2004 Focus ZX3 Commuter

[Fat Charlie]

Welcome to the fun!

For long haul highway cruising, weight reduction isn't going to help anywhere near as much as dropping 5 mph will. Once you get the UltraGauge set up you're going to see what kind of magic pulse & glide can do.

The Gauge is going to open a whole new world for you. The setup I ended up with has instant mpg in the top left quarter and short trip mpg in the top right. In the bottom left I have coolant temp and fuel level and the bottom right I have long trip (tank) mpg and DTE. The instant and short trip numbers will let you play with techniques and evaluate them on the fly. You'll also probably find that your roads aren't as flat as you think- you'll find downhill stretches that you never knew were there. What's it worth? Gliding at 60 mph, my car gets ~270 mpg. That more than makes up for the 15-20 mpg I get on the pulse.

You're going to love the numbers. Not the same thrill as putting the car sideways, but you can do it while commuting and that's a huge plus.

[spacemanspif]

Guess the PO wanted a better car than they had. Adding SVT wheels and a cold air intake trying to make a "poor man's SVT". Love the wheels but a set of regular Focus stockers will be 1" more narrow and might pay off when combined with LRR tires. Not sure what the LRR market looks like for those low profile tires.

Welcome to the world of the MTX75! 5th is far too short and Miller88 has mentioned that on hills 1st is too tall lol. Seems Ford just used what was laying around the shop when choosing transmissions and gearing for the Foci.

You are lucky that you have a true MK1 Focus as the suspension options are plentiful and affordable, 05-07 had slight differences and adapter kits are needed to run 00-04 suspension offerings, otherwise we have about 4 choices when it comes to springs/struts.

The ZETEC is a good engine but make sure to keep up on the timing belt. Belly pan would be nice to see done on these cars, and see what the actual gain would be. Your commute is a long one but if you can bump MPG and start filling every other day, it's a big win. Good job with the race car gutting! 200lbs will help make better use of the pulse if you start to use P&G driving.

[jcp123]

I was going to say the same thing about the SVT wheels...they'll hold you back a little bit, plus the tire size is kinda odd, a bit hard to find (I used to have an SVT). I didn't realize that car was geared so low...my SVT was about 2400ish at 60.

Still, fun cars to drive...reliability is ho-hum and yet I miss my Foci (also had an '00 ZTS sedan at one point). Good luck!

[MisterMundane]

The wheels are actually SES trim wheels off a 2008 focus, similar style to the svt wheels however.

@Spaceman

I actually have to do the timing belt soon, have the parts sitting here to do it. Just waiting for time, and nicer weather as I have no garage. And its still a tad chilly these days.

Going to be doing timing belt, fuel filter, clean air intake filter, new plugs and wires, and motor mounts. Nice little list to do.

[BabyDiesel]

Welcome to Ecomodder, MisterMundane!

Love the car you have. I have the 2 door coupe predecessor to your Focus - the Escort ZX2. These cars are great, although they have their quirks.

Get that UG asap! Having instrumentation changes your entire perspective on driving. When you slap the throttle in 2nd gear and see 6-8 mpg, you'll understand lol

A grill block, air dam, WAI and rear wheel well covers are all mods that have increased mpg on my car upwards of 30%. Especially the rear covers. I do think that yours will respond similarly.

FYI, mine is automatic and was averaging 32-36 before I came to this site. In comparison, my last tank was 43.3. Your gearing is identical to mine too. With the manual, 40 mpg will be easy for you!

Looking foward to your progress

[MisterMundane]

Good to hear! I have gotten above 40 before, however I don't count those really as they were special trips,it's of downhill and wind at my back type deal. Not typical.

I'm hoping to hit 35-36 without any aero mods, should be doable once I get my UG.

[MisterMundane]

Ok so another consistent 32 mpg today. That's two days in a row where I would typically have gotten 27-28. Solid increase.

This morning on the commute home after filling up I decided to try some p&g, anyone have any tips on that? I was doing pulse to 65 and glide to 45-50.

How hard should I accelerate after I hit 45-50?

I know the ultragauge will give me the best answer to this, bit it's still two weeks out and I'd like to see how good I can,get without it first.

[Fat Charlie]

Hard, without flooring it. Without instrumentation you're just doing it for fun, er, practice. Yeah, practice!

The main considerations are traffic safety and remembering that you have to get to work on time, in that order. When things on the road are really dead, you can experiment with EOC and bump starting- that's where the real fun is!

[MisterMundane]

Yeah I definitely keep an eye on the traffic, I hate being the guy holding everyone up so when a car starts getting close behind me, I speed up to the speed limit until they pass.

I don't think I'll go as far as EOC, and I may not even do p&g often. It gets old, fast, haha

[spacemanspif]

Accelerate at or just below 3/4 throttle. Even though you suck down gas doing it, the engine is actually using the fuel to it's fullest potential. When you get the UG you are going to crap yourself when you see 8mpg, but it's ok, because a short pulse at 8mpg is better than a longer one at 20mpg. Key is to glide more than pulse, and when the UG reads 9999 and tank average keeps going up you'll be ok with it reading 8mpg when it needs to.

Too much traffic around me to do that wide of a speed range. Being tailgated at 5over the limit kills any hope of gliding to 10 under lol.