My '12 SE Picture/Project Thread

[Twenty]

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.







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.

[Sponsor]

[Twenty]

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/s...9&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.

[Twenty]

OEM rear floor mats and mud flaps:

Guides for installing the mud flaps can be found here:

Front: http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/s...46&postcount=1
Rear: http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/s...47&postcount=2

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

[LouBomb]

ive never seen this color...i like it!

[loudfocus01]

Very nicely organized thread! I like your focus and what you've done with it so far.

[FocusBoy58]

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.

[Red Jay 918]

nice but meh on the yellow fogs. 5 speed win... its nice not seeing another automatic... love Yellow Blaze especially on the current S197's

[2002greenzx3]

very nice '12. love what you've done so far. keep up the good work!

[xpeterbilt387x]

Keep it up dude! Looks great.

[stoopidsteve87]

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.