DMG632
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- March 20, 2016
- Messages
- 187
- Reaction score
- 91
- City, State
- Seattle, WA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2016 Explorer Sport
I thought I would document the modes on my 2016 Explorer Sport (black of course.... I like a challenge). I picked it up on March 11 after totaling out my 2012 Honda Pilot. There it was on the dealers lot and it checked all the boxes for me, black, sport, the two sun roofs (that I never open, when its sunny my thinning hair gets way too hot with the sun beating down ion it) and the up-graded Sony Premium sound system. It did not have the rear entertainment system, that I would never use, I am a salesman and my road trips never included a passenger. Even if by chance I did have a rear passenger the heck with them it's my car and it's all about me!
The first 2 days was spent polishing out all the OPTIONAL DEALER SCRATCHS, I'm not sure how they wash a car but it does do a number on the paint. I used the Flex polisher (the best I have ever used) and a bunch of 3M products and was able to get out all the scratches, swirl marks and the black paint looked great!
After two days working on the paint I looked into a clear bra for the front end. A local trim shop that had great reviews uses Expel, after looking at their work I was sold. So here is the first mod, complete front end coverage, complete hood, front fenders, bumper and grille, door cups and side mirrors.
After seeing how big the factory front license plate holder is the was replaced with a smaller one from Auto-Zone.
The next 2 Modes are very simple and I hope they will save me some money... radar detector and dash camera. For the radar detector I went with the Escort Max 360 with the hardwire with LEDS, I'm still second guessing this choice. I keep wondering if the Valentine would have been better. The dash camera was used in my Pilot and caught the accident with plenty of detail. This was also hardwired in, with the power cable running underneath the headliner.
So now I've had the car for 5 days and my first road trip to Montana, just a quick 1150 round trip. During this trip I was very impressed with the ride and just how quite this car is. On the way home I started to think about a small stereo up-grade.... this is where I should have stopped thinking and just enjoy the ride, but no I kept thinking. By the time I got home I had it all planed out and a complete list of things I needed.
Audison Bit 1 with wired remote
Audison AV1.5 .1 K HD
Hertz ML 15603 (front)
Hertz Legend ML2803 (front tweeters)
Hertz ECX 165.5 (rear doors)
J.L. Audio 12TW3-D4 (thin subs rescued from my Pilot install)
Roadkill Bulk Pack
Roadkill Foam Damping Mat
My thinking is I would run the 4 front drivers off of the Audison amp (bi-amped) and the subs off of the Audison sub channel. This would leave the rear doors, center channel and the remaining factory speakers on factory amp power. I like my music like I'm at a concert, with the band playing on my dash board with a wide sound stage.
The Bit One interfaced with the Sony 12 speaker system and the Sync My Ford touch with no problems and all functions work as designed. The signal for the Bit One was grabbed after the ford amp Remember the Bit One is only controlling the front stage and subs.
While I am writing this I remember telling myself this will be the first car that will remain stock... well that's out the window now. So what's next for my stock Sport; lowering springs, rims and a tuner.
The first 2 days was spent polishing out all the OPTIONAL DEALER SCRATCHS, I'm not sure how they wash a car but it does do a number on the paint. I used the Flex polisher (the best I have ever used) and a bunch of 3M products and was able to get out all the scratches, swirl marks and the black paint looked great!
After two days working on the paint I looked into a clear bra for the front end. A local trim shop that had great reviews uses Expel, after looking at their work I was sold. So here is the first mod, complete front end coverage, complete hood, front fenders, bumper and grille, door cups and side mirrors.
After seeing how big the factory front license plate holder is the was replaced with a smaller one from Auto-Zone.
The next 2 Modes are very simple and I hope they will save me some money... radar detector and dash camera. For the radar detector I went with the Escort Max 360 with the hardwire with LEDS, I'm still second guessing this choice. I keep wondering if the Valentine would have been better. The dash camera was used in my Pilot and caught the accident with plenty of detail. This was also hardwired in, with the power cable running underneath the headliner.
So now I've had the car for 5 days and my first road trip to Montana, just a quick 1150 round trip. During this trip I was very impressed with the ride and just how quite this car is. On the way home I started to think about a small stereo up-grade.... this is where I should have stopped thinking and just enjoy the ride, but no I kept thinking. By the time I got home I had it all planed out and a complete list of things I needed.
Audison Bit 1 with wired remote
Audison AV1.5 .1 K HD
Hertz ML 15603 (front)
Hertz Legend ML2803 (front tweeters)
Hertz ECX 165.5 (rear doors)
J.L. Audio 12TW3-D4 (thin subs rescued from my Pilot install)
Roadkill Bulk Pack
Roadkill Foam Damping Mat
My thinking is I would run the 4 front drivers off of the Audison amp (bi-amped) and the subs off of the Audison sub channel. This would leave the rear doors, center channel and the remaining factory speakers on factory amp power. I like my music like I'm at a concert, with the band playing on my dash board with a wide sound stage.
The Bit One interfaced with the Sony 12 speaker system and the Sync My Ford touch with no problems and all functions work as designed. The signal for the Bit One was grabbed after the ford amp Remember the Bit One is only controlling the front stage and subs.
While I am writing this I remember telling myself this will be the first car that will remain stock... well that's out the window now. So what's next for my stock Sport; lowering springs, rims and a tuner.