Explorer Dream or Nightmare?

[gutierrv]

Hello all. I'm a new member to this forum and hope to be able to gleen as much wisdom and knowledge as you can impart on me regarding my 92 Explorer. I have done some work to my Explorer the last 2 years..although somewhat minor work, it has improved performance over what it was when I first bought it in stock form. A 2" lift kit & stabilizer with 30x9.50s...a Hypertech chip with a K&N filter and luckily it came equipped with 3:73 gears and a Lmited Slip Diff. At 114,000 miles, it still runs strong and has been a reliable daily driver and worthy of negotiating any moderate trail with ease.

To finish my ride, I'd planned to add some accessories such as a pre-runner light bar up front and a safari rack, 15x8 simulated beadlock wheels and 31" tires.

My biggest concern is it's road or highway worthiness. These Explorers earned a horrendous repuatation for rollover accidents, serious injury and countless deaths. Having a wife and 2 kids, one of which will be of age to drive next year; I'm having some serious doubts about going any further with my beloved Explorer.

Just today, the nearest Discount Tire store was giving me a quote for some wheels, but told me that they would'nt install them on my Explorer for fear of a lawsuit because of the rollover stigma. In essence, they refused me any and all tire or wheel services because of the rollover lawsuits etc,. This wrecked my day!

I'm wondering if any of you have experinced any adverse hi-way handling with your after-market lift kits, tires etc,. I want to make sure that I don't endanger my family while trying to fulfill my dream of finishing this project. Any knowledge, experiences or advice you can share might be helpful to me.

Thanks,
Vic

Glendale, AZ

 

[Willard]

Explorers were never responsible for rollovers. The people driving them and the tires were. Drive it like and SUV, not a sports car.

From what I've seen though most people don't experience change or actually say it handles better with a lift - mostly due to better springs that get installed and better shocks.

And yes, the Discount Tire thing is rediculous. The way around it is to just get the wheels and tires with another vehicle and install them yourself on the explorer. There are plenty explorers driving around with lifts and big tires that have never had any problems.

Also, even if you were to get in an accident in your explorer, they have proven to be very good at protecting the occupants in a crash. There have been lots of people that reported wrecks on here but came out of it mostly unscathed.

 

[Burns]

I can tell you that if you know how to drive you will not have problems. If you yank the steering wheel at sixty plus guess what? Its not gonna handle like a BMW car. Its a suv and needs to be drove as such.

My biggest concern is it's road or highway worthiness. These Explorers earned a horrendous repuatation for rollover accidents, serious injury and countless deaths. Having a wife and 2 kids, one of which will be of age to drive next year; I'm having some serious doubts about going any further with my beloved Explorer.

That did hurt the explorers imeage very bad but as you can see they are still in production today. That was a tire problem combined with people not knowing how to react when a tire blew our on them. Mostly happening at Hyw speeds which as you know is usually 70+.

I drive my explorer every day. Lifted on 36's. I have no prolblem at hwy speeds either. Last year i put over 25k on my explorer.

 

[pauley]

most of the roll over accidents were from tire explosions that were due to under-inflated tires (ford said 26 psi was good when they first came out). i have a lifted 93 with huge tires and i have no issues. the problem is you have to use commonsense and there are alot of people that do not have that. you have to drive it like a suv not a sports car and considering you haven't rolled it yet id say your in the clear. now as far as them not touching it that is total bs im willing to bet you can take it any where else and it would be fine. and as long as you teach your kid how to properly drive you shouldn't have any problems (well not any more than usual). also some one did a study after all of the tire explosions ending in roll over and it has been proven that the only reason that the explorers rolled over is because when the tire popped the people driving over reacted and botta bing on the roof she went. also with all the accidents there seems to be alot just because there were a ton of these things on the road if you compare numbers the percentage of explorers crashed compared to the number that were produced im betting its really close to the percentage of suburbans produced compared to the number crashed. with all that said dont be afraid keep on exploring just keep up tire pressure and maintenance and you will be fine (and when i say maintenance i dont mean change oil at jiffy lube go to a shop that does a good inspection of the vehicle when they have it in the air) you should be fine.

 

[gutierrv]

Thanks for your replies. I do remember the fingerpointing now between Ford and Firestone back in the early 90s (?). I think all of you are correct about common sense driving...and for this reason, its doubtful that I'll hand this down to my son until I'm 100% confident that he understands the risk of driving a modified SUV on the streets and highways as well as off-road.

I'll remain the sole driver of this truck and leave the Suburban to my wife and kids. I'll likely look for an economy rice burner for my kid to cut his teeth on in the next year or so.

Thanks again all. I hope to post a picture sometime this week.

Vic