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Hey all! This is my first build thread. I'm calling it a "lite" build as I do little mods here and there and try and keep the truck looking fairly stock with a few subtle improvements. I also want to use this thread to document in one spot the mods I've done to my truck. As I add products to the truck, I'll be sure to post links and give a full review.
First things first, here are the details on the truck:
2018 Lariat 501a, 2.7L Ecoboost, 4x4, 3.55 rear end
Color: Magnetic
Options: Sport appearance package, Trailer tow package, Twin panel moon roof, B&O Play, Navigation, Sync Connect, Tailgate step, 36 gallon tank
When I picked the truck up at the dealer, I brought my new WeatherTech floor liners with me. That was "mod" number one. I'm not sure a review is warrented as WeatherTechs have been discussed at length on the forum. I've done a few since and will be adding posts in the near future with lots of pics!
Here are a few pics from the day I brought her home:
Well, I've been pretty terrible about updating my mods, so I do my first post today. I've done quite a few things already, but I'll stick to one post per mod so that I can give a detailed review on the products I've used.
One of the first things I updated was the headlight bulbs to LED. I had used LEDs in my 2012 and was very happy with the results but the technology has advanced in the past few years so I bought multiple bulbs to test. All of the bulbs I tried are as follows:
: I really wanted to like these bulbs but given the cost, I just wasn't 100% satisfied. They had a great light pattern and cutoff, but I was just "meh" about them. The ballast/driver is very small so there is no fitment issue. These were the first bulbs I tried.
: I am running Sealights in my fogs and high beams so I gave these a try in the low beams. Terrible. The pattern and cutoff is awful, which was surprising since in my high beam and fog application, they are excellent.
: I am running these in my wife's Edge so I gave them a try. Great in her application, mediocre in mine. Cutoff was okay but would definitely require adjusting the bulbs down. They seemed pretty bright but not as good as others I tried. These also do not have a ballast or driver.
: These are great! Very small, great cutoff and light output and no ballast/driver. These were definitely my second choice out of the bunch. They are not quite as bright as the bulbs i decided on but I wouldn't hesitate to use them.
: These and the Techmax are almost indistinguishable in light output and pattern and they do not have a ballast or driver. These get a bonus because of the red color and it looked cool in my housing. Like the Techmax, I would have no problem running these.
: Hands down the winner. The light output is flipping awesome as is the pattern. The only thing I don't like about these is the ballast/driver is quite big. You can tuck everything into the headlight housing, but it's a really tight fit.
I bought a new dust cover as with any LED bulb that has a fan, you want to give it plenty of breathing room so they stay cool
LED on the left is my Sealight 9005 high beam that I am currently running. LED on the right is the Hikari Ultra low beam
.
From left to right: Techmax, Lightning Dark, DWVO
From left to right: STK, Katana, Auxito, Sealight (looks the same as the 9005 high beam but has a ballast/driver)
Last edited by BrewCityF150; 11-02-2018 at 06:06 PM.
Reason: Typo
Brew City, good looking truck! When you decide to do some performance improvements I'll suggest a local shop, Brew City Boost.
I use their tunes and some suspension mods and like their work. How do the 83mm covers fit? I used 85mm on mine, fit well but I zip tied them for more security, using Supernova V.3's for a year now and happy with them. KM
Last edited by 2017bluetruck; 11-02-2018 at 01:47 PM.
Brew City, good looking truck! When you decide to do some performance improvements I'll suggest a local shop, Brew City Boost.
I use their tunes and some suspension mods and like their work. How do the 83mm covers fit? I used 85mm on mine, fit well but I zip tied them for more security, using Supernova V.3's for a year now and happy with them. KM
Thanks! The 83mm covers fit perfectly and are very snug. When putting them on, you have to get the top edge on then "pull" the bottom edge over the lip. There is zero need to add additional security.
So this isn't much of a mod, but I hate when the leather on steering wheels gets all shiny looking. I had a camo Realtree steering wheel cover in my 2012 XLT but that look didn't feel right in my Lariat, so I found this snazzy Browning wheel cover on Amazon
. The material is really nice and I think the color compliments the black interior of the truck. This also gives your steering wheel a really thick, solid feel. And yes, the wife was driving in the attached picture.
Last edited by BrewCityF150; 11-02-2018 at 06:07 PM.
Another quick, easy mod I did was installing the WeatherTech mud flaps https://www.weathertech.com/ford/201...he-wheel-well/. I had these on my 2012 XLT for 6 years and they held up great. Install was very easy with no drilling and took about 30 minutes to get all four corners on - with a hangover! These got tested at Country Thunder this year as we got torrential rain which caused the grounds to turn into complete mud. I was impressed how they kept the truck pretty clean, even after spinning the tires a bit. If you are looking to add mud flaps, these are definitely worth a look!
Another mod I did right out of the gate was replace the factory antenna with ah shorter, 15" version. On my 2012, I had The Stubby that quite frankly sucked. The range was miserable, though it did look good. My factory antenna on my 2018 was hitting my garage door so I looked on Amazon and found this antenna:
Overall I am very pleased with the product. It looks like a shorter version of the factory antenna and I believe gives the truck a cleaner look. I have not noticed any degradation in reception quality either. Overall, this was an inexpensive win-win mod!
If you haven't already noticed, I reference my 2012 XLT quite frequently in this thread as I am doing many of the same mods to my 2018. Staying par for the course, I got the Raptor style grill lights for my 2018 from Custom Auto Works: https://customautoworksstore.com/pro...ght-plug-play/
I had their kit on my 2012 and had zero issues with it so opted to get the 4 light version for my 2018. I installed this yesterday and will say, it was a bit of a PITA to install the light. I watched the videos posted on their website and it was easy to follow, but getting the two tabs on the light over the grill lip took some convincing. Once that part was complete, the rest was a breeze. I did deviate from their instructions when hooking up the light. Instead of removing the air-box, I just went though the wheel well as if I were changing out the parking lamp (which I had done already and was really easy). There was enough excess wire so it was very easy to hook up the plug-and-play harness. BTW, that harness is awesome! Anyway, this light kit really does look great on our trucks! The build quality appears to be top notch and I am assume I'll have trouble free service from this kit just like on my 2012.
Both sets of LEDs are great. The parking lamps have three chips per bulb and blow the stock bulbs out of the water in brightness. Install on the driver side was a piece of cake. However, the passenger side requires you to morph into Gumby and contort your hand, wrist and forearm in ways dreamt up in horror movies if you install though the wheel wells. I hope to God these bulbs last as I don't ever want to change the passenger side again. I assume there is an easier way but it's done and I have no interest in seeing how much easier my life could have been.
The turn signals have a really unique design and are quasi-spherical with 5 LED chips per side (10 chips per bulb total). They emit light in a 360 degree pattern and are noticeably brighter than the stock bulbs but are not too obnoxious. I won't get into the install as that has been discussed at length on the forum and takes maybe 2-3 minutes per bulb.
In concert with installing the LED turn signals, I did a couple FORScan mods. First, I had to deactivate the bulb outage sensor. Because LEDs draw so little current, it makes the truck think the bulb is out, so you get a hyper-flash in your gauge cluster even though the bulb is blinking at a normal rate. Thankfully, FORScan allows you to "trick" the BCM into thinking the LED light is not out so you don't get the rapid blinker inside the cab. The BCM coding to disable the bulb outage is: 726-27-01: xx0x xxxx xxxx. Before I changed the FORScan code for bulb outage, I had to attempt to use the blinker with the LEDs installed. This caused the rapid blink inside the cab, even though the light was blinking at a normal rate. When I booted up FORScan, the "0" noted in the coding had changed to a 1, indicating a bulb outage. You simply change the value back to "0" and presto, fixed! I am not running any resistors or anything as they are not needed. The light functions as it should.
Now that my turn signals are bright, long lasting (I hope) LEDs, I changed my DRLs to the turn signals. I would have liked to do the parking lamps too, but I did not want my tail lights on all of the time. The BCM coding for turn signal DRLs is: 726-45-01: xxxx 7Fxx xxxx / 726-50-01: 08xx.
DRLs changed to the turn signals, post LED install
Glad you like our 15" Spring Steel antenna. Great option like you mentioned if you're looking for an antenna that looks just like the factory antenna, just shorter. That and one that actually works Over the years we have listened to the feedback given and offer it with stainless steel threading made here in Wisconsin so that the antenna stud has strength and doesn't snap under pressure. Also it has the wire wrap on it so there is no annoying wind whistle most aftermarket antennas have.
08-20-2018, 10:15 PM
BrewCity "Lite" Build
Over the years we have listened to the feedback given and offer it with stainless steel threading made here in Wisconsin so that the antenna stud has strength and doesn't snap under pressure. Also it has the wire wrap on it so there is no annoying wind whistle most aftermarket antennas have.