chefduane

I worked for many years at a defense contractor (Hughes Aircraft Co.) in So Cal. (Chef is a second career.) We made some pretty high quality stuff; the HMD-22 Console, NADGE and GEADGE systems, and AIM54 A/A missile system among others. They were big budget defense contracts and this was the mid 80's when Reagan was in and we were racing the Commies in the cold war. We didn't think low bid. We thought about making the biggest, baddest, widget we could. And a big DOD contract was the gravy train.

Trojans and Fighting Irish.

Yeah, John Glenn's famous words: "Just as I was set to launch, I began to realize that this Atlas ICBM that I was strapped atop and about to ride into space was built by the lowest bidder."

Humph.. Irish ain't been worth anything since SoCal walloped'em '74. (Of course, SC's been a paper tiger ever since also.)

Heh, come to Texas. We tend to be reaaalllly nice when driving out here. You never know who's packin'.

Enigma, I luv' ya' buddy, but what the heck does 'abnorment' mean? At any rate... I just like the idea of not having to buy a filter. My AEM DryFlow was $30, the Ford FA-1884 OEM filter runs anywhere from $15-$20 at AZ, O'R, or Advance. So it pays for itself after 2-3 uses. And the AEM is very well made, quite sturdy, and will handle years of use and cleaning cycles with little or no degradation. I used one on my '98 Explorer for years and it was still filtering fine when I sold it. It filters at least as good as the Ford OEM even after numerous cleanings. <- That is, of course, my simple speculation after observation as I have no empirical data on that. But, even after years of use and many times cleaning it with the recommended fluids, every time I pulled it from the air box the intake side of the filter was dirty but the air box/MAF intake tube was clean as a whistle w/ no dust. Clean it, pop it back in, and good to go! Works for me!

So I bought my '11 Limited in September and ever since my neighbor Dave has been eyeballin' it. Every time I'm tinkering on stuff he comes over and takes a look. He's been driving an Expedition and since his oldest went off to OU (Oklahoma) he's been thinking about downsizing. Weeeelllllllll, today my wife comes in and tells me Dave bought an Ingot Silver '12 Edge SEL. Hmph, there goes the neighborhood. I think it's a case of keeping up with the Joneses. And I'm Jones!! Ha-HAAA!!!!

Back home again in Indiana, eh? Good to hear all's well, brother.

None, sorry. Haven't found anyone yet to do a trade and I just can't bring myself to buy them for $200. And the local salvage yards don't seem to have any Edges' as yet. Still running with no rails. Edit: ... and I never heard from Farquhar.

"..grandpa to fill his Depends" LOLOLOLO!!! That enough would be the reason to do it!!

Is there a particular reason that you wanted to do this? Not trying to disparage, but just interested in why. Frankly, I'd like to mount a train horn like I've seen in those utoob vids. THAT would get some attention!!

My manual states verbatim the same thing that PerfA posted in #30. Probably because my Edge is also a 2011. Funny how that works out, eh? Regardless, I'm staying with a 5000 mile oil and filter change. Best compromise as I can see it.

Bought some of these today. Car door stop cover protector. $6.99 for a set of 4. Not really a necessity or functional for that matter. I just saw them on Ebay an thought they might be cool.

Just to confirm; my '11 Limited mutes the sound system when making a call but DOES NOT lower the fan speed. Would be a nice feature tho. I guess I can't complain much - we do get some 100F+ days here in Texas although our average yearly temp is about 77F. The average summer temp in Qatar is 106F with some spikes up to 122F. (Source: USA Today Weather) Yikes!!!

not a racer... flight simmer here. FSX, WOP, RoF, and a few plane specific sims.

Way cool! Considering the moon is about 240k miles away that's like driving round trip to the moon in your Edge. I hope you made a pit stop every so often!!

True, but it appears that MacT's position is that 3000 miles uphill on a 45 degree grade in 100f temperatures is different than 3000 miles downhill with the wind at your back in 70f temps. Yet they are both 3000 miles. When described in those terms, I can see his point.

I have noticed that the radio lowers when I make or take a call but have not noticed the fan changing. Its starting to get hot here in Texas and that sound like a cool feature (heh heh). I have to check that out.

Or, have an under hood light AND one of those in the vehicle for use anywhere.

Does it have a maintenance record that you can look at? Regular oil changes, ATF, coolant, etc. And 8k miles in 2-3 years nothing. If its been well maintained it sounds like it might be a good fit for your family. But be warned, once you start reading some of the mods/add-ons/extras that the folks here have done, it can become an obsession! PS: Have had the chance to meet Sean Lee and his wife few times. Great guy - built like a rock. (Wife ain't so bad either.) Go Cowboys!!!

Cool. Thanks for looking at the math. My trip to the kitchen each night is 22 miles driveway to driveway - 44 miles total, so the numbers are pretty close to yours. I kinda' figured that 5k miles was just about right. With Mobil-1 EP 5w-20 and a M1 EP filter my Edge should be sufficiently lubricated.

Yeah, as I mentioned, it is confusing and discretionary on the part of the police. I guess my "USCG VETERAN" license plate frame and FOP sticker gives me a pass if I get stopped! Heh.

Here in Texas it is a requirement that you have front and rear license plate. However, it is seldom ticketed if you don't have one. I have not run a front plate for 20 years and never had a problem, even if I had been stopped for another reason. I think you have to be stopped for a moving violation before a cop can issue a citation for no front plate. That is, you cannot be stopped specifically for a front plate violation but if stopped for a different reason, you can be cited for it. Its like a 'fixit ticket' tho and not a serious violation.

I agree Mac but my driving is about an equal amount of highway and city. I really don't know how many hours equates to my driving 5000 miles or after 5000 miles how many hours it took. (Did that make sense?) At any rate I'm figuring that 5k miles city+highway is about as good an average as any. That, and of course, the fact that I am just too freakin' lazy to actually keep track of hours.

With all the great tips and info I've gotten from watching MacT's vids, I suppose I should breakdown and buy a sticker at some point.