Bill, I've been meaning to ask you, how are the 2nd gen Focus models?

I found a used 2010 Focus SES with a five speed for a good price.

nice. when and when?

When and when? ETA is under a week for one, maybe a month for the other. Paint/install, I don't know yet.

If that's what you meant.

" post="78413" timestamp="1358572473"]Bill, I've been meaning to ask you, how are the 2nd gen Focus models?I found a used 2010 Focus SES with a five speed for a good price.

Honestly I don't know. I believe the manuals are relatively rare though.

Yeah, it's a light silver sedan. They're asking $13K, it has 18K on the clock. I called them, salesman said it won't sell because of the five speed. Younger buyers love it at first, but then get scared off by the manual.

My only gripe is that an aftermarket radio was put in it.

" post="78421" timestamp="1358600797"]Yeah, it's a light silver sedan. They're asking $13K, it has 18K on the clock. I called them, salesman said it won't sell because of the five speed. Younger buyers love it at first, but then get scared off by the manual.My only gripe is that an aftermarket radio was put in it.

Wait, what? I thought they'd love it because of the manual.

Wait, what? I thought they'd love it because of the manual.

This is Long Island, home of over privileged kids too impatient to know what a clutch is.

I see a lot of people my age with these Focus models, college students mainly, doesn't surprise me. Their loss, my gain.

You would be really surprised at the number of people that apply to work at the auction to drive cars that have no idea how to drive stick.

exactly what i meant.

Bill, how troublesome are these new gen Focus models?

I tried throwing a question up on the Ford Focus FB page, only to have somebody with a lemon "warn me" to stay away. It's like reading comprehension eludes people.

>ask for common quirks about 2nd gens

>get disgruntled owner of lemon 3rd gen

>tells to stay away

>not even the same car

Dat logic.

my best friend has a 2011 with a five speed its a fun little car came with sync he put a roush intake on it and went with that so far its a reliable cheap to run little car

twenty you probably know him from focusfanatics dukttape cars name is fiona

That's an SE, I'm looking at an SES.

I dig those tails, but ugh on those headlights. Being an SES, it already has that look he gave the SE.

If you could find out the quirks for me from your friend that would be awesome.

Bill, how troublesome are these new gen Focus models?I tried throwing a question up on the Ford Focus FB page, only to have somebody with a lemon "warn me" to stay away. It's like reading comprehension eludes people.>ask for common quirks about 2nd gens>get disgruntled owner of lemon 3rd gen >tells to stay away>not even the same carDat logic.

Mine has been great. In the 16 months I've had it now, it has been in the shop for three "problems" which are small.

-PCM was reprogrammed as very occasionally it would idle low at a red light and almost stall. Problem has been solved.

-A washer had to be added to a wiper motor where the wiper arm installs. Problem solved.

-A VERY faint rattle can be heard over certain low speed bumps, so we checked over the suspension. A few bolts were tightened but we haven't found the cause yet. It comes from the front suspension.

If I was doing this again would I buy the Focus? Absolutely.

Issues have died down now that these cars have been out for almost two years (!) but there were the usual first-year problems early on.

-DCT complaints of course

-MFT complaints of course

-Some sunroof equipped cars had glue stains on the headliners

-Some hatches had panel fitment issues with the hatch, wing, and taillights

Mine though, with no DCT, MFT, sunroof, or hatch has had no major problems at all. And it's still the best standard I have ever driven.

my best friend has a 2011 with a five speed its a fun little car came with sync he put a roush intake on it and went with that so far its a reliable cheap to run little car

twenty you probably know him from focusfanatics dukttape cars name is fiona

Hmm, can't say I recognize it actually. I like those headlights though.

Oh, I had a feeling that was you that added me on FB.

As soon as I saw "twenty" in your homepage URL, I knew.

Yesh, that be me. Twenty is my nickname so I use it wherever possible.

These guys showed up yesterday; locks to go with the summer lug nuts.

I'm taking care of a few details here and there while I wait for my side skirts to show up, which will hopefully be not too long now.

Boy am I uncomfortable saying this, but

those are some impressive nuts you have there

Impressive nuts?

The start of 2013's plans:

I have mentioned before that I want to address the rest of the exterior, especially the side skirts and rear valence. I also want to continue drawing inspiration from the Mk3 ST, so this takes care of both.

The first ST side skirt arrived yesterday. The driver's side is still coming, from a separate location.

Looking at the backside it looks like it won't take much time at all to remove the old and install the new. Once a few clips and screws are removed the whole piece should just slide off.

More to come when the second skirt arrives!

so far the only quirk is with the super short roush intake it kinda froze the throttle body in the single digit to negative temps so we put the stock intake back on all is well now

And then there were two:

This morning the second side skirt arrived. Next these need to be installed for a test fit before paint. Once they're in colour then I'll need to let them cure for a while before wrapping them in 3M.

Along with the skirt came a small pack of clips, I'll check to see if any need to be swapped out in order to install the ST pieces; I also have to order new front mud flaps to fit them.

so far the only quirk is with the super short roush intake it kinda froze the throttle body in the single digit to negative temps so we put the stock intake back on all is well now

Uh oh.

ST side skirt test fit:

This morning a friend of mine came over and we went to work testing one of the new ST side skirts on the sedan. I was 99.9% sure it'd fit on with no troubles but I wanted to know without a doubt before getting them painted. Summary: it did.

The relatively nice weather means that both cars were recently washed as well. About time!

First up was to remove one of the stock skirts from the car. Along the bottom edge are a few fasteners which pop out. The upper edge is then held in place with more clips; for removal, you can pull up on the top edge of the side skirt (in the door jambs) to release it from these clips; they then pull straight out from the rocker panel.

These are said clips. The upper edge of the skirt has a small lip which these attach to, before the whole piece is installed on the car.

All the clips and mounting points are the same with one exception. On either end of the ST side skirts these white clips need to be used as they slide into little slots on the skirts. I need to track down two more, myself. Otherwise, all original clips can be used if they survive removal of the side skirt, which they should.

With the original piece set off to the side the ST skirt was put in place temporarily and it fit perfectly.

*Ignore the mudflap in the second picture. I removed the bottom clips and merely pushed it out of the way when installing the side skirt. Being one-time use clips I didn't want to fully remove it.

So, there it is. ST skirts fit onto sedans perfectly as long as you swap two clips for each one. Now it's time to send these off for paint!

Cool! Was going to ask if you broke any clips

Dash vent swap:

Today my friend Mario came over with his new Focus ST and we got to work on a little project. My SE has silver trim in the interior, but the outer vents on the dash are all black. In contrast, Mario’s ST has a blacked-out interior but the same vents have silver accents. As it turns out we both wanted the opposite to what we already had, so we agreed to swap.

My SE’s original vents:

No one had done this before so we had to figure it out for ourselves. It didn’t take too long. It gave us a chance to put together a how-to as well.

The vents were held in place with clips and one torx screw. They were stubborn but eventually let go.

Since the Focuses are different model years (mine being a ’12 and his a ’13) we also had to swap the headlight switches. 2013s receive a trunk-release button that ’12s don’t have. With the parts swapped, here’s a comparison. On the left is the piece that went into my sedan.

They were all reinstalled and both of us were happy with the swap.

And a bonus ST photo.

Thanks again to Mario!