hi-that speedometer goes to 140mph.how fast have you taken your zx3?on a test track, of course.i have been up to around 100 with no problem.when i was in europe last summer, i got passed by focus zx5's mostly,that were going 120-130mph a lot.

most foci built in the US have a governor at about 110 eropean foci do not have this in the programing

Before I tweaked the car into a little monster. I had the car doing 130 and the rev limiter kicked in and I started to deccelerate pretty rapidly. I would not suggest doing this speed without beefing up the internals of your engine. Needless to say the guy in the brand new firebird that I was speeding alonside down I-205 here in Vancouver WA was thoroughly impressed. I did not go that fast again until I had tweaked the engine significantly. My nuts were about up to my throat, it was preety scary. Anyway, top that in a STOCK condition. Anybody else hit the rev limiter? let me know.

There is a pretty simple way to bypass the speed limiter on your ZX3's. If you wire a switch into your speedometer circuit you can shut off the speedo when you get near the speed limiter. Your computer wont know how fast your going and wont slow you down.

I thought the governor was based on Tack and speedometer data. At least that's what I remember my shop manual saying. I'll have to look it up again. It was something about the engine cannot exceed 6,300-6,500 RPM @ 110MPH for X amount of time. Now the odd thing is the top speed is supposed to be 103MPH but I've been 114-115MPH for at least 1/2 mile. I know my sierra 1500's governor (AKA engine brake) kicks in at 95MPH or 5,700RPM which ever it hits first. <br><br>Here's a question for the group; is there a difference between an engine retarder and an engine brake? The shop manual refers to the governor as a retarder.

TO MAXSTANGGT:<br><br>What limiter?, I permanently bypassed the thing. I dont really need it anymore. I do not recommend bypassing it, If you are not properly trained and racing professionally you should leave it as is, it is there not only for your safety but the engines safety, prolonged high revs can severly damage your engine.

A governer is different from what the focus has. A governer is an actual part that can be adjusted with a screwdriver. The focus has an electronic rev limiter. depending on your gear ratios your top speed before limiter kicks in can vary. It just depends on how fast you can go at how many RPM. A DIABLO superchip can pretty much take care of this problem but as I have said before this should not be a problem for you. If you don't know how it works it's likely you should not be messing with it anyway!!!

Very true but I have an extensive training backround in Ford electronics. A chip is the easiest way I was simply stating an alternative.

quite right sir, I was not trying to correct you just educate the masses. I did not assume YOU had no experience, I was speaking in general terms. Remember FOCUS=LOVE AHHHHHHHHHH.

just thought i would add my little small bit to the crowd...i have a stock zx3, soon to be modified, i have hit 110 and i have had nothing slowing me down besides myself...i hit that high speed for about a 1/2 mile on the freeway and then i decelerate for the whole safety thing and all. i do drive it pretty hard around 80-90 most times on the freeway it is still being good for me. it has almost 7,000 on it!

My 2001 ZX3 has 22,107 miles on it and it runs great...i get it to 110 mph all the time cause I live where there aren't many cops...lol...I am starting to sup-up my baby...I just need some help...like always

I drive my stock 2000 Ford Focus zx3 all over the place... It was band new when I got it, and not it's got 46,000+ miles on it. I'm pretty good with upkeep and whatnot, and it's still running just fine. A few of the plastic things inside of loosened a little bit and rattle around now if it's bumpy or if the speakers get loud, but that's to be expected. I'm a fast driver... I keep it between 80 and 100 miles an hour on the interstate, and I've been up to 110 before. I'm still loving my Ford Focus! My one and only issue with it is that I bought this "Class of 2002" mickey head to put on the antenna, but it's too heavy and bounces on my roof when I'm going over 60mph. I can't get one of those smaller antennas because the mickey head wont fit on the end of those... I'll end up just taking it off because it's annoying.