'03 Expy FULL STOCK Looking for some Mods! Suggestions?

[Alwayz]

Hey Everyone! I'm new here We've had our 2nd handed perfect condition 2003 expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4 for about 4 to 5 years now, the car is finally officially mine, and here's a list of things I want to get done and need advice/tips on:

1). Simple preformance mods(no lift or lower), things that will make the car lean less, intakes, and decent programmars?
2). LED Conversion! Definitely need one since i'm full stock, I want to change both exterior and interior, looking for tips on head/tail lights also
3). Sound..muffler, straight, or what should I do?
4). Nav System/Sound System, if theres any decent priced and good ones, let me know please

thats about it for now, I'm not looking for anything High-End, so if it's too expensive then I'll pass

Thanks to everyone who responds in advance!


DONE:
Gotts Mod
HID High/Low/Fog lights
Spectre intake air filter
Super 44 series muffler

TO DO:
LED Conversion
Interior party lights
Lift(how high?)

 

[tallsville]

intake- gotts mod

exhaust- i prefer spin tech catback with xpipe good sound and and power. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KLweKqnXLg

lights go with hids
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W

this is what info i got. there should be people here soon with more ideas

 

[panda24619]

if you dont want it to lean so much then youll have to level it. im not so good with the 2nd gens but other people on here are. so theyll let you know. intake gotts mod, if your not sure what it is theres a thread in the review section on it. exhaust, theres lots of options most popular flowmaster or mangaflow, but i like my bullet. they dont make kits that i know of but i had my muffler put on after my dynomax went out. programmer, i would go with an edge. pricely like $300, but well worth it. itll pay for its self after the first use. as for a nav i dont know of any cheap navigation head units but other people probley know. system i would go with one thats an open box at a local shop or on line. its guaranteed to work and its cheaper. thats how i got my kicker from circuit city. haha and amp something cheap is anything thats not big named brand. ie, kicker, alpine, kenwood, pioneer. anything at best buy preety much. i got my 1000 watt crunch from frys for $100. anything else just post it. people will chime in to help.

 

[Alwayz]

intake- gotts mod

exhaust- i prefer spin tech catback with xpipe good sound and and power. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KLweKqnXLg

lights go with hids
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W

this is what info i got. there should be people here soon with more ideas

I think I will go with the Gotts mod for now, since it looks pretty cheap and is reverseble if i messed up. And which one is the AIT silencer?(pics would be nice) sorry im a total noob.

As for the mod, what is the actual difference between the mod and buying an actual intake(such as K&N)? and how does it sound?


HID sounds good, what do you guys think about 10kk HID's on stock housing?

 

[panda24619]

we were all there one day. haha you cant really mess up the gotts mod. its super easy to do. and the mig difference is price. about $15 or $300. i feel it pulls true cold air out of the fender better then a cai. the sound i cant realy hear anything since my exhaust is so loud but it sounds stock from what i can hear. and hids. those are some bright ones. in stock housings there are people here that have them. looks good.

 

[tallsville]

as for gotts mod i didn't do it and found out about it after i bought k&n fipk. but from what i hear 7 hp gain for 13 bucks. not bad and worth a try. as how it sounds many people here have done it, imsure they will be along soon to answer or ask panda. as for 10k walnuts has pics of 10k on his gen 1 expy.

 

[smo0othride]

I think I will go with the Gotts mod for now, since it looks pretty cheap and is reverseble if i messed up. And which one is the AIT silencer?(pics would be nice) sorry im a total noob.

As for the mod, what is the actual difference between the mod and buying an actual intake(such as K&N)? and how does it sound?


HID sounds good, what do you guys think about 10kk HID's on stock housing?

See the attached pics for the pieces to take off and the final result. Also you can look at the vids on my youtube channel to hear how it sounds.

Also, you can get a new throttle body or throttle body spacer.

 

[Alwayz]

we were all there one day. haha you cant really mess up the gotts mod. its super easy to do. and the mig difference is price. about $15 or $300. i feel it pulls true cold air out of the fender better then a cai. the sound i cant realy hear anything since my exhaust is so loud but it sounds stock from what i can hear. and hids. those are some bright ones. in stock housings there are people here that have them. looks good.

Hey panda, what type of exhaust do you have? and what do you recommend for loud start-up and high-revs? some hp boost will be good too of course.

kk, 10kk hid's it is then!

See the attached pics for the pieces to take off and the final result. Also you can look at the vids on my youtube channel to hear how it sounds.

Also, you can get a new throttle body or throttle body spacer.

hey smooth, nice video, that turn looks intense xD I would never try that. btw does the k&n filter help a lot? and how much is it? Sorry for asking so many questions but what's a throttle body or throttle body spacer?


would anti-sway bars improve my handling or driving experience?

 

[Racenut]

I think I will go with the Gotts mod for now, since it looks pretty cheap and is reverseble if i messed up. And which one is the AIT silencer?(pics would be nice) sorry im a total noob.

As for the mod, what is the actual difference between the mod and buying an actual intake(such as K&N)? and how does it sound?


HID sounds good, what do you guys think about 10kk HID's on stock housing?

Depending on what state you live in the cops will sometimes mess with you over the 10K HID's, I went with the 8K and love the color of them they are not to BLUE but are bright as hell. For your '03 you should not get as much light "scatter" as us first gens do on the stock housings so you should be good.

 

[Alwayz]

Depending on what state you live in the cops will sometimes mess with you over the 10K HID's, I went with the 8K and love the color of them they are not to BLUE but are bright as hell. For your '03 you should not get as much light "scatter" as us first gens do on the stock housings so you should be good.

I just went with the 55w 5000k DDM's both Low/High and fogs I got 35w 5000k too. Did a little research and decided that 5000k should be "cool enough" but high visibility at night still. what do you think?



Also, I did the Gotts mod today, took me forever(round 1:30, filed took most of my time since i forgot to get new sand paper for my sanding machine), but turned out to be awesome like everyone said: saved money, more low-end torque, improvements on throttle response.

Does anyone know where I should get LED conversion things? just buy LED blubs one by one? or is there other ways to do it?

 

[Racenut]

I just went with the 55w 5000k DDM's both Low/High and fogs I got 35w 5000k too. Did a little research and decided that 5000k should be "cool enough" but high visibility at night still. what do you think?

The 5000k will give you more light output, but not sure if you will be really happy with them since the Silverstar series of halogen burn at 4100k. The 55W headlights will definatley make a difference, but your truck will probably look "uneven" with the fogs only being 35W.

Here is where I have gotten all of my HID's including a bunch of my buddies vehicles and have had no problems at all ( running them for over a year now ) :

http://stores.ebay.com/motorsportpartz

If you end up not being happy with the light output, you can change the bulbs to a different temp without having to change the balast as long as the W rating on the new bulb is the same as the balast. A new set of bulbs is around $15 so not to bad.

 

[Alwayz]

The 5000k will give you more light output, but not sure if you will be really happy with them since the Silverstar series of halogen burn at 4100k. The 55W headlights will definatley make a difference, but your truck will probably look "uneven" with the fogs only being 35W.

Here is where I have gotten all of my HID's including a bunch of my buddies vehicles and have had no problems at all ( running them for over a year now ) :

http://stores.ebay.com/motorsportpartz

If you end up not being happy with the light output, you can change the bulbs to a different temp without having to change the balast as long as the W rating on the new bulb is the same as the balast. A new set of bulbs is around $15 so not to bad.

if i switched the 55w 5000k's to 55w 6000k's would that make it look more even to my 5000k 35w fog lights? cause i read somewhere that i shouldnt put 55w on fogs cause they heat up.

 

[panda24619]

Hey panda, what type of exhaust do you have? and what do you recommend for loud start-up and high-revs? some hp boost will be good too of course.

kk, 10kk hid's it is then!



hey smooth, nice video, that turn looks intense xD I would never try that. btw does the k&n filter help a lot? and how much is it? Sorry for asking so many questions but what's a throttle body or throttle body spacer?


would anti-sway bars improve my handling or driving experience?

hey sry didnt know you asked me a question. my exhaust is a custom one. i originally had a dynomax super turbo under her. that was a kit i think my dad had installed professionally. then when my manifolds went out the guys told me my muffler was bad too. idk if it was true but i needed a louder one anyways. so they put a 16" Bullet Performance muffler in. nice and loud. i set off car alarms everywhere. i get mad if it just chirps. but i did notice more power but that was also cause of new manifolds. haha

a k&n helps a lot i feel. i got mine for about $50 i think. it was on sale if i remember correctly. it was so long ago.

a throttle body is when you press on the pedal it opens a butterfly valve in the throttle body to allow the air to go and waa laa you go.

a spacer goes in between the throttle body and intake manifold and i guess swirls the air before the intake and makes it go in faster idk. no one knows exactly. just wasting money if you ask me.

 

[panda24619]

The 5000k will give you more light output, but not sure if you will be really happy with them since the Silverstar series of halogen burn at 4100k. The 55W headlights will definatley make a difference, but your truck will probably look "uneven" with the fogs only being 35W.

Here is where I have gotten all of my HID's including a bunch of my buddies vehicles and have had no problems at all ( running them for over a year now ) :

http://stores.ebay.com/motorsportpartz

If you end up not being happy with the light output, you can change the bulbs to a different temp without having to change the balast as long as the W rating on the new bulb is the same as the balast. A new set of bulbs is around $15 so not to bad.

so which ones are for the expedition? i cant seem to find any kits that specifically say they are made for a specific car or truck. im not so good with hids and i cant trust these companys that advertize on craigslist. so i rather just intall my self.

 

[Alwayz]

so they put a 16" Bullet Performance muffler in. nice and loud. i set off car alarms everywhere. i get mad if it just chirps. but i did notice more power but that was also cause of new manifolds. haha

a k&n helps a lot i feel. i got mine for about $50 i think. it was on sale if i remember correctly. it was so long ago..

I just searched around and found Flowmaster 50 HD, how's that one?
heres a link: http://fmm.axisitgroup.com/searchfm...c1=Street Mufflers&sc2=50 Series HD&sc3=&sc4=

k&n looks nice, i will get it when im sure which muffler to get

 

[Racenut]

so which ones are for the expedition? i cant seem to find any kits that specifically say they are made for a specific car or truck. im not so good with hids and i cant trust these companys that advertize on craigslist. so i rather just intall my self.

Here is the 35W kit in 8000k :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Bi-X...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35ac235544

Here is the 55W kit in 8000K :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8000...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35ac1252cd

Both of these kits will fit the first gen Expy and have the HID high and low beam, and they are really easy to install. The 35W kit is the one that I have the pic below is the low beams in the factory housings with the same wattage and color temp fogs ( they are on as well )

 

[Racenut]

if i switched the 55w 5000k's to 55w 6000k's would that make it look more even to my 5000k 35w fog lights? cause i read somewhere that i shouldnt put 55w on fogs cause they heat up.

I don't think that would make it look even because the 55W are brighter and by stepping up to the 6000K you are changing the color of light they put out. So it would make it look even more uneven. I would stay with the same color temp on both even if you use the 35W in the fogs, the only part that will be uneven is the headlights will be brighter than the fogs, but the color should match.

I have actually been looking at going with the 55W in my headlights and fogs as well ( Don't really need to but I just like as much light as I can get , then I can put the 35W in my wifes car so she can quit bugging me. HAHA ) I don't belive those housings on the fogs will get to HOT with the 55W they barely even get warm with the 35W running them for 2 hours straight with the Expy parked. But then again you are running a different gen than mine so I don't have any experience with your housings.

 

[Alwayz]

I don't think that would make it look even because the 55W are brighter and by stepping up to the 6000K you are changing the color of light they put out. So it would make it look even more uneven. I would stay with the same color temp on both even if you use the 35W in the fogs, the only part that will be uneven is the headlights will be brighter than the fogs, but the color should match.

I have actually been looking at going with the 55W in my headlights and fogs as well ( Don't really need to but I just like as much light as I can get , then I can put the 35W in my wifes car so she can quit bugging me. HAHA ) I don't belive those housings on the fogs will get to HOT with the 55W they barely even get warm with the 35W running them for 2 hours straight with the Expy parked. But then again you are running a different gen than mine so I don't have any experience with your housings.

I just finished putting in my 50W 5000k Low/High and 35W 5000k Fog, I really like how it's really bright. but I'm causing a lot of glare..Is there anyway I can fix that?

I think I'll just keep my 35W fog, too lazy to exchange it to a 50w thanks for the info though.

 

[Racenut]

I just finished putting in my 50W 5000k Low/High and 35W 5000k Fog, I really like how it's really bright. but I'm causing a lot of glare..Is there anyway I can fix that?

I think I'll just keep my 35W fog, too lazy to exchange it to a 50w thanks for the info though.

The glare is pretty typical of any aftermarket HID setup in factory housings, if it bugs you that much you could try to go to aftermarket housings but I think you will end up with the same problem. The only way I know to get rid of the glare is to go with a set of projector housings but it can sometimes be hard to find a set that will acomodate the longer HID bulbs.

 

[Alwayz]

The glare is pretty typical of any aftermarket HID setup in factory housings, if it bugs you that much you could try to go to aftermarket housings but I think you will end up with the same problem. The only way I know to get rid of the glare is to go with a set of projector housings but it can sometimes be hard to find a set that will acomodate the longer HID bulbs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-9...|Make:Ford&hash=item4cf1c2dcef#ht_4664wt_1165

would these work?

and if i want to do a LED Conversion for my interior, I just have to find the right sized led blubs for each of them right?

*Edit: Updated my done and to do list.