It's been a long time coming, as mentioned here in last years entry: https://www.mfcomics.net/post/the-longest-entry-pt1.
She's finally here, Ashley the Gypsy! I got a lot to unpack here, and not quite sure where to begin, so bear with me as I might just address this as I see fit.
First of all, she's not a Black Diamond, but a Badlands as more clearly seen below:
(First post dealership picture as well)
What's different is the bigger and wider tires/rims
(285/17 33's vs 265/17 32's), Front sway Disconnect, Front locker, gearing (4:7 vs 4:46), and most importantly, Navigation and Midpackage with Manual:
(Ambient Lighting and a few other features)
Now of course, you didn't come to read what's different between the trims, you can look it up, you're here for my thoughts and opinions on this beautiful girl.
First of all, why Gypsy? I feel that for what I want to do with her; Travel all across this beautiful country of ours, it'd suit her nature, never really staying in one place for too long, even though she has a home.
Ashley though was the name I used on Ford's website as a place holder, she kind of reminded me of my OC:
So I figured I'd combine the two, although I'll probably use another for the basis, or it's just the natural choice for my OC there.
Now let's get one thing mentioned right off the bat, she's different than what I'm used to! Never deal with wind noise before, and her nature at first was more "Why rush? Let's enjoy ourselves", took me a few days to get situated, although now I am.
She's never gonna corner like a Mustang, but she's no slouch either, and while she won't beat most cars in a race, she can move, especially once I started filling her with Super.
For an extra $6, I get an additional 30hp/15tq, boosting it up to 300/325 instead of 270/310 on regular, definitely worth it in my opinion. Again, 30hp/15tq really makes a difference, felt like an lite ECU tune, woke her up.
Besides that, the "7spd" (6 with a crawler gear for when you need to go slow on the trails) is too easy, basically something to teach friends and family on, and she's very forgiving too, as even pro's and experts accidentally stall, and so long as you just clutch in, restarts. Besides that, clutch reminds me of Don's, and in a good way, much better than a Wranglers where the engagement point's all wonky and I felt like an idiot trying to drive it.
Of course, as mentioned above, on the highway, as I don't have roof liners on my hard top, you'll hear the noise, and ironically, on Thursday, when I took the top off, it was somewhat quieter on the highway:
(Rare selfie of me, don't expect them often)
God it's fun driving with the top off, even if it's just the front panels. Can't wait for mid-late spring/summer when I can go completely topless and remove the doors to boot
(Don't mind the stock image)
Just a matter of whether to get a top lift: https://topliftpros.com/pages/bronco or getting a soft top: https://www.bestop.com/products/trektop-21-22-bronco/
Even with the top on, she's fun, I always have a smile, partially due to the transmission; can't beat rowing gears.
Also might explain the fuel economy, getting 15.3-5avg, but I never lug my and hardly put her in 6th unless it's a complete straight away on a roadtrip (Haven't take one yet), although considering what she is and what's she's got (Offroader shaped like a brick with meaty offroad tires, armor and short gearing), could be worse.
But besides the performance, also love the size, she feels "Me sized", just the right fit, and she's also easy to park as well:
(She's very photogenic imo)
She also gets lots of looks and attention wherever I go, which is something I'm not used to at all, sometimes wondering why people are driving by slow or just staring before I'm like "...Oh right!". Gotta get used to it, also gotta work on being more social, usually the quiet type.
You might have noticed the bullet antenna
and the light pods on the bumper, those are just really two of the mods currently installed, the other two are the front plate delete (I told them not to put it on), and the Auto Start Stop Eliminator, or as it's more commonly referred as, the A.S.S. Plug:
(https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/ford/products/2021-ford-bronco-autostop-eliminator, well worth the cost, and not hard to do if you got the tools and are not afraid of pulling tabs, though all the credit for this one goes to my friend Devin)
Besides that, I've also installed Hood Struts:
Haven't gotten around to removing the factory prop rod yet, but figure it's not bothering me, so it'll remain for now.
I'm eventually getting the pods wired, and then hooked up to Auxiliary switch 1, and then comes my favorite part, talking about future mods and goals!
Since my birthday is next sunday, my best friends got me parts for her already; Devin got me the pods seen, and Shaun got me Spare Tire Wheel Ring Light:
(color shifting)
And to alleviate an issue I have with her, an Ambient lighting kit:
Now for the people who didn't come here from Bronco6g or Nation, they might be double checking the earlier picture to see if it has lighting, and it does... Yet it's ONLY in ice blue, which gets a bit "cold" at times.
Besides that though, I don't really feel I want to add more power necessarily, though I do want to address a few things, like the intercooler down the line:
(https://www.mishimoto.com/engineering/2021/11/2021-ford-bronco-27l-23l-performance-intercooler-stock-review-design-plans/, basically stock is adequate, but compare that to the upgraded intercooler on the Ranger below, which uses the same engine
And while we're at it, Mishimoto vs Stock charge pipe)
Plan on getting the Oil Catch Can I have installed, plus some stickers (https://www.stickerfab.com/collections/2021-ford-bronco?limit=48)
Definitely need to ceramic tint the windows (20% back, 70-90% front for the benefits without it being too noticable)
This Roush CAI speaks to me:
No one has one yet, but instead of a Catback or Axleback, I prefer a catted downpipe as that's where the real gains are, plus like the hint of gasoline as I drive.
All that said, the one area I feel is necessary to address is the lighting, as the trade off for the '21s with the steel bumper is the lack of factory fog lights, though that can be remedied:
(Just a matter of which kit to go with, though all Amber). The stock headlights aren't bad, but used to driving around with fogs, and personally feel it'd improve night driving considerably
and when the time comes, shifter mods (Bushings, short throw, stainless steel clutch line)
Of course, other than the lighting, not in a rush with the mods, just more happy she's finally here. As most Bronco owners can attest to, we've waited all year for this moment, to finally get our babies... There were moments where I had doubts, there were moments I was wondering if I should really stick around, if I would be better off getting something else, though it's like the Universe (or Ford) were watching and listening, as I'd then get emails with updates on my build.
Still can't believe she's here, it's been a long time coming, and it was well worth it! If I had to do it all again... Naw, nothing I'd really change, especially the color, as Rapid Red is discontinued for '22, so those who know know that it's a '21.
This is only the beginning of our journey together, it'll be a month soon, and I already got over 800 miles with her, with plenty more to come. I promise to include updates with more developments, this year just got busy after my last entry, and despite the mod ideas listed, we all know there's gonna be stuff I haven't even thought of that I'll wind up doing with her, not to mention places I'll wind up going.
For now, thanks for taking a look, hope you liked all the pictures and have a great day!