Mk1 Ford Focus Tech Questions

Hi All. Another new guy with questions.

After a Rallycross season filled with DNF's, I feel like I need to spend a lot more time prepping the car before it races again. In searching for some info, it appears ford campaigned the Focus quite extensively, and there used to be a spec series through NASA, both with build/prep manuals. I'm hoping those would be a good place to start, and if anyone has copies of those and would be willing to share, I'd greatly appreciate it.

My other question relates to suspension setup, mainly in spring rates and dealing with the multilink rear suspension. The car has no interior aside from seats, the front door cards, and the dash. I currently have zx5 wagon springs with the top 3.5 coils trimmed, and the fronts are custom rate springs based on a SVT focus, but what was a 50% rate increase and .5" lift for him, has resulted in a .75" drop and they feel much softer than the stock replacement struts I have. I'm torn on what to change it out too, part of me feels like dropping the stock springs back in with KYB AGX dampers would be a good upgrade, but I'm also entertaining the idea of nonadjustable hotbits or similar, with more Rallycross appropriate spring rates. Suggestions/advice/questions would be greatly appreciated.

My experience with front drive spring rates is you want more in the front and as soft as possible in the back. At the grip levels seen, handling is purely based on driving style and weight distribution. All you can hope to get from the rear suspension is to make sure it doesn't disturb the front tires' grip, so make it as soft as you dare. Get the roll stiffness to keep the fronts off the bump stops from the front, since all the weight is up front anyway.

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Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2018 09:39PM by Pete.

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Gaunt596
Hi All. Another new guy with questions.

After a Rallycross season filled with DNF's,

What kind of DNFs---commonly known as Duh Nuffs???

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I feel like I need to spend a lot more time prepping the car before it races again.

Maybe, can you post some piccies of the surfaces where you "race"?

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In searching for some info, it appears ford campaigned the Focus quite extensively,

Well they did but aside from headlights and taillights and maybe grille, the things Ford rallied share nothing with a street car Focus.,,Maybe door handles and latches.....
They had BIG TOWERS welded into the rear wheelarches inboard...and completely fabricated adjustable links front and rear for setting toe, camber and caster..NOTHING at all like a road car.

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and there used to be a spec series through NASA,

Bullshitting hype by hypsters..A total bust and scam 3 or maybe 4 guys fell for the hype and wasted tons of money on drams of making it all back via contingencies...total bust..Never more than 2 cars at any event, nobody gave a shit, some guys in Utan got to sell a bunch of stuff and nobody ever got a penny of contingency..
Exactly as you would expect of a big hype. PRESS RELEASE!!!! type operation.

Same as the recent B spec, nobody gives a flying fuck...its just some scammy shit done so somebody can BS somebody ignorant that they "won"...(and never mention that it was a class with 2 people and they were 3rd from last over-all)

Shameful story..as hype usually is

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both with build/prep manuals.

Nothing was allowed so basically "buy this".....

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I'm hoping those would be a good place to start, and if anyone has copies of those and would be willing to share, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Search here from better information..

Quote

My other question relates to suspension setup, mainly in spring rates and dealing with the multilink rear suspension.

Again the key to happiness is to buy a pile of spare rear multi-link pieces and swap 'em in as you kill them...

Quote

The car has no interior aside from seats, the front door cards, and the dash. I currently have zx5 wagon springs with the top 3.5 coils trimmed, and the fronts are custom rate springs based on a SVT focus, but what was a 50% rate increase and .5" lift for him, has resulted in a .75" drop and they feel much softer than the stock replacement struts I have. I'm torn on what to change it out too, part of me feels like dropping the stock springs back in with KYB AGX dampers would be a good upgrade, but I'm also entertaining the idea of nonadjustable hotbits or similar, with more Rallycross appropriate spring rates. Suggestions/advice/questions would be greatly appreciated.

Go back to stock springs and shocks OR do the right thing and weld in a bump just inboard of the rear shocks so you can ditch the short dumb little spring and get some springs with whatever rate you want (maybe 150) and with enough travel (14" springs)(or maybe 16" and decent shocks...
Welding in a little bump is easy..thousands of beer sodden Ozzies and NZers have done it, generations of catatonically paralyzed drunk Irish have been able to weld in little bumps in wheel wells..and they don't snivel and whine like so many here do



Plenty more photos if you search...

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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john vanlandingham


What kind of DNFs---commonly known as Duh Nuffs???

Lots of broken axles, i bent most of the rear suspension at some point, replaced it all and then bent it the very next event, broken exhaust at the flex pipe, mid pipe and rear hanger, snapped the bottom torque strut, sheared the studs off the passenger engine mount, and that broke another axle too, and the alternator crapped out on me at some point too.

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Maybe, can you post some piccies of the surfaces where you "race"?

sure. It was an old farm field, but the new venue for my region is red clay in a field.

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Well they did but aside from headlights and taillights and maybe grille, the things Ford rallied share nothing with a street car Focus.,,Maybe door handles and latches.....
They had BIG TOWERS welded into the rear wheelarches inboard...and completely fabricated adjustable links front and rear for setting toe, camber and caster..NOTHING at all like a road car.

Bullshitting hype by hypsters..A total bust and scam 3 or maybe 4 guys fell for the hype and wasted tons of money on drams of making it all back via contingencies...total bust..Never more than 2 cars at any event, nobody gave a shit, some guys in Utan got to sell a bunch of stuff and nobody ever got a penny of contingency..
Exactly as you would expect of a big hype. PRESS RELEASE!!!! type operation.

Same as the recent B spec, nobody gives a flying fuck...its just some scammy shit done so somebody can BS somebody ignorant that they "won"...(and never mention that it was a class with 2 people and they were 3rd from last over-all)

Shameful story..as hype usually is

Nothing was allowed so basically "buy this".....

got it, so nothing useful to be gained from that.

Quote

Search here from better information..

workin on that, havent found the other focus builds yet.

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Again the key to happiness is to buy a pile of spare rear multi-link pieces and swap 'em in as you kill them...

this first season killed my spares pile, i was wondering if i was doing something wrong or not reinforcing the right parts, i guess not.

Quote

Go back to stock springs and shocks OR do the right thing and weld in a bump just inboard of the rear shocks so you can ditch the short dumb little spring and get some springs with whatever rate you want (maybe 150) and with enough travel (14" springs)(or maybe 16" and decent shocks...
Welding in a little bump is easy..thousands of beer sodden Ozzies and NZers have done it, generations of catatonically paralyzed drunk Irish have been able to weld in little bumps in wheel wells..and they don't snivel and whine like so many here do



Plenty more photos if you search...

Ive seen the photos of the suspension you built, i just figured it was overkill for rallycross and went looking for a compromise between it and stock. and by bump, are you talking about a new lower spring perch? Im considering just ditching the whole stock thing and going to coilovers out back, just not sure where to attach the bottom to. my exhaust and stripped interior already puts me in Modified, so changing the suspension dosent mess with my classing.