Quick intro, I'm DarkSkies, and I bought this truck back in November of 2024. 2020 SuperCrew Lariat 5.0 with around 100,000 miles on the clock courtesy of the first owners. This is the first Ford vehicle I've owned personally. I've driven Explorers for work, and my Father-in-Law owns a 2005 6.0 Powerstroke F250, and now a 2019 6.7 Powerstroke F350. I've owned all of the Big 3 now (several Jeeps, Chevy LLY Duramax, Dodge 3500 5.9 Cummins, Ram 1500 EcoDiesel), and so far the F150 is my favorite. Each brand does some things right, but totally whiffs on others, but from what I can tell, the F150 is excellent across the board.

Now, with all that being said, I bought the truck pretty well stock from a dealer in Montana and immediately began working with a close friend's son to order parts and get them installed.




The locking rear diff is absolutely phenomenal, and has already paid off in deep snow. Once I got the new suspension (Bilstein 6112 coilovers up front, Bilstein 5100's in the rear), wheels, and tires installed (285/75R17 Toyo Open Country AT III's on Rough Country 87 Series wheels), the truck is almost unstoppable in frame-deep snow. I haven't had the opportunity to test it on any other surfaces, but the snow and ice performance is great.




Next I upgraded the stock non-towing mirrors to Boost Auto tow mirrors, since they were having a sale when I was looking. Great upgrade. I then installed Barricade 5" running boards, since we have two boys under 2, and my wife is short. Additionally, I threw a pair of infrared flood lights on the A-pillars for driving under night vision.




Shameless pic of NV setup (missing Streamlight Sidewinder):




Yesterday I ripped out the factory F150 badges and installed some I bought off Etsy. Loving the chrome delete so far.




I also used my OBDLink plug from my EcoDiesel to play around in Forscan. I've disabled the double-honk on lock, the door ajar chime, and did some of the other popular tweaks while I was in there.

Anyway, plans for the truck going forward are as follows:

• Tuning- I hate how the transmission clunks around 4th gear, and the lack of a sense of purpose from the engine around town is pretty frustrating. If anyone has any recommendations on a good tuner, let me know. I planned on either going with MPT or Livernois, but I'm open to suggestions.
• Sound system upgrade(s)- New door speakers and a sub.. The truck is my daily, and I love music, so an upgraded system is a must for me.
• 12" Sync 4 upgrade- pretty self-explanatory.
• Replace factory headlights- Looking to replace with either aftermarket LED's (Morimoto, AlphaRex, etc.) or factory blacked-out LED's... if I can find them.
• Replace factory taillights & 3rd brake light- Again, either Morimoto or AlphaRex.
• Putco bed MOLLE panels- I have a hard Tonneau cover over the bed for secure storage of offroad/recovery/emergency equipment, and storage and organization with these panels will be significantly easier and more secure.
• Husky Liners trail armor rocker panel covers- Some of the kick panels are chipped and have exposed metal. I'd like to cover them up and protect the panels a little better. Installation looks like a pain, but I think they'll be a worthwhile upgrade. Again, feedback is appreciated here.
• Ronin drain plug- I do a lot of my own maintenance and service, so this little plug is gonna make things way easier. Any recommendations on more shortcuts/mods that would make general service (diffs, transfer case, transmission, etc.) easier would be greatly appreciated.

I'll try to update the thread as I go, but it might come in bursts. I know a lot of this was repeated from my "Hello, my name is..." thread, but I figured I'd start my own thread to document the changes and mods I make as time goes on.

 

Loving the mods and upgrades! It's already come a long way from stock, and it's looking amazing! Looking forward to seeing more of it as you go.

 

New speakers this weekend:





The front brackets included with the speakers don't fit in the doors, so I ordered the Metra brackets to accommodate. The rear brackets worked, though, and I was able to get them installed.



Performance is about what I expected. This is my first time running the Reference series from Infinity, so I guess we'll see how things sound once the fronts get installed. They are, however, a HUGE improvement over the OEM B&O speakers. Those things are garbage.

Next for audio will probably be either an 8" or 10" slimline powered sub behind the back seat for a little extra bass boost. The stock sub is only good when you crank the bass level in the head unit all the way up.

 

 

Took a picture



Ordered some Alpha Rex MKII 14th Gen-style headlights a couple nights ago. They should be in on Monday and installed next weekend. I'll post pics post-install.

 

Took it out into the desert today to do some training. On-road performance might not be stellar with the 6112's, but the off-road performance is absolutely fantastic.



Looking at the picture makes me realize how much I need to replace the 3rd brake light. I'm on the fence about the tail lights, but that 3rd brake light needs to go...

 

Got around to installing the new headlights:







Now to test them out on the way in to work in the morning. Excited to see how they stack up!

I ordered a set of Recon tails and a third brake light. They should be in this Friday, so I'll update when I've got them installed.

On a totally unrelated note, does anyone need a matching pair of stock LED headlights? Asking for a friend 😁

 

Is the upper portion of the DRL on your passenger side not workin? It looks off. If you can would you be able to post some output shots from the driver seat so we can see their cutoff and high beam performance? That would be awesome. Truck looking great BTW.

 

I meant to mention that. I noticed my camera didn't quite pick up the true looks of the lights. Both are lit up and fully functional, but my phone didn't pick it up for some reason.

I'll try to grab some shots on the way out the door this morning. One of my biggest issues with the stock LED's was the output pattern, or lack thereof. I wasn't a fan of how they just kinda puked light out all over the place. I know the cutoff on the new ones is super clean. I'll post pictures when I get the chance.

 

Only managed to get one shot as I left this morning:



The headlights were aimed higher than Willie Nelson on a giraffe. I felt like I was signaling the ISS on my way in this morning, and I'm sure oncoming traffic was none too pleased with the situation either.

I managed to pull them down this evening after work, but in the process somehow knocked out my low-beam. In my attempt to bring it back up, I restarted the truck, and the light worked again. Weird.

*Edited to add*

The new lights dont put out nearly what the stock LED's did, but the beam pattern is definitely cleaner, which I really like. I'd like a little bit more "oomph", but I guess for the price, they aren't bad at all.