In reply to WildScotsRacing: I have the full Borla exhaust in storage. The piping is all stock size with the mffler added. I went to an aftermarket larger exhaust. It was louder, nothing else.
In reply to WildScotsRacing: I have the full Borla exhaust in storage. The piping is all stock size with the mffler added. I went to an aftermarket larger exhaust. It was louder, nothing else.
I can answer just about anything you want to know...
Ours is a full prep FSP autocrosser--have been racing it since 2008, first in the ST classes, then as of 2012 in FSP.
2015 Autocross Action Video--car appears at 4:07 mark
Video shows car on 225/45-15 15x9 F/R Hankook street tires. Still photos show car on 275/35-15 (15x10) / 205/50-15 (15x8) Hoosier setup.
captdownshift wrote: Another pierce vote for suspension bits, Jim also makes some slick front arms that aren't on the site. You'll already have a limited slip, so you'll be ready there. I know more about BP engines then zetec, so I'm not much help there, but a certain magazine has a zetec powered rallycross project. BG chassis make for awesome fun in the dirt, get it and enjoy.
The S/R does NOT come with an OE LSD. M-factory makes a nice piece that is similar to a Quaife or Torson. It can be used with OE axles. Kia Sephia axles are a stronger upgrade. We did not do that...
Knurled wrote: The diff pins are extremely fragile, a single one-wheel tirespin incident could leave you with a spun pin which rapidly leads to an exited pin and an exploded trans case. So I would consider some form of diff to be mandatory.
The OE diffs are weak--the spider gears grenade and take everything with them. We have had no failures (knock on wood) since putting the M-Factory LSD in the car.
The S/R had:
Tokico Struts, Eibach springs, Iceman Intake, B&M shifter, Centerforce clutch (in some cars), Energy Suspension bushings, rear disc brakes (similar to Escort GT), Borla cat-back and a unique PCM/tune along with a 150mph speedo, seat trim and a shift knob.
They were made in 1999 (most in CA) and 2000--The Zinc Yellow was the most common color...also came in Red and Black. I believe they made 1000 yellow 2000's and 500 of Red and 500 of Black. The 1999 production was Yellow only and was under 200 cars, again as I recall.
The car in the ad is almost certainly a legit S/R. If its yellow, it's an S/R (unless a repaint---Yellow was not offered on 'regular' cars), but those are S/R OE wheels as well...and it looks to have the Borla. Seems like a solid deal to me.
FSP_ZX2 wrote:Knurled wrote: The diff pins are extremely fragile, a single one-wheel tirespin incident could leave you with a spun pin which rapidly leads to an exited pin and an exploded trans case. So I would consider some form of diff to be mandatory.The OE diffs are weak--the spider gears grenade and take everything with them. We have had no failures (knock on wood) since putting the M-Factory LSD in the car.
That is worrying as I would like to do rally cross with it.
Of course as always the biggest hurdle and the reason I haven't even went to look at it yet is trying to convince the wife that I need a car. The mood she's been in lately I haven't even brought it up.
I think running on a soft surface should be OK. The combination if added power, BIG tires and lots of grip caused the demise of our original diff.
I believe that K-Sport makes dampers, including rally spec, for the BG/BJ chassis (Pierce sells them).
FYI copied and pasted from FEOA web page.
This guide covers the various suspension parts that interchange between the following models:
First of all....the 1990-1994 Protege and 323 are basically the same car, using the same chassis and unibody. The 1991-1996 Escorts and the 1997-present escorts and ZX2's use the SAME chassis as the Protege/323 (known as the BG chassis). Thus most every suspension part will interchange with a few minor exceptions. The Mazda MX-3 uses the same unibody as the Protege/323/ZX2/Escort/Tracer hence why so many suspension parts interchange. The MX-3, however uses a different chassis known as the "EC" chassis. The main differences between this chassis and the BG chassis is the different swaybar design that uses droplinks instead of endlinks. The control arms and trailing arms are of a different design and the rear disc brakes on GS models use different style calipers.
Strut Tower Bars- It is easiest to find MX3 strut tower bars on ebay or online. All MX3 strut tower bars fit the 90-94 Protege, 2nd gen escort, 323, and the 3rd gen Escort and ZX2. The 3rd gens may require some re-location of various brackets as there are more systems (like ABS) and stuff. The rear bar does fit, but require trimming of your trunk interior to fit in the 97+ Escort sedan or ZX2 hatchback.
Tie Bars- Not all tie bars fit all cars. An MX3 rear tie bar will not fit on a 3rd Gen as the mounting points are different. For rear tie bars, MX3 tie bars are easier to find than escort or protege tie bars. Front Tie bars from the Protege, will fit the 2nd gen escort. I don't know of anyone who fitted one to a 3rd gen Escort/ZX2, but it probably fits. I have a MX3 rear tie bar on my car, and it fit great.
Swaybars- All front swaybars interchange between the Protege/323/Escort/ZX2, as does the rear bars. The MX3's bars WILL NOT fit any of these models. This is because they utilize horizontally mounted droplinks rather than the vertically mounted endlinks found on BG chassis cars.
Bushings- Control arm, Trailing arm, Steering rack and swaybar endlink kits will interchange between the Protege/323/Escort/ZX2, and possibly the MX-3 (no one has tested them). Shift stabilizer bushings are the same between all Protege's, 323's, MX3's and 2nd gen Escorts and Tracers (1991-1996). The 97+ Escort and ZX2 use larger in diameter bushings which will not fit.
Motor Mounts- The engine mounts for the Protege, 323, 1991-1996 Escort & Tracer, and 4 cylinder MX-3 RS are the same. The 97+ Escort and ZX2 may use the same mounts, but no one has yet to test this. The #1 and #2 lower transmission mounts for the ZX2 will interchange as the Protege/323/2nd gen Escort&Tracer and MX-3 RS however. (this has been tested). Since the MX-3 GS uses a V6, none of the enigne mounts are the same and will not interchange with the exception of the #4 mount located under the battery tray (upper transmission mount).
Struts- All MX3, Protege, 323, ZX2, and Escort struts will fit one another, but the ZX2 SR (and maybe all 3rd gens) use a larger diameter strut shaft. so you will need to use ZX2 thrust bearings (also known as strut bearings) if you want to use the ZX2 SR Tokicos. These are easiy modified into the MX3, Protege, 323 or 2nd gen Escorts upper hat. Please note that the ZX2 SR struts are .5" shorter in legnth.
Springs & Coilovers- All spring will interchange but each spring is designed with the cars weight in mind, so if you put MX3 springs on your Escort, the spring rates aren't going to be correct, so keep that in mind.
Coilovers seem to fit, but Let it be known that most won't fit the ZX2 SR Tokico struts without having to shave down the shaft (which is too fat to slip the sleeve over). All other struts will accept the coilovers fine.
Strut Mounts- All strut mounts are identical for all of the aforementioned cars (Protege, 323, Tracer, Escort, ZX2 and MX3).
The best junkyard rear swaybars come from Escort GT or 90-96 Escort wagon (but all 90-96 Escorts have a bigger RSB than the ZX2 or S/R)...The ZX2 already has a 'big' FSB.
In reply to FSP_ZX2:
agreed, a soft surface with give and not running a grippy 225ish tire will save a differential as opposed to destroying it.
This thread makes me miss my old ZX2. It was an auto, but had take off intake, springs and exhaust from a local guy that Focus SVT swapped his SR.
It wasn't really quick, but was fun, toss able and nearly indestructible.
The Tokicos were shorter due to the drop in spring height.
They were a special order from Ford in limited quantities and have not been available for a long time.
The SR came with the stock 13mm rear bar. the 19mm bar from other models worked very well.
For what it is worth, I have four complete stock, not SR strut/spring assemblies, just bolt in. I also have a complete stock SR exhaust with the Borla muffler.
The fragile differential thing might be overrated. I ran mine in track days, ice racing, three runs on drag strip, hill climbs etc. for seven years before the pin came loose. A spider gear galled and turned the pin. Other than that the spider gears were fine and reused. The device I had that applied spring pressure to the axle gears I am sure it helped. Wish I could remember what it was called. My 2000 SR had an Exedy clutch.
Whiteline and Addco still make bigger rear sways. There is debate about whether the 19mm or 21mm gives best overall rear-end rotation, but I have concluded that which is best depends on 1) your driving style, 2) the nature of the track you a running on [auto-x or a tight, technical road course vs. bigger track with more medium and high-speed sweepers], and 3) your own setup preferences [stiffer rear swar vs. stiffer rear springs].
The device is/was called "Phantom Grip".
In reply to iceracer:
Would you be thinking the Phantom Grip? Three times in years past I almost ordered one. I wonder if they are still being produced...?
WildScotsRacing wrote: Whiteline and Addco still make bigger rear sways. There is debate about whether the 19mm or 21mm gives best overall rear-end rotation, but I have concluded that which is best depends on 1) your driving style, 2) the nature of the track you a running on [auto-x or a tight, technical road course vs. bigger track with more medium and high-speed sweepers], and 3) your own setup preferences [stiffer rear swar vs. stiffer rear springs].
There have been 1" RSB's that were available at one time, made by Quickor. There were also 3/4" 3-way bars made by Progress. Addco made a 7/8" bar as well. I have 15/16" (24mm) custom (made by Saner before John died) on Front and Rear...the rear is 3-way adjustable. Spring rates are north of 700#
The Wagon/GT bars are solid 21mm, the Escort sedan/hatch bars are 19mm and hollow.
In reply to WildScotsRacing:
I ran a 22mm Progress rear bar. It worked very well. I could throttle steer in lots of corners. One thing I found, do not brake while turning. Trail braking was OK. The bar was two way adjustable. I tried it on the short arm. Didn't like it. worked OK on the long arm.
In reply to WildScotsRacing: Yep that is it. Since limited slips were hard to find I went with the PG. Worked well for me.
WildScotsRacing wrote: In reply to iceracer: Would you be thinking the Phantom Grip? Three times in years past I almost ordered one. I wonder if they are still being produced...?
iceracer wrote: The fragile differential thing might be overrated. I ran mine in track days, ice racing, three runs on drag strip, hill climbs etc. for seven years before the pin came loose. A spider gear galled and turned the pin. Other than that the spider gears were fine and reused. The device I had that applied spring pressure to the axle gears I am sure it helped. Wish I could remember what it was called. My 2000 SR had an Exedy clutch.
Well, maybe. Friend of mine who had one for about 50k had the trans replaced three times for broken differentials. The funny thing was, he bought it at something like 40k, and he noticed that the engine revved faster per speed/gear with the first new trans. The PO blew the original trans and installed a standard Escort box, not the ZX2 box.
I noticed the guy dropped the price by $300 the other day making it even more intriguing than it was.
Took the wife out to dinner last night and made the case that me having a car would simplify both of our lives as often she has to work very late and I have to come to her work and pick up her car so I can go pick the boy up from school then bring her car to her when she's ready. It's a hassle plus I hate leaving my bike at her work as her car has been hit twice there. It's a very tight lot that's packed full of cars and SUVs getting prepped for police duty with tons of people moving them around. And it seems like they just live to run into E36 M3.
Anyway, she's thinking about it. Knowing my luck she'll agree and it'll be gone. I really think it would be a great car for what I'm looking to do.
jj wrote: At that mileage make sure the timing belt was done. Its not an easy job. FWIW I owned one, and always felt my dodge neon was better at everything.
I've never owned anything with a timing belt, nor have I changed one. What makes this one so difficult? Is it an access thing?
In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock:
"Easy" is relative, ya know. For me, doing a timing belt/water pump/tensioner job on the Zetec and SPI engine, as used in the Escort, is pretty easy. But, I can see why it would be hard for some folks. As for component access, its best to get a jack under the engine (use a wood block or you'll crack the cast aluminum oilpan), and completely remove the upper motor mount. Then use the jack to move the engine up or down a little as needed for best tool access to the various fasteners involved. And make sure you start the job by installing a Zetec cam alignment/lock tool.
Most important is getting #1 cyl. on TDC compressions stroke. Both lobes pointing up. The cam gears do not have any timing marks. When all is done, setting the tensioner correctly is important. The Zetec water pump is not driven by the timing belt as on the SPI. In spite of some manuals, the Zetec is non-interference.
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