Twenty's Twenty-twelve

[Twenty]

That looks GREAT!!!!!

Thanks!

' timestamp='1342500265' post='74064']

That looks so slick.

Now, fix the 4x4 status.

Sorry Chris, still stock height for now. Winter is coming you know, I don't want it to be too much of a snowplow. Plus, then my driveway really would pose a problem.

I'd be happy if the GP was at the Focus' height.

That's cool! I like the "story" around it glad downforce was happy with how much you liked it and gave you those options!

Looks great too!

I imagine others will get the same choices when the lips ultimately go into full production. It was really nice that I was able to have choices though, it makes my lip even more special. The other copy of the lip, on the SEMA car, is the other weave they offer. Mine is the only one with the 2x2 construction.

that is awesome!

Thanks!

so it isn't OEM+ anymore right?

Looks good thou

It's OEM++ now

Still counts in my book.

[Twenty]

Terence just updated his blog with his take on the install of the lip. His pictures came out really well.

http://speakterence.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/downforce-carbon-lip/

[Ghost]

what theme are you going with? yellow and black or yellow and black CF?

[Twenty]

I guess yellow/black (CF included) as the main exterior colours (since they're the most prominent) with teal/purple/blurple accents (think decals, lug nuts, etc. The OEM interior accent lighting is teal as well).

[becksmerc]

i love this focus very much so

[Ghost]

I guess yellow/black (CF included) as the main exterior colours (since they're the most prominent) with teal/purple/blurple accents (think decals, lug nuts, etc. The OEM interior accent lighting is teal as well).

i see. i was jus thinking on how it might look if you CF wrap all your exterior black. i dont know if that would be too much. or since its a lip, maybe wrap the black on your mud flaps, side skirts and rear bumper, to match.

[Twenty]

i see. i was jus thinking on how it might look if you CF wrap all your exterior black. i dont know if that would be too much. or since its a lip, maybe wrap the black on your mud flaps, side skirts and rear bumper, to match.

Personally I think that'd be overkill. I'll give it time and see what else comes out for the sedan in terms of skirts and rear valences, so far there's one choice for each and I don't like them.

[Twenty]

Engine bay updates:

11 days to the show and shine. With that in mind, there was still one area of the Focus that I hadn't addressed yet - the engine bay. First thing Monday morning I handed over some part numbers to my friend in Parts and got the pieces I wanted.

Wanting to keep warranties valid and with the coming deadline, I opted to keep it simple and picked up an OEM Titanium engine cover and K&N replacement filter.

I had been on the fence for a long time about ordering the engine cover, but finally decided that I wanted to tidy up the engine's appearance so I went ahead and got one.

As mentioned the second part was a K&N replacement filter. I'm interested in seeing what improvements can be made to the already amazing fuel economy, and I can leave the cover off at the show for some colour.

This was the engine bay to start with:

And this is the engine bay now:

Two easy to install pieces which make a notable improvement to the engine's appearance. I like.

[Ringo64]

Cool! No heat shield for the new intake?

[Twenty]

It's just a filter, it's sitting in the stock box.

[Twenty]

Last-minute update, and Show and Shine!

At yesterday's event I was able to have both cars present, thanks to my father for acting as the second driver after a last-minute family emergency meant my friend couldn't take the Grand Prix for me.

Leading up to the event I was making sure the Focus would be fully detailed and looking its best for yesterday. I also wanted some new changes, as you've already seen with the engine cover and filter. On Friday one of my favourite shops got in some new shift knobs though, and they happened to be the exact colour I was wanting to change to.

On Saturday I wandered over and grabbed one as a final, last-minute change. With the car sporting teal/burple accents (interior accent lighting, lug nuts, center caps, decals) I wanted the shift knob to match as well. I grabbed another Blox 490, this time in Torch Blue. Below is it next to the Neo Chrome knob I've been using since December. (Maybe time to change the colour of the door trim?)

Since Saturday was spent getting both the Focus and GP all cleaned and ready, my parents let me keep both cars in the garage that night so that they'd still be spotless for the following day. As with the Grand Prix, the Focus was still being cleaned long after the sun had gone down.

At the show on Sunday, I was glad to see the Focus getting attention and having pictures taken of it. I ran across a couple of the shop managers/owners I've met while working on it and had a chance to talk to them. Great people, and they finally had a chance to see the car.

This time last year the car hadn't even been built yet, and here it is today. It's been a fun ~10 months working on it and I owe thanks to a lot of people that have been involved, whether it was sourcing parts and supplies, helping with the odd install, or just motivating me to keep on working. []

So much for keeping it a stock daily driver.

[Ringo64]

Wow that's awesome, props to you for showing both!

So much for keeping it a stock daily driver.

I feel like this is a re-occurring statement for all car enthusiasts who buy a DD

[Twenty]

First awards!

Yesterday there was a big show hosted by the local Thunderbird Club. It was held at a Ford/Lincoln dealership and while TBirds were the focus, all Ford vehicles were welcome. I made a last-minute decision to enter the Focus in for fun since I'd already be coming down to visit my parents who had my mother's Thunderbird in. As it turns out we both walked away with something by the end of the day, but the real surprise was the fact that in its first official show, the Thunderbird placed first for its category! It was voted by the other owners as the best '67-'71 example.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I see the rolecall has expanded. lol

[Ringo64]

Nice! Congrats!

[Coupe_GXP]

Congrats!

[havoc1482]

You should totally paint the engine cover! Its fun!

Or will that void the warranty or something? lol

[Twenty]

' timestamp='1344787558' post='74591']

I see the rolecall has expanded. lol

Indeed. Now I swap out decals instead of add, there's no room.

Nice! Congrats!

Congrats!

Thanks!

You should totally paint the engine cover! Its fun!

Or will that void the warranty or something? lol

I'm still debating colour options, but now I'm on vacation and the Fofo is a province away from me. Sad face.

[Twenty]

Now that I'm back in town following a vacation, I was finally able to take the Focus out last night for a spin, I missed that.

I am also now able to start going through all of my photos, not just from the trip but from the show my parents and I were at the day before leaving. Here are a couple more from that, the little glass (as you saw above) is the prize the Focus got for its category.

[Twenty]

Show and Shine, and Recaro?

Today was another large annual show and shine. I've attended the past couple of years with the Grand Prix, but this year unfortunately it's stuck out in storage and I couldn't find a driver for it anyway. The Focus and my mother's Thunderbird attended though, and the weather turned from questionable to quite nice during the day. No prizes, no categories, just a friendly gathering in support of MADD and a good way to start winding down the show season.

A couple of friends met up at our house this morning and we set off in a four-car convoy to head down to the business park where it was held. You may recall the silver Mercedes from my lip install, it was part of it along with the black 330XI, and the Thunderbird of course.

(above photos by Terence)

Just after we got home a massive storm starting coming through, but fortunately all cars were hidden by that time; it was lucky that it didn't hit during the show!

While at the show I also had a chance to test out Terence's Recaro. It's a Profi XL model which he currently has up for sale as the other has been traded and he's looking to change it up a bit. I imagined it'd be way too big for me (being the XL size) but actually, it's a pretty good fit. So now I'm debating it to replace the Focus' driver's seat, as it'd be far cheaper than getting an ST Recaro and it still matches the interior's colours about as well as it can.

Here's a better picture that Terence had taken:

We need to research the mounting as we've never thrown one in a Mk3 Focus, obviously, but it's tempting. With my birthday coming up it could be a neat treat for myself, though I'm not sure how I'd like living with a fixed bucket in my daily. I do want it though.

[Young gun]

Racecar? wouldn't do it for a dd let alone a car I didn't need it for. Your not autoxing right?

[Ghost]

wow...a white living room. is that a no-no living room? no sitting, no standing, no being near it?

[Ringo64]

Racecar? wouldn't do it for a dd let alone a car I didn't need it for. Your not autoxing right?

Probably the best advice. I wouldn't put it in a DD

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Twenty]

Racecar? wouldn't do it for a dd let alone a car I didn't need it for. Your not autoxing right?

Because Racecar.

No AutoX, at least not currently (especially since it's late in the season). I wouldn't mind getting into that more though. It's significantly cheaper than the OEM Focus ST Recaros (~5K for a pair!) and would be a good way to continue on the build of the car. Call me a ricer, but I'm a sucker for Recaros and similar buckets.

It'd also be good for shows, which I want to attend more of with Tiggy.

wow...a white living room. is that a no-no living room? no sitting, no standing, no being near it?

I don't know much about interior design, but I'd assume shoes are a no-no.

Probably the best advice. I wouldn't put it in a DD

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Terence reports no complaints with having a single fixed bucket, and his is only a two-door. I could live with it. It's such a good deal too, worst case scenario I grow tired/bored of it and sell it on like he's doing.

In any case, this is causing us to start researching into mounting these as no one has done so yet in a Mk3 Focus. I've been in touch with a company that manufactures brackets for aftermarket seats, and I'm helping them spread the word that they want a 2012 Focus to use for designing pieces. If nothing else, at least this will hopefully result in a bit more aftermarket support for these cars.

[Coupe_GXP]

You need the tangerine scream seats though, those in the ST are awesome. I say go for it if you really want to do it. The turning radius on the ST and a couple other things turned me off of getting a ST or else I would be right there with you in a blue ST2. So sorry I couldn't focus more on the focus or else we woud be model brothers lol. You still have a amazing car so far though.