13+ suspension upgrades

[CALDWELL]

Hey fella's,

I havent posted on this site in a good while. I used to be very active in the 02-05 modified section from the time i was 18-21. Currently i am driving a RAM 1500 for the last 2.5 years. ( always like RAM trucks, and got a great deal at the time ).

I am a career Firefighter/EMT so i see alot of chiefs vehicles, medic units, and police Interceptor packages. I think they look bad ass personally. I have also done some reading, and found out the 3.5 ecoboost in the explorer platform can be a real beast with some simple tuning. Its awesome that you can crank a good amount of poser crom these motors. I have not seen much mods in the way of suspension / brake mods for the explorer. Once you add that kind of power i would like to better control it. For me personally i would mainly love to add ( wider tires, sway bars, slotted rotors / pads ). Has anyone reached out to Hellwig, or Eibach, or Hotchkis, or Hawk for upgrades ? If i had an extra 100 ft/lbs of torque on tap, i would love to throw it in the corners !

Can the interceptor package be perchased by civilians ? Are the interceptor parts considered upgrades on the sport package ?

 

[Quicksilver]

Whoa, whole lotta questions packed in there eh Caldwell I think you've scared off most responders. I'll tackle a few of em that I have experience with.

Brakes on the Explorer Sports are larger/more powerful than what you would get on a base or Limited. They are also the same brakes that are on the Interceptors (except they have a specific pad compound front and rear) I am very demanding of brakes(I have at least 5-6 cars with upgraded brakes) and do some club day roadracing. Initially I was disappointed with the bite and fade resistance of the brakes, when I had maybe 2000 miles, I faded the brakes on the E Sport with a SINGLE downhill stop from about 90 MPH. Very discouraging considering the size of the rotors and calipers However, I have about 30K miles now and haven't had fade again, I have done that same stop, from the same hill(its right by my house and a favorite safe spot to hit full boost) at least a dozen times since. I can only figure that this set of pads had the longest bed-in of any pads I've ever had. I am getting some light grooving on two of the rotors (one front and one rear WTH??) now so when I change out the rotors soon, I'm going to use the Interceptor Specific pads with new rotors.

As for power from the 3.5 Ecoboost, you wouldn't believe it if I told you, someone has to SHOW you with a ride along. There's basic mods like exhaust/Intake, a new tune, cooler T Stats etc that add incredible amounts of power (have a quick peek over at ecoboostperformanceforum if you wanna see how far owners are pushing these with methanol injection and larger turbos/intercoolers etc). I've not run into another SUV or truck that can stay with my Sport from a dig or on the highway. Although at the drags, the SRT8 Jeep guys would own me.

I don't think an interceptor can be purchased just yet by John Q. Public but some of the parts like the specific grills and brake pads can.

There is a company called Megan Racing in LA that does vehicle specific coil over kits for many cars. They did the Taurus SHO's thru 2011 years ago and just recently a different kit for 2012 and up. The fifth gen Explorer Sports are SUPPOSED to be next and I have offered to let them use mine as a development mule for a week or so but they are backed up and we are still waiting. The Sports handle nicely but I want a 2" drop and better cornering jst the same.

I have had over 70 cars and the Explorer Sport is my very first Ford. I compared it to every other 7 seat SUV before I bought it and in two words- Love It! You will too if you pull the trigger on one.

 

[CALDWELL]

Thanks for the first response QuickSilver, and for the braking impressions as well.

Ive just been wondering what the key suspension differences were from the interceptor package. from what police testing videos I have seen, there is almost not excessive body roll when simulating a pursuit that I could see. now I know that these will never ever be sports cars, but I bet these have the potential to put a smile on your face hugging a hard turn lol