The life of my 2013 Black SuperCab

[Raptized]

Installed bed bolt d-rings, and strapped down the spare for bumpy travels.

Looking good. I was thinking of adding some D- rings to the bolt holes of the bed extenders since I never use them anyways.

 

[rkneeshaw]

Added some graphics to the truck bed



I really dig the "ghosted" look of the matte black on black. Tempted to do the hood decal too to tie it all in.

And I have a little something else in the works...

Sandblasted:


Por15 treatment:

 

[rkneeshaw]

Installed WSI HD rear leafs with the RPG shackles, I'm amazed at the difference. Truck is so solid over bumps, it just eats them up. The stock leafs on these trucks are NOT very good.



The HD leafs with RPG shackles on my supercab raised the rear by about 1"



Not sure how I feel about the 1" lift, I think I prefer the leveled look a bit better. But I'll let it ride a bit and see if it grows on me.

 

[rkneeshaw]

Had Raptor Retrofit swap in a set of D2S 4.0 projectors with 50w ballasts



here's where I installed the wiring harness, used a small self tapping screw to mount it. Found grounding points on the back side of the front radiator support on each side, worked out perfect (although had to remove the battery box to get the drivers side out).



The D2S 4.0's make a very nice wide beam pattern, and the 50w ballasts have really great output. Very happy with this setup.

 

[rkneeshaw]

Installed the RPG stage 2 bump stop kit today





I'm going to switch the WSI HD leafs to Deaver +2 HD. They should help the truck sit more level, and still handle well when I tow the car to the racetrack. I'll put the WSI HD's up for sale soon, they would be super awesome on a screw or a scab that carries 400lbs regularly or likes a raked look.

Can't edit my first post anymore, here's the full mod list:

Performance Modifications:

• Fox 2.5 Shocks on mid perch with flutter stacks
• SPC Heavy Duty Alignment Kit
• RPG Stage 2 Bump stop kit with Fox 2.5 Bump Stops
• WSI HD rear springs
• Fuel Anza 17x8.5 +6mm Wheels
• Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 35x12.5x17

Other Modifications:

• Morimoto Mini D2S 4.0 Projectors with 50w ballasts
• Morimoto XB50 5800k HID bulbs
• Baja Designs Onx6 20" light bar

• Baja Designs XL80 combo lights
• Baja Designs Squadron Sport chase lights
• LED Reverse light bulbsfrom VLEDs.com
• LED tag light bulbsfrom VLEDs.com
• LED cargo light bulbsfrom VLEDs.com

• LED puddle light bulbsfrom VLEDs.com
• SDHQ Chase light mounts
• TYT TH-9800 VHF quad band radio
• Third brake light NMO antenna mount
• Black mirror reflector lenses
• Line-X Bedliner
• Bed bolt D-Rings
• ProLab BIO-PROGARD Undercoating

• Tuffy Under Rear Seat Lockbox

 

[rkneeshaw]

A couple updates:

I decided I didn't like the VHF radio audio piped through the stock sound system, since it means you can't listen to music on runs and stuff. So I installed an external speaker. This is the Uniden Bearcat BC20 and it wedges in perfectly here next to the drivers leg, near the gas pedal:



And with the trim reinstalled there is no perceptible loss of sound quality or volume at all



Then I decided to tackle the Sync 2 to Sync 3 upgrade. I have always hated the Sync 2 touchscreen, and Sync 3 offers carplay and android auto support, is much quicker and also is something currently supported and being improved by Ford too. I posted a lot of details on this conversion over in the Sync 2 to Sync 3 upgrade thread.

The external speaker was really a pre-requisite for this too, because Sync 3 does not support the old media hub with the audio inputs in the center console, and now with the external speaker in place it's not an issue to lose that.

And so out with the old:





Installed new media hub with carplay compatible USB ports:



And here she is, everything is working great!



Next up will be an update on my rear springs. I wanted the truck to sit more level so I decided to swap for a set of Deavers. That will have to wait until after SnoBall though.

 

[rkneeshaw]

So I've had an adventure with rear leaf springs.

I liked the WSI HD's, but even with the RPG lowering shackle raised the rear of the truck a little too high for my taste:



So I went to RPG and Deaver and they recommended I try the Deaver +2 HD. Well those turned out to be pretty much identical in ride height to the WSI HD when both were installed with the RPG drop shackles. And with the stock shackle, it just looked a bit silly:



Deaver support is amazing. Scott over there was super helpful and didnt even hesitate to completely take care of me. I am very impressed with Deaver!

So after sending me a standard Deaver +2 leaf pack, I got it installed with stock shackles:





I couldn't be happier. Truck sits and rides perfect.

I took ride height measurements too. I took these from the middle of the hub to the fender flare, not from the ground (so there's no variance due to tire pressure, temperature, or tire size):

Stock: 27.5"
WSI HD with drop shackle: 28.5"
Deaver +2 HD with stock shackle: 29.75"
Deaver +2 with stock shackle: 28"


I also made a small modification to my VHF external speaker setup. The sound was muffled just enough to bug me, so I created my own grill by drilling some holes in the trim panel.





Sounds awesome now and I can hear the radio chatter over all the ruckus

I've made some changes to my Baja Designs lighting setup, and applied some OptiCoat PPF to the truck, I'll add some details in a future update.

 

[Dalamar]

Great work on upgrading and tuning your truck. I love threads like this, showing your process and what you've done to improve it and get it where you want.
Nice ride man!


I've been thinking about changing my rear leafs out. Recently put on the 3.0 Foxes, and it now sits about 1" taller in the rear. I need to adjust the front coils up, but don't want to go too high and limit the swing geometry. Appreciate your feedback on ride quality and stance, going to look into this for my truck.

 

[rkneeshaw]

Great work on upgrading and tuning your truck. I love threads like this, showing your process and what you've done to improve it and get it where you want.
Nice ride man!


I've been thinking about changing my rear leafs out. Recently put on the 3.0 Foxes, and it now sits about 1" taller in the rear. I need to adjust the front coils up, but don't want to go too high and limit the swing geometry. Appreciate your feedback on ride quality and stance, going to look into this for my truck.

Thanks Dalamar, I've really been enjoying the truck. The Deaver +2 in the rear are perfect for me. With mid-perch up front the truck sits level with maybe a half inch higher in the rear, which I think is a perfect look. And with mid-perch the front suspension isn't over extended. I am still running the stock fox 2.5's so I can't help much with right height with the Fox 3.0

 

[rkneeshaw]

The driver's side upper ball joint developed about 1/8" worth of play, so, time for ball joints.

I found Moog only makes an economy upper control arm. I haven't been a fan of Mevotech parts before, but Mevotech makes a "premium" upper control arm as opposed to their economy part that would be the comparable product to the economy Moog. So I went with the Mevotech premium upper, and we'll see how they hold up.

While I was in there, I did Moog lower ball joints and installed new IWE's too.





Cleaned and re-greased the wheel bearings and half shaft ends.

Had to fully remove the shock and spring assembly to get those bolts out for the upper control arms:



I didnt really have any problems with the lower ball joints or IWE's at 77k miles, but I did it anyway to be proactive.