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Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
If your swapping engines the v6 ecoboost could be a good option. It's also quiet, economical, and "comfortable" though I'm not really sure what w1ketz meant when he was talking about an engine being comfortable.
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Yeah, best bet would be to do a Taurus SHO engine or V6 ecoboost from a MKS/MKT/Flex. Those are all AWD powertrains. With your cash and GAS capabilities, I think this would be a good match.
Otherwise, call up Kenne Bell or one of the other S/C manufacturers and see if they will use your truck to develop a S/C kit. They need the first guy and a truck to come out with one - why not have that be you?
When I did my Explorer 302 swap into my 1999 Ranger back in 2002, had to do ALOT of reasearch and some trial /error and buying alot of duplicate and tripplet parts until I found the right combinations. A day or two of re-pinning the wire harness and I had a completely factory appearance engine swap with all accessories functioning as stock, full PATS integration,etc..
I'm with you, Logan. I'm all about the FI. I turbo'd my old Integra and it was so much fun. I'd put one on my Jeep in a heartbeat if it didn't have a lifetime powertrain warranty. The HEMI is fun as-is but the fuel mileage sucks. A turbo would make it a lot more fun and with decent mileage.
I say go for it. No one said the Explorer is a "race car". I'm sure Logan knows exactly what it is, and what it isn't. And it isn't quick. I can't keep a vehicle of mine stock. To me, part of the fun in modding a vehicle is doing things that no one else has done. There will always be haters who don't see the point or think its a waste, but whatever. make it yours.
Diesel work trucks weren't meant to be "race cars" but there are many out there that will smoke plenty of sports cars in the 1/4. The same goes for the Hondas/Acuras.
The hardware part is simple if you find a welder. Fuel management is where it gets tricky. Nag Superchips or Diablosport to develop for the Explorer lol Then all you'll need is a good tuner and a dyno, and maybe some larger injectors.
Cooling for the turbo itself isn't an issue, they'll get red hot regardless. You just need to have an oil source. There's usually a spot on the block you can feed off of, like the spot for the stock oil pressure gauge/dummy light. Then you just tap into the oil pan and let the turbo oil drain into that.
The air from the turbo should be cooled though. This is what an intercooler does. It looks like a radiator and you mount it behind the bumper opening.
Biggest issue will be getting enough cool air for the intercooler. Putting a huge intercooler infront of the A/C condenser (especially the bottom) will kill your AC performance. Almost need out board coolers on either side with ducts / grills in the fascia.
Biggest issue will be getting enough cool air for the intercooler. Putting a huge intercooler infront of the A/C condenser (especially the bottom) will kill your AC performance. Almost need out board coolers on either side with ducts / grills in the fascia.
Putting the intercooler in the bumper opening is common practice. Air does flow THROUGH the IC so it's not like you're putting a wall in front of your radiator.
Whatever happens, I hope you'll keep us posted on the outcome. An hour ago I was using Google to search for "3.5-liter Ti-VCT V6 performance modifications" and various permutations- without success. My hope is that the systems developed for the 3.7L Mustang will trickle down. I don't "need" 475 HP and really don't want the reliability questions that would involve. I would like 350HP and 300+ ft-lbs of torque, just to bump it up a bit.
I drove a Flex Ecoboost a couple of days ago and it is quick. That engine in the Explorer would be a bit much for most folks, I think, but fine with me.
My guess is that these engines are so well built now that the performance gains from polishing ports, etc. is going to be minimal?
As I alluded to earlier- I would bet that the engineers have 99% of the easy performance improvements already. Gone are the good-old-days of cheap and easy improvements.
CAI on a new engine scares me- those oiled filters can pass a lot of nasty stuff into an engine. They are fine for racing applications where an engine will be rebuilt but I don't want anything messing with the longevity of my daily driver.
A turbo/SC motor is easier to "tune" by increasing boost. No such option on a NA engine. Modern engine control systems are far too complex and well designed to offer much gain, if any, without added boost. Or that is my amatuer understanding.
The exhaust may have potential.. I don't know much about modern exhaust systems.
Look into the amsoil cone filter, no oil to mess with, and better filtering. There could still be gains to be had from port and polish. The name of the game is cheap and I would be there are still some rough edges that can be knocked down. The same goes for the computer tune, the manufacturer is going to put a nice conservative tune on the computer to leave a nice wide margin for differences in fuel quality, and even just differences motor to motor. And going to a tune optimized for 91 or 93 octane from the factory 87 will net some nice improvements. I know James Henson was getting 25+ whp out of the late 2000s GT 500s, so if there is room there surely there is room in a normal car.
As tech said, you can get non-oiled filters and a tune will do A LOT more than you think Heck, a tune on my '02 V8 lowered my 1/4 mile times by .5 seconds(91 tune from Henson)
I'm on the same page as Loganfilm.
I want more power, HP is fine-ish, but torque could def use a little boost.
I don't think it's fair to say we stepped into the "wrong platform." I need a bigger SUV for work (and pleasure) which the EX was perfect for...just wish I had more torque.
However, I don't think I have as much desire as Loganfilm to burn money so I guess I'll have to wait and see if anybody steps up and makes a bolt-on kit for our EXs.
I'm waiting on the sidelines to do ANY mods to my Explorer. After owning it a few weeks and going through a ton of problems with MFT and NAV, I'm not risking any potential balking at warranty issues. I'm resigned to waiting it out until everything is in perfect working order before I even change so much as the floor mats.
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