By Howard Adkin
"OFOC... How did I get into this? How is it that a guy that has only been "officially" a
member of a car club for about 2 days now can find himself writing on behalf of that club?"
The club known as "OFOC -
Ontario Focus Owners Club", verbally speaking, seems to have
two very specific meanings. But we'll get to that later.
Now for those of you that haven't
heard of OFOC, it is a self-described Ford Focus enthusiasts club.
You know, a car club. So how are we different than any other car
club out there? Perhaps we're not, and that could very well be the
point.
Allow
me to explain. Like most modern clubs there are affiliations with a
national web-based forum, or club if you will, known as Focus
Canada. There are the standard "meets", "G2G"
days, and newly redesigned club stickers (we all love our stickers).
As well, we now have a Ford dealership on-board for discounted parts
and service to the Membership roster. Welcome aboard Donway
Ford from Scarborough, Ontario.
The
common thread that seems to hold the membership together at OFOC, or
any other club for that matter, is something simply known as the
Blood, Sweat, and Gears of trying to take a perfectly good daily
commuter car and "tune" it into what we hope someday to be
something extraordinary or unique. More often than not what we end
up with is a veritable "suckhole" for money and time that
usually makes more noise
than horsepower. I'm certain that the thousands of tuners and would-be tuners that make up god knows how many clubs nationwide have
suffered to varying degrees this quandary . It is the ability to
use the club forums and collective knowledge to resolve these and
many other issues that is the point.
Having said that, there
are some differentiating qualities that in my short stay thus far
with OFOC have made
an impression.
What comes to mind first
is the widely varied age demographics. Some of us, although young
maybe even juvenile at heart, are busy booking our first prostate
examinations and suffering through our teenagers angst, while
others are those teenagers. OFOC somehow softens this age
difference.
The dedication of the
membership is also apparent . Some traverse great distances from all
edges of Ontario. Some even venture in from neighbouring states and
provinces such as New York and Quebec. We've even have a member of
"higher standing" that lost his Focus while attempting reverse osmosis with a stationary object and
still hitched a ride to what was a great G2G at the infamous Sean Hyland
Motorsport.
Most important to note though might come in the form of a
warning: Do not talk about Ford Mustangs! The volumes of
"eloquence" and deluge of commentary that follows is sure
to give you a brain aneurysm. Indeed, there are a number of topics discussed throughout our
forums that inspire great debate and encourage a sense of humour -- regardless of the topic.
Now the first thing one
notices as a member of OFOC is that we all have a story that
speaks to the Blood ,Sweat, and Gears of modding our car. Success
stories and failures alike all the stories have special significance
to the storyteller and, by extension, to the club. What is amusing is that
all the stories share that "got-to-have-part(s)", the anticipation
of waiting for the damn thing to come in, and the rush of a successful
install or that completely sinking feeling you get when the car gods
are not on your side that day(s).
It doesn't take long
before the story of one member's new "performance" cold air
intake or another's foray with the car's ECU produce less than
anticipated results, and he or she is online tapping into an endless
supply of "knowledge". All this while yet another member
is regurgitating how blown
away they are with the
new suspension components and their effects on their Focus.
It's all good stuff this
Blood Sweat and Gears. No doubt it gets into one's head.
Now
I too have had more than my share of goofs while
"improving" my Focus. I finally decided for me a Shorty header was the way to go.
So, I ordered one. A
couple days later I'm heading to my shop to install it, looking
forward to the results. All was completely as
expected: dismantle this, take off that, remove the EGR, remove stock manifold,
no problemo!. Install the header to the
manifold. So good, so far. Line up the cat...line up the cat...there.
Three studs to tighten down at the header to catalytic
joint and I'm off to the
"races". Tighten the first nut down on the cat
studs. Tighten down the second...no problem. Tightening the third....just...a
...little ...bit ...mo... *SNAP!* "OHHH
FOC!" (the other meaning to OFOC)
.
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