I just purchased my 03 focus SVT and there are a few things about it that seem funny to me. The motor takes a long time to lose RPM's. If I get on it then put the clutch in or just let the motor spool down it takes what seems like for ever to lose the rpm's. Is that just the nature of the beast? also the car feels gutless below 4,000 rpm. To get any power do you have to get it up past that? I was expecting to be thrown back in my seat off the line.
Thanks for helping the newb out! :)

The SVT has a fairly heavy flywheel, which is meant to keep the engine revs up, which can take time for the momentum to wear off. You can get a light weight flywheel which will then rev up faster, and rev down faster. It's just the nature of the beast.

The best thing for better driveablility is to get a tune which changes how the ECU will manage the engine and many other actions within the engine for more low end driveability and pep. Talk to Tom about that, his handle is 1turbofocus I beleive. Or take a look at the ECU Tuning board for more info on tuning and to see what Tom has to offer.

The car is a high rev monster anyways, so going over 4,000 rpm for a the max torque is just how it is.

[welcome] to FF~!

define 'gutless'

I'm wagering that something is amiss, as for a 2L 4 cylinder, the torque and driveability is quite decent below 4k RPM, and the availability of torque (see "2L 4 cylinder") is surprisingly good.
Heck, I can idle along in a much higher gear and low revs (2k) and still have some pull. Try THAT in a Honda (see signature)

That said, yeah, it needs to have the throttle tipped in hard to giddy-yup. [cool]

Dropping the clutch should allow revs to drop fairly smoothly.

But then again, I am:

Tommy TooHi! YMMV!!!

Like stated a tune would help your issues and more , Let me know if I can help you with the tuning

Tom

Thanks guys! I have only had the car for a short time so ill probably just keep getting used to it then decide what to do later. The car seems really smooth when driving hard in the hills. Is it normal to be having it run 4500-6500rpms when pushing around the corners?
Thanks again!

Also by gutless I mean I drove another regular ZX5 2.3L and my SVT does not feel much faster at low rpms. Of course it is a lot different once the revs build up.

Read around at what a tune does for the SVT

Tom

Take everyone's word and GET A TUNE. By far this is the best upgrade for a stock SVTF and will completely change the way the car feels from idle to 7k. I though the same thing about the car having no balls until 4k+ and then I got a tune, this made it a whole different story.

I live in CA so where would i go to get a tune? and also does it kill your MPG?

tom will do a remote tune. just pm him (1turbofocus)

and if anything it gives better MPG

Tom (1turbofocus) has tunes for sale and it won't kill you MPG.