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Ford Explorer Maintenance - Modifications - Performance Upgrades - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street
Explorer Forum Covers the Explorer ST, Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Ford Aerostar
When I lift my Sport, I'm thinking about trying to find some nice 15 in wheels to put my 33s on. I'm figuring since it will prolly ride stiffer w/ the lift the 15s w/ thier taller sidewall will help some w/ the rough ride.Plus, I like the baloon tire look. Will 15s fit my Sport? Any suggestions on what brand/type shock to use biased more towards ride/cornering than trail use? Like I said, I don't wheel enough to sacrifice all for a full bore trail and rock smasher. Thanks for any replies...
Originally posted by Sport 4x4 When I lift my Sport, I'm thinking about trying to find some nice 15 in wheels to put my 33s on. I'm figuring since it will prolly ride stiffer w/ the lift the 15s w/ thier taller sidewall will help some w/ the rough ride.Plus, I like the baloon tire look. Will 15s fit my Sport? Any suggestions on what brand/type shock to use biased more towards ride/cornering than trail use? Like I said, I don't wheel enough to sacrifice all for a full bore trail and rock smasher. Thanks for any replies...
Yes, 15's will fit easily. A 15x8 wheel should fit most 33's without a problem. Many people have 15's with this size tire. It's the easiest size to find the tires in. Witha 17" wheel, I had very few choices as to what tire to get. Pretty much any 15" wheel would do the job.
Nope. Not even close. ONly about 0.5" to even it out. I still have another 1.5" or so of lift left in them. With that and some shackles in back, I could probably slap on some 35's...
so doc.. you still enjoying the lift? how's the monoleaf working out with the SOA in the back?
and is the shock mount just the tip of the original leaf spring/shock mount plate cut off and welded on?
i don't really want to use the monoleaf again, but i'm temped to in order to do a SOA with about 3" of lift.
Did you use stock length shocks in the rear?- they dont look the same in the pics, but I wondered since you moved the mount higher on the axle. I like the way your SOA came out.
Here are the measurements I took before and after. These include the tires, which are 4" bigger than stock, so they ad about 2" of lift also.
BEFORE:
FL 27.5" FR 28.0"
BL 24.25" BR 25.25"
AFTER:
FL 32.75" FR 33.25"
BL 32.0" BR 32.25"
CHANGE:
FL 5.25" FR 5.25"
BL 7.75" BR 7.0"
So the spindles gave 3.25" of lift, and the SOA gave me about about 5.5" of lift. This also helped wiht the rear end sag.
I used new Pro Comp shocks. They are only a little longer than stock. The fronts are actually the same, since the spindls keep the same mounting point distance as the stock spindles. The back shocks are longer. You could probably get by with using stock length shocks depending on how you do the shock mount. Mine ended up being pretty close to stock (+1" or so).
when I put on a larger rear antisway bar, I accidently mounted it upside at first... however, if you look at the stock design, the sway bar comes down and (atleast in my opinion) provides some protection for the rear diff.
granted, I dont go offroading, but I reattached the new bigger antisway bar on the correct way so that if i ever backup into something nasty, it puts a dent in the antisway bar instead of the rear diff.
I'm not a mechanic, I could be more wrong then I am right, this is just my observation.
Sorry for the delay, was gone for the weekend. The spindles were about $450 from 4wheelparts.com . There is also a kit for about $520 withthe a-a-l and shocks.