4.0 performance upgrades ... worth it?

[lester]

Are performance upgrades for the 4.0 real?

Specifically, the high dollar air intake and chips.

The air intake re-routes the air from the cold air source infront of the radiator to the hot air source inside the engine compartment. Seems to defy logic that this would be of any positive value... then of course theres the high cost of these "upgrades" from any one of five or six different sources. The reason I ask is a friend at work who has a year newer Sport with the same setup was talking about how his mpg and overall performance seemed to have gone downhill. Talking about it with him he mentioned the last thing he changed was the intake. He had switched from the stock unit to a K&N unit. I suggested he switch back and see what happened. Sure enough his mpg and low and midrange performance jumped back to where he stated it was before making the change.

Later he mentions he had done the same thing to her Sport and when he switched it back it still did not seem to run as well as his. A day or so later he mentioed he had fixed the problem. He applied the same thinking to her vehicle as his and backed off the Jet chip he had installed.

Seems like he has about $600 worth of upgrades that don't upgrade. Both of his units have flowmaster cat backs. Both of these seem to be well maintained units.

For some reason these upgrades seem to be hit or miss. I've read on this board where these things have made a big difference then there are situations where they have not.

Whats the real story?

Thanks.

 

[aldive]

They are well worth it.....

 

[Pheonixx77]

as for cold air intake....i did it for under 50$ !
look here http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91469

you can pm me for details or e mail me, but if you have common sense and a lowes or home depot nearby you can do it. just vcisit the plumbing section, take a cone filter in with you for fitting and it will come to you rather easily

 

[explr1]

I bought a K&N FIPK two months ago and ran it for two weeks in, then two weeks back to stock. I found the FIPK to only give marginally better performance above 4000 rpm's. I am staying with the FIPK purely for the sound!!!

 

[4x4Wheeler]

the apten chip is AWESOME! If you only do one mod make it an apten chip....i bet it gave me 25hp, and my truck runs better.

 

[Black Magic]

I think that 4.0 upgrades are worth it!

You can see my webpage here: [url]www.explorerstreet.com[/URL]

 

[Black Magic]

Oh yea, the new sports look great too:

 

[410Fortune]

Yes worth every $$$.

I have:
93 OHV 4.0L, 170K miles on the block
Full synthetic from day 1

Bosch +4 plugs
Taylor spiro wires
Shaw 180 thermostat
Ford 3 core radiator
Ford super cooling fan and clutch
KKM filter, with custom cold air inlet
95 Ranger intake tube
Granatelli 70mm MAS
BBK 66mm throttle body
JBA headers
Custom Y pipe
2.5" exhaust into 2.5" cat conv
2.5" single in single out Magnaflow muffler
2.5" pipe run straight out the back
4.10 gears
33" tires
custom A4LD transmission
Class A motorhome transmission cooler

The truck drives like a dream, it tows a 19' Bayliner with no problems and is faster than most cars on the road.....

 

[ronnie mullins]

As most of you know letting your ex inhale without helping it to exhale[exhaust upgrade]is only going to give you part of the potential of the upgraded intake.
Also jet chips are crap,you can get the same results from running prem. unleaded fuel as you get from jet.Which is to say in my experience very little.The mods you find threads on in this site will help you get better throttle response and idle to wide open throttle rev quailty[smoothness i should say]and most of them can be done for no cost,with very good results.

 

[Pheonixx77]

ok maybe i am stopyd but did u just say free mods that make a difference?

 

[ronnie mullins]

YES I DID. THERE ARE AIRBOX MODS U CAN DO,THROTTLE CABLE MODS,THERES A TPS MOD YOU CAN DO.ALL OF THESE INCREASE YOUR THROTTLE RESPONSE AND ACTUALLY IMPROVED MY GAS MILEAGE AS WELL.ALL OF THEM WERE FOUND ON THIS USING THE SEARCH THATS HERE.

 

[Pheonixx77]

airbox mod yeah i did that, i removed it ! LOL what can i do to the TPS???

 

[ronnie mullins]

.DRILL THE SCREW HOLES OUT SO YOU CAN ADJUST TO OPT. SETTINGS TO REDUCE ANY RICH CONDITION AT IDLE. DO A SEARCH THEIR ALL ON HERE

 

[Pheonixx77]

"search option has been disabled by administrator"
you saying drill it out so i can rotate it and make it adjustable?

 

[huskyfan23]

I rerouted my intake and used a cone air filter, and it's a vast improvement from the stock. Each bolt-on gives pretty noticeable increases, throttle response is great. Where do you get $600 from a Flowmaster catback and intake?

 

[ronnie mullins]

YES BUT BE CAREFUL TO USE A BIT ONLY SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE SCREW HOLES. THE PLASTIC OUTSIDE THE METAL IS VERY THIN AND GETS GONE QUICKLY.I CANT REMEMBER THE SETTING SEEMS LIKE .94OR.95 VOLTS IS WHAT YOU WANT BUT I'D ASK ONE OF THE ADMIN. FIRST MAYBE RICK? ABOUT THAT NUMBER.I WOULD GO CHECK WHERE MINES AT BUT ITS TOTALED IWAS HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER LAST MONTH.BUT THESE MODS GOT ME MORE MILEAGE AND BETTER RESPONSE.

 

[ronnie mullins]

PHEIONXX77 SEND ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS AND I'LL SEND YOU THE PAGE ON THAT MOD.

 

[MONMIX]

BlackMagic,

Damn that is pretty,
btw what was your best ET ?

 

[SteedaExplorer]

Ya, what was your best E.T .... I didnt see it on ur site ... But you have lots of very interesting writeups! Keep up the great work!

 

[lester]

Easy to get off topic.

When I first posted this I needed to do some maintenance on my Explorer and was considering doing the upgrades I mentioned, especially since this thing is long since paid for and might benefit from some changes.

I purchased a Superchip, a Tru_Rev air intake and a Flowmaster cat back exhaust.

After I replaced the intake gasket, valve cover gaskets, assecory drive belt, hoses, water pump, fan clutch, belt plugs, 180 stat and drove it for a week, no problems then I added the air intake and drove it for a week. No real change in performance, at least none you could feel except only slightly between 25 and 45 mph. I drove it for another just to make sure. The only other thing I noticed was the air intake makes more noise than the stock air intake when you are accelerating.

Since the engine was still running warmer than I expected with a 180 stat I decided it was time to work on the exhaust. This is 130k stock V6 Explorer. I ordered a vacuum modulator, trans filter, cat, o2 sensors and the Flowmaster system. With 130 its time to swap the cat they kinda quit around 100K same as the o2 sensors. I use the Flowmaster system because they have a nice kit and the muffler tends to pull heat out of the exhaust better. I don't like the way a Flowmaster sounds but it beats the stock set up. Although my cat was not exhibiting the more well known symptom of pending failure, no performance, it was doing the other thing they do which cause the engine to run hotter than it should. I ordered the cat and exhaust kit from Summit, best price and it showed up three days later.

When you pull the cat you will need a torch to knock the hardened studs off the joint and to heat the joint to pull the cat off the Y-pipe. The Y-pipe extends nearly four inches into the cat so you will have to heat to slip it off. You will need to trim this extension down to 1 inch otherwise the new cat will not bolt up right. Bolt it together with #8's. BEFORE you put the cat back on drop the trans pan, then carefully unbolt the modulaltor from the trans and replace it with a new one. Tigh spot be careful. Mine was ruptured and loading the intake with oil. The screens in the filter were also ruptured. With the cat bolted back in place you can see the new design of the cat moves it away from the trans more for heat and future pan drop clearance. Install the Flowmaster kit. You will need to thread the tailpipe in from the rear between the sway bar and the shock. Bolts up right the first time. I did not need to swap o2 sensors that had already been done by the previous owner.

The exhaust system made a difference in performance not a signifcant amount, but enough to feel. I swapped the new air intake out for the stock air intake without the heat pipe. The Explorer ran the same. I re-installed the new air intake. I am sure this adds to performance more than the stock unit somewhere in the power curve, I just can't feel it in the driver seat and since I don't have a dyno thats what counts for me. The exhaust change also knocked the engine temperature down. So far in fact, that I now need to swap the 180 out for the stock 195 stat to get my heater working again.

I will install the chip when I get the temp issue stabilized.

Of the three changes I first asked about, changing the exhaust system so far is the only component that had any real positive effect on performance. I suspect the only way I realized the full effect of the cat back replacement was to change the cat too, especially if it has close to or over 100K miles of service. If I had to do this again I'd just pull the hot air pipe off the exhaust manifold and run the stock air intake.

More later.