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-   -   The Angry Little Saleen...Focus! (https://saleenforums.soec.org/showthread.php?t=4700)

TMAC 03-03-2009 10:11 PM

The Angry Little Saleen...Focus!
 
Thought you guys might get a kick out of something that happened to me today. While driving to work I was cut off repeatedly by a tool in a Cadillac CTS-V. I knew that he had the horsepower and torque to blister me if I went to pass him.
As luck would have it, I managed to get in front of him at a traffic light. When the light turned green, I tached it up and dumped the clutch in my N2O and as God as my witness, I white smoked the tires for a solid ten seconds causing that Cadillac to have to stop and wait for a clearing in the smoke.
I was genuinely impressed that little motor could accomplish such a feat. There is no way now, you can convince me, that Saleen did not reprogram the computer and get a little something extra out of it. Mind you that this occurred without the nitrous hooked up. I have a '99 S281 and for a few seconds there, I thought I was driving it!
The Angry Little Saleen...Focus, who knew it really was a fire breathing, tire smoking monster! :eek:

Jim D. 03-04-2009 12:14 AM

In my official capacity here, I must say we certainly can't condone any exhibition of speed on the street.

Unofficially, that's a pretty cool story! :biggrin:


Always, be safe and keep the shiny side up. :smile:

TMAC 03-04-2009 09:17 AM

I can appreciate your official postion, to post anything other than what you did would seem inappropriate. That is something I do not usually do, but that guy caused me to spin into a level of "****tivity" (I know that is not a real word,) that I rarely get sent into.
So, I was compelled to do what I did, in order to keep from jerking him out of the car and "stomping a mudhole in him and walking it dry!"
So, could the little tire smoke incident actually have been considered an act of restraint on my part? An exibition of vehicular disapproval of stupid drivers/ people on behalf of everyone that has been done like this before?
I know I shouldn't have and it is wrong and like Jim said, this behavior should not be exercised or condoned...but, man it felt great!

Dave 03-04-2009 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMAC (Post 15397)
The Angry Little Saleen...Focus, who knew it really was a fire breathing, tire smoking monster! :eek:

Greg (saleenlocator) swears by these little Foci. Maybe Saleen placed a touch of "angry" in the vehicles while under conversion.

I like 'em... and they now seem relevant in our current "world view." Ahead of its time?

TMAC 03-05-2009 09:46 AM

I was employed by Saleen for a while and had one of these cars as a company vehicle to do my traveling in. I developed an attachment to the N2Os. They are a plucky, dependable car. Great gas mileage, handle like a go-kart and actually have some room in there to haul stuff around. They also get some kind of response..some like it some don't and that is cool. I bought this car as a daily driver. Its was a more expensive option than the regular commuter car, but I wanted something with style and some degree of individuality. Relevant, I would say yes...ahead of its time...possibly. I think that these cars and Saleen vehicles in general will be seen in the coming years as a true collector car. Now that Saleen Inc. is now defunct, could we be seeing a similarity to the YENKO cars in terms of value and collectibility??

Jim D. 03-05-2009 11:33 AM

At the 2005 Saleen Show weekend of fun in Irvine, the SOEC Driving Event had a few R&D cars on loan from Saleen for us to drive, and a little Focus was one of those cars -- it was really a fun and quite nimble ride through the autocross course!

TMAC 03-06-2009 12:17 PM

Did you drive it through the autocross with the nitrous active?? Makes a significant difference and really puts you on your toes when aggressively driving!

Jim D. 03-08-2009 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMAC (Post 15555)
Did you drive it through the autocross with the nitrous active?? Makes a significant difference and really puts you on your toes when aggressively driving!

No nitrous, unfortunately!

s121#72 08-29-2009 04:04 PM

lol.. good story.. my surprise as to what these little tire frying monsters could do happened when my Falken Azenis came in.. long story short, you know if your are going in to get new tires you just dont cant leave rubber on the old ones right? lol.. Sooo.. Built up the r's, popped the clutch and lo and behold.. a first and second gear burnout ensued.. If you dont mind poor film quality, look up Saleen S121 on YouTube and you can see it first hand.. And this was the NA 2.0 S121!! not our Turbo'd N20.. Couldnt believe it:)

TMAC 09-02-2009 03:08 PM

What kind of turbo are you running on the N2O?

s121#72 09-02-2009 03:44 PM

Dont remember which turbo it is off the top of my head, but it is the fswerks/ focusport stage2 kit on the car.. plus different clutch of course, and limited slip diff.. this is how these cars should have come.. lol.. roughly 230hp/240trq dyno'd at the wheels.. granted I know if they came this way the fair market price at the dealer would have been astronomical.. still a very fun car..

Jeff05S281 09-26-2009 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim D. (Post 15493)
At the 2005 Saleen Show weekend of fun in Irvine, the SOEC Driving Event had a few R&D cars on loan from Saleen for us to drive, and a little Focus was one of those cars -- it was really a fun and quite nimble ride through the autocross course!


I rode in that car around that track with Robert Cutler (owner of that white 97 S351 Vert) driving it....The Focus really impressed me. It handles quite well.

Greg Wackett 09-28-2009 09:19 AM

Do you have any pics from the event?

saleen#89 08-16-2011 11:44 PM

I just recently went from n2o to turbo and love it. It was the wakeup call it need. By the way I have an 04with the d2.3 under the hood so that with the turbo is very nice.


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