The Fastest N/A 4.0 Explorer

[AiwaExplorer]

I am looking to find the Fastest Explorer with a 4.0l engine! I am looking for the Drag strip time of a 1/4 mile.....and It must be street legal and driveable.... Non-aspirated (No turbo, Supercharger, or NOS) Lay down the times boys....and If you think you got it.....we want some proof with a timeslip! NO bull S$^t stories like riceboys tell! We want proof! Lay it down, I am curious!

 

[sn0border88]

I ran a 13.697...





Oh sorry, you said no bullsh!t.

 

['97 V8]

I ran a 13.697...





Oh sorry, you said no bullsh!t.

lol. There is a guy here who has a thread on here, titled, One mean 4.0 buildup" or something like that. THe problem with the 4.0 there really isnt that much of an aftermarket for them. The 96 and newer have the 5.0 mustang engines, so naturally there is a following for the 5.0. Other than a lot of custom parts, i would just supercharge or turbo it.

 

[sn0border88]

you mean creager

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

i think.......dam i forgot his name ran a 14 second quarter.....beuj?? maby

 

[section525]

BJ was a 5.0.

 

[Fish Man]

i think beauj was a s/c 5.0...maybe i made that up though...

 

[section525]

i think beauj was a s/c 5.0...maybe i made that up though...

....and still as slow as mollases.

 

[AiwaExplorer]

The reason I am curious.....because I a have a 99' SOHC and I run mine weekly at the dragstrip....I dont have the money to build a great 302 motor....so I keep my 4.0 and Mod it as much as I can...I have a about a grand under the hood now and my best pass at the track all motor from my 4.0 is a 15.747 @ 88.13mph.....I will post a timeslip in the next few days so U can see that aint made up! I have a always been a tuner and minitruck guy....and this is the fastest vehicle I have built.....I kill all RICERS and almost all trucks....So...I think I am doing pretty well with my truck considering it is completely factory with nothing removed...and just money under the hood....anywayz.....Just kinda curious to see if any other 4.0l guys and go faster than this?

 

[Ronin8002]

The main thing with getting our heavy trucks to go fast is torque. Not just torque down low...the OHV has that and the SOHC makes good torque if you rev it. You have to widen the RPM range so you can flatten out the torque curve as well as increase torque over that RPM range.

the V-8's have an advantage because they do those things pretty easily and with good aftermarket support.

With that said, the SOHC really needs a power adder to pump up the torque curve. It breathes pretty well from what I can tell on the intake and exhaust side as far as cam/heads go. I know you said you are into N/A so I wont talk about power adders. Look at what the 2005 v-6 mustang guys are using to make more power....there are cams and head porting coming out for the SOHC so I'd say look at that if you want to stay N/A. Maybe bump up the compression more and have a really good tune? Supersixmotorsports is doing a lot with the SOHC these days. Ultimately though, since you can't add more displacement, it's going to be tough to get a lot of power on pump gas without forced induction or nitrous.

Probably you would be doing pretty damn well to get 14's in a SOHC explorer N/A.

 

[BeauJ]

....and still as slow as mollases.

Mollases taste good..

 

[AiwaExplorer]

Yes I also did think about that like maybe having .035 shaved off the head.....to better my compression? anyone know of anyone on here who has tried this?

 

[BeauJ]

Most machine shops mill (shave) heads for about reasonable amount. A shop by me wanted $80, but I wouldn't do it unless you port the heads also. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth it...

 

[AiwaExplorer]

Yeah ofcourse, the complete port and polish to go with the shaved head....My question is with the port and polish plus a Shaved head....How do u think it would treat me as This is my daily driver and My weekend warrior at the track.....I cant have it apart for long...as I am currently in 2nd place in points? Would the everyday driveability still be okay with the higher compression?

 

[BeauJ]

P and P will take some time. You can do it yourself in a day if you know what you're doing and go at it NON stop. If you get a shop to do it, plan on at least a week. Good work can't be rushed. Shaving the heads wouldn't take more than a couple of hours. All they do it dial it on the mill, and it does the work. Drivability: Not too sure. How many miles are on the engine? How much do you take it to the track? If you're making the heads breathe, you'll need a new exhaust setup. The stock headers will do for now, but I'd get a pair of high flow cats and decent catback or just put a muffler on. You'd need to get a chip or programmer so your computer doesn't go crazy.

EDIT: just saw you had SOHC heads. That's gonna take a while to do and cost a chunk of change. I'd say at least $600+. And you've got to time the cams after you remove them also. Got any good mechanic friends

 

[Ronin8002]

At some point with raising the compression, depending on how much you raise it, drivability is going to be affected because you are going to exceed the knock resistance of 93 octane. Which means you either have to run race gas (not streetable and not worth it on a daily driver) or retard the timing so much that you cancel out whatever gains you might have made with the compression increase.

Think about this, the SOHC already has 9.7:1 compression. You probably aren't going to be able to kick the compression up too much more before you start having the issues I mentioned above. Even without those issues, raising the compression eventually starts to fall into the category of diminishing returns when you rely on that as your sole means of increasing power, i.e. the percentage of power you gain by increasing the compression goes down lower and lower as you raise compression. Headgasket sealing might become a problem with high compression as well, even if you can get past the knock issue.

I suppose water/methanol injection could be used to suppress the knocking...I know it's been tried on N/A engines but not sure how successfully. That would allow you to bump up compression and use pump gas while keeping your timing advanced. Might be worth looking into if you're dead set on the N/A route. Try www.snowperformance.net or www.waterinjection.info for good info on that.

 

[AiwaExplorer]

Wow lots of good info thanks guys, Now I already have a Borla Cat back exhaust and the Older style Superchips flip chip that they no longer make, and a MAC intake....Keep the good ideas coming and I will research those options thanks!

 

[blk mk8]

here is my list of what i would do to a 4.0 just for bolt ons to add some speed. tb, mass air, headers, exhaust, dyno tune, gears, torque converter, electric fan, weight reduction this should get you some good times for a truck. now this goes for both the sohc and pushrod motor. now if you got the time and money ported heads and cams are always great as well. i am going to take the blower off my 4.0 ranger and do a cam and head swap soon then i am putting a turbo on. i am also in the process of putting a turbo on my brother explorer, his blower broke so turbo time for him.

 

[AiwaExplorer]

I have 3.73's Do u really think that 4.10's will make much of a diff or at all in my 1/4 time....I have a SOHC 4.0 and I get fairly good traction....only a quick lil spin and IM off....I agree wait redux would help but....thats not an option this is my daily driver....and I want it to look pretty stock....when u say mass flow.....Do u mean the Vortec one that summit sells for us that is 75mm? it says it flows about 45% more air? what kind of differences will that make? will it affect my everyday driveability? and Do u mean the 4.6l 70mm TB off of a Mustang? from ford racing or BBK? is there a difference in the two makes? what kind of difference with the mass flow is that?

 

[blk mk8]

Personally with the shift points and high rpm of that motor i would go with 4.10 gears. also you can just get the mustang one that one you should be good enough. also check the size of the mass air if it is 80mm then you dont need to change it. if it is smaller the you can get a 80 or so from a mustang and get a chip to make shure things are all good for you. a chip firming up shift points will pick you up some time in the 1/4 mile. also a electric fan with help with load on the front of the motor. ya for weight reduction you can just take your spare tire out at the track or remove extra junk you have in the back. when i use to go to the track i would take all my school books and car mags out along with tools that was 150 of junk right there... now if i could only find a migit to drive my car that would have been another 125 or more out the driver seat.