Great ride! Looking forward to the progress pics as you do things to it...

 

Just made an appointment this Saturday for window tint. 35% is the limit so I will probably go around 35-38% to make sure it doesn't go past the limit. I'm already pushing it with not having a front license plate.

 

I was at Costco over the weekend and I saw they had some very nice running gloves by Head. They are the . Costco had all sizes and two colors (black and grey) for only $12.95! So I bought a pair for running, and then I realized they work great for driving. There are these gel beads on the grip of the palm and fingers that really grabs and holds the steering wheel and shift knob very well, and on the end of the index finger is the Sensatec so you can operate the touchscreen easily. They are very lightweight but still keep my hands nice and warm and fit nice and snug. So if anyone is looking for some nice driving gloves these are a great deal.





And then I found out the ST's touchscreen is resistive. But at least these gloves are also good for using with the iPhone.

 

Update: I'm about 150 miles in and so far it's been a blast to drive. As a daily driver in the Chicago area it is actually quite easy and smooth for the commute. I'm starting to get used to the clutch more and more and starting to do some quick starts/launches and shifts and I am also starting to feel the wheel hop as described coming from the soft rear motor mount. I'm also still on the summer tires so my next priority is to get those swapped out with the winters.

I have about slightly less than a quarter tank left on the 89 octane the dealer put in, so I'm looking forward in being able to fill up some Shell V-Power 93 octane on my way home from the gym tonight.

I also took a slight detour last night on my way home and did some spirited driving on a few windy back roads and it was really fun pushing the ST and seeing what it has. I'm still taken back every time I'm on it hard and it hits boost. Coming from the torqueless TSX it is such a night and day difference.

I think after a solid week of my daily commute and pushing it here and there I will be ready to upload the custom tune and break out the +23hp/+45tq gains it will net, especially down low in the band. Now that will be a great feeling...

 

^ Awesome review so far! Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I know exactly how you feel when it comes to finally having some usable torque, myself going from the Accord to the MS6. It's so nice to get pushed back into the seat when hitting boost! Great choice on the Shell 93, too. Keep us posted on how the car responds to the tune. What programmer will you be using to tune it?

 

Great looking Focus! I can't wait to see the pics after the tint's done. Great choices so far, best of luck with it!

 

Nice car. Ford developed a great little hatchback.

Congratulations. That silver looks awesome.

 

Awesome car! Will definitely be following your progress with it.

 

From every review I've read this car is pretty awesome. Congrats on the pick up!

Did you consider any of the rivals, upcoming Fiesta ST, or was this the car you wanted all along?

 

Nice car!

 

The rush is great, haha.

I will be using the SCT X3 programmer with the Unleashed Tuning tune.

The Cobb AP is being released tomorrow, 12/12, as well.

At the time the Fiesta ST wasn't announced yet, and I think it would be too small regardless. I wanted something with more power, too. I actually wasn't considering the Focus ST until September or so. I knew it was coming out in August and was tracking initial response but I didn't get to test drive one until September.

 

My sister got one too! Hers is the "performance blue" color...

Have you gotten your turbo gauge to move much?

 

Oh nice, congrats to her! The Performance Blue is a great looking color as well.

The boost gauge does move a good amount for me. Getting hard down on the accelerator, I can definitely get the gauge to move past half-way and probably all the way to three-quarters.

 

If the Ford dealership I went to hadn't dicked me around so much I would have likely ordered a Focus... Such a cool car, enjoy it in good health!

 

Awesome review...and fkn A plus for being able to mod pretty cheaply (compared to what you're used to).
Amazing...I'm sure there will be many turbo upgrades in the near future.

 

Nice car. I almost bought a non-ST focus a few months ago, I really like what Ford had done and the ST is so much better than the non-ST too.

I love the Frosted Green, but no one else seem to so that color is gone (except for the EV Focus).

Can't wait to see more pics!

 

There are quite a few Colorado ST owners. I could get some recommendations on dealers for you if you are interested.

 

Snapped a photo while walking to the car from the gym but it turned out pretty crappy. Oh well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rphilman1/8266210081/

 

I've been toying with the idea of getting a new license plate. What do you think? I could go with the Environment plate and get an EcoBoost frame that would pair well, or get the Support Our Troops plate and just get a thin chrome frame.







Maybe a Cubs plate, but it is pretty Blue.

 

I like the green, but the patriotic is a classic.

 

Don't ruin the ST with a Cubs plate.



































(biased Sox fan here)

 

for anyone that wants more info on this particular car...
holy fk...small hatch with 270 ft/lb. No turbo lag. Wow.
http://reviews.cnet.com/coupe-hatchb...-35471750.html

 

support our troops.


never know when a cop might have served and be feeling generous.

 

Did some editing for fun on the iPhone app HDRFX.

 

you should get snapseed for editing. Thats a good app, and its free now.

Other than a plate background, are you thinking of a custom plate?? maybe B0000ST haha or something, not that haha

 

Remove the ST badge, you know what you got! Car looks great though, I drove a 12' focus hatch as a rental a while ago and really enjoyed it, I cant imagine how much better it'd have been with an upgraded interior and a lot more power.

 

Love the interior, I say support the troops plate

 

I tell her to do that! LOL

OOOOOooooooo....maybe I'll get her some time on the local track for a present....she's been wanting to do that!

 

Now that would be a lot of fun!

 

Turbo...Recaros...hatchback....6MT

10/10 would bang

 

I really like the angled view on the nav. And it also shows you the speed limit of the road you are on.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rphilman1/8270551254/

 

Sick!!!

 

I bought the wrong car

 

I saw the 76 degrees and got insanely jealous. Then I realized that was the temp in the car and not outside

 

Now way, don't say that! The FR-S is a beast of its own.

Haha yeah I'd be happy as hell if it was 76F in December in Chicago.

 

Hows the MyFord Touch and Sync? I've heard people complain about it being a pain in the butt.

 

Support troops, and no plate frame.

 

^this

 

I have had zero problems with MFT or Sync. They have worked very well for me and I don't have any trouble using the system.

I know there was an update a month or two ago, and I believe my ST shipped with that, so perhaps the update fixed a few bugs.

But so far I think it is a great system. Then again I love technology.

I agree. My best friend is in the Army and I think it would be great to show my support for him. Any particular reason you vote against a plate frame? A thin frame is too flashy?

I can go on Pick A Plate for Illinois and purchase one, but I'd have to choose a personalized or vanity plate. In order to do a random number plate, I'd have to mail in a form. And random number is a bit cheaper. Doing it online would be easier, but I'm not so sure what I would choose for the letters and numbers. Right now I have a personalized plate, and I wanted to move away from that and be a bit more random.

And I was thinking, how would that affect registration? Would I have to get a new registration card with my new plate number on it? And what about the registration sticker on the license plate? Things to consider.

 

I've never looked at a license plate frame and said "that looks really good"

As for the numbers and such on the plate, you don't have to use all of the spaces do you? My custom one had 4 spots but I only used 3.

I've had 2 custom plates and the whole process was fairly simple. After a ~4 week wait, the plate along with new stickers and a new registration card came in the mail. I kept my old registration card as well as my old plate in the glovebox just in case I got pulled over. I'm not sure how it goes in IL but that's how it is in NC.