The root of the issue is that the factory amp doesn't produce enough constant power (RMS wattage) for those speakers to run where they perform best. It would be akin to trying to increase water flow (water pressure = RMS wattage) by installing a wider pipe (higher rated speakers). The issue...
Correct, "Manual" mode in the automatics is a limiter. It only allows the trans to climb to the gear displayed, so S3 maxes out at 3rd gear, S2 maxes out at 2nd, etc.
80W RMS speakers. Highly doubt the stock JBL amp is producing anywhere near that output. So you may notice some improvement over the JBL, but it wouldn't be anywhere near the potential without an amp upgrade as well.
Don't be that guy.
None of the light bars that you listed are SAE compliant/road legal.
I have a 20" Heretic wired to the Aux switch and it drowns out my high beams.
Don't be the asshole that blinds everybody on the road. Wire it to an Aux switch and use it off-road.
Devil's advocate here, but OnX and such are still subscription based service. Though I agree, much better in back country where service is limited or nonexistent.
Oof, truck will never be the same after that.
May as well have them check to make sure that your evap box isn't leaking since they already have the dash out lol
They advertise a lot of stuff here on the forum. Generic Chinese company, so take that for what it's worth.
A lot of people have been happy with their other products so far though.
Have you tried having someone hold them in place (or loosely bolted them in) to see if they look square?
I honestly can't remember what my brackets looked like, but I just put them on and they lined up fine. You may be overthinking it.
Not sure how you could have access to anything (drain plug/filter) without removing the plate. The aluminum TRD skid plate is a breeze to remove though. Just take out the 4 bolts and slightly loosen the other two to slide it off. It's not really that heavy to hold to bring it down/put it up.
Unless you want to break the tabs on the OEM pieces, I would suggest just taking the front clip of the truck off. It's an easy job to do if you watch a video how to do it.