially from those pre-Katrina years.