amschind
New Member
- Joined
- February 2, 2016
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Galveston, TX
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2002 4x4 EB V6
I'm new to this forum, but I couldn't find a good thread on this from a brief search. It seems like the Gen 3 is the red-headed stepchild of the explorer group, which is sad given how many great features it brings to the table (i.e. 4 wheel independent suspension, a robust frame on body design, stout internals, sharp exterior, well fitted interior, tons of space and even more options to expand that without resorting to a trailer).
I got a 2002 4x4 Eddie Bauer 4.0L from a family member a few months ago and have been steadily replacing/upgrading as I have gone. My ultimate goal is to retrofit it as an EV with a robust "range extender", but I am going to wait until the engine and/or transmission die before undertaking that project. It is intended as an off-road vehicle whose role is to get me to rough terrain rather than pass through it; >99% of its miles will be on well paved roads. In the interim, I am doing a variety of other upgrades while I plan that project out. The brake and steering systems are proving difficult to adequately plan, and while I have only heard of the one guy doing the EV conversion, I know that there is a lot of other useful know how here. So here goes.
1. Brakes. Currently they are a bit spongy. I am replacing the factory rotors on all 4 corners with EBC dimpled/slotted rotors and the pads with green stuff pads. If anyone has a better idea or relevant experience, let me know as I haven't pulled the trigger on that yet. I would like to also replace the hoses with some variety of stainless steel, and I am curious about how to find somebody who can make/supply those parts. My more important question regards aftermarket calipers and master cylinder. I would guess that 70% of the felt benefit would come from the rotors and pads, so there may be little or no benefit from upgrading the calipers or pads. Wilwood referred me to a company called TC engineering and I will call them tomorrow and ask. If I am the first person to look into this, I'll let everyone else know what I find.
2. Steering. Currently feels no better nor worse than any other power steering system (though, as per usual, it is way better than Dodge). I have two goals here:
1. While I don't want huge tires (I am going to put 265/70R16s on in the next month) and I am not going to lift this vehicle, I don't like the steering wheel being unmanageable on dirt roads. I therefore want a steering stabilizer if I can get one.
2. With the ultimate goal EV conversion in mind, an electric power steering system seems like a more elegant solution than setting the power steering pump up on its own electric motor. The few kits that I have seen are all for cars and I would worry about using them on an off road SUV (see #1 ).
Odds are, the parts that I want simply don't exist yet, which is fine, as I expect that I will need another 3-5 years for the industry to mature before the options that I need (simple, integrate cruise control, electric steering, "range extenders" beyond repurposed motorcycle engines...looking your way, BMW) are more than $$$ custom solutions.
Anyway, there are a lot of elements in a project which I hope will come to fruition over a few years, and I may eventually make a build thread to show things off.
I got a 2002 4x4 Eddie Bauer 4.0L from a family member a few months ago and have been steadily replacing/upgrading as I have gone. My ultimate goal is to retrofit it as an EV with a robust "range extender", but I am going to wait until the engine and/or transmission die before undertaking that project. It is intended as an off-road vehicle whose role is to get me to rough terrain rather than pass through it; >99% of its miles will be on well paved roads. In the interim, I am doing a variety of other upgrades while I plan that project out. The brake and steering systems are proving difficult to adequately plan, and while I have only heard of the one guy doing the EV conversion, I know that there is a lot of other useful know how here. So here goes.
1. Brakes. Currently they are a bit spongy. I am replacing the factory rotors on all 4 corners with EBC dimpled/slotted rotors and the pads with green stuff pads. If anyone has a better idea or relevant experience, let me know as I haven't pulled the trigger on that yet. I would like to also replace the hoses with some variety of stainless steel, and I am curious about how to find somebody who can make/supply those parts. My more important question regards aftermarket calipers and master cylinder. I would guess that 70% of the felt benefit would come from the rotors and pads, so there may be little or no benefit from upgrading the calipers or pads. Wilwood referred me to a company called TC engineering and I will call them tomorrow and ask. If I am the first person to look into this, I'll let everyone else know what I find.
2. Steering. Currently feels no better nor worse than any other power steering system (though, as per usual, it is way better than Dodge). I have two goals here:
1. While I don't want huge tires (I am going to put 265/70R16s on in the next month) and I am not going to lift this vehicle, I don't like the steering wheel being unmanageable on dirt roads. I therefore want a steering stabilizer if I can get one.
2. With the ultimate goal EV conversion in mind, an electric power steering system seems like a more elegant solution than setting the power steering pump up on its own electric motor. The few kits that I have seen are all for cars and I would worry about using them on an off road SUV (see #1 ).
Odds are, the parts that I want simply don't exist yet, which is fine, as I expect that I will need another 3-5 years for the industry to mature before the options that I need (simple, integrate cruise control, electric steering, "range extenders" beyond repurposed motorcycle engines...looking your way, BMW) are more than $$$ custom solutions.
Anyway, there are a lot of elements in a project which I hope will come to fruition over a few years, and I may eventually make a build thread to show things off.
