Twenty's Twenty-twelve

[Twenty]

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.

Thank you! I've been hearing some compliments from members on my Focus forums saying it's their favourite Mk3 sedan or even favourite Focus period, which I think is really impressive.

OEM ST Recaros would be perfect, but man they're pricey! Even just one seat would be between 2 and 3 grand for all OEM parts. And then I'd need to redo the rest in matching TS Recaros. Yikes. Supposedly my seats are the base ST seats though, so I'm kind of there?

I am STILL waiting for them to show up in Canada, we still have to wait.

[Twenty]

Coverage is up from yesterday's show and shine, for those that are interested:

http://illmotion.com/im-event-coverage-madd-canadas-quarry-park-polish-2012/

[Ringo64]

Cool pics!

[Coupe_GXP]

It would be pretty cool though, I haven't seen a ST yet either. I would be interested in seeing it and driving it but for about the same price point there was the WRX, I had seen them and driven plenty of them to know I would love it and AWD was a big plus. Then I decided hell I might as well go all in. The reviews all praise the ST for the most part, the fiesta ST should interesting also.

[Twenty]

As of late I've been focusing most of my free time on studying, the new year of university has started off with a heavy workload for a couple of weeks. Last night I did find the time though to head out to the weekly meet at a local mall, our usual hangout. After everyone headed home a few of us had a quick late-night photoshoot and I had a chance tonight to go through the few I had taken.

I'm hoping to spend a few minutes working on the Focus this weekend however, Saturday is my birthday and I fully intend to take the day off from studies and do what I want for a change. A minor update should come then.

[Young gun]

Dat mazda is so happy

[Ghost]

Dat mazda is so happy

[Twenty]

Happy 3, angry Focus, and the Celica and Fit are just indifferent.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

OMG, I just noticed the Focus having the D: face.

[havoc1482]

hahahah

[Twenty]

Stealth bulbs, part I:

Earlier this week a small number of new bulbs I had ordered arrived. I decided to get around to removing the amber from a few lights so I ordered some stealth bulbs from Bimmian for the rear turn signals, mirror turn signals, and marker lights in the headlights.

Unfortunately the bulbs for the rear turn signals don't fit. Of course, those are the most noticeable amber bulbs, but they'll have to stay for now until I can order another pair in the correct size.

With yesterday being my birthday I didn't have time to swap out the mirrors' bulbs before friends came over, but I was able to at least get to the headlights.

Goodbye amber.

As those who have swapped these bulbs have noted, the headlights have to come out but that's just two small bolts each and some careful handling of the lights.

With the new marker lights in place, the update is more apparent than I expected. Definitely tidys up the headlights' appearance.

If you haven't noticed, the last couple of pictures were taken with a different lens. Part way through this I was called inside to unwrap my present. My parents knew I wanted a fisheye lens for my camera so they surprised me with one!

I left it on my camera the whole day and had lots of fun with it.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Just curious, why not just run normal white bulbs?

[Twenty]

Stealth bulbs, part II:

This update came a little faster than I expected it would, but that's because I found out I was kind of wrong...more on that in a bit.

The rear turn signals really show off the amber bulbs, so it would be a welcome change to get rid of them. As stated in the owner's manual the bulbs are 3757s, but I could only find stealth 3157 bulbs. Reading that the two are interchangeable and that '12 hatch owners had already used the latter, I ordered a pair and when I went to install them yesterday they didn't fit. As I looked closer I noticed that there were differences in a pair of small tabs, one on either side of the light's base. Because of that, they wouldn't slot in. Frustrated, I put the amber bulb back and assumed I'd have to try and find new pieces.

I was really confused when it was confirmed that hatches were using 3157 bulbs...I dug around more and found a VERY simple solution that many people had used before for various cars; remove the tabs. D'oh.

A few seconds with a small pair of cutters and a hobby knife later, the tabs were gone and the bulbs then fit perfectly. Problem solved.

And with that, there's only the mirrors' lights left to swap.

[Twenty]

' timestamp='1348443275' post='75430']

Just curious, why not just run normal white bulbs?

I like amber for its visibility, it stands out a little more.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I like amber for its visibility, it stands out a little more.

Huh, because I ran clears in my old LED tails. BRIGHTER than ambers for sure.

[havoc1482]

' timestamp='1348448405' post='75434']

Huh, because I ran clears in my old LED tails. BRIGHTER than ambers for sure.

brighter doesn't mean more noticeable. Amber catches your eye better. I had clear bulbs in amber housings in the rear of the Phoenix, but I replaced them with amber bulbs to make it more noticeable.

[Twenty]

The reverse lights get some attention too:

I'm still waiting to get a chance to swap out the mirrors' amber bulbs, but in the meantime I have received and installed another set of lights. After a friend told me about these I looked into them and ordered a set for the Focus - projector LEDs.

Old bulbs out, the LEDs slotted in and worked great. Below is a comparison between the original bulb (left) and new LED (right). There's a slight difference in brightness.

One more small lighting update done.

[Twenty]

Focus is almost backed into twice....

and suffers a couple of black eyes. It's been an interesting day. The black eyes are the good news though.

Yesterday while at work I asked my friend in parts if the price on Titanium headlights had changed at all. I figured that since they're now going to be more common with SEs gaining the 'Black Pack' option, perhaps there was a chance the price had changed? Long shot but worth a try.

It was a good thing I asked. To cut the story short I was able to order a set of new OEM Titanium lights for less than the $600 I was previously quoted, so I gave the go ahead and picked them up this morning.

At home, unwrapped and almost ready to go in. They came with all bulbs already in place, which was nice.

One last shot with the original lights:

I removed the chrome lights, swapped the stealth marker bulbs over to the Ti pieces, and then put them in place.

I have wanted these lights since I bought the Focus, and now I finally have them. On to the pictures!

[Young gun]

Looks meaner. I approve. Continue with swapping higher model parts on to lower model so U CaN HAz Dee TuRBOOOOOO....idk what i'm doing today

[markpetersonii]

Looks awesome! Keep up the hard work.

Sent from my mind using telekinesis.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

What a difference! Making me want one more and more.

[Twenty]

Looks meaner. I approve. Continue with swapping higher model parts on to lower model so U CaN HAz Dee TuRBOOOOOO....idk what i'm doing today

Funny part is, this swap became so popular that it's now a factory option for 2013 SEs.

Looks awesome! Keep up the hard work.

Sent from my mind using telekinesis.

Thank you! I feel like it's really coming together now.

What a difference! Making me want one more and more.

Good...good.

[Ringo64]

Nice!

[Twenty]

Today marks just over one year with my Focus (53 weeks to be exact) and it won't be long now before it has to go into winter mode. With that in mind, I thought I'd head back to a photo location I know of for a little shoot, to capture it in summer mode and see how it's changed over the past year and a bit.

September 23rd 2011:

September 30th, 2012:

[Young gun]

Clean