ChrisTheSwede's 2014 TE

ChrisTheSwede

ChrisTheSwede

New member
Hi. After having a RWD 3rd Gen for a while and silently lurking this forum looking at your 4X4 adventures with more than a little jealousy, I finally upgraded to a 2014 TE Premium with KDSS. The final straw breaking the camel's back is the baby we're expecting in May - with the 5th Gen being "so much safer" I finally got everyone's approval (including my own) to do some shopping.

We'll see how much modding the time and budget will actually allow for this truck, but so far I love it and I hope to take it down <strike><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Mojave Road and out to The Racetracks in Death Valley</span></strike>(Done!) before the little one comes.

I'll keep this thread as a diary for myself and see where it takes me. It might end here or the car might be unrecognizable a year from now. Hopefully the thread can answer some questions for someone else going for more moderate modifications, or just motivate me to take that step to cash up for real front and rear bumpers. :)


Most recent photos
S5vVg6E.png


The following few changes are done:


Adjustable 5100 Bilstein front shocks at 1.75"
VdTckA4.png


BF Goodrich T/A KO size 265/70/17
JSXXQtV.png





:ranger:​
 
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I'm thinking about leveling the front on my 2014 TE. Did just adding the Bilstiens at that setting level yours, or have you added something else? Thanks for the look at the BFG's also. I'm leaning toward those on some 9" wide wheels.
 
3wbdriver said:
I'm thinking about leveling the front on my 2014 TE. Did just adding the Bilstiens at that setting level yours, or have you added something else?
Click to expand...

Just the Bilsteins. Stock there's just over 2" difference between the front and rear tire clearance and I opted for the 1.75" lift setting rather than the 2.5" one. Sometimes it can still look like the car is leaning slightly forward, but all in all it looks a lot <strike><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">nicer</span></strike> more aggressive now.
 
ChrisTheSwede said:
Just the Bilsteins. Stock there's just over 2" difference between the front and rear tire clearance and I opted for the 1.75" lift setting rather than the 2.5" one. Sometimes it can still look like the car is leaning slightly forward, but all in all it looks a lot <strike><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">nicer</span></strike> more aggressive now.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Chris. I'm at the Bilstein website now reading the PDF on how they work. I see it is an adjustment on the actual spring location on the shock. I was just having trouble figuring out how they did it until I read that. It definitely looks better leveled out.

Follow up question. Did you need to do an alignment after the front shock and height change?
 
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hi chris,

noticed your swedish, theres a poster here known as the 'crazy norwegian' , he lives also in los angeles also. :)
 
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pacho said:
hi chris,

noticed your swedish, theres a poster here known as the 'crazy norwegian' , he lives also in los angeles also. :)
Click to expand...

NO! Don't mention that, not while the winter olympics are on. These scandinavian guys take their ski jumping seriously. We might have WW3 in LA now!

:peace:
 
3wbdriver said:
Thanks for the reply Chris. I'm at the Bilstein website now reading the PDF on how they work. I see it is an adjustment on the actual spring location on the shock. I was just having trouble figuring out how they did it until I read that. It definitely looks better leveled out.

Follow up question. Did you need to do an alignment after the front shock and height change?
Click to expand...

The answer to your question is yes. Anytime you change suspension geometry, you need to have it re-aligned.
 
ChrisTheSwede said:
Just the Bilsteins. Stock there's just over 2" difference between the front and rear tire clearance and I opted for the 1.75" lift setting rather than the 2.5" one. Sometimes it can still look like the car is leaning slightly forward, but all in all it looks a lot <strike><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">nicer</span></strike> more aggressive now.
Click to expand...

Nice looking truck. Did you install the Bilsteins yourself? If so, how difficult was the installation?
 
harkco said:
Nice looking truck. Did you install the Bilsteins yourself? If so, how difficult was the installation?
Click to expand...

Cheers. I didn't, so I can't speak for that, sorry. Hearsay is that the installation is fairly straight forward but that there's a risk you'll rip the wires to the ABS if you're not careful.


In other news, skijumping is kinda meh and the only Norwegian athlete that matters is Petter Solberg. :clap2:
 
Congrats on the little one. I am in the exact same position. Currently trying to sell my 3rd gen and get a new Trail edition, we are also using our expectant little guy as an excuse to make the switch.
 
Did I just install my Nerf Steps backwards?

Heh. With the risk of coming off as the stupidest stupid in the capital of Stupidland, I have to share this with you guys.

Quoting the instructions for the N-Fab Nerf Step installation:

"NOTE: The short end of the step board should be located at the front of the vehicle."
&
"NOTE: Step board should hang in location with the bent flange toward the rear of the vehicle."

Now English isn't my first language and I get lost around fancy words such as "flange" but doesn't the above two sentences kinda indicate that they should be mounted as the leftmost one is placed in the picture below? Note that one end is short and stubby and the other is bent.


IFOhT93.png

That made no sense to me so I went and put them the other way around, with the bent part facing forward. After all, that's most likely the end I'll run into things, right?

Once I figured out I either A) knew better than the guy writing the installation instructions or B) lack the skill set to comprehend written English the installation was dead easy and it was like a 15 minute job. All bolts fit perfectly and there was no problem holding the bar in place by yourself when mounting it.

They absolutely don't feel like an alternative to real rock sliders, but they are a nice step making it easier for my very pregnant wife to get in the car.


TltSdwX.png

It looks OK now that they are on, I just wanted to share my confusion.

Bonus picture, packaging was nice:


WyqFSYw.png
 
You have them on there correctly. I wonder how long N-Fab will ship those with the wrong instructions? It's been years now...
 
ChrisTheSwede said:
Heh. With the risk of coming off as the stupidest stupid in the capital of Stupidland, I have to share this with you guys.

Quoting the instructions for the N-Fab Nerf Step installation:

"NOTE: The short end of the step board should be located at the front of the vehicle."
&
"NOTE: Step board should hang in location with the bent flange toward the rear of the vehicle."
Click to expand...

You and me both brother! I had the same confusion with mine 3 weeks ago.
 
Antman said:
You have them on there correctly. I wonder how long N-Fab will ship those with the wrong instructions? It's been years now...
Click to expand...

That's the little things I find irritating with companies these days. If they really cared about customer service/satisfaction, it would have been fixed a long time ago. I really have no problem with their product (I actually like it) but just cannot imagine what goes through their mind...
 
Hah, glad to hear I'm not the only one at least. Well, they're on now, and I've updated the original post with some new photos from this weekend in case anyone wants to see what they look like when really, really dusty.

I also updated my wording. My sincerest apologies. :)
 
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