And it's a really effing breezy day how quick is the air moving outside of the car? MAN OH MAN was I getting blown around like a rag doll today on 95 :O/ I know these cars are light but this is ridicilous LOL! I had to draft a truck or two to keep from being blown around so much....How much time did ford spend in a wind tunnel with these things?


Thanks
Matt

Listening to the weather channel, the whole east coast is being hit a lot harder than we are in Florida but we're getting the winds, gusting to up in the 50's. That will blow almost anything around and because the Focus's are a light car comparably speaking, you don't have a chance.

I'm from Jupiter tell me about it ROFL gusts in the 50's then that explains it LOL!

Hey up here in CT we are getting that big snow storm, wooo wee it's coming down and the wind feels like it's hitting 50.

Its been fairly windy here latley also and a few times when i had my radio up a little a quick burst of wind hits your car and you feel this huge push on the front end of the car i had to turn down the radio and listen to the engine thiking the tranny was slipping or a missfire or somthing. When it did it again i didnt notice any change in the sound i knew it was the wind.

When i was about 20 i had a 1972 volkswagon baja bug and that is one really light weight car with a not so very aero body shape. It was a little scary driving that car i wound up planning most of my routes using back roads over highway.

It was a really small air cooled engine and geared so low that at highway speeds pretty much redlined the engine to keep up with traffic anyway.

The car i got after the bug was a fairly larger car with a 3.0 engine and i never really noticed it as much as the bug and now the focus.

I had the same exact complaint about my old ZX3. I thought it was just me because everyone else would just breeze by along the highway! Glad to hear that's not the case.

This might sound weird but the problem sort of went away when I got the SVT suspension kit installed. Might have something to do with slightly lower ride height and stiffer springs being less affected by wind turbulence... but that's just a theory. I know at the very least the car felt more stable on bumpy roads at higher speeds (no more floaty/bouncy feeling).

Nowadays... I don't mean to brag but my current car handles wind gusts like it doesn't even exist. I guess the combination of underbody panels, improved aerodynamics, and electronic assist steering might have something to do with that. The only downside is that steering feels slightly more numb when compared to the hydraulic assist found on older cars. I guess that's the tradeoff you get.

[chair] [dunno]

EDIT: Hmmm!!! Noticed you have a newer Focus. Anyone know if the 2008+ use electronic or hydraulic assisted steering?

Hyrdaulic the cobalt uses electric

The only small car I've ever had that did good in wind was my 83 RX-7, an I think that was due to it's low side profile. The Focus weighs just a little more, but it built like a freaking sail.

Now the Bug--- oh yeah. Those things barely weigh a ton, if that, and have nice flat wind catching sides, but the car was designed in the 30's when going 25 mph was as fast as you wanted to go on most roads.

Humm depends on the conditions I suppose. I was driving around on I295 once and it was hella windy. I had my stiffer tires and higher offset wheels and it felt fine.
But when I swapped back to my squishy soft tires I was wobbling all over the place even with out the wind with the wind making it worse. Eventually you figure it out

It is just a product of having a lightweight car sitting fairly high up in the wind. If it bothers you I would recommend trying a different suspension. The FRPP kit can be purchased for a very reasonable price. The car sits lower, looks better and will be more stable under braking or while driving in windy conditions. The car is very stable at high speed. It is by far the best modification I have done to the car.

ya man yesterday on i4 in lakeland i was getting tossed around like crazy.

Yea these cars do get tossed about in the wind a bit more than normal however after we had this blizzard I must say one thing. I have an 05 and these cars handle awesome in the snow... Seriously going through 6"+ I was not having a single problem beside the occasional wheel slip.

^^Seconded. I switched off the Advancetrac and it sailed right through, even on worn all-season Yokohamas (1/4 tread left rear, about 1/3 in front).

Posted via FF Mobile Foci handle surprisingly well in the snow. Throw on some snow tires and forget it, you can tow audis and subarus lol. And anything at 80mph besides f1 cars will shutter in 50mph winds.

Well why are you doing 80mph in that kind of situation???

^^ why arent yoo??

just be glad it isnt a crx. those have isues with wind stablity at any speed.

And anything at 80mph besides f1 cars will shutter in 50mph winds.

Not necessarily. If your car has exceptional aerodynamics, underbody panels, low ride height, stiff suspension, and electronic steering compensation, you can still travel fairly straight in some pretty harsh conditions. There'll be loads of road noise, but definitely no twitchy steering or loss of control by any stretch of the imagination.

Will there be a threshold where all of that doesn't matter? Of course. But you'd have to reach three digits in order to really feel it. Relatively speaking a stock Focus gets upset a little more easily when compared to other cars. With the right mods you can help increase that threshold. Or wait for the 2012 model year to feel the difference.

Not necessarily. If your car has exceptional aerodynamics, underbody panels, low ride height, stiff suspension, and electronic steering compensation, you can still travel fairly straight in some pretty harsh conditions. There'll be loads of road noise, but definitely no twitchy steering or loss of control by any stretch of the imagination.

Will there be a threshold where all of that doesn't matter? Of course. But you'd have to reach three digits in order to really feel it. Relatively speaking a stock Focus gets upset a little more easily when compared to other cars. With the right mods you can help increase that threshold. Or wait for the 2012 model year to feel the difference.



Posted via FF Mobile I know, i used f1 car as an example. And when I said shutter I meant just shake a bit. Ive never lost any control or had problems going straight. Their light cars without a low ride height, alittle shaky in the wind is expected.

lol any of you guys ever drive a truck & trailer in the wind? LOL better just stay home if you can't keep your focus on the road LOL!

ya man yesterday on i4 in lakeland i was getting tossed around like crazy.

Tell'em nothing like hitting a 40 mph crosswind on a bike is there......... tends to make the old butthole pucker.