I Bought a 2!

Some quick thoughts:

  • Dreamy handling and tons o' fun
  • Ride is kinda harsh
  • Needs more sound dampening (went over some gravel and it sounded like a hail storm beneath the car)
  • Stupid ass sales woman didn't center the plate when she drilled the screws in (I want to donkey punch her), aren't there markings or indents to let her know where exactly to drill???
  • Insanely cheap speakers/sound system, will remedy in a year or so
 
Congrats! That would really piss me off about the license plate. Corksport dampers will help the ride quality. OEM dampers = poo.
 
Man, I think the stock sound system is fantastic for the price-range the 2 is in. I have a Sub / Amp hooked up on stock speakers, and it bumps.. and I still have tweeters to install.

Welcome!
 
I agree for the price point I think the radio is nice.

Welcome to the group of us.
 
As stated by the others, I agree the factory radio is decent. I can say for sure its much better than the system in my wife's mazda 5.
 
For your plate, check out corksport's site. They have a license plate holder that you can mount to the tow hook (that little half circle cover on your bumper is hiding it). It sets your plate off to the passenger side and then you'll be able to put the nose cover piece back on and no one will know she f'd up the drilling.

Congrats on the 2, it is really a fantastic daily driver. You are right on the noise issue though. The car lets in a lot of road noise. You'll soon forget all about it when you get in the car and that smile comes back. Do mess with the ALC controls (i have mine about halfway up), fader, bass and treble. That made a big difference in the sound of the stereo.
 
Factory radio is good, it's the speakers that sucks. Changing the speakers will help the system a lot, adding a sub and amp that can be removed for track days will be a good thing too.
 
I just turn that ALC crap off entirely. The system is pretty decent otherwise.

And I guess I'm the only one here who thinks the OEM suspension is pretty good, lol.
 
Congrats on the purchase, I'm still playing around with the audio settings. Alc 4 and bass 3 seems to be ok for most music..Some over compressed radio gets mumbly though.

Donkey punch. that's funny.
 
Thanks for the suggestions... the ALC (on or off, level 3 or 4) didn't really make a difference to me. Haha. I'm probably gonna buy some speakers and run it off the stock head unit. Hope it won't sound like s***. Had a 1999 Golf once and I bought some speakers and ran it off the OEM head unit and the thing sounded WORSE.

Man, this car is cheaply made... a s*** ton of cost-cutting! The doors sound hollow and paper thing and if my window is cracked and I close the door (i do it VERY gently), I hear the window rattle! Lots of road noise, too. People will say, but it's a basic car! However, the Fiesta has a lot more sound dampening (acoustic windshield), is a lot quieter, and rides better (not handling). And it was chilly this morning, so already the rattles are coming out and I have driven this VERY GENTLY (avoid as many bumps/potholes as I can)... But I love it!

Think I'm gonna upgrade the speakers. Can anyone recommend a brand/model? Willing to spend up to $200.00 for 4. I listen to Radiohead 95% of the time I am listening to music and their sound is varies greatly depending where you play it. For example, the song Reckoner, the cymbals in the background all but completely disappear when I play it in the 2. Like, it's ******* buried. However, it is loud and at the forefront in my friend's Yaris. So I need super high quality speakers that can pick up the nuances. Don't listen to hip hop/rap/metal - so I don't need explosive and bassy sounds.

Also, how easy to remove are the fog light housings? I want to paint them. I don't know sh!t about cars, so if it's removing a bumper and all that jazz, I can't do it. lol
 
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Aww you can remove the bumper, it's probably just held on with a bunch of screws... but if they're phillips head screws i'd stay away. The phillips head screw is the worst thing on the planet... that's right, the worst thing. My screws have like a 90% mortality rate- almost all of them snap or strip. I do have an older car though... maybe you won't have any trouble with a nice newer 2.

Man, this car is cheaply made... a s*** ton of cost-cutting! The doors sound hollow and paper thing and if my window is cracked and I close the door (i do it VERY gently), I hear the window rattle! Lots of road noise, too. People will say, but it's a basic car! However, the Fiesta has a lot more sound dampening (acoustic windshield), is a lot quieter, and rides better (not handling). And it was chilly this morning, so already the rattles are coming out and I have driven this VERY GENTLY (avoid as many bumps/potholes as I can)... But I love it!

Such is the way of the mazda. The doors on my protege are lighter than the doors on our old hyundai, and when i close them the outside rattles and the outer skin actually moves a bit. It's awesome, when people shut my door while i'm still in the car it sounds like they're trying to break it.
The fiesta is the way of the ford... bleaugh.

No suggestions for speakers, i think I just have some cheap kit from pioneer in my car and I can hear reconer just fine, but i do have an aftermarket radio...
Nice car yo, congrat's on a good purchase
 
The2 feels thinly made necause the engineers shaved weight wherever possible to make the car more efficient not comfortable. I used to have a honda fit and I remember that ride being bumpier. As for speakers.. get a new head unit first. The problem with the stock system is the lack of equalizer control. A basic pioneer can be had for cheap and will sound better than upgrading speakers. I was able to find some jl audio replacement speakers for around $200.
 
The Fit is definitely bumpier. My ex has a '10 Fit Sport and when we had my 2 and it at the same time, the Fit was harsher stock than my 2 is on Racing Beat springs.
 

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