Idea!? good or bad here it is.
 

I've got a 2004 Focus ZTS and I'm thinking of turning it into somewhat of a rally car. By somewhat I mean I'm not going to actually take it to a rally and get 5ft in the air.

Here's my idea.
I own a company and drive alot of dirt road(oil field road). I normally drive an F250 but all I need is a laptop and a screwdriver so it's way over kill to drive the F250. I'm thinking the Focus with a roll cage and suspension would be fun. I don't know if it will survive the dirt roads for long though.[???:)] I normally don't get above 55mph on the dirt, as crappy as the roads are so I don't think I need to shed all the weight that I could. This means I could make it more comfortable. It is typically over 100 degrees in the summer here so I want to keep the A/C and the radio would be nice too, as I normally work 12 hour days and 10 of those hours are in the vehicle. I could also use all the graphics on the exterior to advertise for my company. I'm also on the blacktop alot too.

Can I get some feed back as to wether you think the suspension and roll cage would hold up, thoughts about keeping A/C & radio, Suggestions in general?

PS I'm new to the Focus and Rally Cars so any info is greatly appreaciated.

welcome to FF. what you will need. a good suspension setup that can handle the abuse of the long days on the dirt roads but still comfy because your in the car for a long time. next put a nice beefy all season tire on there so you can still hit the dirt roads at full speed. as for the cage you could probs go to a shop and have them fab one up to your likings cus idk what they sell online. to give it that rally look put a nice custom light bar on the front and some big mud flaps to keep her somewhat clean (p.s. use big rubber truck flaps and design your own. this is what i did cost me $12 and ive had mine for a yr and still as good as new). main this is spend some good money on a mid to high end rally suspension that will handle the abuse and allow you to have fun one the pavement too.

If I understand you right, you think a mid range suspension(probably 2-4k $) would survive the long days on the road. I know alot of Certified Pipeline welders that would build the roll cage. I think if they can weld pipe good enough to hold thousands of psi that it should be good enough for the cage. Any suggestions on specific tire(brand & size)? I've read alot of people run winter tires?

I'm glad there are others out there that don't think my idea is completly insane.

Why the rollcage?
Driving around in a car with a cage (not a rollbar) can be more dangerous UNLESS you wear a helmet.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...607340D1A9.jpg
That's what I did ;)

the focus rally cars are hardly foci at all.

i think you should keep the f250. I'm psychic and I can see into the future ill give you a free reading:

your car is broken and sticking in a dirt mound looking much like a $4000 lawn dart.

Best advice I can give you is do it if you are going to use it. I do work at rally's so having my car set up for sweep is just necessary. I don't need a cage though so I don't have one. But I do have a co driver and I am planning on competing in the future. It is also my daily driver and I get lots of compliments on it. So if you can afford to go all out with it, have fun! I'd like to see it. I'd suggest getting bigger lights than mine though. Mine are wide beams, get hella's or piaa's, euro beam. Or pencil. Trust me though. I have a zts and I beat the snot out of it, haven't had a problem other then struts. Get KYB AGX's you can adjust the damping that way, plus they aren't very expensive

If you run winters you'd spend money replacing them often if you spend 10 hours a day driving. You'd be better off getting rally wheels and tires. Team dynamics make good wheels, but find out the tire sizes for rally tires first, and buy the wheels after you find the tires. Rally tires don't come in many sizes.

This is not true at all at the grassroots level. Good wheels, and some extra protection is what you need.

Not sure if the OP will come back, but for dirt roads a skid plate and a slightly taller tire will probably get you a long ways. Look for what people are doing for rallyx setups. You do not need/want a roll cage for street driving.

Just remember all rally cars break. I have to replace my RR Hub after I was beating on it to hard. Thankfully that's all that broke :) cheap fix