New Focus owner and new to the group

"C. James Strutz" wrote

< How does the Focus do in snow and ice? Do you recommend getting winter tires?

Your fat 17-inchers will not do well in the snow. I think that a set of 15 inch rims will fit, but you might want to check on that first. If so, buy the steel rims and 195/60 winter tires. Your dry-pavement handling will not be as impressive of course.

Enjoy your Focus.

My Focus handles as good as any on winter roads. And I have tried eg SAAB's, Audi's and Citroen's here on Swedish snow and ice. The Focus is one of the very best cars when it comes to road manners, be it summer or winter. It would take four wheel drive to improve on it. But the heater/defroster is not top of the pops. Expect more condense/ice on the side windows than the others on the road. There's no substitute for real winter tyres though. I can recommend Nokian Hakkapellitta for serious winter service. Latest winter tyre tests here have shown that non spiked winter tyres now have so soft rubber mixtures that they loose more stability on dry pavement than spiked winter tyres who have slightly harder rubber and longer life. /per

"Dave Gower" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@magma.ca...

:>

:>"C. James Strutz" wrote :>

:>< How does the Focus do in snow and ice? Do you recommend getting winter :>tires? :>

:>Your fat 17-inchers will not do well in the snow. I think that a set of 15 :>inch rims will fit, but you might want to check on that first. If so, buy

According to SVT the temporary spare tire is on a 16" rim to be able to clear the front disc brakes. I'm sure that if Ford could have saved a few bucks on a 15" tire and rim for the spare like on other Focus models they would have.

:>the steel rims and 195/60 winter tires. Your dry-pavement handling will not :>be as impressive of course. :>

:>Enjoy your Focus.

me/2

Owner of an '04 SVT Focus 5 Door in Sonic Blue with the European Appearance Package. 1 of only 48 built in that combination.

:>Hi all, :>

:>I am a former Probe GT owner and loved that car until it gave up its ghost :>last month after 140k+ miles. Probes had their share of problems but it was :>quite a good driving car with its combination of power and handling. I :>researched new cars and discovered the Focus are highly regarded for :>reliablity and performance. So I bought an SVT Focus about 2 weeks ago and :>am impressed so far. I like the Probe body style better but the Focus is :>just as much fun to drive. Hopefully it will be more reliable and with lower :>repair costs over its life. :>

:>I have some questions for the group. How does the Focus do in snow and ice? :>Do you recommend getting winter tires? Also, I bought the molded mud guards :>that Ford lists for the SVT Focus, but they don't fit the car. I think they :>must fit the regular Focus but not the SVT. Are there molded mud guards :>available for the SVT Focus and where can I find them? :>

:>Thanks for any information.... :>

Welcome to the club. If you haven't already done it you should hit the SVTOA (Owner's Association) web site

and check out the forums there. The SVT Focus section is one of the busiest there.

I bought an '04 SVT 5 Door back in February and have really enjoyed it. It's Sonic Blue with the European Appearance Package, 1 of only

48 built in that combination.

me/2

And in 2006 Europe gets a 4wd Focus hopefully... the 280bhp+ 0-60mph in sub-5 4wd RS MKII :D

Also in reply to the original topic, my dad's focus ably goes past all the RWD Mercs and beemers stuck in the ice ;)

the only time when we had problems was an unexpected snow day and we had badly worn tires... and still, that was only up the steepest of hills...

-JB