2019/2020 Upgrade availability

[5280tunage]

Hi there. I'm new to the forum so I'll take the newbie beating folks normally get when they join forums, but I'm hoping for productive discussion and a threat that may become long running over time with folks adding value.

First, I'm looking to purchase a 2019 Expy shorty, likely limited with special package or platinum, preferably with HD towing add-on. For over 20 years I've been a jeep guy and have truly loved my 2011 WK2 Overland, but it's got a lot of miles, it's not under warranty anymore (and i'm scared to death of something like the air suspension failing), and I need more room for my family.

Technically up until this model, I've always liked the Yukon Denali's interior and multi-displacement engine more than the fords, but I really like the Eco v6, it's far superior to anything GM is really doing right now, and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer is likely going to be smaller and more expensive (think Range Rover customers) than the Expy.

With that said, I'm the kind of car owner that always modifies my vehicles, even though I probably shouldn't anymore. I've spent a lot of time looking for upgrades for the 2019 Expy, and i'm not finding much. So I'll break it down by areas and see if folks can give some input.

Mechanical/Drivetrain:

• I almost always upgrade brakes, I don't drop 5K to buy Brembo's or anything like that, but I almost always swap to better pads and do slotted/cross drilled rotors. I found a few of these available via PowerStop, anyone have any better ideas here?
• High Quality Cold Air Intake, specifically I've always been a big fan of AEM, but I do see some decent kits out there for this vehicle, I tend to really like Oil-less filters. Anyone have some good luck here?
• Exhaust? I found a lot of posts on this, but truly, there seems to be very few options out there, and definitely none that allow for dual exhaust. I have a good muffler shop I've worked with in the past so maybe I can find something through them that's custom. Did I read correctly on this site that the stock system is already 3" front to back? My Jeep has the Corsa exhaust that was actually the original design for the new SRT8's. I absolutely love it, love it's sound, and it's quality is the best I've ever used (and I've used Borla, Gibson, and many others in my years). I don't see any upgrades out there for headers, y pipes, or full exhaust. Anyone find anything? I don't want loud, but I want the kind of sound that slowly progresses to a tuned sound at WOT, and that can increase lower end torque/response a bit.
• Tuning - I believe I found that DiabloSport has a Predator 2 that might work, and I absolutely love my DiabloSport Intune DCX that I have now for my WK2. I read something about FiveStar? Any input here is important, one of the reasons I love this engine is that it's not naturally aspirated, but at my altitude I would love to tune this a bit including different fuel types. Tuning has made a huge difference on my WK2.
• Suspension - I saw a recent post on here where someone managed to lift theirs even though they had the adaptive suspension, I never even tried that on the WK2 but to be honest, raising mine to it's highest offroad setting let me cross numerous rivers and creeks, cross many rough trails without issue. I don't expect a vehicle with this wheelbase to do what I did in my WK2, but does it even have the ability to raise and lower, or is it simply a dampening suspension? I will miss this too, love it when the vehicle hits only a few inches off the ground on the highway to help with mileage.
• Additionally, how about suspension components like sway bars, I've normally replaced my sway bars with larger, better sway bars to improve handling, anyone found any yet, provided this vehicle actually still leverages torsion style sway bars?

Audio and Electrical:

• First, I am a bit of an audiophile, and I used to compete in competitions years ago, so good all around sound is important. Most high end packages in cars these days have pretty good coverage for mid to higher frequency response, but almost all lack in low frequency response. My current WK2 I invested in a good JL stealthbox, great mono-block amp and crossover system, it's sounds delicious for a 95% stock system. JL doesn't seem to have a stealthbox for this yet, and I'm hammering them with questions on when they may, but does anyone have details on the stock sub? i.e. where is it, what type/size is it, impedance of the sub/amp circuit? Is it in the back left panel? Would love to upgrade this almost immediately.
• Saw some good details on this site on wiring a radar/camera in the mirror assembly, will take care of that.
• Firewall access, anyone find a good grommet in the firewall yet to run a 12V power wire through for an amp? In my WK2, it's nice that the battery is actually inside, under the passenger front seat, that made running my power super easy, not to mention there was a 12V accessory block in the engine compartment I used for my winch connection/breaker.
• Updates to Nav/Infotainment? On my WK2 they used to try and charge annually for updates, but as usual, it wasn't hard to find people that would publish usb images and DVD images for said updates. Is that pretty common/available for this vehicle? Or is everyone forced to resort to paying stealerships for their 30 minutes (rounded up to the nearest tech hour)?
• Bluetooth issues? Anyone have any persistent bluetooth compatibility issues? Luckily I haven't had many in my WK2, but i know others that have.
• Here's one thing I think I will miss (while i'm sure others will say it's dumb), my WK2 has the 30GB HD in the radio, I love the fact that I have FLAC and MP3's loaded on that thing, it's so easy, doesn't consume tons of space on my phone, and I don't have to stream everything. I don't believe these have that type of setup, all be it, I can probably load up a 128GB or 256GB USB stick, i'm assuming you can play audio off of that right?

Long story short, anyone that has good input on upgrades, availability, costs, etc would be awesome. Additionally, anyone with really good gotcha's to watch out for, good things to keep in mind, always open for advice. I will likely try to find a slightly used one, with 10K or fewer miles to reduce the ouch of the immediate depreciation. And with these things being so complex and expensive, will definitely do a Ford extended warranty.

Thanks in advance!