[Dimitri]

Congrats and enjoy your new 08'. As well I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy my 08' as well, (well as long as I can pry the keys outta the wife's hands) lol!

[naz]

mobil 1... synthetic? is it worth the cost? i wouldn't even bother with k&n filter. just drive and enjoy

[NOS2Go4Me]

I sat down on 'em today in 0C weather (SNOW?!?? WTF!!?!?!) and they weren't bad, actually. I can add the elements at any time, so I'll think about it over the summer and see how we do into the fall.

As for running synth - if it's better for the engine and prolongs its life, I really don't care about the cost. Same for the K+N - I hate paying for new paper filters.

The compass in the centre stack doesn't bother me... it's really more of a novelty as I'll be using GPS for "real" navigating anyways and it looks neat being in the opposite lower corner from the OAT (Outside Air Temperature).

As for the controls, Dan - all the selectors for airflow position and such are pushbuttons. The fan speeds and air temperature selector are dials. They seem big enough and easy enough to work with gloves but I haven't tried them yet, honestly. I'm normally too stupid to attempt driving with gloves on so we may never know! :lol:

I'm actually debating getting sat radio as the headunit supports it (Sat button and all). The Line In works great too for my Sony Ericsson Walkman phone.

The one thing I AM really digging is going from a monochrome front end to a monochrome front end. I don't mind the interior chrome at all, but I'll let the wheels "do the talking" as far as bling goes. ;) Don't worry, that's coming.

[naz]

NOS2Go4Me,May 27 2008, 01:31 PM Wrote:As for running synth - if it's better for the engine and prolongs its life, I really don't care about the cost. Same for the K+N - I hate paying for new paper filters.
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IMHO, jury's still out on both.

re the oil...

i personally did a comparison of used oil analysis in my wrx for conventional versus synth and i didn't see any difference in engine protection (based on wear metals in the oil). the only difference would likely have been the oil change interval.. others have reported similar results

IMHO, unless the engine requires synth oil, run a good quality low price conventional oil and change it often (and periodically get used oil analysis to verify everything is ok).. if your engine can handle a 40 weight oil, 15W40 rotella T is a fantastic product.. low price, great additives and excellent physical properties

re the filter...

there aren't many tests on filtration versus flow rate, but the ones i've seen suggest that majority of aftermarket air filters sacrifice filration to get better flow (ie your motor might make a minuscule amount more power because of more air, but more crap gets through the filter) also, some people suggest that the re-oiling process that makes the k&n reusable also makes it much more likely to dirty up / damage the air flow sensor

personally, i would stick with the OE filter (for everything).. IMHO filtration is one of the places where OE is almost always best...

EDIT: if i recall correctly ITG is a filter brand that has both 'good' filtration and 'good' flow rates.. if you wanna spend $$ on an air filter check there... but i stick with my last statement above...

[NOS2Go4Me]

I had a ITG filter on the Focus (Duratec FS CAI) and it worked well. I've inspected inside my MAF tubes frequently on the SPI and I was never a victim of "poor" filtration vs. what others were reporting. Maybe I was just lucky.

I'm not so much worried about change intervals, I just want my truck's motor to last! I'm really pleased with the 3.0L Duratec and I'm looking forward to a LOT of adventures with the new "rig". :)

I'm still getting Silverstars, too... unless I go with HIDs. I know there are a lot of concerns running HIDs in incandescent bulb housings, so I'm trying to do some research first to see if it will really work or not. I mean, they sell the kits but that doesn't make them automatically worthwhile. I just don't want to buy Silverstars and find out that I could have taken that cash and used it towards a full HID conversion kit.

[NefCanuck]

NOS2Go4Me,May 27 2008, 08:31 AM Wrote:As for the controls, Dan - all the selectors for airflow position and such are pushbuttons. The fan speeds and air temperature selector are dials. They seem big enough and easy enough to work with gloves but I haven't tried them yet, honestly. I'm normally too stupid to attempt driving with gloves on so we may never know! :lol:

I'm actually debating getting sat radio as the headunit supports it (Sat button and all). The Line In works great too for my Sony Ericsson Walkman phone.
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IIRC the Escape has the fan speed knob closest to the driver like the '08 Focus (Which I think is bass-ackward as I was adjusting temps in the Focus far more than I ever was the fan)

Interesting, so the Sirus unit was never installed in the car at all? :huh: I had assumed that they installed them and just activated the service on the ones that people had paid for :unsure:

The fact that SYNC wasn't even available as an option on the '08 Escape was a minor strike against it when I was looking around (Ford is adding the SYNC system in '09 as I understand it)

NefCanuck

[naz]

NOS2Go4Me,May 27 2008, 06:22 PM Wrote:I'm still getting Silverstars, too... unless I go with HIDs. I know there are a lot of concerns running HIDs in incandescent bulb housings, so I'm trying to do some research first to see if it will really work or not. I mean, they sell the kits but that doesn't make them automatically worthwhile. I just don't want to buy Silverstars and find out that I could have taken that cash and used it towards a full HID conversion kit.
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personally, i've tried silverstars in the past and i did not notice an increase in light output (ie they were a waste of money)

the only thing (short of getting HIDs) that actually produced more light was putting in higher wattage bulbs and a heavy duty wiring harness. i did notice that the housings started to melt slightly around the lights after a 2 years, so this may not be a good route if this truck is a 'keeper'

re HIDs in halogen housings.. the light pattern isn't well controlled so IMHO it is very selfish of people to retrofit HIDs because there is a TON of glare thrown out onto the road.. btw this mod is illegal. the 'best' but still not legal way to do this is to hack up your headlight so that you actually put in a HID project into your headlights.. that way you have a shot at controlling the light output. as long as the ballast is a high quality (philips or hella) unit there shouldn't be any issues with heat or current draw. when i put in the mach HIDs onto my focus i did not make any wiring changes and it was fine

if these lights are truly for off road use and not for 'bling' then your best bet might be to install some hella HID driving lights into the bumper or 'brush guard'

[DD1]

my hid are awesome andI will never own a car again without them.....

They make the world of difference

[NOS2Go4Me]

I liked the HIDs I had in the RX-8, Don, but I can't get them from the factory for the Escape. If I can do a proper projector conversion and keep the beams as they were intended to be used, that's fine. If it's a naked bulb and it's a s***e light being cast, I won't do it.

I went from the factory "yellow" incandescent bulbs in the 01 Focus to Silverstars and found an appreciable difference (in my mind). I found the Eurolites I had after to be somewhere between stock and the Silverstars.

I think I might go with the Silverstars for now for an immediate improvement till I can finish my research into HIDs.

[naz]

NOS2Go4Me,May 28 2008, 12:30 PM Wrote:I went from the factory "yellow" incandescent bulbs in the 01 Focus to Silverstars and found an appreciable difference (in my mind). I found the Eurolites I had after to be somewhere between stock and the Silverstars.
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i must not have gotten the right kind of silverstars then.. i tried 1 side silverstar and 1 side OE on my '00 zx3 and both my gf and i could not tell.. but if it worked for you go for it

IMHO, the actual lumens thrown onto the road is less (because of the coating) so unless the bulbs are drawing more power (could be bad for your stock wiring depending on how much more) there isn't any more actual light and its just your eyes thinking its more light because of the color tinting