Is SVT going to be producing anything to help us compete with the SRT-4?

[BornBig2]

I hate to admit it, but the SRT-4 is a pretty badass little ride... i dont like the looks as much as my car, and i know the Focus does me really well for what i bought it for (Fun sporty daily driver)... I would probably never buy a dodge again (Had a 1999 Dakota Absolutely FALL APART after 13 months)..

Yet, I want this car to be able to compete with the best of them... I dont want to loose to a Dodge.. I dont mind spending 3 - 4K to make sure im the top dog on my morning commute to work.. yet, im looking at the aftermarket, and not finding a whole hell of alot.

Supposedly Jackson racing has a supercharger coming at the end of this month, but 205 FWHP?!? Im going to need more than that... Vortech is working on an intercooled supercharger, supposedly in 2 - 3 months?!?!?So what is a person supposed to do? Be patient? and wait for the aftermarket to grow?

Someone point me in the right direction...

Ive heard of the 2004 Turbo 2.4 liter SVT Focus, but what is a 2002-2003 SVT owner need to do to make some power?

[deactivated]

i seriously doubt that there is anything you can do for 3-4k that will put you over a stock SRT-4. You can go beyond that and do that turbo mod....if you just have to be on top. I really have no problems that the SRT-4 is out, because I don't compare cars year to year. Now if this was the first year for the SVTF and the SRT-4 came out then yes I'd be asking the same questions. I'd wait until 2004 for stock SVT power and then see if Dodge can compete. The other competitors are always a day late and a dollar short. Just look at what Ford is doing with the Lightning. Just as Chevy gets close to competing they blow them away. I wouldn't be too concerned.

['02_pocket_rocket]

I was all prepared to buy an SRT-4 when I was car shopping. Back in Dec. the Dodge dealer told me he couldn't even order it yet. And after finding out that there was a six to eight month wait for Mini Cooper S, I went back to my first choice and got a much better deal and I think a better car. After doing a lot of research and reading on the SRT-4, I came to the conclusion that I got a better car in the long run. Don't get me wrong, I'm an old Mopar fan from way back. Had a '69 Dodge Super Bee that dominated the streets when I was younger. But the SRT-4 lives up to the Mopar method of building hotrods. Put a big motor under the hood. And thats it. The rest of the package is not that good. not much over a stock Neon. The SVT Focus is a much better package all around.:bna Besides I went to that same dealership the other day and they still can't order them. They have to go to a special training class. And they won't be keeping any in stock. They have to be special ordered. Not even a test drive:wtf:

[jstevens1]

Somewhere else in this forum, mention is made of a turbo kit by 'Turbo Tom', an old Ford enthusiast with much time-in on the SVO Mustang. He claims his kit currently makes 239@ the wheels, and was nice enough to email me the dyno chart. Mind you, there was still some room to play since the plugs weren't gapped right or something. He's hoping for 250+ @ the wheels, and it seems he'll likely get it, based on what the dyno chart he sent me showed. The kit was listed at $5800, and includes a lot of stuff. All the pipes, custom turbo blowing 9psi, front mount intercooler, and so on. Not a bad deal, all things considered, as it'll give you at least an extra 100 hp. Just remember that you'll finally REALLY need that $1000 quaife LSD for your SVTF at that point, too.

As for the Jackson Racing supercharger, I'm not totally impressed. No offense to the folks at JR, but those blowers of theirs don't really produce a lot of power for the money. Especially when one considers the dangers of going forced-induction on a car that wasn't sold as such. Our beloved SVT's have a much tougher bottom end than a typical Focus, but are by no means bulletproof. If I'm gonna blow my motor, it's not going to be over such a small gain in power.

I WOULD hold my breath on the Vortech kit. If their past experiments with Hondas are any indication, though, it's not going to be incredibly successful with a Focus. They built a kit for the '99-Y2K Civic Si that made 270hp + @ the wheels, but that peak was a touch below the 8kRPM redline. We all know that our lovely little Zetec isn't happy that far up the Rev ladder, so we'll likely see less than that kind of gain.

My recommendation is to spend the extra cash and take the car to Turbo Tom. Then you'll be crushing the SRT-4's.

Also take heart in knowing that you already have a VAST advantage over ANY Neon in handling. Dodge apparently is still a little slow with the FWD concept, as they set the factory Front-Wheel camber on the SRT-4 at zero. With little shock travel anyhow, and a zero-degree starting camber, those cars are gonna need a LOTTA work to be able to keep-up with a Geo Metro once the road starts to curve. It's a 1/4-mile car, built for folks who actually enjoyed 'The Fast and The Furious.'

Take Care...

[Jonny Bolt]

I am getting NOS to play with until the Vortech intercooled S/C comes out.

Tom's Turbo is also an option for me, but im holding out for awhile, and giving the aftermarket some time. Like with eevry car, its takes a bit to catch on.

Like you, I refuse to get beat by a car called a "Neon" (focus is bad enough), especially if its some chic driving it, and blows my doors off. ew.

I also think the "Neon" is uglied up somethin fierce, with those rims, the jacked up rear end, and the interior, its quite a sight to behold. not. that thing is really gross, and I have no idea what the people over at Chrysler are trying to achieve, or who they are trying to get as customers. Throwing over 200HP in a 4 door Neon, I dont know 'bout that. Seems ever since the Diamler merger, things have gotten kooky with them. I noticed they managed to ruin the Viper flare, by giving it a hood, and removing the lines that made it the Viper, and "snake like" in the first place.

[mdonahue]

One of the best solutions I've seen is Autocrafters.

http://www.focusperformance.com/tpls/V8Info.tpl?command=Search&db=OurV8Info.db&neIndexdata=index&cart=3256655920534208

I don't, however, understand why there is a V6 prototype on the SVT home page, and no one thought we would like it!!!! If they used the Lincon LS engine, the V6 puts out 220 HP! Already developed and ready to drop in.

I can understand why they made the SVT focus balanced. But why not offer a second motor choice for the very performance oriented. Right now all the real performance is with either the Mustang or the Lightening.

For my taste, I don't want a truck and I've had the Mustang with its poor space utilization. Give me a super hot Focus or rear wheel drive Tarus with the 4.6.