VANdiana is back from MG at
www.expovans.com, and better than ever!!!!
--Wow, what a difference the Fox 2.0 shocks and steering damper have made, over the Bilstein 5100's. Much more planted ride/handling, less wallow, very "grounded." Firm, not harsh at all. Overall, the Fox's control the van as it should be controlled.
--SSBC V8 caliper kit/rotors/pads bring the van to a stop MUCH quicker than the OEM calipers. Still a 13" rotor setup (which I still think is too small for a van FORD-ahem), but they are damn thick(~1.5" IIRC) so they do act as a large heat sink. Very very confident in the brakes now.
--Nice to have all the maintenance up to current too, as well as complete interior panels--it feels like a complete van! MG also found and solved a hidden front seal leak, which appears to have been boogered up by the previous shop install of the ARB front locker.
--But the biggest change and bonus, which I didn't think would matter as much as it actually has after last night's driving on dark roads, is due to MG's wizardry with the ARB foglights in the (custom-ExpoVans mounted) ARB bumper. These ARB foglights come with an H3 halogen bulb. But since I had added the TRS(TheRetrofitSource) 5500k HID/xenon kit awhile back, I wanted the fogs to also be HID to match. So, I had ordered a TRS 5000k setup for the fogs. Expecting it'd be a simple install, it turned out to not be the case.
A few initial complications with the TRS install;
-the HID bulbs are much different shape and connector type than original H3 halogen bulb
-the HID bulbs are twice as long as the H3's
-the ARB housings had a black bulb reflector shield over the H3 bulb, therefore not allowing the HID bulb to even fit into the lamp housing
-the bulb holder(ie hold-down) for the H3 wouldn't fit the HID bulb due to the difference in bulb shape
MG was able to remove the bulb reflector and fit the HID bulb into the housing, but now there was no way to keep the bulb secure in the housing due to the bulb dimension difference.
As well, since the HID bulb was twice as long as the H3, the end cap on the lamp assembly wouldn't fit on and seal moisture out of the back of the lamp housing.
I left it up to MG to come up with a custom solution for me, and that he did!
He reproduced the rear housing geometry in Solidworks that fit the HID bulb.
Then he custom prototyped and 3D printed(in-house!) components to hold the bulb and shield the wiring from the elements.
Now a new custom rear housing holds the HID bulb tight in the housing (no plastic on metal contact due to the heat of bulb while in operation), and a wire sleeve snaps into the rear housing for tight and secure fit. Perfect fit and finish, plus as added icing on the cake, they're red to match VANdiana's red accent color!
Pics here from start to finish;
Driving home last night with just the HID headlights, lighting is pretty dang good, worlds apart from the stock halogens of course. But then flip the OTRATTW-brand switch for the ARB fogs, and the entire front of the van is flooded in bright white light. They are piercingly bright, adding safety to my driving Night pics soon, I wasn't able to get any good ones last night. So so worth it.
The fact that I can give MG/ExpoVans any need or desire, and he comes up with a sound and innovative solution every time, astounds me. He's truly a one-stop van shop!
THANK YOU ExpoVans!!!
