bladexr8
New Member
- Joined
- November 15, 2005
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Melbourne
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '03 XLT 4.6L
Hello to everyone.
I'm from Melbourne, Australia and am lucky enough to own a 2003 V8 Explorer XLT.
Previous to that I owned a 5sp manual '97 V6 Explorer. My main rationale for upgrading was to tow my wife's tri-axle horse float - a job the '03 Explorer handles extremely well, you don't even feel you are towing anything, even with 2 horses on board!
I must say that the '03 model represents a huge leap forward from the '97 model (which I didn't have a problem with). It feels and drives so much like a regular car, and the V8 gives it that kick you need to get past highway "slugs" and tow. I just enjoy driving it and always feel refreshed no matter how long the trip.
Information regarding Explorers is hard to come by in Australia as they are not the most popular model here and live in the shadow of 4WD's from Toyota and Nissan.
Hopefully by joining this site I can expand my (little) knowledge of this awesome vehicle. From the little I know the 4.6L V8 is from the same family as the US Mustang - is this correct? Are there many modifications that can be done to this engine to give it more power. I get the distinct feeling Ford has held back a fair bit with this motor... Also, are there some "special" parts from the States (e.g. Mustang Cobra bits) that can be bolted on?
Thank you for your time.
I'm from Melbourne, Australia and am lucky enough to own a 2003 V8 Explorer XLT.
Previous to that I owned a 5sp manual '97 V6 Explorer. My main rationale for upgrading was to tow my wife's tri-axle horse float - a job the '03 Explorer handles extremely well, you don't even feel you are towing anything, even with 2 horses on board!
I must say that the '03 model represents a huge leap forward from the '97 model (which I didn't have a problem with). It feels and drives so much like a regular car, and the V8 gives it that kick you need to get past highway "slugs" and tow. I just enjoy driving it and always feel refreshed no matter how long the trip.
Information regarding Explorers is hard to come by in Australia as they are not the most popular model here and live in the shadow of 4WD's from Toyota and Nissan.
Hopefully by joining this site I can expand my (little) knowledge of this awesome vehicle. From the little I know the 4.6L V8 is from the same family as the US Mustang - is this correct? Are there many modifications that can be done to this engine to give it more power. I get the distinct feeling Ford has held back a fair bit with this motor... Also, are there some "special" parts from the States (e.g. Mustang Cobra bits) that can be bolted on?
Thank you for your time.
