My GTO and Focus getting to know each other

IDAFC21

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Decided to make a separate thread for these. Not a bad lookin pair.

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IDAFC21

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Are you going to lower the ST?

I don't know yet. The suspension feels so great on this car I almost dont wanna mess w/ it. Looking at it next to the gto does make it look like a 4x4 :rofl: Once I get some more seat time in it and see how it handles daily duty i'll figure out what I wanna do. Im not dissapointed w/ the stock setup tho, unlike I was w/ the GTO, which is why I had to do this to it:

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Thirdgen89GTA

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Decided to make a separate thread for these. Not a bad lookin pair.
Ingot Silver is actually one of the rarest colors too. Whenever I see a clean one I wish I got silver because it stays clean looking longer.

My Performance Blue ST looks dirty almost all the time. Its as hard to keep clean looking as a black car.

The focus looks huge compared to the gto. Crazy.


Both look great!
ST is 58" tall at the roofline. Not a short car. Far cry from my GTA which is like 47" tall, and even 47" is tall compared to some cars.

I don't know yet. The suspension feels so great on this car I almost dont wanna mess w/ it. Looking at it next to the gto does make it look like a 4x4 :rofl: Once I get some more seat time in it and see how it handles daily duty i'll figure out what I wanna do. Im not dissapointed w/ the stock setup tho, unlike I was w/ the GTO, which is why I had to do this to it:
Stock ST suspension is pretty good, but a little too much body roll IMO, however at least once you stick it nose deep into a corner it'll hold with plenty of confidence. Though it takes some getting used to the eTVC working to keep the car from washing out. Just gotta learn to trust that it'll work. Car will apply brakes at any of the corners needed to hug that line.

I love how the ST tucks its nose in when you roll on the throttle mid corner, begging for punishment. I just put the stock F1's back on and man the traction and handling difference inspires alot more confidence. Winters tires are now in storage. Let the on-ramp fun begin.
 

IDAFC21

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Ingot Silver is actually one of the rarest colors too. Whenever I see a clean one I wish I got silver because it stays clean looking longer.

My Performance Blue ST looks dirty almost all the time. Its as hard to keep clean looking as a black car.


Is it rare? There were like 3 within a 20 mile radius of me. There was another one at the dealer I bought this one from, tho it had the st2 package. :rofl: Im glad I got silver, because as you said, it hides dirt REALLY well. haha. Thats why I love my gto also. Hell my first car was a silver 88 Monte Carlo. Im just biased.
 

Thirdgen89GTA

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Sidenote: Your dyno numbers in your sig, that was bone stock? What kinda dyno?

Boomba Racing's Mustang Dyno. Bone stock down to the factory ford filter.

The solid torque curve is really nice. From about 2000-4500rpm I have about 240lb/ft available at the wheels.

Next year I'm doing all of the bolt-ons. And 2 years after that probably a GTX2867 .86. Should be a solid 330whp then.

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Thirdgen89GTA

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I like. My stage 2 wrx put down like 227whp and not near as much torque on a dynojet dyno. Plus i had short ratio jdm sti gears in the trans. That thing moved, but was not as stout as this ST is stock. Dat torque. :fy:

Yeah, but AWD saps alot of power on paper.

Day I dyno'd there was a 02-05 STi, it put down about 240awhp, mostly stock I think except for maybe a CAI at most.

Get a tune on it and be even happier with the torque, but its short lived. Turbo is too small. You should see the E30 tunes, some of the numbers are insane. 360-370lb/ft at the wheels, and like 270-280whp.

However with the tune, rolling into the throttle in 6th gear will produce some rapid acceleration from the economy gear. :)

 

IDAFC21

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Thanks. :bigthumb:

True on the awd power sap. Ive already looked at what a lightly modified st w/ a tune can put down in the torque column. I had to do a double take :rofl: The night I was driving it home from the dealer I was doing about 40 in 5th and rolled into it and couldnt believe how quickly the speedo climbed. haha. Was following my dad and I shot past him like he put the brakes on.
 

Thirdgen89GTA

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Thanks. :bigthumb:

True on the awd power sap. Ive already looked at what a lightly modified st w/ a tune can put down in the torque column. I had to do a double take :rofl: The night I was driving it home from the dealer I was doing about 40 in 5th and rolled into it and couldnt believe how quickly the speedo climbed. haha. Was following my dad and I shot past him like he put the brakes on.

I've seen your car at speed a few of the open houses. I almost went with a GTO, but it just wasn't practical enough for me. I could see selling my GTA for a GTO, but only if I could get a 05-06 6spd and those are more than I'm willing to pay. Still can't get myself to sell my GTA though, no matter how much work it still needs.

Driving the ST is alot like driving a V8. Unless you are below 2200rpm, the turbo's response is damned near instant. The car actually has full boost available from 1700rpm and up. Response from 1700rpm to 2000rpm is somewhat slow though. By 2500rpm the response is as fast as you can put your foot down.

BTW, I took this on the way home to Arlington Heights from Bloomingdale. This was at Lake st to Lake Cook rd. Almost 36mpg with cruise set to 65mph. Once the engine breaks in, the fuel economy goes WAAAAy up. Pure highway I can get somewhere near 38mpg if I keep it to 60mph. But I usually sacrifice a few MPG for 70mph cruise speeds. That nets about 33-34mpg.

:)

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IDAFC21

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Im noticing this this more I drive it. There is turbo lag with this car, but you dont have to deal w/ too much of it, cuz it comes on fairly quick. couple light mods, a tune, maybe some solid motor mounts, and it should be damn near instant. at least it was in my wrx. the motor and trans mounts were one of the best mods i ever did in that car. took all the slop out
 

Thirdgen89GTA

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Im noticing this this more I drive it. There is turbo lag with this car, but you dont have to deal w/ too much of it, cuz it comes on fairly quick. couple light mods, a tune, maybe some solid motor mounts, and it should be damn near instant. at least it was in my wrx. the motor and trans mounts were one of the best mods i ever did in that car. took all the slop out

Yeah, the lag is non-existant anywhere above 2200rpm for me. Can be cruising in 6th gear around 40-50mph, floor it and have full boost. Even without boost it has plenty of torque available.

I'm happy with the Ford TSB mounts. Those removed all of my firewall shift bang noise, as well as alot of the wheel hop. Some people complained about extra NVH, personally I don't notice. I thought about a stiffer trans mount though.

I need to spend $$$ on the GTA, its so hard to not spend money on this car. A tune would give so much gain, but I really do want to stay away from modding it this year when the GTA needs more attention.
 

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