Personalizing

[Dennis]

Well..I might as well post something in this ghost-town..

 

So...Here is what we have> 2011 MKZ/AWD with all the bells and whistles..and loving it!

 

 

First thing I did was to plug the plate holes with body colored plugs

 

 

Blinged up tastefully

 

Edited March 18, 2012 by Dennis

[ctrcbob]

Dennis,

Nice car. Just a couple things I noticed.

 

1. Gray is the best color because it does not show dirt.

2. The two plugs in the front are because the dealer drilled holes for the front license bracket, which you don't use. I have the same thing on my SHO, because I purchased it used and it was an Indiana car. When people ask me what is there, I tell them that I could tell them, but then I'd have to kill them. Many think it is a front radar or pedestrian warning.

3. The photo that shows the interior through the rear side window shows that the car has the "Sport Appearance Pkg". If so, it also has the 18" wheels. I did not know that you could get the Sport Appearance Pkg with an AWD.

4. This is the first one I've seen with the 3.5 on the trunk lid. Perhaps it's only on the AWD.

5. I LOVE THE MUD FLAPS.

Edited March 18, 2012 by ctrcbob

[drolds1]

Dennis,

Nice car. Just a couple things I noticed.

 

1. Gray is the best color because it does not show dirt.

2. The two plugs in the front are because the dealer drilled holes for the front license bracket, which you don't use. I have the same thing on my SHO, because I purchased it used and it was an Indiana car. When people ask me what is there, I tell them that I could tell them, but then I'd have to kill them. Many think it is a front radar or pedestrian warning.

3. The photo that shows the interior through the rear side window shows that the car has the "Sport Appearance Pkg". If so, it also has the 18" wheels. I did not know that you could get the Sport Appearance Pkg with an AWD.

4. This is the first one I've seen with the 3.5 on the trunk lid. Perhaps it's only on the AWD.

5. I LOVE THE MUD FLAPS.

 

That is not a Sport. The Sport has 18" polished aluminum wheels-the same as the base wheel on the MKS. Those are the 17" chrome-clad (plastic) wheels. It also has body color door handles and dark-colored vertical grille bars, neither of which is on this car. The interior of the Sport also has a white accent stripe in the middle of the seat cushion and back along with white piping, also not on this car. See below for Sport interior and wheel (wheel 'A').

 

 

AWD is certainly available on the Sport. I have one. The 3.5 badge does not come on any MKZ. That was apparently added by the owner.

 

This is clearly not a Sport. I'll post pix another time so you can compare it to this car.

[Dennis]

I'm still here Olds..Thanks for clarifing for me.

 

 

Thanks for saying something Bob,

 

Yes the Sterling Gray is an awesome color and the best color IMO..

 

The Hole plugs I did with a can of spray paint to match the body color..The car came from Kansas dealer, where they have front tags there in KS.

 

No this is not a sport model..For which I'm glad..as it would be like wearing tennis shoes in a tuxedo..for this kind of car.

 

The 3.5 is an add on by me, uum, that would be the said owner.. :rolleyes: Folks often ask what the engine size is and now they can see for themselves..Other MKZ owners noticed, also say they like the added touch.

 

Mud flaps/splash gaurds really save the sides of the car from a lot of water splash up..however, the main reason was to protect the rocker panels from stone chips.

 

And alas, I wish it had the 18" polished alloy wheels..plastic clad wheel covers just sounds cheap for this kind of car.

[ctrcbob]

OK, I thought I saw a white stripe on the rear seat in the third photo down, so that is why I thought it was the "Sport".

[drolds1]

OK, I thought I saw a white stripe on the rear seat in the third photo down, so that is why I thought it was the "Sport".

 

Yeah, I see what you mean. It's the flash bouncing off the shoulder harness.

[jldavis]

KS does not have front tags. Some dealers place the holder on so they can put their advertisement plate on. And sometimes they are dealer trades from other states.

[lakesidezephyr]

very nice. the grey is elegant. good job.

 

you might consider going a little further with your personalizing-

 

my zephyr is merlot. so far i have added some subtle dark gold pin stripes and have painted the outside mirror covers merlot, getting rid of the chrome.

 

i am also toying with-

-painting the chrome trim under the windows black

 

-doing some painting on the grill. i don't mind the thin verticle chrome bars, but the brushed chrome sides are a little much from some angles. merlot would be so much better.

 

get clues from the lovely custom mk/zephyrs you can find by using google. i would very much like to add a rear trunk lid lip, but find the ones currently on the market to be too short.....that is they only go across the actual trunk lid and don't extend out over the body edge. they look wrong to me somehow. back in the day, there was a manufacturer who produced what apparently was a one -off trunk lip which was longer. the car was white and quite stunning. i am looking for that lip!

 

keep going and keep posting up your progress pics! this site is pretty lonely!

 

lakeside

[Dennis]

I was toying with the idea of a spoiler (painted) to stick to the trunk lid..It was a product of 3dCarbon..But after a total nightmare dealing with them and their lack of QC..I was turned off to the idea, not to mention the spolier was over $300.00...

 

 

So after that...I decided to leave well enough alone and the car is as good as she'll get for now..

 

When the tires are due for a change..I'm gonna change out the cheap-azz plastic chrome clad wheels Ford decided to use, instead of a polished alloy or real chrome wheels..Maybe by then, Ford/Lincoln will have a nice REAL chrome wheel for the MKZ. :censored:

[ctrcbob]

I was toying with the idea of a spoiler (painted) to stick to the trunk lid..It was a product of 3dCarbon..But after a total nightmare dealing with them and their lack of QC..I was turned off to the idea, not to mention the spolier was over $300.00...

 

 

So after that...I decided to leave well enough alone and the car is as good as she'll get for now..

 

When the tires are due for a change..I'm gonna change out the cheap-azz plastic chrome clad wheels Ford decided to use, instead of a polished alloy or real chrome wheels..Maybe by then, Ford/Lincoln will have a nice REAL chrome wheel for the MKZ. :censored:

 

 

I got mine from carID.com and yes, it is made by 3dCarbon, it cost me less than if I bought it direct from 3dCarbon. carID treated me good. I ordered the spoiler painted and it arrived perfect. (BTW, this is the second time I ordered a lip spoiler from carid.com and both times, the product arrived perfect). It is "drop shipped" directly from 3dCarbon. The only "problem" I had was that 3dCarbon took about four days to ship it. Not the fault of carid. The guys and ladies at carid got hold of 3dCarbon to get a tracking number, and they kept me informed.

 

Also, the method on installation was slightly between the two spoilers I ordered.

 

The first one did not have much for instructions (as I can remember) so what I did was to first clean the install area of the trunk with rubbing alcohol, then without removing the backing from the tape, positioned the spoiler exactly where I wanted, and marked it with masking tape,. Only then, I removed all the backing tape, and wet both the trunk and the spoiler tape with a water hose, keeping it wet, so that the tape would not stick, and I then slid the spoiler to the correct position. Only after the spoiler was exactly where I wanted it, did I stop the water flow, then pressed down on the wet spoiler, so the tape then would "slightly" stick. I then dried the area round the spoiler, pressed on the spoiler again, then let it all dry overnight. Next morning, I again pressed down on the spoiler. The spoiler never did move in the years I owned the car. Went through car washes, closed the trunk using it as a handle, etc, but it stayed stuck.

 

The second one, (this one for my MKZ) came with detailed instructions. First off, I cleaned off the trunk area with rubbing alcohol. Then I placed the spoiler in place without removing the backing tape. Instructions said to mark area with grease pencle, but I used masking tape. Here is where the BIG difference is. they supply a small bottle of special liquid to apply to the trunk area, which causes the tape to STICK. I applied the liquid. Next, the instructions say to remove just a corner of the backing tape and to place that edge on the trunk, and to slowly pull the backing tape away. I did as instructed. I was very careful and very lightly touched the corner of the tape to the trunk. Even though I touched it very lightly, THAT TAPE STICKS AND WILL NOT COME OFF. (That special liquid does its job). Made sure the rest of the spoiler was in the correct position, and slowly peeled back the backing tape. Once you get the spoiler on, pray you have it in the correct position, because there is no way you will get if off.

 

If I had to do it again, I would choose my first method, because I could adjust it with running water, as long as the special liquid was not applied.

 

I can't remember how much I paid carid, but it was well under $300. (Something like $265 or $275, can't remember).

 

Would i order from them again? YES.

[Dennis]

I guess that's my luck...

 

I too ordered it from CarID..and I ordered and paid for matching paint....It did arrive on time, but it was not painted, it was not packaged with any packing material, it was just bouncing around in an empty box, it did not have any backing tape already afixed to it and I suppose that was because it wasn't painted yet.., the 3M tape was old and snarled and wadded up and half falling off a roll.. the instructions was limited, although I could figure it out..there was NO special liquid as you mentioned...and the fit to the trunk just with a dry run was not a perfect fit..My trunk has a slight ridge down the center of the trunk lid, and this over priced POS thing from 3dCarbon was not molded to account for that and there was two huge gaps between the spoiler and the top of the trunk lid when set in place..the whole piece was nothing but junk IMO and thankfully CarID did get me my refund in full...BUT, when I wrote product review and I might add that is was not very farvorable, CarID deleted the review..I called them on it and they said it was removed by accident and willing to offer me a cash off coupon for my next purchase..to which I said "no way jose' ", I'll not ever do buisness with them again...Period..Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me!.

 

PS: with shipping it was right at $300.00

 

Edited March 27, 2012 by Dennis

[ctrcbob]

Wow.

 

I really can't remember how the first one I ordered for my 09 Genesis three years ago came. I do remember that there was no damage, and the paintwork was perfect.

 

As for the second one I ordered for my MKZ, it was wrapped in so much protective wrap that I had trouble getting all the wrap off. It was then placed in the same box your photo shows.

 

I just went and dug out the instructions that came (from 3dCarbon) and they say to use Lacquer Thinner to clean off the trunk area, whereas I used Rubbing Alcohol. The other thing is the correct name for the liquid they supplied is called;

3M 94 Adhesion Promotor or Adhesion Promotor. Either way, that stuff causes the 3M tape to STICK.

 

Sorry about your problem with carID and/or 3dCarbon. CarID must have gotten on their case, because by the time I ordered mine, it arrived just as ordered. Perfect paintwork, tape already installed, etc.