Candy Red Diesel Sport - first impressions & pics!

[Nolz]

Well spotted.

They are faux air dams and are actually blanked off behind the horizontal bars.
In my old age, safety seems to be a feature that I look into and I like the idea of increased visibility on the streets, for both pedestrians and other drivers. So I bought a set of Philips DRL's and mounted them.

[Nolz]

There you go.

Given a second shot at it, I would have mounted them so they are a little more square with the front of the car as opposed to following the angle of the slats.

They are brightest when you look at the lights square on, and this means that when you are looking at dead on, as in the pic....it isnt shining at its full brightness.

Though there are benefits from having it angled too. Increased visibility in blind spots, pedistrians at the side of the rd.

[Nichol]

Very nice mod. Can't miss spotting out your focus on the roads of Sydney then. Will definitely keep an eye out for it.

[harveyr]

I've been thinking of getting the Philips DRL's also. Were they easy to install? How about the wiring? I like the look of the Philips ones because they come with the controls that switch them off automatically when the headlights are turned on. Did you go for the 4 light version?

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Nolz

Being of euro heritage it does come with particularly soft pads so yes brake dust is a massive ******!

And yes it is also a massive pain in the **** to clean. There's simply no nice way of putting it haha

Having them nice and shiny for about a week could be worth it though...maybe :p

Try some IronX from Waxit .... spray on ... leave for a few minutes ... let it run like blood .... hose off .... CLEAN. This stuff cleans off the worst brake dust without even touching the wheels.

Must admit this does look good on close inspection ... nicely modified as well.

[Nolz]

Nichol - be sure to wave!

Mechan1k - I'll be sure to look out for that one. I do use a wheel cleaner and a karcher to get at them but because there are just so many damn spokes I'm always bound ot be missing out on a few here and there. I'll look out for the ironX

Harveyr - pics are worth a thousand words. Install was easy, and fun to do. Yes I did go with the 4 light ones, off ebay. $160 delivered.
I did run into a little hiccup but got around that. I've found that the build quality, light quality, and colour are worth the little premium over other no name ones.

[Fast Eddie]

Nolz, Yeah I knew they're faux airdams. Thanks for that info, very interesting.

So you must be able to switch the drl's on independent of the fog lights, yes? Did that require another switch or is the Factory light switch used?

I've often thought about replacing my Fog Lights on my MKI and installing DRL's (from europeanparts.com) 'cos I'm "below the fog and above the smog" and can count on one hand I've had to use them.

[Nolz]

With the Phillips kit it comes with a unit which you just connect to the + and - terminals on your battery. It senses when your car is on and turns on when the motor is running. You connect another wire to the park lights do the drl's know to turn off when the head lights are on. This keeps it legal.

The problem I had could be diesel specific. A lot of the guys in the states are running it on their petrol foci as described above with no probs.
What I discovered was that the drl's would come on and off intermittently. I eventually got onto an auto elec which when tested, found that the alternator wasn't charging the battery. And the drl's wouldn't come on. He suggested I go to ford, ford looked into it and found that the new foci, maybe diesels only, tend to only charge on demand, controlled by the cars computer. Where as traditionally, car on = alternator charging. With the new foci it see,s that the alternator only runs when it's told to.

Got around this by removing the drl's control unit and wiring the lights up to the accessory circuit. And earthing it to the park lights so that they turn off when the headlights are turned on, the drl's turn off. Once again keeping it all legal.

[ConradP]

So they go off rather than dim when the headlights are on?

[Nolz]

That's right, hence "daytime running lights". Somewhere in amongst the RTA's ramblings it states that DRL's need to be off once headlights are turned on.
To be honest, when I do see DRL's on at night it does annoy me a little because they are ridiculously bright and become a massive glare issue when on at night.

Not sure where dimming comes into the rules, but I see a lot of Audi's have that ability oem. Haven't seen any DRL kits that have that ability though, unless you come up with something yourself.

[ConradP]

Strange, I can't remember seeing many of the HSV's with DRL's on at night but I know Audi's and also BMW halo's dim with the headlights on, also Frozenxr5 has a DRL kit on his RS and they dim, not sure if it's with the headlights but he has a "day" and "night" photo of it.

It's annoying when the Audi's don't turn their headlights on at night so it's just the blinding DRL's.

On my car they aren't bright at all and work as if they were my parkers, so don't see a problem with them, even though I did drive without turning my lights on, just had parkers and fogs on and thought it was normal, that was when I first got them though D:

[csv8]

Nolz..the Sports Pack option on the diesel/petrol Titanium has DRL's..so there must be a solution to having DRL's with an on demand alternator??

[paulsmith.au]

Ford Focus 2012 DRL's http://www.echomaster.com/images/restyling_article.pdf

[craigdmb]

Hey there Nolz. Well your awesome pictures have done it. I take delivery of a 11/11 Diesel Sport in Candy Red next week... the WS Fiesta Zetec was written off due to hail damage, so Im thinking it will be a fantastic upgrade. I havent actually seen one in red but your pictures convinced me. I was leaning towards a red car anyway. May I ask what brand wax and/or polish you used. The car looks remarkable and the job youve done with the DRL's looks great too. Would have loved a Titanium with the Sports Exec pack but reading up more and more re turning circle and the harshness on the road/increased noise makes me think the Sport was the better option and about the limit of my spending All up just under 33K D/A with a few accesories thrown in. Not sure if thats a good deal but kind of needing a car at the moment. Also did you have to run in the vehicle, is that still required these days?

[Nolz]

Gday Craig! CONGRATS!!!!! If your car is as good to you as mine has been to me then you'll be one happy camper. A definitely upgrade from the fiesta. I spent a lot of time tire kicking and I did look at the fiesta, and the focus is a vast improvement in ALL areas!

I've long been a fan of Meguiars car car products gear, easy to find and middle of the road pricing. I do the 3 step (cleaning polish, wax and polish wax, then the carnauba wax) wax twice a year and the usual washes in between and all my cars have kept pretty well over time. Just discovered a spray and wipe wax for in between full details. Works a treat!

Run in seems less critical these days however I have always been a fan of running it in on the harder side of things. This seems to be the sentiment from a lot of mecahincs too.

Next week is almost here mate! Not long to go.

Are you a Sydneysider?

Originally Posted by craigdmb

Hey there Nolz. Well your awesome pictures have done it. I take delivery of a 11/11 Diesel Sport in Candy Red next week... the WS Fiesta Zetec was written off due to hail damage, so Im thinking it will be a fantastic upgrade. I havent actually seen one in red but your pictures convinced me. I was leaning towards a red car anyway. May I ask what brand wax and/or polish you used. The car looks remarkable and the job youve done with the DRL's looks great too. Would have loved a Titanium with the Sports Exec pack but reading up more and more re turning circle and the harshness on the road/increased noise makes me think the Sport was the better option and about the limit of my spending All up just under 33K D/A with a few accesories thrown in. Not sure if thats a good deal but kind of needing a car at the moment. Also did you have to run in the vehicle, is that still required these days?

[craigdmb]

Hey Nolz. Meguairs it is then. Really want to keep the car in tip top shape. Ive already been told that I shouldn't have picked red because it will fade in 2 -3 years... but i doubt with proper care that would be the case. Im based in Country Vic, Trentham, but ironically being my first diesel car, Im thinking of driving up to Sydney for an economy run

[burnz]

the grunt of the diesel says what about petrol engines??

nice colour by the way..suit it.

[blatchie]

The wheels on the Sport look like they will need a bit more effort in the cleaning department compared to the Titanium wheels, have you found cleaning them a pain and are you seeing much brake dust on them?

Yep took all 4 of mine off and cleaned both sides. looked good for about 2 weeks. Adds about 1 hour to the wash time.

[craigdmb]

Also Nolz, modding question, my WS Fiesta Zetec had projector headlamps. The stock low beam bulbs were atrocious. I ended up putting in some I think they were called Nightbreaker globes that were a lot better, then did the illegal thing and installed HID's. They were fantastic. How are the lights on low beam on the Focus.. any need to upgrade the bulbs? I realise the sports model, well I'm assuming just has a reflector housing.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by craigdmb

Also Nolz, modding question, my WS Fiesta Zetec had projector headlamps. The stock low beam bulbs were atrocious. I ended up putting in some I think they were called Nightbreaker globes that were a lot better, then did the illegal thing and installed HID's. They were fantastic. How are the lights on low beam on the Focus.. any need to upgrade the bulbs? I realise the sports model, well I'm assuming just has a reflector housing.

I had the Sport for a weekend; the low beem were decent but high beam was poor, not much difference. Would definitely upgrade the globes.

[DeKa]

Originally Posted by Nolz

Being of euro heritage it does come with particularly soft pads so yes brake dust is a massive ******!

And yes it is also a massive pain in the **** to clean. There's simply no nice way of putting it haha

Having them nice and shiny for about a week could be worth it though...maybe :p

It's nothing to do with euro heritage. You just don't get such stopping power without it.

[rand0mn00b]

Originally Posted by DeKa

It's nothing to do with euro heritage. You just don't get such stopping power without it.

can't speak for all of their stopping powers but i notice that many, many euro cars have serious dust brake problems

changed my pads to QFM HPX (queensland company) and they not only stop better than the dusty factory brakes but also have much better stopping power

[Nolz]

Originally Posted by craigdmb

Also Nolz, modding question, my WS Fiesta Zetec had projector headlamps. The stock low beam bulbs were atrocious. I ended up putting in some I think they were called Nightbreaker globes that were a lot better, then did the illegal thing and installed HID's. They were fantastic. How are the lights on low beam on the Focus.. any need to upgrade the bulbs? I realise the sports model, well I'm assuming just has a reflector housing.

Hi Craig, I'd say the stock headlights....low and high beam are acceptable without being great, they could definitely be better. When I get around to it I'll probably replace them with phillips bulbs....like these;

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Ver-1...item1c1cc5902a

and yes, reflector housing.

[Nolz]

Originally Posted by burnz

the grunt of the diesel says what about petrol engines??

nice colour by the way..suit it.

Says they could do with a little bit of turbo diesel torque!

The choice to go with a diesel for me was based on economy and my driving style (getting on in years). Lazy low down torque and economy ultimately won out over a peaky and higher revving petrol motor which would be a better sporting choice I'd think.

[DBourne]

nice looking car mate! Really like the interior, very smart.

[Nolz]

Thanks sarge!

[kooldude]

Originally Posted by Nolz

Nichol - be sure to wave!

Mechan1k - I'll be sure to look out for that one. I do use a wheel cleaner and a karcher to get at them but because there are just so many damn spokes I'm always bound ot be missing out on a few here and there. I'll look out for the ironX

Harveyr - pics are worth a thousand words. Install was easy, and fun to do. Yes I did go with the 4 light ones, off ebay. $160 delivered.
I did run into a little hiccup but got around that. I've found that the build quality, light quality, and colour are worth the little premium over other no name ones.

How did you remove the lower grills ???

[Nolz]

Start on the drivers side, remove the tow hook tab. From there you can get something flat and none marking/scratching. Whilst prying, yank the bugger out gently. Once you see how it's connected to the bumper you should be able to easily yank out the passenger side one as well.

It's basically held in via plastic tabs. Wouldn't want to have yo remove/install too often might wear out the tabs/insert holes.

[bartma]

Hi Guys, for more dieselpower: chiptuning.

When living in Belgium had several ford diesel engines done by them whithout any problems. They ship worlwide, have the race pro chip in a fiat ducato 3.0td, what a difference regarding torque.

http://www.racechip.de/chiptuning/Fo...fttn62bme13v60