bobbyz95

Very nice ! What head unit is that ? Oh, duh me ! Now I see . . .

There are a bunch of torrent downloads for map dvd's when you do a search on "navteq map dvd europe" or similar. Takes a little finesse to compile but they're free. This link looked interesting: http://www.sharevirus.com/viewtopic.php?f=...98&p=272915

From my experience with an Explorer and the Edge, an aftermarket Thule or Yakima bar and support system is much firmer and more stable than mounting directly to the factory crossbars. I noticed more flex in the factory crossbars. In any event, whichever system you select, there is still the 100 lb max total load of the roof. The 100 lb limit includes rack + box/basket/bag/carriers + contents. Like Boondoggler said, check out the Thule or Yakima websites. A wealth of information there. Thule Atlantis (or the older Evolution) and Yakima Skybox come in similar sizes and are both good. Live near a REI ? Go talk to them. (Fyi, I have a Thule Evolution 1800 box. This is too big for the Edge because it is too long and I could probably easily overload it on the Edge roof. I'm hanging on to it because I use it on rental vehicles. But for the Edge, a 1200 or 1600 would be a better fit and that's what I'm looking for. Someone in my area is selling a Thule Evolution 1200 for $200 on craigslist. A good deal !)

Yes. 30gb, 800+ songs, plugged in to usb.

Yep, I got it too. Had a Explorer rental over the weekend and "she" persists on staying with the last song upon engine restart. Last song always becomes her "fav".

Have you tried Firefox 3 ? I'm running both IE7 and F3 - F3 is much quicker. check it out . . .

Thanks for the "plug", Lex. It continues to be as stable as ever. Btw, haven't got the cargo box yet. For the time being, I've been fine without it - for now. It's still in the plan, and when I DO get it, there will be pics.

Go to yelp.com, type in "window tint" and "san diego ca" and you'll get some recomendations.

Thanks to Lex, I picked up the stubby antenna as well. Works and looks great !

Doesn't the switch pull out irregardless whether foglights are installed or not ? And is it pre-wired ?

They're all here: http://www.fordedgeforum.com/index.php?sho...ic=726&st=0 . . . even me . . .

Yes, there's wind noise, but not that I could not have a decent conversation. There's enough wind noise that you know i'ts there when compared to the normal sounds when the rack isn't mounted. I've driven with the rack with both the sunroof open and closed, bike mounted and not mounted. There are no weird whistling and creaking counds. It works like it should. Thanks !

Most excellent, Lex ! Great write-up and pics. This should quite nicely when I finally get a roof box on Yakima bars. Rock on !

Try this one: http://wheelenvizio.com/

OMG !! It was rerun this past weekend and I saw parts of it. Truly horrible ! Absolutely hokey ! Corny entertainment but still horrible! One moment the big GMC SUV was clean and in one unwrinkled piece, then the next moment every surface was smashed and broken. Like it rolled over, but it didn't roll over and the impact was only on one end. ?!?!? Just absolutely hokey !

For your entertainment today. From Crave: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9874336-1.html Feb 19 2008 Lessons learned from the new Knight Rider (Credit: Ford) Knight Rider returned last weekend in a made-for-TV movie/pilot with a new car, the Knight Industries Three Thousand (still K.I.T.T.), and a new, young driver. Of course we watched it, and would like to say we learned a lot about the world and ourselves. But the lessons we took away from the new Knight Rider were more specific to driving a high-tech car while fighting crime, something we do at CNET Car Tech almost every day (except for the fighting crime part). - If you owe a gangster $90,000, it's a good idea to get a cash advance on your credit card and play Texas Hold 'em in a Las Vegas casino. - FBI agents prefer the Ford Escape. - A Ford Edge can keep up with a Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang. - Because of its excellent brakes, the Ford Edge is a pretty good car if you are about to get in a head-on collision with a big rig. - Real-time satellite imagery is a great addition to GPS. - A solar add-on can boost the mileage of the Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang to 167 mpg. - If someone is shooting at you, make sure the computer is on. - Don't bother shaving, even if you are going to your mother's funeral. If you have no idea what we're talking about, you can catch the new Knight Rider on NBC this Saturday, February 23, at 9 p.m./8 p.m. Central.

Most Nice ! A great President's holiday treat !! Congrats !

Yakima's recommendation is 100 lbs max (rack + equipment + contents). This coincides with Ford's recommendation if you were to carry things on factory roof rails, 100 lbs max. On a practical basis, just keep in mind: 1) what you're throwing up there, 2) the speeds you will be traveling, and 3) the weather you will be encountering (wind, for example). The bars and towers are probably about 10-15 lbs, the bike rack is approx, 5 lbs, and the bike is 30-ish. So what you see in the picture should be fine, and I could certainly put another bike rack and bike up there. I previously had an Explorer with Thule bars mounted to the factory rails and I carried a Thule 1800 box. The Explorer also had a 100 lb max limitation. The box alone was 40 lbs unloaded. So, to give myself a "cushion" I limited what I threw in it to about 50 lbs. Soft luggage, 10 lb charcoal bag, bike helmets, 2 or 3 folding chairs-in-a-bag, stuff like that, and kept a mental note of the total approximate weight. As you travel, always a good idea to keep checking the stability and firmness of the mounting equipment and attachments. Meanwhile, I'm doing my careful consumer shopping for a roof box for this new Edge + Yakima setup. Not too heavy that the weight outweighs the need, not too big that I can't open the hatch, big enough to carry what I need so the dog can have the back cargo area unencumbered, and still have room for me and a friend or two. :-)

Thanks ! I kept it on the roof and drove to work and back today. Other than the expected wind noise, it's fine. Aesthetically, I think its pretty slick looking in the sense that it has a purpose: to haul along your fun stuff, be it bike, box, snowboard, etc. securely. It's off the roof now and easily stored in the garage. The Edge is back is to it's normal slick profile but the racks are ever-ready to be put back into use. When I get the box, I'll add further updates. I'm ready to drive and ride ! Here's an additional view with bike mounted, roof open, and the hatch open.

There. I did it. Here's proof. Folks, it works out quite nicely. The Yakima Q towers are mounted nice and firm and I do not perceive any bending or denting of the sheet metal. They went on as described in the instructions with no special adjustments. The vista roof opens and closes without problem. The doors close without problem and their seals are intact. I took a drive up to 60mph and there are no odd creaking sounds to make you worry. Note that today is a beautiful and calm blue sky day in San Francisco and I cannot tell you what effect high-force crosswinds would do. But otherwise it seems to work just fine. Here's what you see in the pics: (1) set Yakima Q Towers (2) pairs Q102 clips (2) 58" round bars (1) Thule Sidearm Bike Mount (1) set 4 Yakima SKS Lock Cores (to be installed) My Thule Sidearm has large thumb knob tighteners on the underside, so I offset the bike mount to the side of the vista roof opening to make sure the roof glass clears as it opens and closes. My primary intention for this setup is to put a roof box like a Thule Atlantis or Yakima Skybox. Size to be determined - either a 1200 or 1600, depending on what works. (I have a Thule 1800 that I used on my former Explorer, but that box is WAY too big for the Edge.) Will let you folks know what I end up with. The racks were installed to these measurements per Yakima's recommendations for the Edge: M Measurements (in inches): M1: 45 1/2, M2: 15, M3: 45 1/4, M4: 32 M1 Max: , M2 Max: , M3 Max: , M4 Max: Fit Notes: 0. Weight Limit: 100 31. Maximum allowable weight load is 100 lbs. 40. The factory luggage carrier may interfere with the Yakima rack. 54. When open, sunroof may interfere with some accessories. 114. Caution! Check clips after installing. Grab each clip and try to pull them hard away from your vehicle. If the clip moves tighten the adjustment post. If the clip still moves, recheck your measurements between the towers and adjust if necessary. Check clip again. 139. Loads limited to Skis, Bikes, Boats, Gear Baskets, SpaceCadet 15s, Platinum/BlackTop 16s, and SkyBox/SkyBox Pro 16s. No long loads that cannot be tied down at the ends. 140. Long loads will prevent rear hatch from opening. 144. Roof mounted antenna may need to be removed to prevent interference with long loads, boxes. Check it out.

My happy german shepard never misses an opportunity for a ride the Edge. Woo Hoo ! We're goin' !

Will defnitely post photos and share my thoughts if I go this route. We'll see . . .