A mate has a 2ltr Focus with a Zetec and standard gearbox which he uses for Tarmac Stage Rallies.

On corners and chicanes etc he is constantly between 1st and 2nd gear which gives him no real acceleration onto the straight.

On a good straight he gets to about 4th gear and around 90mph. Top speed is about 125mph.

Is there another Ford box that has different gear ratios to give him shorter gears and a better top end at a quicker pace and would that change 1st & 2nd ?

Or does he need to change some of the gears - if so, which ones ?

Cheers, Jeff

 

Not sure what power he is running but if you converted to the Focus 1.8 flywheel you open up the possibilities of running an IB5 box which may suit his car a bit better. The shift is a bit better (MTX-75 box is reknowned for not liking quick shifts) and they are a lot more available because they've been on pretty much every FWD Ford model in one guise or another for about 20 years (Mk3 Escort was 'I think' one of the first to use the B5 gearbox and they have all been developed from there - so a S1 RST LSD box could be one to look out for). Not 100% sure they are all bolt on fitment mind but if you've got a lot more options chopping and changing ratios in the B5/IB5 boxes than you have in the MTX-75.

Only problem is that they don't stand up to massive amounts of torque in standard guise (certainly the case with the IB5 fitted to the 1.8 Focus which tends to start struggling up around the 170bhp - 170lb/ft mark) but then there are plenty of companies who can strengthen and uprate gearboxes and clutches (just don't use CTS because they are shit! )

 

Ok. Thanks Dave. I will let him know.

Don't think he's up for too much chopping as rallies are coming up quite quickly now - maybe over the winter

Think he'd prefer a straight forward swap for the moment.

Cheers, Jeff