Project: MKSinister

[Joleat]

This ongoing project has officially been named "Project: MKSinister". As new thoughts and ideas are developed, or particular aspects of the project are completed, I will create a new post within this thread to serve as an update on a specific aspect of the build. However, the first post will contain the build summary for those who just stumble across the thread and are more interested in the destination than the journey. Enjoy!

Performance:
-Unleashed Tune via SCT X4
-3-bar MAP
-Rotors - Power Stop Drilled and Slotted
-Brake Pads - Power Stop Ceramic
-Spark Plugs - Motorcraft SP534s gapped at .030"

Eye Candy:
-Lincoln Emblems on Grille, Fenders, and Trunk - Anthracite Gray Dipped (Words/Letters Debadged)
-Factory EAP Wheels - Anthracite Gray Dipped
-Chrome Window Trim - Gloss Black Vinyl Wrapped
-Chrome Roof Trim - Satin Black Dipped
-Lower Grille Grid - Satin Black Dipped
-Upper Grille and Lower Grille Inserts - Color-matched
-Fog Light Bezels - Color-matched
-Engine Cover - Color-matched
-Window Tint - 35%

To Do:
-Exhaust - Stainless Works
-Head Lights - Smoked
-Fog Lights - Yellow
-Tail Lights - Smoked

Dipped, Painted, and Wrapped:

Dipped Wheels and Emblems:

Color-matched Engine Cover:

Door Reflection (The car was last waxed with Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax 6-months ago. A simple wash with Meguiar's Gold Class produced this result!):

 

[DJE624]

Beautiful car.  Nice shots.  The only things I might do differently would be to tint the sides the same, front and back. (I did 50 all the way around.  It's not to dark but takes the edge off the clear.) And do the calipers black.  I swapped the fogs on my '10 Impala to yellow.  In the old days fog lights were yellow.  They look cool yellow.

 

[SHOdded]

Very nice find.  Cool list of upgrades, agree with Dave on the black calipers to keep it stealth!

 

[Bigfoot]

i love the MKS. it such a handsome car.  MKS>SHO i think in looks. 

 

[SoCalSHO]

Jole-I did the same tint as you want. If you want some pics, I can snap some. But since my car is white, it will look a little different. I used Llumar ceramic all around. I used their air blue on the windshield and on the sunroof. I also like the red calipers. I saw a car the other day with them. They look good.

 

[thewrubelator]

Wow! Such a clean looking car. Love the looks of the new Lincolns! Looks great!

 

[jcl78]

Looks great! I actually found an interesting trend with the looks of the MKS vs the SHO. In pictures, the MKS looks much better than the SHO, and the appearance package is sweet!. However, in the flesh... the SHO looks a bit better. I looked at and drove both before choosing the SHO. They are both sexy cars though!

 

[Joleat]

I appreciate the kind words from everyone. I've never been one to mod a car in a flashy way, as I think it's pretty easy to go overboard and make a vehicle look cheap. In being so conservative with past mods, I had finally talked myself into adding a little flash with the red calipers, but hearing you guys say I should paint them black just makes me think I've been doing it right all these years, so why change now? HAHA!

As far as the MKS vs SHO debate goes, I would probably take either one if I could get a good enough deal, but in the used market, they're only separated by a few hundred dollars. I prefer the exterior styling of the MKS with the appearance package and the painted side skirts look great. I also like the smooth body of the MKS as opposed to the SHO's hard body line from the fender badge back. I would give the interior of the MKS the edge if for no other reason than the black headliner and pillars. All pre-'13 SHOs came with tan/beige/stone headliners and pillars. When I found a good deal on a local SHO, I even went as far as getting a quote on recovering the headliner with black suede. In the end, the added work of doing the pillars and painting or finding all of the plastic trim bits in black was just too time consuming for me.

 

[DJE624]

I thought about staining the headliner and pillars until I realized there would also be painting the plastic involved.  That scratched that idea. 

 

[jayskycj]

I test drove an MKS before I settled on the SHO.  It was a strange experience only because I believe it was a rent car.  It had no sunroofs, the front emblem was missing and the gear shift lever's leather was completely worn off.  The car had 28K and they wanted 24 for it.  It ran fine, but whoever owned that thing beat the nice out of it.  Always wondered why they came with less HP than the SHO in the early years??

 

[SHOdded]

Still feels that Ford is somewhat neglecting Lincoln.  Mercury's gone, and now Lincoln ... well, destined for fleet sales?  At least the styling is really good, now they need to back it up with moto-attitude.

 

[mjhpadi]

Funny about the Lincoln...I had a Mark LT before the SHO, and while I really liked the Lincoln, and really gave the MKS a hard look, for my taste I just liked the lines of the SHO better...to me it looks more muscular.  but we do agree on the EBC.  They have some really nice kits (rotors/pads) available at their website.  I was really undecided about which pads I wanted to purchase, am leaning towards the Yellowstuff, but still undecided.  But because of my past experience I am going with EBC's dimpled/slotted rotors, probably the Stage 5 kit, but maybe the Stage 4.

 

[shoman04]

After a few months of shopping around for "the one", I located and purchased a lightly used tuxedo black 2011 Lincoln MKS EcoBoost with the EcoBoost appearance package over Memorial Day weekend of 2013. The car was supposedly driven by the dealership owner's wife and I'm sure they wouldn't lie about that. [/sarcasm]

Since my purchase, I haven't done anything as far as modifications are concerned, but I do have a lengthy "to do" list. Below, you'll find my list and a few pictures.

To Do

Exhaust - I'm contemplating fabricating my own removable x-pipe, but the Stainless Works kit has piqued my interest.

Rotors - Some MKS/SHO owners have been pleased with PowerStop, but I'm leaning toward EBC.

Brake Pads - Pending the use of EBC rotors, I'm thinking EBC Redstuff pads will be my choice.

Brake Calipers - I've never painted the brake calipers of any of my past vehicles, but I think red calipers would look great with my EA package wheels.

Tuner - At this point, its anyone's guess. There are some great tuners available as I type this, but my fingers are crossed for one particular tuner to enter the market.

Window Tint - I'll be tinting my rear windshield and rear passenger windows with 20%. My front windows will be tinted to the legal limit of 35%.

LED Lights - I'll be replacing the interior lights, puddle lamp lights, and license plate lights with LED versions.

Fog Lights - I'm undecided about the fog lights. I either want to replace the bulbs with ones that will match the color of my headlights or go the opposite direction and apply some yellow tint to help with night glare.

That looks like My 2013 MOD list. You know I when with the PowerStop 3yr/36k mi warranty(that's longer the stock brakes lasted)! And I when with custom X-PIPE and 2.5" pipes. 

 

[Joleat]

I'm contemplating tinting the headlights and painting the gray pieces of the upper and lower grille along with the fog light surrounds. I snapped this picture earlier this evening and tweaked it in Photoshop. The left side is the before and the right side is the after. The differences are subtle, but I'm digging the look of the upper grille.

 

[DJE624]

I'm liking that grill!

 

[Joleat]

The EA package already comes with smoked housings, so I don't intend to go TOO dark. A quality tint like Lamin-X should also add a little protection. Ideally, I would like for the MKS to appear stock to the average Joe until it's actually parked beside a stock MKS.

 

[Joleat]

I finally got around to painting the upper and lower grille yesterday evening and this morning. It came out good, but it took a LOT of time to mask the upper grille properly. I used satin black Krylon Fusion and applied about 10 light coats. I waited 3-5 minutes between each coat.

 

[SHOdded]

Nice handiwork!

 

[DJE624]

Yes, very nice!

 

[Joleat]

I inspected the grilles this weekend and found two small chips on the lower grille. Clear coat probably wouldn't have helped as the chips are actually into the plastic and are deep enough to catch a fingernail. With that being said, I think I'll add a couple more coats of Fusion and lay down a few layers of matte clear to help avoid other less severe chips in the future.