does anyone have any proof of who co-engineered the duratec V6 motor? someone said it was a ford/mazda thing. are you sure that wasnt a Yamaha/Ford thing? reason i ask is that, I know that Yamaha designed the head for the Ford 2 litre Zetec four-cylinder motor.

Yamaha also helped design the 1st gen. SHO V6 engines. They also build the heads for the new SHO V8, while Ford builds the block and then send it to Yamaha to be assembled and then shipped back to the states to be installed. Since the same technology that is used on the 4-cylinder zetec motor is also used on the V6 duratec motor, i thought that perhaps Yamaha had a design influence in there as well.

think about this. why would Mazda help designb an engine that (to my knoweldge) has never used? its only common sense that if mazda were to design or help to design an engine, they would surely use it in their own cars-right? i dunno really. just something to chew on.
chris j.

 

what are you talking about i've taken my P5 over 100MPH (160km/h) many times and it was stable as hell!!!!!

 

stable for you may not be stable enough for me.
zx3 with stock 16" 205/50 tires was much more stable than P5 at speeds over 80 mph.
P5's tires are much quieter though and overall better quality than ZX3's Firehawks GT02's (those really suck)

 

What is stable for you?? I have to ask becuase I've had my MP3 in the same range and it was solid as a rock. Every now and a gain the ruts made the car a little jittery. But, no biggy I don't quick the steering wheel it a "death grip".

 

I know that's why it was a little "jittery"...I was just throwing it out there becuase I didn't feel the car become unstable even with the wheel doing this...The car still felt planted.

I am very happy with the steering response and got used to the feeling quite quickly.

Oh, and no, I hate the dead wheel feel trucks have.

 

With some steady side winds and speeds 80-105mph when going over any road imperfections or even little bumps of any kind P5 did got out of it's course and mostly due to it's great and quick steering response I was able to get it back on it's course again.
ZX3 driven over the same road (same bumps and imperfections) felt more stable and it's superb rear suspension kept the car not only planted but more stable than P5 in the same situation, so I did not have to use my steering constantly to get it where I wanted it to be, steering on Focus is also great, not as quick as on P5 where front under hood bar keeps it very tight and precise and makes the difference. I did have that bar on my Focus and it made quite a difference in overall steering precision and made it feel quicker.
Do you know what I mean?
It's all in the rear suspension, I can't wait to see the same rear set-up on Mazda6 and next gen Protege!

 

A strut tower bar simply helps stop/reduce chassis flex under hard cornering by not allowing the shock towers to flex inward. The actual steering box is what makes the car steering tight and/or loose. The gearing in the box determines that.

I see what you mean by "stable" and I didn't experience any of that between my seat time in the Protege 5 v. seat time in the ZX3.

To me, the ZX3 felt like your average everyday compact. The Protege 5 felt a liittle sluggish but stiffer over bumps and not as much body roll in the corners.

As a comparisson with another car, the Golf seemed better put together than both, a little looser than Protege 5 but better than the ZX3. Same with the Jetta.

These are however, only my opinions and do not in any way shape or form reflect the opinions of anyone else. Any resemblance to someone elses opinion is puely coincidence.