2014 Ford F-250
Since it was last overhauled the year prior, the 2014 Ford F-250 remains virtually unchanged. XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum make up the trim options, with Regular Cab, SuperCab and SuperCrew being the cab options. Powering this big rig is a choice between a 6.2L gas V8 or a 6.7L turbo-diesel V8. The gas motor, rated at 385 horsepower and 405 lb-ft can haul up to a 15,000 lb trailer. The larger turbo-diesel, with a max tow rating of 18,500 lbs, pumps out 400 horsepower and a whopping 800 lb-ft of torque, making it the better choice for those that tow often and tow heavy.
Wheel Well Protection
If you don't like the large gap between the rear tire and fender well that leaves much of the chassis exposed, consider using a wheel well liner to fill in the void. Rear wheel well liners for a 2014 F250 pickup are made polyethylene plastic, a lightweight and flexible material, and will fill the wheel arch hide the chassis and exhaust components. Further, these plastic liners are a good alternative to a spray in wheel liner, protecting the metal of the wheel panels from road debris and grit. In terms of installation, some of these liners use factory bolt holes, where others require additional holes to be drilled.
Big Rig Lighting
Given the size of the 2014 F-250, there is plenty of real estate available in which to add auxiliary off-road lighting. In terms of lighting technology, LEDs have taken the throne. They posses unparalleled efficiency, luminosity and given their solid state nature, are extremely robust in an off-road environment. Prime spots to tack on a couple of LED cube lights would be on the hood, by the cowl vent. Alternatively, a slim profile LED bar can be integrated with the grille, giving a sleek and subtle appearance. Important aspects to consider when selecting off-road lighting is of course physical size, light output (measured in lumens), color temperature (3400 mimics a conventional halogen bulb, 4000K pure white and higher than that shows darkening hues of blue) and waterproofing. The last metric is measured using an IP value, as measured on the ingress protection code scale. Look for a lightbar that is at least IP67 rated, but preferably IP68 or 69.
Big Rig Sound
Another area that is fun to modify is the exhaust system. Swapping out the factory system with an aftermarket version will grossly modify the sound of your 2014 F250 and can unleash some performance benefits too. The level of sound is mainly controlled by the size and design of the muffler, with the size of the exhaust piping playing a small role too. Super aggressive F250 exhaust systems make use of straight-through flow mufflers, that do little do impede the exhaust and provide any kind of sound deadening. Conversely, if all out sound is too much and you're after a more moderate growl, mufflers that have two or three baffled chambers will suppress the sound somewhat yet still keep an aggressive tone. Due to their intended design of being louder, aftermarket F250 cat-back exhaust systems are less restrictive than factory, allowing the engine to expend less energy in pushing the exhaust out the tail pipe. Consequentially, it is very common to see a gain of 7-10 horsepower with an aftermarket exhaust.
