I tell ya, I came to the V8 from two straight SOHC V6 equipped Explorers and I was a tad disappointed when I first test drove a few.I didn't know what all the hype was about because I felt the V8 to be sluggish. I bought one anyhow because of the bomb proof reputation of the drivetrain.
I did upgrade the exhaust and put on an air intake setup right away which work it up a bit. The biggest early change I made as getting custom tuning done. Stock V8 Explorers feel like they're tuned for soccer moms....because they are! Contact Henson Performance (site sponsor) if you want to wake up your 302. Consider Torque Monster Headers too. The latter is a HUGE upgrade for 5.0L Explorers.