CliffsEdge

I had the Curt hitch installed Saturday. I first went to a muffler shop, which I usually do. This guy was high on crack. I’d never been there before. The guy came unglued when he saw the Edge and said no way it could be done without removing the bumper, which led to removing the tail lights. I’m thinking… “hmmm, Curt manufactured the hitch and the instructions. It says NOTHING about removing ANYHTHING…” Then he said it would take half a day. Then he said he could saw through the back floor, inside the cargo area, access the bolts and then duct tape the holes… I’m not shitting you. I went to another place that he himself recommended, behind Costa Mesa Ford. This guy whips out, says “no problem,” and 45 minutes later I’m on my way home, minus $80. He did it with no lift, laying on the ground. By himself. 1. Lower exhaust off the hangers 2. Line up the hitch where you want it, mark and drill the holes. He did it with a 14 volt cordless, and a nice sharp new bit. It went through the frame like butter. In the back of my brain I said “that ain’t good…” 3. Use the wire supplied with the hitch hardware; pull the wire through the supplied mounting bracket. Get ready to crawl around a bit under the car. 4. Go around, through the inside of the bumper cover and fish the unit through the holes you drilled. Back to front. 5. Mount the hitch up. 6. Tighten the bolts. Tighten until you lift yourself off the ground. You might want lock tight for heavy hitch use or if you live in a bumpy area. 7. Re-hang the exhaust. The hanger boots are tough. You may be required to use the “F” word. Drive away happy. It took him 45 minutes. Realistically it would take the average shmoe about 1 hour, to 1 ½ hours. An impatient cuss a-lot, like me, 2 hours and bleeding knuckles, red face, pissed off neighbors holding their children in fear…. It wasn’t worth it to me. I hate that type of stuff. I’m glad I paid to have it done. The Correct hitch is Part # CU-13060 I bought it today for $140 at RealTruck.com I have bought Hidden-Hitch products in the past and their fit and finish, such as paint, is horrendous in comparison to Curt. I mean total crap. No primer under the paint, and one coat of spray can quality semi gloss. Drawtite I heard is also not exactly the pretty item. I believe Curt makes Hidden-Hitch, but they ship to them unfinished. The Hidden-Hitch from eTrailer sucked. The Curt products that I bought for other vehicles were top of the line. I ordered this one for our 07' Edge based on past Curt experience. See my gallery for photos. In particular

New Photos Added! Taken with Digital camera. Please see my Gallery!

More pix.

The tips are Single wall rolled, Silverline's. They are slash cut 4". I measured 4 1/4 x 3 x 3/4 for what it its worth. I believe the part is Silverline # TK4007 or part Silverline # TK4007S. The photos I found of the part do not do it justice. The most accurate part photo is Silverline part # TK4510. You'll have to Google it. They say Silverline on the top in etched letters. It looks really nice. They are stainless but look chrome. They are by far the nicest looking tips I saw at the muffler shop. I paid $80 installed for both.

Silverline brand. See my Gallery. I measured 4 1/4" x 3 3/4"

I also saw some excellent deals at Wayne's Wheel in Garden Grove. They have some pretty smoken deals as well. Waynes Wheel Link

Excellent Wheel Configurator at Wheel Link These photos are ones I made on the site. They helped me a great deal in my decision. Wheel Envizio

I leased the base SE at $800 under invoice for budgetary reasons. I didn't see the value, for my purposes, to bump to the SEL. The first to go were the lame 17" stocker wheels, plus Limo tint all the way around, and finally exhaust tips. As you can see, it changed the entire vehicle. It didn’t just improve it, it literally looks like a different vehicle. Originally, I was not happy that I have the black handles, mirrors and rear window brow, but once I blacked the windows out and put on the rims, it actually complimented the whole package. A guy at work has the same color SEL with stock chrome wheels, mine looks better because of the black accents. I was skeptical about 22"s over 20"s and remembered the forum posters who got 22"s and said the ride suffered. Well as you can see, the 20"s look excellent and to my surprise, they ride much smoother and quieter than the stock 17"s. I attributed this to the 275/45/20 Nexen tires. I did a lot of research on the Chinese Nexens, because I replaced very expensive Run Flats on my 2007 Twin Turbo BMW. It was a big risk, so I researched the crap out of them. The Nexens were far superior in every aspect to the $350 (per tire) Bridgestone Potenzas I replaced. I never could break the Nexens loose, even in 100+ mph turns. (No exaggeration.) I rode them hard in the rain, etc. They are incredible. Those ran me $110 per tire at Tucker Tire in W. Covina. No issues of any kind. So I attribute the quietness to the Nexen's more than the 20” size. It is unanimous among Nexen owners that they are about as silent as you can get. Anyway, I also researched the crap out of wheel packages, from Tire Rack, to every conceivable store, including Victoria Tire & Wheel, Pep Boys, Whittier Tint, etc. Salinas Tire simply blew their doors of with an OTD price of $1,300. That's TAX, lug nuts, mount, balance, strapping for the TPMS, everything. The tire and wheels ran $1,100. Try getting under $1,600 OTD anywhere with Chrome 8.5" wide wheels. Not going to happen. May places will try to give you 7.5 inch wide. You cannot mount very wide tires. I thought the 275’s would be too wide. Well, they border on too narrow when you see them. They look great from the back, but had I had a larger budget, I would have gone to a 10” wide wheel and 305’s or wider. Give that Fat Porsche look…. They had a huge selection of styles for the price; For $100 - $200 more, the selection pretty much included every style under the sun. These are VCT Spazios (Spaaaz Eee oh’s.) Ask for the owner. The other guys will give you all sorts of prices, trying to make commissions or rip you off. Salinas Tire and wheel (562) 692-0091 10821 Whittier Blvd Whittier, CA 90606 Pic One is stock wheels, stock exhaust tips. I promise to take High Res photos this week. I took these with my cell, late in the day. I know you'd all be pissed if I didn't post photos. Please see my new pix in my gallery! The one's below are Cell cam pix.

The Correct hitch is made by Curt. Part # CU-13060 Also they have a chart for picking the applicable unit at Curt Site I bought it today for $140 at Direct Buy Link The site is RealTruck.com I have bought Hidden-Hitch products in the past and their fit and finish, such as paint, is horrendous in comparrison to Curt. I believe Curt makes Hidden-Hitch, but they ship to them unfinsihed. The Hidden-Hitch from eTrailer sucked. The Curt products that I bought for other vehicles were top of the line. I ordered this one for our 07' Edge based on past Curt experience.

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$800 Under invoice on an SE Creme'... On a 24 month 15k lease, $2k down, $333 a month including tax. Capistrano Ford