what do you think of the 2002 explorer?

[Rscotts1]

I don't know about that suspension SaleenEXP, mine rides rough as hell (rattles/shakes) over simple ridges in the road. Those little white glass lane dividers in the road really make for a rough ride....so much so that I do not even carry drinks in the X (at all!!)....would spill and slosh all over the place. Can't wait till some aftermarket suspension parts come out.

 

[SaleenEXP]

Theres a slight chance yours has something wrong with it, b/c when I first went to test drive the new Mounty, they had two left at the delearship a sohc V6 and other was a V8. The V6 we couldn't take out b/c they said their was something wrong with the suspension and was riding to stiff and bouncy. But the V8 was fine, road smooth as hell and was fast. They loaned us a 02 V8 Mounty when my moms Mounty was in the shop and it was like being in a Lexus compared to her 00', which really don't ride bad for an suv with a live rear axle, it just can't compare to the 02's. I couldn't get the 02' to rattle at all, I even nailed a speedbumb in our neighborhood at 40mph, limit is 15 I know not smart but I wanted to see how the suspension would handle it, hit it and all that happened was a thump thump. I've done it with my 94' and the 00' and both basically left the ground and made one loud rattle like body flex, not the 02' . So there might be something wrong with your suspension b/c a few other people have had the same problem. The weird thing is the people that are saying this have the V6, go onto some sites like cardomain and other review sites, and some of the guys with V6's say it rides ruff yet the V8 guys say it rides like a luxury car, not that I think it would matter based on the engine, I just thought that was weird. So you might want to get it checked out. But you know what the Ford dealership will pry tell you "it's fine, theres nothing wrong with it", thats why my grandparents and our Family only deal with Lincoln/Mercury (Holman), they rock compared to Ford Dealers, at least ours does.
So try to get it checked

Also, sweet truck, saw it on cardomain and love that grill. How come you didn't get the V8? j/k

 

[hillrad]

Only 2700 miles...but we like it better than the 01 Escape we traded for the 02 Explorer.

In all probability the only "offroading" will be unintentional and keeping pace with her driving history, my wife will be responsible .

The primary reason for the trade...Explorer = 0%, Escape did not.

 

[Doug]

Thats great if you compare it to other independent suspension SUVs, but I think Namitey was more talking about SUVs without the independent suspension.

Exactly..
Id like to see a 2002 do this..


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Or this..



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[SaleenEXP]

I'm talking about stock for stock, 4dr 02's against previous gens, not the sport with the mods you have. Even a stock sport is probably better offroad than a 4dr b/c of easier maneuverability (spelled right?). They've tested them off-road and said the 02's are better, again stock 4dr against stock 4dr, not like a drastic difference, just a little better. Obviously you won't be able to have off-road mods on the 02's except for maybe a body lift. And a previous gen with mods will easily kill an 02' not to mention probably anything else out there . They have an off-road package for the 03's but I'm sure they didn't add any lift.
Looking at the 2nd pic an 02' might do it with its better entry and exit angles and awsome wheel articulation from the suspension, but I don't know because yours has a lift and 31's and is smaller, the 1st one most likley not b/c it looks like theres a rock under you and it would probably snag the central diff. on the 02.

 

[Rscotts1]

Yeah SaleenEXP, I have been to the dealer and as you said, they tell me all is fine...hmmm. It's not a teeth rattling ride, just expected a little smoother ride. The reason I did not get the V-8 was the price. I bought my X in May of 2001 for $30,000.00. At that time the XLT's were going for $34,000.00 and EB's for $36,000.00. Just could not afford it....$30,000.00 was my limit. Plus I only had a choice of 3 Ford dealers here...kinda sucks...oh well.

 

[Digger196]

Road only = great ride and perfect car.
Off-road = really screwed it up.

 

[SaleenEXP]

Originally posted by Rscotts1
Yeah SaleenEXP, I have been to the dealer and as you said, they tell me all is fine...hmmm. It's not a teeth rattling ride, just expected a little smoother ride. The reason I did not get the V-8 was the price. I bought my X in May of 2001 for $30,000.00. At that time the XLT's were going for $34,000.00 and EB's for $36,000.00. Just could not afford it....$30,000.00 was my limit. Plus I only had a choice of 3 Ford dealers here...kinda sucks...oh well.

well that kinda sucks, it was just weird that you have the same problem as the one on the dealership. Even weirder is a few people with the V6 say its stiff, and the one at the dealership was a V6 that they wouldn't let anyone drive, probably b/c they didn't want anyone walking away from a sale thinking it's a harsh truck. The V8's we've driven drive awsome. They couldn't do anything with it though, everything looked fine, same as the other Mountaineers they've had, yet it rode a lot stiffer. Damn $30,000 for an XLS their a lot cheaper here, you can get a loaded XLT w/V8 for around $31,000 here , we almost bought a 02' Mountaineer Premiere Ed. 4.6 with 12,000 miles for 26,000 and that was almost a $40,000 truck, but I couldn't get my self to like the wedgwood blue color and it was the only Mounty they had left. So were waiting for them to get a silver, black, or mineral grey 02' Mounty in. Gotta have that sweet V8.
But we know the dealer so we get hooked up with everything, can't beat that, and their service is excellant, Lincoln/Mercury dealerships are a lot better than Fords.

 

[Rscotts1]

...yeah, still love it though...no regrets. Another reason in opting for the V-6 was insurance! Figured the V-8 w/4 wheel drive would have upped my premiums, plus the X is street driven only.

 

[Doug]

So what if the new 4dr has better approach and departure angles its not like itll ever be able to use them.

 

[SaleenEXP]

oh well, at least you still have a sweet truck that handles awsome compared to other SUV's. That grill really looks mad good on a black Ex. What kind of 18's were you looking at?? I thinking about getting the 18" KMC Clockers, they would look really good on a Mounty or a Black Ex like yours. Yeh, mines going to be on the street 99% of the time except for when I go to the lake wheres theirs this stuff called dirt . Are you going to get any performance mods yet, I plan on full Exhaust and all the bolt-ons for a Mustang that will fit, and maybe a KenneBell twin-screw charger.

 

[Rscotts1]

Thanks for the compliments!! For durability and warranty issues, I plan on leaving the X pretty much stock, but someday, would like to get the bumpers/wheel moldings painted to match the body color. This is the style of wheel I would like to mount on my X:

 

[SaleenEXP]

nice wheel, but just to let you know those HRE's are very expensive, I saw an ad for them in a car magazine and loved their styles until I saw how much they were, I don't want to spend more than $2,000 for wheels.

 

[Rscotts1]

yeah, I know!! Very pricey! Love the style though, hopefully I will be able to find something similar when I purchase wheels.

 

[IAmTodd]

I agree, it does look pretty good, but i did a little suspension travel experiment tonite. I have a steep part in my yard right where the drive meets it, so i pulled the 2002 up and i was able to lift a wheel off the ground and engage the 4X4. I did the same hill w/my 95 sport and the same angle and all and all 4 wheels stayed on the ground and it was in 2WD. Both are stock as far as suspension and tire sizes go. So I have concluded that the new one isn't as capable in a situation like this. Just my experience and $.02!
TODD

 

[SaleenEXP]

Just got back from my friends dorm and last year he had 20's on his Escalade, now he has 24's, can you say fricken huge! When I was next to him I don't see any possible way of fitting that size on an Ex. I think the best size is 18's and some nice tires like Pirelli or Yokohama on an Ex/Mounty. 20's would look alright depending on the design of the wheel on the 02's, but the last gen Ex/Mounty doesn't look good with 20's. Another kid I know here has 20's on his sport and it looks overkill, and they noticably slowed him down.

 

[diablo5969]

Originally posted by SaleenEXP
Just got back from my friends dorm and last year he had 20's on his Escalade, now he has 24's, can you say fricken huge!

Damn, what school do you go to?!?!

 

[SaleenEXP]

Lynn University, it's a small private college about 5-10min from my house and 5-10min. from F.A.U. I know 4 other guys that have Escalades and they all have 20's, but those damn 24's are huge, I'll find out what type they were tommorow. It's rated on of the top schools for business (I'm majoring in Business Mngt.) and is the top school for hospitality. And yeh, it's pretty stuck up here, I parked next to a kid driving an Aston Martin Vanquish, yes the V12, he had an exhaust on it and it sounded pretty damn mean at idle (in another post I said it was a vantage but I made a mistake). Not to mention a few Ferrari's ect. ect. and about 200 Beemers just to give you an idea. There are a few 1st gen Explorers there that are lifted w/tires for offroading so I don't feel leftout with the Mounty

 

[Rscotts1]

I agree with you SaleenEXP on the 18's looking good on the new X. I have seen a few here running around with 18's and they really look sharp! I just don't get into that huge wheel thing (nothing against my fellow Explorer forum browsers...lol). There are very few SUV's with anything bigger than 22's here in Hawaii...just the occasional Escalade/Tahoe/Denali.

 

[SaleenEXP]

Originally posted by SaleenEXP
Just got back from my friends dorm and last year he had 20's on his Escalade, now he has 24's, can you say fricken huge! When I was next to him I don't see any possible way of fitting that size on an Ex. I think the best size is 18's and some nice tires like Pirelli or Yokohama on an Ex/Mounty. 20's would look alright depending on the design of the wheel on the 02's, but the last gen Ex/Mounty doesn't look good with 20's. Another kid I know here has 20's on his sport and it looks overkill, and they noticably slowed him down.

Alright that mutha **beep** lied, he only has 23's , he just says 24's cause you honestly can't tell a difference between 23's and 24's. Look how big a 20 inch rim is, and you can get an idea of how big those 3 extra inches make. I mean their massive, and heavy. He has the 6.0 engine which already guzzled a lot, now it guzzles like a mutha, he just filled up and got 11.1mpg city/highway. And they really slowed him down, you can feel a difference. The wheels he has are 23" Giovanna Attacks (chrome, maybe thats why their so heavy besides being 23's). The tires are Nitto Extreme Force series - 305/40vr-23 - and he does get a little rub, almost about $450 a tire , I don't wanna be him when he gets a flat, that would be one heavy ass wheel to mess with. Good thing is that he got about 3-4 inches of added lift for offroading, bad thing is theres no way he going offroad with 23" very little sidewall tires . I wonder what would happen if he hit a pothole with the weight of that truck? hah

EDIT - the rims he had last year were 20" Enkei Brevet Series rims, pretty nice they looked really good.