*STREET* '08 Focus S vs. 3 Mazda3s!

[Arkaign]

What a Saturday!

I've been waiting for this showdown for almost a week, and it was better than I ever imagined. My friend Jay with the '06 Mazda 3 showed up for a good old rubber-burning, motor-revving good time. And he brought two friends with 3s to boot!

I'll start with Jay's 3. It's a 2006 S Touring with the 2.3L Motor, 5 doors, and an Auto tranny. Lined up, I launch a little low and bog a bit off the line, and he pops away to maybe a 1/2 car lead. I burn furiously through first, and as I do a lightning shift into 2nd, I glance over and his rear wheel is about even with my front seats, and I hold 2nd perfectly to ~6550 or so, and shift about the instant before the rev limiter boots me in the face. As I enter 3rd, I've gotten about a hood on him. And that's when we both slow down, as not to get too dangerous.

We line up for a 2nd run, and this time I drop-launch at about 2900, and it couldn't have been more perfect for a quick pop and grab, without bogging the motor. This time I get a good dig on him, and he starts with his front bumper about even with my trunk, and by the time I hit the bottom of 3rd, he's about a 1/2 car back.

FoFo FTW.

2nd guy is ready to go, one of Jay's friends from work. Has an '07 2.0 I Sport 5-speed.

Line up, and we both launch a little too hard, wheel spin on both sides. We both get traction about the same time, and stay neck and neck until we both shift into 2nd, I popped 2nd near-instantly, and he must have taken a shade longer, because I push him back a few feet, and then we're pretty much dead even, though he's pulling back ever .. so .. slowly.

We line up the 2nd time, and he launches on 2 (on a 3-count), lol. I drop the clutch at like 10 million rpm and the FoFo wiggles around sideways at the front for a minute before shooting off, making a crazy amount of noise while doing so. I can't reel him in entirely, but he must have missed a shift, because I pull a fender up to his rear bumper/quarterpanel area.

We're both laughing our butts off at how botched the last run is, but he claims victory and so do I

FoFo FTW #2!

Race 3. It's a very clean black debadged 3, and with wicked looking wheels and exhaust. We both line up, and while revving, I hear some suspicious noises coming from the 3. We both launch, and he launches about a half-second back, and with a much lower rev than I did. Well, we're not more than 20 feet from the starting line when he blows by like you wouldn't believe, having a hard time keeping it straight. By the time I shift into 2nd, he's several car lengths ahead, and by the time I am at the top of 2nd, he's just blown me away.

We roll back into the lot, and he pops the hood. It's a MazdaSpeed3 with about $10k in mods. I'm not that familiar, but from what he says :

Front-mounted Intercooler
Synchronic Blow-Off valve
Custom Headers
HKS Boost controller
XEDE ECU Controller

bunch of other stuff. The coolest thing on his car was the graphite 18" wheels with Pirelli Z-rated rubber on them.

FoFo FTL!

Well, lots of fun. Jay's getting a CAI for his 3, and I told him he might look into an ECU tune, as he said his 3 was shifting in the mid-6s, he could probably get a bit more power by having the shift point higher at full throttle, so he could come into the powerband better in the next gear. He doesn't like the idea of having to use 93 octane though, he says his MPG is already pretty bad.

And that was my Saturday! A good showing for the little red '08! I'm really liking how it runs with the Mobil 1 in there.

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[NintendoSkater]

Sounds awesome, I've always wondered how the Foci would do up against regular Mazda 3's.

[Arkaign]

Originally Posted by NintendoSkater

Sounds awesome, I've always wondered how the Foci would do up against regular Mazda 3's.

Yeah, I was really curious to see how the weight played into things. I was down 8hp on the 2.0, and down 16hp on the 2.3, but was able to make a good show for the FoFo. The 2.3 5 Speed would have schooled me, but and that MazdaSpeed3 absolutely destroyed me, but I'm not ashamed at all to have a stock '08 Focus S take down two Mazda 3s :)

[Focorec]

Originally Posted by Arkaign

Yeah, I was really curious to see how the weight played into things. I was down 8hp on the 2.0, and down 16hp on the 2.3, but was able to make a good show for the FoFo. The 2.3 5 Speed would have schooled me, but and that MazdaSpeed3 absolutely destroyed me, but I'm not ashamed at all to have a stock '08 Focus S take down two Mazda 3s :)

Definitely nothing to be ashamed of! The FoFo can hold its own! Thanks for the results!

[Arkaign]

Originally Posted by Focorec

Definitely nothing to be ashamed of! The FoFo can hold its own! Thanks for the results!

Hehehe yea the FoFo is a fun little cheap car. Nice being able to take down that 2.3, it cost a lot more than mine!

Of course, those things are really a bit nicer overall than the Focus, but I'd still rather have this than a 3, unless it was a speed3 lol.