2013 Sport modifications/Accessories?

[iwarriorpoet]

Have had my new Explorer Sport for all of a week now, and am itching to make some alterations that won't invalidate my warranty. So far I have ordered some Dee Zee running boards, and am thinking about a Thule luggage box for when I have all three kids in transit. What I would love are some performance enhancements---particularly those that help mpg but don't subtract hp.

Last I checked, K+N didn't have a compatible charger yet. Does anyone have newer info? What about a chip? Thanks for any responses.

 

[audiophile172]

I've had mine for about 3 weeks now and the best mod I've done to mine is change out every incandescent light to LED's. The interior looks so much nicer, maps, cargo, dome, glove, puddle lamps, plate lights, etc. All at a cost of about $25!!! It's mindboggeling that Ford does not use interior LED's but thay may just be me. I've ordered HID's but just found that they ship from China so I should see those in about 6 months.... I also ordered new black/chrome Ford emblems from England and looking forward to seeing those. Also ordered a color matching shark fin antenna to loose that ugly whip antenna that comes from the factory.

Sorry, I know none of these are "performance enhancing" but she sure does look sweet!!

Let me know if you want any 411 but this forum is the place to look for good ideas (and bad ones!).

 

[Riley]

Newer cars don't use chips anymore in the PCM, they can be reflashed though with an SCT tuner and custom tune files. On the 3.5L Ecoboost you can see some serious HP and TQ gains on a bone stock engine. There are guys on the Flex Forum running low 13's with only a reflash with power over 400hp easily with zero loss of normal driving. Check out Livernois Motorsports, they are one of the top tuners for the 3.5L.

 

[isiwibi]

411 on your upgrades

Let me know if you want any 411 but this forum is the place to look for good ideas (and bad ones!).

Hey audiophile,

I would definitely like to get more info on which lamps you replaced [their original part# > their corresponding LED counterpart]; your recommended source & cost/price, etc.

Also curious about your HID choice and opinion about going all-out with an HID Kit versus just replacing the 9005s with some SilverStar Ultras or ZXEs.

Thanks for being there!

Mike [isiwibi]

 

[SHOnSUV]

411 on your upgrades

I too would be interested on the LED swap out details.

 

[audiophile172]

LED's are as follows:

Interior:
Map lights - 2x T10/194 5 SMD
2nd row lights (no dome/ have sunroof) - 2x T10/194 5 SMD
3rd row dome - removed yellow LED on circuit board and soldered on 1x T10/194 5 SMD
Glove box - 1x T10/194 5 SMD
Vanity Mirrors - 2x T5/74

Exterior:
Puddle lamps - 2x 31mm Festoon 12 SMD (bright!)
liscense plate - 2x T10/194 5 SMD
Side Markers - 2 T10/194 5 SMD
Turn Signals - 3157/3457/3057/4157 High Power LED switchbacks w/ resistors (white & yellow)
Headlamps - 2x DDM 5K HID's from DDM Tuning (cheap!)
Fogs - 2x H11 LED's (not really a good light for fog but matches and looks nice)

Many sources and Ebay has hundreds of options. Some better than other but they are all pretty cheap. A 10 pack of T10's can be bought for less than $10.

PM me with any questions but look around this forum. I soldered my 3rd row cargo and cut into my puddle lamps before I found this forum. Would have saved some serious time and effort had I found some of these posts previously.

 

[iwarriorpoet]

Although lighting interests me somewhat--I am more interested in hp/mpg upgrades as well as other upgrades that will help me get the most utility from my sport utility vehicle.
Thanks for the Livernois site. That is definitely to my taste, only problem is that they don't seem to have any 2013 Explorer stuff up yet. I don't necessarily want to assume that what works for one Ecoboost will be the exact same for another. Their site is also pretty clear about their warranty disclaimer--and I don't want to invalidate the warranty on my one week old car.
I like the tuner/air intake combo--maybe with their thermostat. Has anyone tried this in their new Exp. Sport yet? Anyone know if any one or combo of these items invalidates the Ford Warranty?

How about Bullbars?

Thanks for any responses.

 

[Jeffyk]

Here is a place that is currently working on performance tunes "5 star tuning." I have purchased tunes from him for my Raptors and my Mustang. Excellent customer service! He provides service after the sell.

 

[iwarriorpoet]

Here is a place that is currently working on performance tunes "5 star tuning." I have purchased tunes from him for my Raptors and my Mustang. Excellent customer service! He provides service after the sell.

Where?

 

[QwikEVO]

I am right there with you iwarrior, but I am told the Livernois tuner reflashes can be seen by the Ford dealerships. So if you have something go wrong with your Explorer, even if you reflash it back to stock, they can see your reflash and void your warranty claim.


This is why I'm hesitant about tuning it.


However, I have found next to zero with intake/exhaust options for our new Explorers.

 

[iwarriorpoet]

I am right there with you iwarrior, but I am told the Livernois tuner reflashes can be seen by the Ford dealerships. So if you have something go wrong with your Explorer, even if you reflash it back to stock, they can see your reflash and void your warranty claim.


This is why I'm hesitant about tuning it.


However, I have found next to zero with intake/exhaust options for our new Explorers.

Ergh. Thanks. I will probably have to wait on performance upgrades until after my warranty has expired... Darn.

 

[KingJoseph]

This thread is like 1.5 years old, so...

What's the latest on mods for the ExSport? Just picked up a 2014 a few days ago and I'm itching to do some personalization.

 

[ltdjp]

You may want to start here, plenty of information:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=175

 

[Suparfly101]

Puddle Lamps!

I've had mine for about 3 weeks now and the best mod I've done to mine is change out every incandescent light to LED's. The interior looks so much nicer, maps, cargo, dome, glove, puddle lamps, plate lights, etc. All at a cost of about $25!!! It's mindboggeling that Ford does not use interior LED's but thay may just be me. I've ordered HID's but just found that they ship from China so I should see those in about 6 months.... I also ordered new black/chrome Ford emblems from England and looking forward to seeing those. Also ordered a color matching shark fin antenna to loose that ugly whip antenna that comes from the factory.

Sorry, I know none of these are "performance enhancing" but she sure does look sweet!!

Let me know if you want any 411 but this forum is the place to look for good ideas (and bad ones!).

Man, i have been looking for puddle lamps for my 2013 for ages! can someone shine some light as to if i need a brand new housing or the bulb can be changed? HELP HELP!!