What did you do to your 5th Gen? | Page 68 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

What did you do to your 5th Gen?

Installed factory glove box light as I didn't have one. It's pretty straight forward. See full write-up here.

Z3IAml5.jpg


Installed remote start per instructions in the 2011-2015 thread. Worked like a charm and was surprisingly easy (although I did have to reprogram 2 of my "new" keys again as the car decided to forget them)

Also cut my fingers in 3 places doing it, that part was less fun :rolleyes:
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Installed cougar led headlights from Amazon.. Blacked out the Ford logos with plasti dip.. Will likely do vinyl instead. 1 week of ownership.. Anyone else do LED ans feel it's less light output than the stock halogen? Certainly looks better though
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BhGc8CEaq2UkO6AC3
 






Installed cougar led headlights from Amazon.. Blacked out the Ford logos with plasti dip.. Will likely do vinyl instead. 1 week of ownership.. Anyone else do LED and feel it's less light output than the stock halogen? Certainly looks better though
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BhGc8CEaq2UkO6AC3

As someone who has gone through probably 5 different sets of LED headlight bulbs, it's very much a gambling game finding ones that work well, and in all honesty, I find the light output questionable on all of them (and I tend to agree with someone's comment in the headlight thread that in regards to the bulbs currently available for retrofitting; "it's all cheap Chinese crap").

Lumen ratings can mean absolutely nothing, nor wattage ratings. I've tried ones with single sides, double sides, multiple sides (4 or 5 I think), special chip layouts, you name it. I do currently use some (with anti flicker devices as I had flicker issues) but I'm not loving them enough to say "run and buy them". Until winter really kicks and I'm driving in darkness most of the time, then I'll be able to say if they're good enough or not.

If you look at the LED projector on modern cars that use them, you'll notice they look quite different than the halogen ones (usually many small ones in clusters, and they are all slightly differently angled). Here's an article explaining that LED projectors are usually multiples rather than a single. There's a few good articles that go over the functional aspects of a halogen projectors on the net, and many talking about different types of lights (HID vs LED vs Halogen) in general (here's a good one describing them). However, the best article on LED in Halogens I've found must be this one as they not only test bulbs, but talk about how the light is reflected. I can also recommend this 3-year old answer on Reddit, as it sums things up well.

What it comes down to is that the halogen projector is not really built for LED-style headlight bulbs, no matter how much those bulbs currently try to mimic halogen bulbs in how they emit light. In essence, if you want "great LED headlights" you would have to retrofit the projector to LED-intended projector(s). Neither cheap nor easy. I'm not sure if anyone has tried it on here. There was a post with a picture of a Russian-based Explorer that had something done, but with no info on how or cost.

If I had the money I would happily buy 2 extra Explorer headlight housings and some good LED headlights from another car and try to move stuff over. But I'm not that rich ;). In any case, there's a lot of threads on here in regards to LED headlights and such in the automotive lighting section.
 






Installed cougar led headlights from Amazon.. Blacked out the Ford logos with plasti dip.. Will likely do vinyl instead. 1 week of ownership.. Anyone else do LED ans feel it's less light output than the stock halogen? Certainly looks better though
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BhGc8CEaq2UkO6AC3
Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
there have been a few posts about the light output difference. I think the difference is mainly that LED headlamps don't have the same projection distance that HID ones have. Also, as mentioned, each headlight housing is specifically designed for the type of bulb that it is manufactured for.

Peter
 






Thanks for the replies and info, I had read around the forum before purchasing and figured for the $45 I couldn't go wrong, especially how easy they are to swap out. I'm coming from an SRX with HID lights and with that I would have to take the whole bumper off to switch bulbs.. That vehicle is 10 years old and only on its 2nd set. I also bought a Lincoln Mkz this year with LEDs and really loved them. If anyone has a bulb they love let me know!
 






Got new 2016 console side panels to match the console upgrade I did, that's all the fun that came in the mail today.

The 2016 panels are incredibly flimsy compared to the 2012 ones, Ford saved a few dollars there. The 2012 silver ones are bullet proof, the black ones are much lighter and not as strong. Otherwise the fit is exactly the same, you just move a plug over from the old to the new.

jqy5Ow1.jpg
 






Thanks for the replies and info, I had read around the forum before purchasing and figured for the $45 I couldn't go wrong, especially how easy they are to swap out. I'm coming from an SRX with HID lights and with that I would have to take the whole bumper off to switch bulbs.. That vehicle is 10 years old and only on its 2nd set. I also bought a Lincoln Mkz this year with LEDs and really loved them. If anyone has a bulb they love let me know!

I'm happy with mine. I don't feel like I lost anything in distance, and they seem brighter, or at least cleaner, if that makes sense. I had one LED fail on one side of one bulb, and they sent me a replacement, no questions asked. They fit completely in the housing, with the dust cover intact.

LED Headlight Conversions
 






Hello, Just wanted to introduce myself. First time posting, but long time reading this site. I've learned a lot from all the interesting posts here and gotten really cool ideas for my Explorer.
I have a 2016 Explorer Sport. I've done a bit of customizing on it

22 Rims and Tires
Brake Discs and Calipers
LED interior lights
Blacked out Ford logos

I hope to keep improving my Explorer and learn from you guys and gals

Thanks
View attachment 151565
View attachment 151566
View attachment 151567
View attachment 151568 View attachment 151569


What discs did you go with? I understand that they are “heavy duty” discs on the 16’s. Is that correct? Where did you get the blacked out badges?
 






POWER STOP® KC5584 - 1-Click Z23 Evolution Sport Drilled and Slotted Front and Rear Brake Kit with Calipers

The badges from eBay
 












Excellent... you make me wish I had stayed at a larger size for winter. Excellent look.
 






Drove it on the highway (SoCal highway 15) with 2 other random explorers (both 5th gen, one modded, one stock)
 












Excellent... you make me wish I had stayed at a larger size for winter. Excellent look.

I was originally going to go 18s as I do like a larger sidewalk on my winter tires. And it usually comes with some savings too. But when I priced out 18s and oem sized 20s, the cost wasn’t far off. Happy I went with the 20s. They look better in person. Now time to take the oem sport wheels down to get powder coated. I do not like the two tone colors in the stock wheels. But I actually really like the design of the oem split 5 spoke.
 






I was originally going to go 18s as I do like a larger sidewalk on my winter tires. And it usually comes with some savings too. But when I priced out 18s and oem sized 20s, the cost wasn’t far off. Happy I went with the 20s. They look better in person. Now time to take the oem sport wheels down to get powder coated. I do not like the two tone colors in the stock wheels. But I actually really like the design of the oem split 5 spoke.

Post pics after powder coating. I am in the same boat and like the rim but not two tone.
 






I was originally going to go 18s as I do like a larger sidewalk on my winter tires. And it usually comes with some savings too. But when I priced out 18s and oem sized 20s, the cost wasn’t far off. Happy I went with the 20s. They look better in person. Now time to take the oem sport wheels down to get powder coated. I do not like the two tone colors in the stock wheels. But I actually really like the design of the oem split 5 spoke.
I've used 18" Winters on my last to vehicles in place of the OEM 20" and in my opinion they give the vehicle a little better ride due to the additional flex in the sidewalls. A narrower tread is also preferred especially if you live in an area that gets a lot of snow.

Peter
 






Okay did something.... got a little do-noc vinyl happy. Trying to figure out if I like it. Still a work in progress. Flame the idea like the idea, offer suggestions I am cool with it. Just don’t be vulgar please. The vinyl is carbon fiber. Not sure I am gonna keep the red stripe unless I can tie some more red into the look. I may just take it off.

C67F24AA-A22E-4BFC-94B0-77E3B9E2EA7B.jpeg


20645354-E4B9-4FFE-8236-339C61E080A9.jpeg


5242BE8F-F4D1-4183-A36F-4220374178E1.jpeg
 












Like the black, not crazy about the red.

Neat looking install.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Taking my 2013 back to the dealer for a year end checkup at their suggestion (yes, I know).

While there, I want to see if they'll delete the DRLs and program the Dark Car option (does not light up when stopping option). Sometimes the shop guys are pretty literal when I ask for specific, non customary changes. So, when I go in for the checkup and want these things "programmed" into my car do I ask something like this?

"Please hook up the Exp to Forscan and delete DRL option and enable Dark Car option"

Or, will they look at me as if I'm a Martian?

Also, anything specific I should ask them to check while they have it? 80k or so miles on it, bought it in February from this dealer.

THANKS
 






Back
Top