Hey. My buddy just got a 1998 F-150 XLT. It's got the Triton V8, 6ft bed, and extended 3-door cab. I know nothing about trucks, and he's not as into upgrading things as I am.

What are some good first upgrades? He wants his truck to sound a little mean, but not like a monster. How could we do that?

His other upgrades in mind are a roll bar (w/ lights), a bull bar, a stereo system (i'm pretty good with stereos), bed liner (are Rhino linings good?), etc... The truck is a really nice blue color and I think that chrome accessories would look best. I'll get a picture as soon as I can.

What companies make the best parts and who are some good distributors? What upgrades would you recommend/not recommend?

Thanks a lot!

 

Welcome aboard, from Canyon Lake, Texas! Sounds like your friend bought a good truck. Rhino is a good liner, but then again, so are: Line-X; Toff; etc. Lots of "intakes" & "exhausts" systems out there. That is a good place to start w/upgrades for performance. Check out the sponsors of this site and you can find some quality equipt. Have fun!

 

I have researched the following bedliners: LINE-X, Rhino, Speedliner, Toff, Reflex, Superliner, Perma Tech, Ultimate Linings, Combat, Scorpian, Armeraguard, Armorthane.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

Who makes the liner with the most bang for the buck?

 

i used herculiner it is roll on and it looks pretty good! it is do it urself so it cost me 140$ to do the entire flooring of my bronco you could do a regular bed for 85$ plus sales tax

hint wear clothes u dont mind if they get stained!!!

 

i have a straight pipe on my triton v-8 with a glass pack and a y-pipe to dual tips

 

I have personally had three trucks done at a local Speedliner dealer in my area. They are extremely durable liners and in my opinion top of the line. I had one in 2000 Ford Ranger and just had another installed in my brand new 2004 F-350. Plus Speedliner also has a lot of options like custom graphics; various colors, including custom color matching, top coater, and they can even add Kevlar to make the liner even stronger. I researched Speedliner for a long time before I had my first own sprayed and talked to the dealer for roughly four hours about the application process, warranty, etc. I standby Speedliner as being the best spray on bed liner.

 

Speedliner is the only liner (that I know of) on the market that has to GLUE their liner on. Yep, that's right, they have to use an ADHESIVE primer to get their liner to stick. I personally don't like that. Speedliner has an unusually long cure time, it takes THREE days to cure. Speedliner is a 100% polyurethane product just like Rhino, Toff, etc. LINE-X is a polyurethane/polyurea mix product which significantly enhances the physical properties of the liner. Speedliner's website states that the liner is sprayed at 1/8", which is thin. Other liners spray up to 1/4" on the bed. 1/8" of an inch of anything is not much for impact absorption. LINE-X is the only bedliner on the market that offers a NATIONWIDE lifetime warranty.

 

It also has to do a lot with the application process, different dealers do it different ways.

 

How much do they charge to add Kevlar? I figure you might know since you talked to the dealer for four hours.

 

I believe it was somewhere between $75 -$100 dollars when I had my first truck done. However; were I get mine done he adds a small amount for free and then you have an option of paying for extra.

 

Thanks for the info.