2010FXFord

Quick update, I finally got on the muffler yesterday. It's a flowmaster super 44, and I personally think it was the perfect choice. It's got a nice deep rumble when hitting the gas and starting the car, but other than that you don't hear it too much, which is exactly what I was looking for. I drove on the highway with it and didn't even notice it while going 75 unless I was trying to speed up quickly.

I'll try and get a startup and rev video if anyone wants to see how it sounds.

In other news, the leveling kit should be coming in soon, and I'm hoping to get it on the truck in the next couple weeks.

kbrock

Congrats on the truck, it's a great feeling buying your own stuff, I'm only 4 years older than you but it really allows you to appreciate what you have and take care of it.

What did you decide to go with for the leveling kit? I just put bilstein 5100s in my truck with my dad in just over 4 hours so if you went that route I can help you out if you have any questions. Spacer leveling kit is even easier and can be done no problem. Just be sure to get an alignment afterwards. My truck still drives totally straight, but it's always good to get one after leveling or lifting.

I saw you were considering fuel mavericks -- I just had my tires mounted on them Monday and will be picking them up today. Great wheel choice in my opinion, but I'm also biased!!

Also some cheap mods that go a long way-

I put a LED strip under my tailgate which acts as a 4th brake light, looks cool at night, turns white in reverse, and blinks when I put the blinker on. ($17 on eBay)

Diode dynamics have clear white LED reverse lights that make the truck look a LOT more modern in reverse. ($40 for a little brighter than stock, or $20 for slightly dimmer but still bright white)

Stubby antenna always looks cool (Less than $25-30 I think)

Also window tint makes the truck look so much better (if you want a risk of a ticket), and also keeps the car cooler)

2010FXFord

Ya it is a great feeling buying my own stuff, and it really does make me appreciate everything more.

I'm waiting on purchasing the new leveling kit, cause I was gonna look into bilsteins more before I make a decision. I might end up just getting those next month for my birthday and skip the spacer. Did they make the ride better or does it feel mostly like stock?

Ive looked into some lights, and I'll definitely consider the ones you mentioned

For wheels and tires I think I'm gonna go with 305/70r18 Cooper STT pros on the stock wheels, and hold off on getting new wheels until I've saved up enough money. I'm looking into getting a weekend job so I can put some more money towards the truck and not feel bad about it. I'm just using all my money I got in the summer right now so I can't be buying to much stuff haha.

kbrock

Haha I know the feeling exactly, I'm back at school now so no more working so it's tough when you just want to throw money at the truck lol. It rides slightly rougher, but better IMO, plus my shocks just reached 60k so they were probably getting worn out. If I were you, with a high mileage truck, I would do the shocks so you know they're new. I figured if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. Bilsteins should last 100k miles so for me it was a no brainer. I like the ride.

2010FXFord

Quick update...

Finally got the sunroof fixed last weekend. It was about 7 hours of work overall between me and my dad but for sure worth it over the 2000 dollars the dealer wanted to replace the entire unit.

I just ordered bilstein 5100s for the level. And should get them installed next weekend. I'm also getting an sct x4 tuner from a forum member. I'm excited to see the performance differences.

Hopefully getting the truck washed soon and I'll take it out for a photo shoot sometime this week. I should have the pictures up by the end of the week.

kbrock

Sweet.

Are you getting a custom tune or using canned tunes? I would definitely recommend custom over canned. Either way, if you plan on running a higher octane tune, I'd at least go through one tank of high octane without a tune and then on the next fill up of high octane, flash the tune. You don't want to mix 87 and say, 93, because then it's not straight 93 and you risk the chance of pinging.

2010FXFord

Honestly I'm not totally sure how tuners work haha. I got a good deal so I went ahead and bought it and I was gonna learn how to use it once I got it. What's the difference between custom and canned tunes? And I think I have to pay for custom. Is that right? How much would I expect to pay

kbrock

The difference between custom and canned is huge. Custom they can spec it right out to your truck and whatever add ons you have, plus the custom tunes made by reputable companies such as 5 star or MPT (there's more but I'm only familiar with these two) are so much more refined. From 5* you are looking at $105 for one tune, $160 for two. Expensive but it's a totally different truck when tuned.

I'm not the best at explaining it but stock is for a wide range of people, canned is a littler better than stock and more narrowed on a single type of driving style, and a custom is even more tuned to a single type of driving

2010FXFord

I'll definitely consider that. At this point I'll probably stick with canned until a few weeks from now when I've earned a little more money. Can I get custom tunes on a used tuner?

2010FXFord

The tuner arrived a couple days ago, and I got the truck tuned yesterday. Even with just a canned tune, the difference from stock is incredible. The truck feels so much better and faster with much smoother and firmer transmission shifts. I'm extremely happy with the purchase.

I've been looking a lot into wheels and tires recently and I think I've made a decision, but would still like some other people's thoughts.

Right now, because of not having much money and because I love the raptor look, I'm planning on going with 17x8.5 inch rims, either method mesh wheel in black with a 0mm offset, or fuel vector wheels. For tires I've decided to go with nitto ridge grapplers in a 305/70r17. They'll be 33.8 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Does anyone have an opinion on what would look better? And would those tires be to big to fit with bilsteins on the highest setting? Any help is appreciated