Focus Fanatics Forum banner

My '12 SE Picture/Project Thread

455K views 1K replies 183 participants last post by  Twenty 
#1 ·
Rather than continually update what was my introductory post, I figured I'd better start off an 'official' thread for updates regarding my Focus, as a single place to post news, modifications, or just pictures in general.

This is the car; a 2012 SE sedan, with Sport and Winter packages. I brought it home on September 23, after being lucky enough to find it at the dealership I work at.



The whole point was to have a safe, reliable daily driver, but I wanted something fun that stood out. Yellow Blaze and a 5-speed took care of that. [giddy]







As my signature says, this car is really just a mini-project, so I'll try to control myself and keep it relatively simple, but I'm still going to make some adjustments here and there to make it my own.

[wrenchin]
 
See less See more
6
#2 · (Edited)
Matte black grille:

One of the first changes was blacking out the upper grille with some matte black vinyl that I had laying around. Quick and easy, and a rather noticeable change to the front end.




Ti fog light bezels and tinted fog lights:

Mini 'guide' for the swap can be found here: http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3855039&postcount=19

Working for a Ford dealership, I regularly pop into parts and hand the guys another part number for something I want. Still in the Focus' early days, I ordered some OEM Ti fog light bezels and swapped them in place of the chrome SE/SEL pieces.




Rather than take out the headlights, I pulled out the under-bumper shield and worked from below.



With the fog lights out anyway, I also went ahead and redid the yellow vinyl tint I had previously applied, since I had better access.






Tinted rear bumper reflectors:

There's not much to say for this one, the two rear reflectors were tinted with some extra vinyl that I had from my Grand Prix.



Winter preparation:

About a month after bringing the Focus home, the tires were swapped for Goodyear winter tires, and the bumper, hood, fenders, and mirrors were treated to a 3M clear bra. Fortunately snow turned out to be a ways off at that point, but I wasn't going to wait until after it hit.


 
#3 · (Edited)
OEM rear floor mats and mud flaps:

Guides for installing the mud flaps can be found here:

Front: http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3874846&postcount=1
Rear: http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3874847&postcount=2

More OEM parts that I felt the Focus was missing were ordered, this time floor mats (No rear mats...really? [confused]) and mud flaps.





For the mud flaps, some clear vinyl was applied first, to protect the paint from any dirt that may find its way under the side of the flaps.



After that, all four were put in place.





Just a couple of days later the first real snow fall hit-good timing. Worth mentioning is the fact that heated cloth seats are the best combination, ever.



Broadyway mirror and yellow fog light bulbs:

These are two small items that I couldn't go without. The mirror is the 270mm-wide flat version, and in my opinion is so much nicer than the slightly smaller, rounded stock piece.




The bulbs work with the yellow tint, so that the fog lights are yellow both when they're on and when they're off. What can I say, I'm a sucker for yellow fog lights. The size is H11, for anyone wondering.





And that brings us up to where the Focus sits today. 7 weeks and almost 1600 kilometers in, and so far nothing but enjoyment from it. Here's hoping there are many more good times to come.

 
#16 ·
Very nicely organized thread! I like your focus and what you've done with it so far.
very nice '12. love what you've done so far. keep up the good work!
Keep it up dude! Looks great.
Thanks everyone!

So much for HIDs in reflectors looking bad. Those look great! Mine look exactly the same. Good lines for reflectors regardless of what anyone says.
You may have a lot of money in your suspension, but those aren't HIDs.
Thanks, but those are indeed the original headlight bulbs. Only the fog light bulbs have been replaced on this car so far.

nice but meh on the yellow fogs. 5 speed win... its not seeing another automatic... love Yellow Blaze especially on the current S197's
My Grand Prix is an automatic (Manual sedans were rare to the point of being almost non-existent) so I definitely didn't want a second. Having one of each is the way to go, given the chance. [thumb]

That ALMOST makes me wish I'd gone with a Focus rather than the Mazda3 sedan I just purchased. Hatch, hands-down I'd have gone Focus. But sedan, still the rear hasn't grown on me.

But wow. That's looking sexy in yellow lol Blacked-out front trim was a great touch.
The Mazda 3 was actually one of the cars I was looking at (There was a red '08 sitting at a local Hyundai dealer), when I was browsing local new-ish cars for sale. Very nice and tempting, but I'm glad I picked my li'l yellow sedan.
 
#6 ·


So much for HIDs in reflectors looking bad. Those look great! Mine look exactly the same. Good lines for reflectors regardless of what anyone says.
 
#12 ·
I dont see where my suspension has anything to do with this since all you did was correct me?





They sure look like it... To white to be a regular bulb unless his camera messed with the color.

My 6000k in my 12 looks just like that against a garage door.
 
#11 ·
That ALMOST makes me wish I'd gone with a Focus rather than the Mazda3 sedan I just purchased. Hatch, hands-down I'd have gone Focus. But sedan, still the rear hasn't grown on me.

But wow. That's looking sexy in yellow lol Blacked-out front trim was a great touch.
 
#14 ·
Paints a target on me huh? But I didnt find what he said to be offensive or to be $hit talking so its all good.
 
#15 ·
lol I'm not a part of it. I think the signature is funny, myself. And I don't know nor care if they're HIDs. It's a good looking car! Back to the subject!
 
#20 ·
[cheers] Thanks again all!

OEM locking lug nuts:

Here's today's very minor update. Driving a bright yellow car means getting attention, and being brand new it may draw other kinds of attention as well. I decided to invest in a set of locking lug nuts for the Fofo, yet another item that my GP has that I wanted the Focus to have as well. $40 for some extra security and peace of mind.



Obviously this is a very self-explanatory and simple set, but my camera found its way into things so I snapped some pics. Maybe I just like shiny things. [giddy]

Inside the package are the four lug nuts and the appropriate key. One nice feature I noticed is that the key has little 'grips' (Note the notched rings) for tightening and loosening the nuts by hand. My GP's key doesn't have these, but for such a small thing they're really nice. Details count.



A comparison of the new nut and the stock piece it replaces. They are longer and stick out a little further than the rest.



Each is torqued to 100 ft-lbs and it's done.



I think that about covers it for factory accessories now, the Focus has what I wanted it to.
 
#22 · (Edited)
[cheers]

My parents surprised me by secretly ordering the personalized plates that I wanted to get, and they showed up this past week. The next day I went to register them and stick one on the car.




Apart from the plate, nothing new to report yet parts-wise. However, tonight I pulled apart the shift knob/boot/trim assembly to figure out how, as there seemed to be more questions than answers regarding the process for '12s. Once again I took along the camera and posted up some notes for others wondering.



http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=273852

Now that I know how, methinks it's time to go pick out a new shift knob to change up the interior a tad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: brad_naylor
#23 ·
I figured I'd toss these in here since they include the Focus. My mother and I picked up her car from the body shop today, so we quickly took a few pictures of the two Fords together.


 
  • Like
Reactions: brad_naylor
#26 ·
Thanks! The paint was just a few days old at that point. Now it has to wait in storage though, until spring rolls around. Only then can we drive it. [driving]
 
#25 ·
Husky Liners floor mats:




Earlier this week I ordered and picked up a set of floor liners (Mats) from Husky Liners to protect the carpet through the winter. I opted for them specifically because of their dead pedal coverage. Having a manual, I needed a place to put my left foot that wouldn't soil the carpet.




The mats fit into place perfectly, both front and back, and cover everything. One thing I was expecting was the driver's mat to clip in like the OEM mats, given the little buldges where the clips are. It turns out though that they're simply there to fit over the clips, but the mats fit so snugly they won't go anywhere anyway.




One thing I noticed on the OEM mats though, is that after not even three months (And less than 3000 kilometers), the driver's mat is already showing a worn patch. That didn't take long. Any other manual owners notice this? It seems to be from the clutch pedal.

 
  • Like
Reactions: brad_naylor
#27 ·
Blox shift knob:



I got a message today from a local shop that the shift knob I'd ordered had arrived, so I wandered over to pick it up.




I went with the Blox 490, in Neo Chrome. Since the car's colourful, why not the shift knob?

Size comparison:



It turns out the OEM boot isn't long enough to sit against the bottom of the knob, so without being able to use the included nut to secure it, a ziptie holds it in place instead. I think making a longer boot is on the to-do list.



And, everything back in place. The weighted knob falls into place nicely when shifting gears, and I'm a sucker for the colours. [wiggle]


 
  • Like
Reactions: brad_naylor
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top