AWD for drag racing?

[po-po 5.0]

How good is the AWD system in the 5.0s? I have a few buddies with SRT8 grand cherokees (AWD) and Trailblazer SS's (AWD) and would love to be able to come out of the hole on street tires like these guys can. I hear the AWD t-case uses a viscous coupling to apply power to the front wheels. Does this process happen fast enough to offer a traction advantage while launching? I'm picking up a '98 EB 5.0 explorer this weekend that I THINK is actually 2wd (although a lot of places came that they only made AWD), and am wondering if swapping to AWD is worth it.


Yea, I realize the swap is cost prohibitive, but this thing is just a toy for me so I can leave it sitting in pieces in my garage as long as I want.

 

[97sprt4x4]

the 5.0 came in both 2wd and awd, but not 4wd. As for keeping up with an SRT8 and a SS, i think you'll have a hard time as both of those have a lot more power stock then the explorer, however, If you're willing to do the work, you could hang with them. mods would be the Torque monster headers, nice exhaust, an intake, and a tune and you will have a shot. after that it's pretty much traction. a "fast" explorer will run a high 14 or 15 quarter mile for reference.

and it is a constant 30:70 ratio, there is no down time between the front and rear

Justin

Edit: also keep in mind with the AWD set up you have more drivetrain loss in the horsepower, making the usable horsepower lower then if you had a straight forward 2wd setup.

 

[techieman33]

the 5.0 came in both 2wd and awd, but not 4wd. As for keeping up with an SRT8 and a SS, i think you'll have a hard time as both of those have a lot more power stock then the explorer, however, If you're willing to do the work, you could hang with them. mods would be the Torque monster headers, nice exhaust, an intake, and a tune and you will have a shot. after that it's pretty much traction. a "fast" explorer will run a high 14 or 15 quarter mile for reference.

and it is a constant 30:70 ratio, there is no down time between the front and rear

Justin

Umm no, an explorer with those mods doesn't stand a chance of still being able to see an srt8's tail lights at the end of the track. Those mods will have you running high 15's if your awd, and probably mid 15's if your 2wd. You'll need a well built 347 and/or some boost to even think about playing with one. It it's 2wd now I would just leave it, it will be faster than the awd. All you need is a good set of street tires, a little burnout and you'll be able to hook off the line until you start making a lot more power.

 

[97sprt4x4]

Umm no, an explorer with those mods doesn't stand a chance of still being able to see an srt8's tail lights at the end of the track. Those mods will have you running high 15's if your awd, and probably mid 15's if your 2wd. You'll need a well built 347 and/or some boost to even think about playing with one. It it's 2wd now I would just leave it, it will be faster than the awd. All you need is a good set of street tires, a little burnout and you'll be able to hook off the line until you start making a lot more power.

Sorry, wasn't really sure what SRT8s and SSs ran at the track, i was just going based on what you had in your truck techie, as what an explorer could do.

 

[ericautopart]

Your also comparing a 11-12 yr old truck with tons of use and wear to a brand new performance vehicle. The cost to hang with those trucks would probably equal the price of one of those trucks. IF you got the explorer to even run 13's you'd probably make one pass before you blew the engine, trans, and both diffs. The xfercase too. It's not designed to hang w/ an SRT8..

 

[techieman33]

Your also comparing a 11-12 yr old truck with tons of use and wear to a brand new performance vehicle. The cost to hang with those trucks would probably equal the price of one of those trucks. IF you got the explorer to even run 13's you'd probably make one pass before you blew the engine, trans, and both diffs. The xfercase too. It's not designed to hang w/ an SRT8..

The stock drivetrain will hold up to 13's troll was running 11's and his transfer case and axles held together.

 

[JCat]

Please don't waste your time and money on making an Explorer a drag SUV. It clearly was not designed for this, and you will ultimately be disappointed.

If you enjoy drag racing, do some research and pick a much more suitable vehicle.

If you want 4 wheel drive, get a STI.

 

[NYMount21]

Please don't waste your time and money on making an Explorer a drag SUV. It clearly was not designed for this, and you will ultimately be disappointed.

If you enjoy drag racing, do some research and pick a much more suitable vehicle.

Well put. We all get pulled into the thought of modding these trucks for speed (guilty as charged), but the bottom line is they're really just not made for it. On the other hand, I don't want to shoot you down. With the right stuff, its possible to make pretty much any car fast, its all about how much money your willing to put in. There are some great guys on this site that will be more than willing to help you in any way including myself, so good luck pal

 

[techieman33]

Please don't waste your time and money on making an Explorer a drag SUV. It clearly was not designed for this, and you will ultimately be disappointed.

If you enjoy drag racing, do some research and pick a much more suitable vehicle.

If you want 4 wheel drive, you can get this and beat Corvettes:

Just because you choose not to drag race your mountaineer doesn't mean it can't be done. Yes it is more difficult and expensive to get one to run good times but it is possible. Personally I enjoy the uniqueness of having a fast explorer, there are millions of fast mustangs and camaros on the street, but very few explorers. And it's a wonderful feeling when you leave one sitting on the line as you go blowing by it.

 

[Turdle]

An Explorer can be made to run about any ET you choose, if you throw enough time and money into it.

Ignore the haters.

 

[JCat]

If you have money to burn....sure do it. It won't make sense.....but you WILL surprise everybody.

You will never get your money back....and there will undoubtedly be somebody with a quicker vehicle that will make you look like a fool.

 

[techieman33]

If you have money to burn....sure do it. It won't make sense.....but you WILL surprise everybody.

You will never get your money back....and there will undoubtedly be somebody with a quicker vehicle that will make you look like a fool.

LMAO, that applies to doing any mod to any vehicle ever built. You will never get your money back on anything you do to modify a vehicle. And there is always someone faster even if you've got a top fuel dragster making 8000hp. Modding a vehicle for speed, or offroad is not about the money if it was about the money than almost no one would do it. It's a passion, a labor of love. If you don't understand it that's fine. I'm sure you do plenty of things that I think are stupid and don't make any sense to me, and I doubt me saying so would stop you from doing them. The original poster asked if it was possible, not if it was cost effective, or if it "made sense" to everyone.

 

[po-po 5.0]

Guys, This is not my first performance Ford rodeo. I know what it takes, power wise, to keep up with the aforementioned trucks. I was mostly concerned with the AWD system.


And as to the talk about it being stupid to make an explorer fast................I currently drive a 13 second crewcab F250. Obviously I don't listen well. I'm getting the truck, running and driving, for $500. With an initial cost so low, a few grand in performance parts is still a "cheap" toy.

 

[JCat]

Turbo or nitrous FTW

 

[techieman33]

Guys, This is not my first performance Ford rodeo. I know what it takes, power wise, to keep up with the aforementioned trucks. I was mostly concerned with the AWD system.

You'll probably split the stock block before anything else fails.

 

[po-po 5.0]

You'll probably split the stock block before anything else fails.

Dart makes some nice blocks to take care of that.


Like I said, building fast ford motors isn't new to me. Just the explorer specific stuff like the t-case is.

 

[JCat]

I have the NP 205 transfer case in this with a built 460 and C6 auto. The power eventually stretched out the chain and required a rebuild.

It might boils down to how much power do you plan on having and comparing that to what others have done. Tires and gear ratios will play a big role as well.

 

[techieman33]

Dart makes some nice blocks to take care of that.


Like I said, building fast ford motors isn't new to me. Just the explorer specific stuff like the t-case is.

lol, yeah it will, I won't worry about the transfer case even if it does fail they're pretty cheap to replace with another junkyard unit.

 

[po-po 5.0]

I have the NP 205 transfer case in this with a built 460 and C6 auto. The power eventually stretched out the chain and required a rebuild.

It might boils down to how much power do you plan on having and comparing that to what others have done. Tires and gear ratios will play a big role as well.

Since this is a street truck I'm, obviously, not going to be running serious meats. I'm thinking some 295/45/18s if I can fit them width wise, but even if I have to go narrower, definetly not something tall. I'll probably stick with stock/close to stock gearing. Does these trucks come with 3.55s or 3.27s? Power wise I was hoping for somewhere in the ballpark of 400 at the tire. i just heard that the t-case uses a "viscous coupling" That, in my mind, screams "first point of failure" and I was just wondering how true that was.

 

[techieman33]

All of the v8's I've ever seen had 3.73's with limited slip, there may be some that are open though. The transfer case does use a viscous coupler, and it could be a weak link, but they aren't known to fail on a regular basis. As a whole the 302 explorers are really solid and reliable, with no real big problems.