richy

Congrats on your new ride!!

It's industrial fallout. You need a product called IronX to safely and easily get rid of them. Autogeek in the US or Eshine in Canada.

At the time it was $1030.00 give or take. I think they're on sale now for less.

Joe, I hear you on that. It was not a happy day in this household when she saw mine either. Truth be told, winter tires have everything to do with cold weather traction and actually very little to do with snow. It's about the rubber compound having better grip and being more pliable. I am 100% certain it adds to your safety. The other thing I have noticed is that there is less un-sprung weight with these so the steering feels much lighter. The front end almost seems "twitchy". You notice the weight reduction in other words. And BTW, the TPS system finally triggered tonight and is now triggering every time I start it. Glad to see it's working.

To the OP, I clean the area at the same time I do the wheels/tires and wells, which is first before the rest of the car. I use a long handled, soft bristled brush (I think I got it from Target) and Zep Citrus APC cut 4:1 with water. ZC is available at Home Depot and Lowes. It is an awesome APC. I use it on the wheels and wells as well. The very best thing to protect them is with CQuartz or Opti Coat. The next best thing is Ultima Tire and Trim guard. The first two have their durability measured in years, and the Ultima is good for 6 months. Oh, there is actually a 3rd choice, which is a product called C4, which is made by GTechnique. It is very expensive however. Ultima is a better bargain.

I would try some Isopropyl Alcohol or mineral spirits. Wash the area afterward with soap.

I have always thought that I was putting my family and my health at risk by not running winter tires and wheels on my vehicles, but to be honest, could never really afford it before now. Still can't, LOL. I will outline below my process for preparing them for installation. One thing I did find strange however is that after installing them and driving, I did not get a TPS fault. I'm guessing something is wrong as the tires did not come with TPM, so my understanding is that every time I start up I should get the fault showing the system is not getting a signal. Anyway, after some research, I decided to go with 17" wheels (I run the stock 20" chrome) and Blizzak WS70's in a 235/65R 17 along with these wheels: http://www.racelinew...t/large/747.jpg I wanted to install them myself so I can store the summer set in my basement. I got them from Belle Tire in Detroit. I got the shim set for them as well. I wanted to wheels to have maximum protection from the elements so I did the following procedure to prepare them: 1) Wash them with ONR and dry 2) Add 2 coats of Optimum Opti Guard (professional version) to both the wheel faces and the barrels. 3) After an hour cure time, I added a coat of Permanon Platinum to both areas as well 4) Tires were treated to Duragloss Wet Shine I had to wait until yesterday to install the package as we drove my car to Florida to take a cruise from Miami. I did not want to be driving on them in the hot weather. It's been an extremely mild winter here so far so there has not been an issue with the stock tires on until now. Ironically, winter is hitting us tonight and the weather is changing to winter by tomorrow. My timing ended up being perfect. Here are a few shots of the car getting cleaned from the trip and then with the new wheels installed: I drove it today and was amazed at how well they handle as well as how quiet they are. I was expecting road noise from them. Not so. I am very impressed with the tires in the dry and rain so far. Tomorrow the snow comes; we'll see how they do then too!

I have black on black and I love it. Black or white are the only 2 I even considered. Here's a thread where I detailed it after taking delivery: http://www.fordedgeforum.com/index.php?/topic/6182-detailing-my-mkx/

Hmmmm, seems to me you just need to concentrate on not hopping curbs!! LOL.

Mine only runs through the headphones.

Thank you Joe. A very Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year as well. This has been a fun place to hang out for the last year!

Hell, if they were looking for Beta Testers, all they had to do was come here. We've been unwitting beta testers since day 1!!

Don't forget to add shipping 11edgelimited.

It is only like a 1/4 or 1/2 inch difference in height due to the size of the tire (235/65R X 17)

That would be great!! I'm going to go with 17" wheels and Blizzaks from Belle Tire. Here are the wheels: http://www.racelinewheels.com/p-747-125-black-wmirror-lip.aspx I think they'll look great!

That is great news! What channel is it on? Are there channels for particular areas or does it see where you're at and give it to you for that area?

Glad to hear you're enjoying it Joe! I blow hot air whenever I open my mouth...you need me inside the dash, LOL.

I have been looking at a package from Tirerack for 17" 235 65R 17's for the Blizzak and a set of painted silver Sport A7's for less than $1050. Seems fair. Going to 18's and/or chrome really adds up fast.

Jon, Sorry to hear about your issues. When mine has acted up, which has only been a few times in the last year, I disconnect the battery negative cable and use a wrench to touch the negative (disconnected) cable to the positive (connected) one. This grounds it. Wait two minutes and reconnect. That has always solved my problem so far. It's a 10 mm wrench if I recall.

Time for a trip to the dealer.

Dude, load up. Detailer's Domain has it for 20% off today!! Very nice choice on those products too. Please post up some pics of the job when you're done!

Y'all need the smiley where he is beating a dead horse, LOL.

By all means...resist ResistAll! For one thing, CQ needs a clean surface. Their so-called warranty isn't worth a damn. My father was a GM dealer for 25 years and I worked there for over 7. I know the business. CQ is an amazing product and your husband won't believe his eyes when he sees it shed water. (do a search on YouTube on it). IX is fine on chrome wheels. Just rinse it well, that's all. I use it on my Lincoln wheels and they're mint. I can't wait to hear your experience with those products! I've had CQ on my Lincoln for 1 year now. It still looks better than new.

Number 1, Congrats on your new ride!! Since it's new, hopefully the paint is pretty close to pristine and that will save you a lot of headache and heartache. Here goes with your questions... It sounds like you've done your homework. I do suggest joining a forum. Either mine or Autogeekonline. AG is big and lots of people (I'm there too) but they don't want you discussing products they don't sell. But, they do sell damn near everything. Please let us know how you make out.

Joe, glad to hear you got one too. That was smart to put some protection on them; they clean up so easily once it's done.