What did you do to your 5th Gen?

[jonnoriega]

Yeah, looks good and all but are they better calibers, pads, rotors then the stock 16xp Sport? Less brake dust they said but where are the breaking speed numbers? Calibers are easy to paint red and the rotor holes are really invisible if not looking directly at the Sport wheels. I have 16 sport but only 10K miles on it, not sure if that break kit is worth it against the Sport stock. Isn't Police vehicles equipped with, same brakes. I will do only do that when need to change rotors and brake pads.

My stock brakes BTW with calipers painted G2. Performance Brakes as @Summers22 stated will be much better.

 

[Forddealz]

What @Summers22 said ^^^
LOL

They have good pricing on them too.

 

[deckart]

EXCELLENT..... Thanks ....

Have you had any problems with rubbing?

 

[jsgoofn]

I got my windows tinted at work! Put 35% on top of the manufacturers privacy tint then put 15% on the front.
Pictures were the day it was done so it hadnt settled much. The tint looks a lot more even now though.

Up next: Black trim, modded headlights, and a tow hitch.

View attachment 96844

View attachment 96845

What type of wheels, cost and where did you get them? They are nice!!

 

[jsgoofn]

Nice looking tint ! I noticed you have the vent visors. Are they WeatherTech? I got some but I could never get the front ones to fit. They kept popping out when I closed the window. Did you have any problems?

 

[jsgoofn]

I believe you are correct. I had them do 20%, which is a verrry close match to the rears, but in bright daylight the rears are just a tad darker.

Whats interesting though is that from the outside they look almost identical with the rears being slightly darker, but from the inside the fronts look darker that the rears. Not sure if its because the aftermarket is a film on the glass and the rears are manufacturered with a tint. Anyone else notice this?

I've always done 35% on the fronts to stay legal, but after having an F150 with 35% it wasn't dark enough because of how much glass there is. the 20% on the explorer is definitely the proper shade for me, and I have no issues with visibility at night or with foul weather.

 

[peterk9]

What type of wheels, cost and where did you get them? They are nice!!

They are the OEM Limited wheels changed to glossy black.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...our-5th-gen-today.430705/page-31#post-3612759

Peter

 

[Hyaena]

I have ordered a set of custom springs uk for my car today. They will lift it a little, not very much. I hope that they will arrive soon and I will install them next week

 

[peterk9]

I have ordered a set of custom springs for my car today. They will lift it a little, not very much. I hope that they will arrive soon and I will instal them next week

Is that for your 2007 Explorer? This thread is actually for the 5th gen. 2011 - 2017 Explorers.

Peter

 

[Eltee]

First decent photo of my XLT with the Westin Bull Bar and Unity Fog Lights installed.

 

[jsgoofn]

NICE!!!

 

[jsgoofn]

How much was the bull bar and installation? I had one put on an Escape and they charged $150. Did they have to cut the plastic air dam?

 

[Eltee]

How much was the bull bar and installation? I had one put on an Escape and they charged $150. Did they have to cut the plastic air dam?

I was charged one hour labor for the bar installation alone. About $125.00 ish but that did not include installing / wiring the fog lights. They did have to cut holes in the plastic but it came out decent.

 

[jsgoofn]

I was charged one hour labor for the bar installation alone. About $125.00 ish but that did not include installing / wiring the fog lights. They did have to cut holes in the plastic but it came out decent.

Thanks!

 

[jsgoofn]

Put on a non-OEM bumper protector. Got it from CarID.com. Fits perfectly! I think it is better than the Ford product because it has a lip that covers the edge.

https://imgur.com/gallery/GVjV8

 

[Summers22]

Put on a non-OEM bumper protector. Got it from CarID.com. Fits perfectly! I think it is better than the Ford product because it has a lip that covers the edge.

https://imgur.com/gallery/GVjV8

Nice! Same one most of us have. I got the OEM for free and saw very quickly that it was worthless. I actually got my aftermarket protector with a ebay 25% off coupon and shipped it was $57. Very happy with it.

 

[jsgoofn]

Nice! Same one most of us have. I got the OEM for free and saw very quickly that it was worthless. I actually got my aftermarket protector with a ebay 25% off coupon and shipped it was $57. Very happy with it.

Thanks! I kept looking for this on Ebay and I could never find it in stock! Oh,well... at least my bumper is happy now!

 

[Eric F]

Put on a non-OEM bumper protector. Got it from CarID.com. Fits perfectly! I think it is better than the Ford product because it has a lip that covers the edge.

https://imgur.com/gallery/GVjV8

I've got the same one, and it gets plenty of abuse on a regular basis. It's getting the job done beautifully. Way better than the OEM-version.

 

[Eltee]

My liftgate trim had been previously painted. Two months after getting my Exp the black started to flake off. I tried to remove the trim piece but met with some problems disconnecting the camera from the trim. I gave up and put it back on. I'd try again some other time.

Today it was warm and sunny, good for painting so I got an early start.

I was able to get the camera loose from the trim thanks to posts here. The license plate lights and housings were simple to remove. I covered all the protrusions with masking tape so they would not scratch the liftgate as I disconnected the wires and camera. I had a torx bit that was needed to remove the camera retention bracket. I used a Dremel with a wire brush, a drill with a larger wire brush, and a small orbital hand sander. I FINALLY got all the layers of old paint off and in doing so roughed up the chrome so that it would have enough "tooth" for the paint to adhere. I cleaned it up with steel wool and paper towels then let it dry and warm up in the sun.

I sprayed it with multiple coats of VHT Satin Black Epoxy paint. It is second IMHO only to Brownell's AlumaHyde II which is expensive, sometimes tough to work with, and has a LONG (days to weeks) curing time (I use it on guns and things that really get roughed up). The epoxy paint is easy to use, dries fairly quickly, and adheres like crazy. It also is long lasting. I let the trim piece sit in the sun for a while then reinstalled it.

While I was at it I replaced the license plate bulbs with the free LEDs that came with my LED puddle lamps. A quick check and they worked fine. I put it back together, removed the protective masking tape, and bolted everything tight. I'm pleased so far, hopefully it will last but it looks A LOT better than the flaking paint.

 

[jsgoofn]

All your hard work paid off! Looks nice!