new focus owner, looking to lightly "mod"

[stevewright]

Hi, literally just joined ford owners club (just posted a little hello in the intro section)

Im a bit of a ford virgin, ive only owned it about 2 or weeks after owning my previous car for 10 yrs....

In fact, this is my second car, ever!

anyways, its a 2007 ford focus titanium in black, but my ford experience so far has been a little disapointing..

The car came serviced by a ford authorised dealer who forgot to put two bolts back on one of the wheels, theres a rattle coming from what sounds like behind the steering column that i cannot find the source off and is driving me insane, there was water in the boot and the floorpan discolouring brown (start of corrosion) and i just found out other night theres a multichanger under the passenger seat, but missing the cassette!

on a slightly brighter note though, it did come quite highly specced, including the ford denso sat nav touch screeen thing, sunroof etc.

I am keen to do bits to it to take it away from an ordinary looking car - ive just ordered a nice set of black wolfrace wheels with an orange rim, and will probably lower it a little, but is it just me, or does the front of the car look quite dull? I really like every other angle, any tips what i can do to smarten up the front a wee bit? (not keen on body kits)

I was looking at maybe an ss mesh grille, but its a black car, just ordered black wheels, so im keeping the kinda black theme, and not sure about sticking stainless on the front...

any of you guys have some suggestions?

thanks

[DeeBe]

Hello! I personally think that some S/S on there would look very nice, a lovely contrast to the black.

Hope you get the rattle sorted out too, because I know they do my head in (but I'm lucky to not have any!). I'd go to the dealer and demand a new cassette from them for the changer, by way of an apology for 'forgetting' to put wheel bolts in (wtf?!).

I'm sure you'll love the car. I'm not a fan of change, but I adore mine!

[artscot79]

Hello! I personally think that some S/S on there would look very nice, a lovely contrast to the black.

Hope you get the rattle sorted out too, because I know they do my head in (but I'm lucky to not have any!). I'd go to the dealer and demand a new cassette from them for the changer, by way of an apology for 'forgetting' to put wheel bolts in (wtf?!).

I'm sure you'll love the car. I'm not a fan of change, but I adore mine!

the best start is get some underseal with waxoyl added and treat the floorpans and maybe a new seal for the boot as for the rattle check the heat shield that covers the bottom of the steering rack theres 1 along the top of a metal beam and tyhe main one as these start to touch and cause the rattling you described if its solidly stuck down just bend it slightly so it doesnt interfere with the other heat shield if its loose the good old cable ties come in handy simply pierce a small hole to fit the tie through.as for mods keep it simple stick to the black theme with the odd dash of colour for example you get orange ford badges which would tie in with youre wheels google them youll find plenty personally ide leave it at that so many bodykit cars going round that are lowered to death with tinted windows do something different paint the calipers orange 2 either with engine enamel or heat proof paint as you rarely get caliper paint that colour

[stevewright]

i thought i was doing something a little bit different, then found this

the focus black, looks lovely....

i particularly like the little orange trims on the bumper :P

http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/ga...db944314a_o.jpg

was it actually produced?

[HeadShoT2009]

Sorry to sound stupid but whats S/S supose to mean. Anyway my Mk1 I have a black and green them going on. I got two 12" cathodes in the boot. bout it at the minute as i'm bit short on money at the moment.

[mickyfree]

Slight deviation on the modding topic but closely related. If, for example, I installed different style bumpers and not let my insurance know that I have modded it. How will it affect my records (insurance and/or legal) if I was involved in a crash?

My cousin has a yaris with lowered springs, side skirts, front and rear bumpers changed, tinted windows, rear spoilers, rear frosted tail lights and chrome exhaust, but I recall him saying he registered the car with his insurance as an original with no mods.

[stevewright]

hey, appologies i meant stainless steel (ie ss)

the orange theme has kinda went to pot now, the wheels i was after they couldnt get in and wolfrace themselves cannot even source them! still, im getting a good deal on another set that i think look nicer, still black multispokes, with a red rim on the inside...

interesting actually mickfree, i often wonder myself.

eg, im changing the wheels and will be lowering the car. I have been told that if its not a performance mod, or dramatically altering the car in a huge way i should be ok.

afterall, i am simply replacing the springs..... they just so happen to lower the car 30mm ;)

[thesilverfox]

At last - another focus owner with the touch-screen head unit. Sucks the changer cassette is missing - mine came with it okay and it loads discs way faster than my ST170 headunit changer did! What other toys did you get?

Okay, rattle behind steering column could be the wheel arch flapping about. Common issue and fixed in 5 mins.

Water in boot - make sure the rear windscreen has had the recall to fit some strips to stop water gushing in when opening the rear hatch.

Any mods externally WILL require the insurance company to know about, especially lowering and different alloys (not to mention different bumpers etc).

Wheels: don't discount the Ford rims :) see my sig.

[stevewright]

it was the touch screen sat nav was the reason for me geting the car! :)

my boss has a mondeo st220 with it in, and always thought it looked kinda fancy, now i have my own one to play with.

funnyily enough too, in my focus the sat nav is wired into the dash display also, which has a little bar that shrinks when your appraching your turn off, and arrows/roundabout symbol with number to indicate which turn off. The boesses 2005 st mondeo doesnt have this.

i thought they all came with bluetooth though, so wasnt to pleased when i realised it didnt...

i mean come on ford, when the car was knew the sat nav was a very expensive optional extra, then they made people pay yet more if they wanted bluetooth aswell?!

Really like the oem look (not a fan of massive screens that dont fit properly in the dash) plus love the aircon controls all nicely fitted together in one unit.

anyway, regarding the multi changer casette, already sorted!

i noticed on the back of the unit that although its a ford part, its actually manufactured by alpine. quick call to an audio specialist who told me most of the alpine casettes are the same. took a chance, and it works! £29.99 compared to lord knows how much ford would have charged me.

not really sure what other things on the car that arent standard, cruise control, electric sunroof, privacy glass, auto lights/wipers?

think it has some style interior pack too, with ss sills, ally handbrake and gearknob.

was pleased with it, just disapointed im now having to chase rattles and leaks on a nearly new car...

Ive booked the car into Ford next week for the rattle and water in boot. Ill see what they come up with, otherwise ill end up taking the car to pieces to find the rattle.

The standard wheels are 17's and quite nice, but with it being a focus theres so many of them around, so thought an alternative set of wheels would look nice.

Not into modifying in a massive way, i think a motor with nice wheels, lowered tinted windows can be set of nice.

though, i have seen some very nice audi r8 style front headlights....

not a cheap hobby though, i also have a motorbike which i enjoy adding bits and pieces too :P

[stevewright]

actually just noticed you also have the 1.8tdci, is it just me, this car, or normal for this engine, but when i change from first to second, it feels very notchy?

I also done a little experiment with the sat nav unit. I noticed ford were banging on about it being dvd navigation, and as it plays mp3's i wondered if it would play a dvd full of mp3's!

it doesnt though

[thesilverfox]

The pre-facelift didn't have cruise control as standard or the sun roof. Privacy glass, auto lights and wipers, ss scuff plates, smoked headlights, wing repeaters, aluminium effect gear knob and handbrake are however all standard on the Titanium. I'm glad mine has the heated leather though - a god-send in this weather.

I guess bluetooth was an option. I love it :) couldn't be without it now, and makes voice control pointless otherwise (for me).

Get some pictures up :)

[stevewright]

one more thing actually, i always thought the titanium came with leather or half leather seats? but mine doesnt!

to be honest i wasnt that fussed about it, would have been nice though

Do ford have a habit of changing little details often to try and make every car different or something?

IVe also noticed chrome or black grilles, chrome or black headlights, different variations on rear light clusters and some cars have the front bumper corner moulding strips (Above the foglights) colour coordinated, whilst others dont

[stevewright]

The pre-facelift didn't have cruise control as standard or the sun roof. Privacy glass, auto lights and wipers, ss scuff plates, smoked headlights, wing repeaters, aluminium effect gear knob and handbrake are however all standard on the Titanium. I'm glad mine has the heated leather though - a god-send in this weather.

I guess Bluetooth was an option. I love it :) couldn't be without it now, and makes voice control pointless otherwise (for me).

Get some pictures up :)

my side repeaters are on the wing mirrors though, and i dont have smoked headlights?

[thesilverfox]

actually just noticed you also have the 1.8tdci, is it just me, this car, or normal for this engine, but when i change from first to second, it feels very notchy?

I also done a little experiment with the sat nav unit. I noticed ford were banging on about it being dvd navigation, and as it plays mp3's i wondered if it would play a dvd full of mp3's!

it doesnt though

Gear change is fine here, though the 1.8TDCi is a gutless heap. Great efficiency and fairly refined, but so damned slow that I wonder how people ever thought it was 'quick'.

Nope, the dvd player in the glove box only reads the satnav disc.

Out of interest, what year is your satnav disc? I went to update mine and Ford wanted like, £200.

[thesilverfox]

one more thing actually, i always thought the titanium came with leather or half leather seats? but mine doesnt!

to be honest i wasnt that fussed about it, would have been nice though

Do ford have a habit of changing little details often to try and make every car different or something?

IVe also noticed chrome or black grilles, chrome or black headlights, different variations on rear light clusters and some cars have the front bumper corner moulding strips (Above the foglights) colour coordinated, whilst others dont

I thought leather trim was fairly common, but definitely not standard.

Ford do change details a lot. There are a large number of Aquarius blue Titaniums that lack mirror repeaters and smoked headlights for example.

[stevewright]

Gear change is fine here, though the 1.8TDCi is a gutless heap. Great efficiency and fairly refined, but so damned slow that I wonder how people ever thought it was 'quick'.

Nope, the dvd player in the glove box only reads the satnav disc.

Out of interest, what year is your satnav disc? I went to update mine and Ford wanted like, £200.

i wouldnt go as far to say gutless, it is a strange sensation with the surge of power though when the turbo kicks in.

i dont have the sat nav disc? although, your saying thers a dvd player in the glove box that reads the sat nav disc?

[thesilverfox]

i wouldnt go as far to say gutless, it is a strange sensation with the surge of power though when the turbo kicks in.

i dont have the sat nav disc? although, your saying thers a dvd player in the glove box that reads the sat nav disc?

Correct. You need the disc to use the satnav. Look on the roof of the glove box, pull out the insert, twist the two wingnuts and the dvd player drops down. I guess your disc is already in there.

To me, it's gutless. I came from an ST170, so yeah, I'm bound to see it as a gutless yet frugal engine.

[stevewright]

i wouldnt go as far to say gutless, it is a strange sensation with the surge of power though when the turbo kicks in.

i dont have the sat nav disc? although, your saying thers a dvd player in the glove box that reads the sat nav disc?

i did look up on the screen itself though, and it said the map was version 2006/2007

theres a website called nav data i believe you can get the discs from for about a hundred quid.

be wary of buying of eBay though, apparently the system cannot read copied discs

[stevewright]

Correct. You need the disc to use the satnav. Look on the roof of the glove box, pull out the insert, twist the two wingnuts and the dvd player drops down. I guess your disc is already in there.

To me, it's gutless. I came from an ST170, so yeah, I'm bound to see it as a gutless yet frugal engine.

it must be in there then cause ive been using it

i spose in comparison to an st170 it would be weedy, ive just came from a clio 1.2 so it feels fast to me!

however ive driven my bosses mondeo st220, very fast but to be honest i didnt want/need a fast car.

ive got a motorbike, and to me theres no comparison or point trying to go fast in a car. I wanted something that wouldnt cost a fortune on fuel (i do allot of work miles) would look nice, and cruise down the motorway comfortably :)

[stevewright]

if im absolutely honest though, i did want a 2.0 tdci, but this one was the colour i wanted, with the added extras, decent price, still under ford warrenty and had the denso sat nav unit, so i had to make a bit of a compromise

[thesilverfox]

i did look up on the screen itself though, and it said the map was version 2006/2007

theres a website called nav data i believe you can get the discs from for about a hundred quid.

be wary of buying of ebay though, apparently the system cannot read copied discs

It will if you copy the disc properly.

I'm not aware of this site that sells the discs. I believe I have slightly older maps than you (2007 plate), but am yet to find somewhere that has the correct discs for my unit.

[stevewright]

http://www.denso-europe.com/Frequently-Ask...0000000001.aspx

thats the website for denso themselves, and they recommend navteq, which is here

http://www.navteq.com/language/en/

they only list the mondeo though, but could be worth a call, they have a sale on till end of jan

oh my car is also an 07 plate, august 07 so was one of the last before the 57 plate would have come out

[thesilverfox]

Their version doesn't seem to be that new. Correct me if I'm wrong, but v.2003 doesn't sound too promising to me ...

[stevewright]

is that the latest they have? thats crap.

Ive also heard jaguar discs can work, to be honest though as your motor is an 07, i doubt there would have been allot of major changes?

[thesilverfox]

is that the latest they have? thats crap.

Ive also heard jaguar discs can work, to be honest though as your motor is an 07, i doubt there would have been allot of major changes?

I think the disc might be 05/06 you see. So nearly four years out of date. Jag discs should also work, this is true. Oh well. Will have to keep my eyes peeled ;)