how much thrashing is bad???

[4dlvr]

i feel bad when thrashing my 04 zetec. i used to do it all the time with my i6 fairmont. but the zetec being a 4cyl i dont no if the motor/gearbox can take it.
so my question is how much thrashing can a zetec take???
i never thrash it when its cold but on private roads i reguallt take it to 6500rpm, doulble clutch, flat shift, and drop the clutch at about 5000rpm.
should i be worried??? can the car take it or should i stop??? :

[DOC]

Originally Posted by 4dlvr

i feel bad when thrashing my 04 zetec. i used to do it all the time with my i6 fairmont. but the zetec being a 4cyl i dont no if the motor/gearbox can take it.
so my question is how much thrashing can a zetec take???
i never thrash it when its cold but on private roads i reguallt take it to 6500rpm, doulble clutch, flat shift, and drop the clutch at about 5000rpm.
should i be worried??? can the car take it or should i stop??? :

LOL smack that puppy hard, dropping the clutch at 5K might not be a good thing.

[XR8 Uterous]

Just remind everyone of this thread when you go to sell the car :P

[MoreHPformyXR6]

Originally Posted by 4dlvr

i feel bad when thrashing my 04 zetec. i used to do it all the time with my i6 fairmont. but the zetec being a 4cyl i dont no if the motor/gearbox can take it.
so my question is how much thrashing can a zetec take???
i never thrash it when its cold but on private roads i reguallt take it to 6500rpm, doulble clutch, flat shift, and drop the clutch at about 5000rpm.
should i be worried??? can the car take it or should i stop??? :

Are you only your orginal clutch? If so what state is it in? :

[photn]

The Zetec can take that damage. The gearbox in it is from a Ford Escort Cosworth. Built to last. The only thing i wouldnt be doing is droping the clutch. apart from that its normal wear and tear. she should be okay...

[BlackLS]

No dropping of clutch, no clutchless shifts and also holding it on redline of extended periods isn't a great idea either. The Focus drivetrain is less fragile compared to the Falcon drivetrain in terms of engine cooling and manual gearbox

Also why do you double clutch? From my understanding its for a slower, smoother shift.

Keep the clutch slippage/heat down and sudden drivetrain shocks and it should be all sweet.

[Mick K.]

Originally Posted by 4dlvr

i feel bad when thrashing my 04 zetec. i used to do it all the time with my i6 fairmont. but the zetec being a 4cyl i dont no if the motor/gearbox can take it.
so my question is how much thrashing can a zetec take???
i never thrash it when its cold but on private roads i reguallt take it to 6500rpm, doulble clutch, flat shift, and drop the clutch at about 5000rpm.
should i be worried??? can the car take it or should i stop??? :

If I remember correctly, the LR Zetec achieves maximum power aroud 5000-5500rpm and has a flat torque curve from around 2000rpm, so it is a bit pointless to be taking it up to 6500.

MK

[4dlvr]

it a bit of fun to double clutch in the wet, its still got the origional clutch and is in near perfect condition ill say, i let my little brother drive the car(just got his l's) and didnt stall once.
il just like to say that im never like this on the road, i actualy have have heaps of respect for other road users.
only when im up in the country on private roads

[Tj-zetec]

Originally Posted by Mick K.

If I remember correctly, the LR Zetec achieves maximum power aroud 5000-5500rpm and has a flat torque curve from around 2000rpm, so it is a bit pointless to be taking it up to 6500.

MK

yeah, but it sounds cool.

Actually, i found down at Wakefield Park that it changed better at roughly 6000RPM, i know there's no more power there but it seemed to accelerate better in the next gear. Especially 2nd to 3rd and from 3rd to 4th. It's just my opinion but it didn't seem to 'bog down', for lack of a better term.

I made sure not to take it to far past 6k tho, it is my road car after all.

[photn]

reason it felt better was because, as you had the engine at a higher RPM, when you changed the revs didnt drop as much so basically when you changed you kept the revs in a much higher RPM band therfore keeping your power and torque essentially.

[rodderz]

Cars will cop it just be prepared to pay for broken and worn stuff much earlier than expected, more servicing and little noises and squeaks appearing

I've gave my 1st couple of cars a hiding and it's all fun and games till you have to lay out $$ to fix things!

[kiwijohn42]

I always double clutch on the down shift, just habit now. Don't know if it's slower, certainly smoother.

[20focus05]

doubling clutch on syncro box can cause extra wear on the syncro's

[zetec]

I'll take it further... double clutch on syncro boxes is not needed...

[MattyZetec]

Agreed Zetec - a double-clutch is not NEEDED on a synchro box.

However, making a SMOOTH downshift (without double-clutching) requires a fair amount of clutch slippage and takes time. Double-clutch downshifts, when performed correctly, facilitate a SMOOTH downshift in a fraction of the time.

If I'm bailing hard into a corner and need a smooth downshift to avoid excessive forward weight-shift through the engine-braking effect (and sending my back tyres sideways) then I'd surely elect to use a double clutch downshift to make the downshift quickly.

Double-clutching certainly has application when driving enthusiatically :-)

[kiwijohn42]

Originally Posted by 20focus05

doubling clutch on syncro box can cause extra wear on the syncro's

How?
Double clutching helps shift quicker & smoother, how can that wear the syncros?

[Ives]

Originally Posted by 4dlvr

i feel bad when thrashing my 04 zetec. i used to do it all the time with my i6 fairmont. but the zetec being a 4cyl i dont no if the motor/gearbox can take it.

Less cylinders doesnt mean less tough. If that theory is true then a W16 car is indestructible.

[pertuan]

Stupid question but whats double clutching? :S

[4dlvr]

i use double clutching to get the car to spin up on turns, ive never tried it to make down shifts better, if possible can some one explain???
ive tried it and it preety much felt stupid

[Piotr]

Originally Posted by MattyZetec

Agreed Zetec - a double-clutch is not NEEDED on a synchro box.

However, making a SMOOTH downshift (without double-clutching) requires a fair amount of clutch slippage and takes time. Double-clutch downshifts, when performed correctly, facilitate a SMOOTH downshift in a fraction of the time.

If I'm bailing hard into a corner and need a smooth downshift to avoid excessive forward weight-shift through the engine-braking effect (and sending my back tyres sideways) then I'd surely elect to use a double clutch downshift to make the downshift quickly.

Double-clutching certainly has application when driving enthusiatically :-)

Just learn to heel-toe dude

[BlackLS]

4rdlvr, I think you aren't double clutching but "clutch kicking"

To double clutch properly into a lower gear, you need to clutch in, take out of gear, clutch out, raise revs so that the engine/input shaft of the gearbox RPM will match the RPM of the gear you want to go into, clutch in, select gear, clutch out.

Honestly I think its a waste of time, Henry has given you a syncro gearbox, use it!

If anyone wants a manual challenge, try clutchless shifting.

[Tj-zetec]

Originally Posted by Piotr

Just learn to heel-toe dude

Has anyone successfully done this in their focus?? I can't for the life of me get it right in my LR. The accelerator pedal feels too far above the brake.
When I try it I usually end up jabbing the brake pedal.

maybe I just need bigger feet.

[melbzetec]

I can do it, but have the ST170 pedals. Mind you, the gap between the brake and accelerator pedal is fairly wide, and I really twist my foot sideways to do it (and about 30% of the time I miss...depends on what shoes I have on!!LOL)

Ideally you'd need different pedals that have the little extension on the bottom left of the accelerator pedal. I have often looked at these:

http://www.cardomain.com/item/SPA03783L

Nice bit of kit, but requires drilling of the pedals

[MattyZetec]

Pedals in the LS are also crap for heel-toe action. Has anyone here bought the code:red pedals from european parts?? If so, are they any better?

[4dlvr]

BlackLS yeh i dont think i was double clutching, more like droping the clutch while driving.
how about changing gears real quickly while having your gas pedal flat to the floor??? is that a no no??
also has anyone tried a clutchles gear change??? i dont think i have the heart to do that to my car :togo:
also last question, when i give my car a bit of a thrashing the clutch pedal feels much shorter and heaps lighter. does this happen to anyone else???
i took it to ford and they told me they couldnt find or notice anything wrong with the clutch

[Bucknaked]

Why on earth do you want to drop the clutch at 5000 unless your trying to do burnouts.

I've got an XR5, and I don't take it over 4500

[BlackLS]

Originally Posted by 4dlvr

BlackLS yeh i dont think i was double clutching, more like droping the clutch while driving.
how about changing gears real quickly while having your gas pedal flat to the floor??? is that a no no??
also has anyone tried a clutchles gear change??? i dont think i have the heart to do that to my car :togo:
also last question, when i give my car a bit of a thrashing the clutch pedal feels much shorter and heaps lighter. does this happen to anyone else???
i took it to ford and they told me they couldnt find or notice anything wrong with the clutch

Yes that is a no-no

I have; it takes a lot of skill and is probably the slowest shift in a standard car as your waiting for the standard heavy flywheel to slow down to the right rpm of the next gear. Keep doing what you do to your clutch and you'll have to learn how to do this very quickly.

The reason it does this is because the clutch is overheated and takes less clamping force to slip, meaning it takes less effort on the clutch pedal to cause it to slip.

Honestly I think a Focus is probably not the right type of car for you. I'm thinking more along the lines of a VN Commodore would suit you better.

[4dlvr]

vn commodore??? anyone thats driven a decent condition vn will not throw jokes at them.
zetec is the car for me, plenty of balls when i need it, 600+km to a tank and its a good looker and fun. i test drove heaps of cars before i got it and i liked the zetec and the laser sr2 the best.
btw not that people care i am thinking of selling it and buying a xr5 turbo. as much as i love it im dying for the upgrade

[FOCUSonTHIS]

Thrashing a Euroford just costs heaps of money because when things break. Cost heaps. Clutches cost up to $1000 to replace. When I replaced the clutch in my Focus parts alone cost me around $800.

[BlackLS]

I wasn't "throwing jokes" at the VN. It was moreso the type of "enthusiast" (term used loosely) that a VN attracts.

Plus if you blow a clutch or gearbox in a VN you can just buy another VN for $500 instead of forking out $1000-2000 on a Focus clutch etc.