Twenty's Twenty-twelve

[Ghost]

jus perfect.

[Ringo64]

Looks good. I was disappoint 2 weeks ago, I was in Massachusetts and we were picking up the rental car. They started to offer us a 2013 Ford Focus but then someone came in and said it wasn't available so we got a Dodge Avenger. I wasn't driving it but still wanted to check out this Focus with all the great reviews from everyone.

[Twenty]

More winter prep:

Today as planned, I brought the Focus with me to work so that a couple of coworkers and I could wrap some more of it in 3M to protect it over the coming months.

Bouncing ideas back and forth with my manager and coworkers, we ultimately did more than just the lip. I was also wanting to get the door handle cups and possibly headlights done, but the final list was much bigger:

Original 3M:

-Front bumper

-Partial hood

-Partial fenders

-Partial mirrors

New 3M:

-Downforce lip

-Door handle cups

-Headlights

-Front Ford emblem

-Front license plate recess

-A pillars

-Leading edge of roof

-Full mirrors, replacing original 3M

I showed up at 9 this morning, and left at 4:30. It was a long, productive day. Thanks to my coworkers Mike and Ryan, who were the trained installers doing most of the work. I was in more of a support role for the day.

Start of the day: I washed the lip again (the car was washed Wednesday so it was pretty clean overall) and drove it downstairs.

This was the old 3M on the mirror, only covering the front face and not the top.

You'll see in the finished picture that the whole painted cap is now covered.

Everything but the lip was done downstairs. Due to the low height, I brought the Focus upstairs to Mike's bay and put it on his hoist so he could raise it up. Amazingly, he did the whole lip in

ONE PIECE of 3M, for an almost seamless install. The only relief cuts were at the very ends of the lip, by the wheels.

Here's the new mirror cap wrap, now the only uncovered portion is the inside (facing the door) but that's out of the line of fire.

The first rock chip I picked up from driving was on the roof, directly above my head. Now the leading edge is protected, as are the A-pillars.

The fragile emblem is covered.

All four door handle cups are safe from fingernails now. I was cleaning a Shelby last week when I noticed it had these, and I knew I had to get them too. For some reason it never occurred to me before.

That wraps up the 3M, but that's not all for today. I also picked up my Mazdaspeed 3 rear motor mount and bolt on my way home, as it arrived today. The install will have to wait until I can spend a lunch hour at work and borrow a bay.

[Twenty]

MS3 mount and T1R antenna:

Yesterday after work the Focus went up in the air again to have the MS3 mount installed. The photos from the install are from my phone, so I apoligize for the quality.

The install is very simple, it's a total of 5 bolts (after you remove the tray under the engine) and fits perfectly.

The new MS3 mount and bolt, and a comparison of it next to the stock Focus piece. The purpose of this is to improve the feel of the shifter, the MS3 mount is stronger and provides a better feel when changing gears.

Two bolts hold in the mount, and the last three hold in the 'bracket' that connects to it. All removed, it looks like this (Left and right of picture are rear and front, respectively):

Installation is just the reverse of removal, with the mount going in first and then the bracket following it. The mount is at the top of this picture, though it's mostly hidden from view (Top and bottom of picture are rear and front, respectively).

Really, as long as you can figure out how to remove the stock piece you can put the new one in. It's very simple.

While the Focus was in the air I also grabbed a quick shot to better show the mounting of the front lip. You can see the bolts, which use the OEM clip mounting locations.

With the MS3 mount in place the change is immediately noticeable. Shifting feels much more precise, and the 1-2 shift is the one that really improved. I highly recommend this upgrade.

The second part of today's post deals with a part I picked up on Wednesday; a T1R stubby antenna. A fellow member of a local forum had one for sale so I messaged him and picked it up. It is much shorter than the stock piece but there has been no change in reception yet to speak of.

There is a difference in finishes however, the antenna being glossy and the base being more satin. I may need to see what I can do about that. Regardless, it's time the rest of the exterior saw some more changes, since the nose has received almost all of them.

I have also finally gotten around to getting the front door trim painted. Gone is the yellow vinyl, and after a quick experiment with a teal shade I dropped them off for a permanent coat of colour. Next week I hope to pick them up.

[becksmerc]

you make me want a yellow blaze hatch

[Twenty]

Grab one while you can! Only ~1300 hatches exist.

[Twenty]

Painted door trim:

Fresh paint is oh-so-nice, isn't it? Yesterday I picked up my door trim from the body shop. I left them with just the parts and paint code, and they managed to get a really close match to the tri-coat paint. I guess that's good news for if/when I need body parts painted.

You may notice the dirt on the black side skirt, I got caught in a massive downpour when I picked these up last night. It's getting a bath tonight before a car meet. The car's dirty, I'm sorry!

Anyway, there they are. There isn't too much to say aside from that I'm happy to finally have these colour matched and not covered in vinyl.

[becksmerc]

dude that looks sweet i approve

[Ringo64]

Nice! You have one of those colored cars that look awesome with accent pieces like that

[Twenty]

Thanks guys!

Goodbye Volvo wheels:

This all happened last weekend but only now am I getting a chance to post the update.

Winter's here, fact. It was time to put the winter wheels and tires back on. One last shot with the Rs:

No longer the Focus with the Volvo wheels, it looks like lots of other '12s and '13s in my city using the Sport wheels as winters. At least it's ready to take on the weather now.

Now the Rs get to be cleaned and put away in storage.

[Young gun]

Taking the lip off?

[Twenty]

Nope, it's staying on.

The only parts changed were:

Volvo wheels -> OEM

Muteki lug nuts -> OEM

Carpeted floor mats -> Huskyliners

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I still don't get why you left Volvo on the wheels.

[havoc1482]

' timestamp='1351638138' post='76202']

I still don't get why you left Volvo on the wheels.

[Twenty]

'cause they're _ _ _ _ _ wheels.

(Hint: Volvo)

In the rush of things this week I was finally able to grab my new vinyl from my friend who had ordered it in. I asked him to get the lightest he could find, for me to tint the clear portions of the tail lights; and now that I look at it, I may try to do the mirrors' signals as well for to keep them matched.

It's not the best picture but it shows the level of tint that I received. Should be perfect for what I'm going after.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I know they're Volvo wheels, but you have a Ford. O.o

[Ringo64]

' timestamp='1351775357' post='76236']

I know they're Volvo wheels, but you have a Ford. O.o

I feel like we're a broken record on this

[havoc1482]

' timestamp='1351775357' post='76236']

I know they're Volvo wheels, but you have a Ford. O.o

I know, honesty what moron would keep the badge on the wheels if the brand isn't the same??

Oh wait....

[Ringo64]

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Tire's low on air.

[Twenty]

' timestamp='1351775357' post='76236']

I know they're Volvo wheels, but you have a Ford. O.o

Doesn't change the make of the wheels.

Anywho, SEMA....

[Ghost]

GET THAT BUMPER!!!

[[ChaosweaveR]]

My buddy won a contest and went to SEMA with his Genesis Coupe.

[havoc1482]

' timestamp='1351814915' post='76246']

Tire's low on air.

Tire is not low on air, tire has engine sitting on it.

[Twenty]

I dislike the little indents below the reflectors though. I'd want them gone, like this (please excuse the extremely crude edit):

And one more, just 'cause.