Tbars Project "X" begins

[Tbars4]

..I finally got to drive the X after several weeks of it just sitting..

..I took it down to have a "Smog Test Only" and it past with flying colors..Then ran it over to get it's new tags for 2014, then over to re-install my Tiregate carrier and spare tire in preparation for heading out to KOH..

..I did take the time to finally fix the LED license plate light on the tire carrier...All it needed was a better ground..

 

[Tbars4]

..I finally got to drive the X after several weeks of it just sitting..

..I took it down to have a "Smog Test Only" and it past with flying colors..Then ran it over to get it's new tags for 2014, then over to re-install my Tiregate carrier and spare tire in preparation for heading out to KOH..

..I did take the time to finally fix the LED license plate light on the tire carrier...All it needed was a better ground..

 

[Brian1]

How has the Supercoil been treating you? Notice any differences? Looking forward to checking out the new mods in ~12 days!

 

[Tbars4]

..It seems to start a little easier and it seems to be a lil bit more responsive..That's not saying a new regular coil pack with a warranty for a lot less wouldn't have had the same effect....I think these have little to no warranty as they are considered a "Race/Street" product..

..Since I saw you in Utah I think the only mod's I have on the X are this plate light fix and a new dented front fender from Truckhaven..:scratch:

..Oh yea, the built in fridge and I picked up the jack skids last week..Hopefully I will have them bolted up to both the jacks...Let me know if I should bring them both , otherwise I will just bring the large one..and my cordless impact..

..I need to score some hood pins/latches to mount these units..Heck..I might just do it out there on the lake bed if we get some down time and I find some hood pins..

..I still haven't fixed my ping and I'm going to try the 3 new big relays..Any preference anybody on the best relays to swap in? Ford by me says go aftermaket as they don't carry them..

 

[Brian1]

Seats are new since I saw it last too. Just bring the 1 jack is fine. You see one you have seen them all :

 

[Tbars4]

..Changed to all new Big 3 relays and it seems to want to run even better but that also happens everytime I disconnect the battery..

..I'm thinking this may get rid of the odd ping and I'll test it out this net week for sure...The reason I think this is an electrical issue is, I can actually full throttle past the ping..Meaning while throttling up a steep highway hill and it starts pinging, if I mash it the ping disappears..

...If not, Computer is next suspect..

..I did clean out about 1-1/2 #'s of dirt from the air filter though...

..With the new relays I encountered something this a.m. (and again this eve) I have never encountered...When it's not totally warmed up it bogs down under moderate throttle...I'm hoping this is because the truck is learning it's new values..:scratch:

..We shall see..

 

[Tbars4]

..The bogging down quit the next morning so it was because of the reset..

.. I can't wait to drive it this weekend as I believe I resolved the ping once and for all...*fingers crossed*

...And I picked up something to add to the X...I'm blaming this one on Maniak..:

 

[Maniak]

..The bogging down quit the next morning so it was because of the reset..

.. I can't wait to drive it this weekend as I believe I resolved the ping once and for all...*fingers crossed*

...And I picked up something to add to the X...I'm blaming this one on Maniak..:

Hrm.. Going to make things bright? Thats the only thing I can think of.. Well, only good thing I can be blamed for

~Mark

 

[Tbars4]

...All 20" of brightness...

...The one I got is 30* with spots on the center and like 4 on each end as floods...Plug and play as relay, fuse switch, everything is pretty much ready to go..

...I got the light mounted up tonight and pulled the old Pilots out...There is quite a bit of extra wiring I need to roll up for now and zip tie under the hood but that's good as it will leave me room to do some more electrical secondary runs n another location...

...A guy I know and will see this next week is selling the competitor to these and they won't compare to these new lights plus he has to order them out of Washington and have them drop shipped to me later...

..This guy here has them in stock and warranties them for a year..They say these new ones are brighter than the Rigids but we shall see..:biggthump

..His ad..

Just got in a new shipment of LED light bars.
These are the newest design. I am one of only a few people offering this new light. I have been testing this new design for a few months and am very impressed with them. The new light bars feature a screwed on sealed lens. The previous version was glued on making it difficult to replace lens and causing problems with moisture. This combined with a new sealed side connector give it an IP67 waterproof rating. The new bars now use a 3 Watt Cree LED Chip making it much brighter than the Epistar LED previously used. The use of this new LED gives these bars greater light output and lumens then the name brand competitors.
All light bars are combo pattern.
All light bars come with wiring harness.


Specs:
9 - 32 V DC
Real Cree 3 watt LED's
30,000 hr lifespan
IP 67 certified
Aluminum extruded housing (black anodize coated)
Over/Under voltage protection
Cast aluminum mounting brackets
Dimensions are 3" light face x 3 1/2" deep
4 1/2" tall with mounting bracket.

6" = 2880 lumen overall width= 10 5/8" .
12"= 5760 lumen overall width= 16 5/8" .
20"= 7200 lumen overall width= 24 1/2" .
30"= 14,400 lumen overall width= 34 3/4"
40"= 19,200 lumen overall width= 44 3/4"

 

[jwrezz]

So can we get some more info about where to get em? My old IPF's have about served their purpose!

 

[Tbars4]

...:shifty_ey ..The guy I bought mine from is local only, cash and carry..

..I did however find this site and these appear to be the same ones I have and they will ship..
http://www.gethidlights.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=64

 

[Turdle]

Ted, you might want to look here

Ask stang5lgt for his opinion on them.

http://www.olympusoffroad.com/store/index.html

 

[Tbars4]

..Now that I look at them both the link you posted and the one I posted show the older version of the light with an IP 68 rating using the Epsitar LEDs...

..The one I just got has the Cree chips with an IP 67 rating and the visible difference is the screws to allow the lens to be removed...

..The link you posted is definitely cheaper than the one I posted but I think the link I post has not updated the light info as he just got these new lights in also..It might be worth contacting them on the difference..

..I'm heading out to the Hammers here in a little bit and am hoping to get some night shots with these lights on...

..Living in the big city there is really nowhere I can take in the full effect of these illuminates of the night..

..I did however make a new friend who came running over from down the road yesterday as I turned them on after wiring them up in the daytime...He said he had to see them up close as he said they were the brightest lights he had ever seen and they were bright all the way down where he was..

 

[Tbars4]

..I forgot to take some pics last night but those lights are freaking bright..You don't realize how bright they are till you head back to camp and turn them off just to have your regular lights on and you can't see they are on..

..This week I will be posting up from downtown Hammertown and King of the Hammers in Johnson Valley...You can follow along here..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=375526&page=4

..Looking out over Hammertown this morning..

 

[Tbars4]

...Light pics...

..I had installed the 20" lightbar in the grill..

..These pictures were at sunrise out at Johnson Valley during the Hammers..

..Full brights on the truck..

...With LED lights on over the brights..It makes dodging he bomb craters so much esier..:biggthunp

 

[jwrezz]

Looks VERY nice. LED's are in my future, I cant wait. I'm so glad I avoided the whole HID craze a bunch of years ago. Ballasts, and what not. This is so much more worth it!

 

[Tbars4]

..Thanks to DB_1 for finding this...

..It is now Officially known that an Explorer inhabits what is part of the downtown area known as "Hammertown"..:biggthump
http://www.360cities.net/image/king...mer-town?override_cache=true#292.32,8.49,37.3

 

[Tbars4]

..Second battery is mounted, wired up, and Stinger 200 amp (solenoid/relay/isolator) is working..:biggthump

..Mounted the Stinger on pass fender near heater fan..When I key on, the Stinger sounds like someone tapped the fender with the butt of a screwdriver...Same when I key off...

..Just something else I need to get used to but I'm not sure there would be a "quieter" place to mount this as the sound would travel along the frame or metal of the truck..

..But I'm happy with the setup so far..

 

[Tbars4]

..I thought I would share this...

..Since the Stinger 200 amp Relay/solenoid/isolator came from my Ranger, the label had become weathered...When I removed the unit from my Ranger I noticed the label started to peel and there was another label underneath of it..

..Not being able to leave well enough alone and noticing there was writing on the bottom label, I decided this needed further investigation...

..It appears they just re-label these and don't even bother removing the original label..

 

[Tbars4]

...In other news...Chasing the ping...

..Everything I've done so far has seemed to be a temporary fix So I decided to do some old school investigating and I needed to wait till after the King of the Hammers where I knew it would be in a harsh environment and I could get her dirty and see if there were any changes..

..Just this weekend the idle started being unsettled a lil bit when at a light or at idle in park..It would either go up or down about 200 rpm..Not much but just enough to make it easier to see if there was a change when tinkering on it..

..Now the easy part...Chase the leaks by following the dirt..

..The Throttle Body and the Idle Air Control (IAC) both showed signs of taking in air so I ordered new gaskets for them both..

..I then did my annual KOEO and KOER test and they showed all clear..Then I cleaned the MAF thoroughly as well as the IAC, inspected the intake tube and tightened it all back up..

..The Throttle body gasket was shat but as for it leaking at the IAC I could not find a problem with it's gasket...Must be a static thing..

..Without clearing the memory by disconnecting the battery the truck showed great improvement of the pinging on my test runs and the idle still needs to settle in a bit..

...Trying to get this all dialed in again before the Mojave Trail trip in a few weeks..