My Platinum Explorer

[jonnoriega]

Just making a few tweaks to my car. Started with vinyl wrapping most of the chrome parts of the car (door handles, roof rack, mirrors, etc.) with RageWraps in Roseville, IL (guy works out of his garage). He recommended some "pin-striping". The car looks great but could have done better for what I paid for the matte black vinyl wrapping.

Then I went to Top Coverage in Elgin, IL and had them powder coat the wheels matte black. I actually like the 20" stock rims and didn't want to dish out over $2500 for wheels and tires. Powder coating was considerably cheaper.

I also had them smoke the front head and rear lights and then asked them to dip/paint the front grille for a "murdered out" look. I left the front and rear bottoms "platinum" on purpose.

The next phase was to have Justin at Crucial Coverage install a CobraHD front and rear dash cam. He works out of his garage as well but does a great job. Very professional and very accommodating.

This weekend, I've got a K&N Cool Air Intake being installed by Car1 Auto in Hoffman Estates and I'm really looking forward to that. Dave and Frank do excellent work there and are honest!!!

Thoughts on what else I can do to my explorer without being too obnoxious? I'd love to hear some feedback! I'll also post better photo's once the weather gets nicer. And I changed the lug nuts to matte black ones as well.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
As several members have posted, adding a K&N CAI really doesn't do much except make a bit of noise. To get any gains you have to install a 'tune'. There are several threads on 'tunes' you can find using the handy 'Search' feature. The Livernois one seems to be very popular. Just my opinion, but I think you have to do something with that big nose button. Why not a black Ford logo? There are threads on that as well. Happy motoring.

Peter

 

[jonnoriega]

Welcome to the Forum.
As several members have posted, adding a K&N CAI really doesn't do much except make a bit of noise. To get any gains you have to install a 'tune'. There are several threads on 'tunes' you can find using the handy 'Search' feature. The Livernois one seems to be very popular. Just my opinion, but I think you have to do something with that big nose button. Why not a black Ford logo? There are threads on that as well. Happy motoring.

Peter

Thanks, Peter. I'll definitely be trolling the entire forum. I'm glad I found this. I had a 2012 Chevy Tahoe LT just recently and started "tricking" that out but I'm glad to have traded it in for my Explorer. I'm in sales and travel 9 states and love all the perks the Platinum comes with.

I got the K&N because my buddy had it installed in his 2015 Ford Explorer Sport. I kind of liked the way it sounded but I'll definitely look at your recommendations. I've also been looking at emblems just this very minute.

Thank you again!
Jon

 

[reserved50]

Thoughts on what else I can do to my explorer without being too obnoxious? I'd love to hear some feedback! I'll also post better photo's once the weather gets nicer. And I changed the lug nuts to matte black ones as well.

black out the silver on the nose and tint the corner lights on the side view mirrors and get black lug nuts. Maybe get 275 or wider tires and bolt on wheel spacers...you asked

I personally like the blue Ford oval badge but that's just my preference, that's about the only part I don't alter on my vehicles

 

[jonnoriega]

black out the silver on the nose and tint the corner lights on the side view mirrors and get black lug nuts. Maybe get 275 or wider tires and bolt on wheel spacers...you asked

I personally like the blue Ford oval badge but that's just my preference, that's about the only part I don't alter on my vehicles

Lug nuts are black now. Just need ones that lock. Wheels and Tires I'll wait on but I love the suggestion. That's why I went with the powder coating. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[supr squirrel]

I like it. Looks sharp. What's the light output on your headlights like now? I really like the sport headlights and tail lights, but I'm not willing to pay $500-$700 per headlight to achieve that look. I've seen tint kits before for the headlights and thought about it, but I live in the country and being able to see far out in front of you is a must (unless you want a deer as a hood ornament.) Been going back and forth about putting a light coat of VHT Nightshades on the tail lights as well. Hesitant because I want it to look factory and not 'cheap.'

 

[jonnoriega]

I like it. Looks sharp. What's the light output on your headlights like now? I really like the sport headlights and tail lights, but I'm not willing to pay $500-$700 per headlight to achieve that look. I've seen tint kits before for the headlights and thought about it, but I live in the country and being able to see far out in front of you is a must (unless you want a deer as a hood ornament.) Been going back and forth about putting a light coat of VHT Nightshades on the tail lights as well. Hesitant because I want it to look factory and not 'cheap.'

Thanks, my friend. As for the output, I do notice the difference but it's not too bad. I'm in IL and travel 9 states in the Midwest and so far no problems. As for deer, I've come up on a few of them in rural parts of WI, IA and MN... tell me about it. I'll get the actual specifics from the shop that smoked the lights. My apologies but as for "spec details", I'm sort of ignorant about those things. I go more for what looks good LOL.

I used to have a 2012 Tahoe LT and modified that as well. I bought SPYDER LED Lights and those worked out fairly well and they were moderately priced. I purchased some at Carid.com for about $350 each. You can always go to eBay and looked there as well. I hope this helps?

 

[markdh]

How much did the vinyl wrapping run you?

 

[jonnoriega]

How much did the vinyl wrapping run you?

All together $650. $60 each door handle. $65 for the side view mirrors. $50 for the roof racks and the rest went to the other chrome on the doors and the racing stripes (hold and back).

He did a decent job but got lazy on a couple of the door handles and if you look at it closely, the wrap looks ****ty. Overall, not bad. I didn't fight over the price. He was comparable to other shops and did it in a day. Lots of detail when it comes to door handles.

 

[Sgt1411]

Those powder coated wheels look good, but I like the blacked out look so I may be biased.

 

[jonnoriega]

Those powder coated wheels look good, but I like the blacked out look so I may be biased.

Yeah, man. Me, too. I want my Explorer to look menacing.

 

[ou81]

Just making a few tweaks to my car. Started with vinyl wrapping most of the chrome parts of the car (door handles, roof rack, mirrors, etc.) with RageWraps in Roseville, IL (guy works out of his garage). He recommended some "pin-striping". The car looks great but could have done better for what I paid for the matte black vinyl wrapping.

-- Snip --

I also had them smoke the front head and rear lights and then asked them to dip/paint the front grille for a "murdered out" look. I left the front and rear bottoms "platinum" on purpose.

@jonnoriega - The pictures you posted up top are no longer displaying. I'd love to see what your Explorer Platinum looks like with the murdered grill (as well as the vinyl wrapping). I'm thinking of doing this as well. Can you (or anyone else) post a pic of a murdered 2017 Explorer Platinum grill?

 

[jonnoriega]

@jonnoriega - The pictures you posted up top are no longer displaying. I'd love to see what your Explorer Platinum looks like with the murdered grill (as well as the vinyl wrapping). I'm thinking of doing this as well. Can you (or anyone else) post a pic of a murdered 2017 Explorer Platinum grill?

That's weird. Here you go, @ou81

 

[ou81]

That's weird. Here you go, @ou81

Thanks! I like the red trim and I think I prefer the darker grill to the stock one.

 

[jonnoriega]

Thanks! I like the red trim and I think I prefer the darker grill to the stock one.

Plasti-dip the grille. If you can do it yourself, the better otherwise it cost me $150 to get it done professionally.

 

[peterk9]

That's weird.

Did you perhaps post those before becoming an Elite member? Many pics posted using a 3rd party site frequently disappear since they are not saved to the Forum's servers.

Peter

 

[jonnoriega]

Did you perhaps post those before becoming an Elite member? Many pics posted using a 3rd party site frequently disappear since they are not saved to the Forum's servers.

Peter

I joined up elite before I started posting. No worries though.

 

[ou81]

The next phase was to have Justin at Crucial Coverage install a CobraHD front and rear dash cam. He works out of his garage as well but does a great job. Very professional and very accommodating.

Can the cables be well hidden in a 2017 Explorer Platinum?

 

[jonnoriega]

Can the cables be well hidden in a 2017 Explorer Platinum?

If the guy who is installing it is good then YES!

 

[ou81]

Then I went to Top Coverage in Elgin, IL and had them powder coat the wheels matte black. I actually like the 20" stock rims and didn't want to dish out over $2500 for wheels and tires. Powder coating was considerably cheaper.

The wheels on your Platinum don't look like they're stock. You also seem to be sporting Brembo style brakes. Are those your winter wheels / tires and if so, what could one expect to pay for something like them? Do you have a picture of the powder coated stock wheels? Thanks!