NEw here, but i need some help performance wise

[speakenglish]

well i got a 92 explorer that i just lifted 5.5"superlift with 33's, after i lifted it, gas started goin way up in price, soo now im lookin for ways to get better gas mileage and power, i have a stock 4.0 with 3.73 gears and a auto tranny, i have been having some tranny issues but nothin major, right now i get about 11-13mpg city/highway, im lookin to get 14-16 without regearing then 16/18 with 4.10 gears, im also lookin to get about 20-30 hp more and 40lb/ft more, i just want to make it fun to drive again

 

[speakenglish]

cum-on guys! i have about 4 weeks until i take this to the track 1/4 mile and run it agaisnt my brothers 2000 chevy tahoe(dual pipes and 32" tires) so i need to make sure a chevy doesnt beat a ford

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

the bigest thing would be to change the gears......maby to a 4.56 or a 4.10 other then that intake and exaust.

 

[sn0border88]

you have already lost to the tahoe, dont even bother.

You could try a KKM intake, bama chip, and a full tune up (plugs, wires, fluids changed and flushed, ect.)

 

[Creager]

Dude only thing that’s going to get that slug where you want it, is gears...

You can go all out, read my thread on the mean 4.0, that should give you the jist of things. Throttle body + cam might get you 20 more hp. 25 more ft-lb of torque. Port heads and install a good set of headers; add in higher compression, you might be looking at 40 more hp, 50 more ft-lb of torque. Or you can go the turbo route, but that would cost even more money. High performance 4.0 costs anywhere from 2500-6000 depending on what you want to do. I took the cheaper route, although I rebuilt EVERYTHING in the process, so in reality I spent upward 5000... You can do a 5.0 conversion for a little more then that.

Re-gearing would be cheaper then trying to get more torque. I regeared myself for almost $1500 for everything, and you can have a shop do it cheaper then that.

 

[mikehawk]

omg, that tahoe is gonna walk your explorer. Sorry, but there's no quick fix for making a first gen explorer fast and good on gas.

Cheapest route is probably to pull as much weight out of the truck as possible. Gut it. Seriously. For every 100lb of dead weight you pull out it'll shave about 1/10 of a second off your 1/4 mile e/t.

Then open up the intake and exhaust. You might have a chance. Even if it's not enough to beat him, it'll still sound pretty good. All I have is the flowmaster catback w/ no cats and it sounds badass, but it's still piss slow and loves to drink gas.

 

[hourang]

...I took the cheaper route, although I rebuilt EVERYTHING in the process, so in reality I spent upward 5000... You can do a 5.0 conversion for a little more then that.

you can put a 5.0 in there cheaper than that, and gain 60+hp while running a stock motor. that is assuming your not completely rebuilding the new motor and getting new parts for everything, just get a 70k mile motor/trans, do all the work yourself and it should only be a couple grand. plus later on you can mod the crap out of the 5.0 real cheap.

Re-gearing would be cheaper then trying to get more torque. I regeared myself for almost $1500 for everything, and you can have a shop do it cheaper then that.

i agree gearing should be the first thing, made a night and day difference on my camaro, i can only imagine how it helps on a heavy suv. i think it normally costs what like $500-700 installed? i need to do this soon

 

[Creager]

Ive seen shops gear for as low as $150 with your parts. For one axle you are looking at spending atleast $300 with quality parts, add in a locker and you are looking towards the thousandths. That doubles with a 4x4.

Before I started rebuilding my 4.0 i went looking for a donor truck with the HO 5.0, i couldnt find anything cheaper then $2500. Some parts of the country you can get them as low as $1500. But if you want a clean job you probably wont end up paying the price of the donor alone, unless you plan on swapping the front clip from the donor explorer.

You gotta figure: conversion headers, conversion mounts, and tailshaft adapter+Tranny soft rebuild if you wanna retain the BW1354, thats over $4k right there... Then if you want to replace any of the accessories, it will add up quick. I think 410Fortune spend all in all $6500 on his 5.0 conversion. If i were to do it, i wouldnt go any other route then how he went about it. Unless I weld in the front half of the truck like CDW is doing, or swapping the front clip like Kris G, then it would be easier to retain the majority of the stock 5.0 explorer parts.

So in reality, making your 4.0 have 5.0 power can be cheaper, but you will still forever be plagued with weak trannies, unless you adapt a c4/c5. If you think you cant make a 4.0 OHV run 12 second quarter miles, tell that to the guys at www.8secsplash.net, hehe

 

[speakenglish]

Since gas is soo damn much. I order a flowmaster exhaust and bbk throttle body. i also plan to add a 70mm+ mas, cone k/n intake, and a sct performance chip
right now i get 11mpg city and 13 highway.. how much better to you think itll be with the new mods?

i would regear to 4.10's or even 4.56 depending on how much cash i make this summer, sooo itll only happen after summer

 

[Creager]

Gearing will help gas mileage to an extent also

From what I heard on CNN today, gas apparently peaked... experts predict a drop of 75 cents per gallon

 

[skoobydoobiedew]

serious? wow that would be sweet! the sad thing is that we're getting excited about a potential $ 2.00 a gallon gas... which compared to a few years back is still rediculous...

 

[Creager]

hahah, yep.

 

[Rhett]

Since gas is soo damn much. I order a flowmaster exhaust and bbk throttle body. i also plan to add a 70mm+ mas, cone k/n intake, and a sct performance chip
right now i get 11mpg city and 13 highway.. how much better to you think itll be with the new mods?

i would regear to 4.10's or even 4.56 depending on how much cash i make this summer, sooo itll only happen after summer

The Tahoe will STILL wax you. I hate to say that, but it's true. Unless the Tahoe is not running right.

I didn't know SCT made chips for OBD-I setups; I thought they only made flashers for OBD-II/EEC-V.

In my opinion, the only way you will beat him is if you get a supercharger, 4.10's, chip, plus all the bolt-ons, and headers. Then you could.

 

[mikehawk]

From what I heard on CNN today, gas apparently peaked... experts predict a drop of 75 cents per gallon

Friggin sweet!

 

[Exploderpilot]

turbo. 9 pounds boost. fast.