What are the best power adders

[wood1]

Yeah, I have 3.73's and 31's and it is far from optimal. Someday gears lockers and tires in that order...

 

[jd4242]

Yeah, I have 3.73's and 31's and it is far from optimal. Someday gears lockers and tires in that order...

I ran 4.88s and 33x12.50 and LOVED it.it was the power these trucks need.but on the highway at 70 it ran like it didnt have OD!i would rather pay to play than have no power!i run 36x14.50 now and it needs way more gear but i didnt want to go larger than 4.88 in a D 35. *5.13 would be perfect!

 

[wood1]

A 36 on a TTB? Cool. I was considering 34's but steeper gears

 

[FIND]

I dont think thats true at all every x i seen has had 3.73s and or think it was 3.55.ive never seen one with 3.27 omg!!that thing would be so slow and have no power at all!!

I have 3.27s on stock 235/75s and mine runs just fine. I mean, it is not like it has serious grunt, but I never lose speed going up hills, and I can pull fairly reasonably with it. I used it to tow my Lincoln home after the engine blew, 26 miles up and down hill and it never had any trouble. Accelerates just fine when I am getting on the highway, and it does what I need offroad. Plus, mine is an auto 4wd, so it is not like I have a drive train that efficiently delivers power..... It drives around just like I expect from a light truck though.

The one my ex took had 3.73s, as does my dad's, and they do have a bit more grunt, but honestly, a 3.27 is fine in a stock application. Think about it this way; GM likes to use even shorter gears than that. You could get blazers with 3.08s and 2.73s.

 

[jd4242]

I have 3.27s on stock 235/75s and mine runs just fine. I mean, it is not like it has serious grunt, but I never lose speed going up hills, and I can pull fairly reasonably with it. I used it to tow my Lincoln home after the engine blew, 26 miles up and down hill and it never had any trouble. Accelerates just fine when I am getting on the highway, and it does what I need offroad. Plus, mine is an auto 4wd, so it is not like I have a drive train that efficiently delivers power..... It drives around just like I expect from a light truck though.

The one my ex took had 3.73s, as does my dad's, and they do have a bit more grunt, but honestly, a 3.27 is fine in a stock application. Think about it this way; GM likes to use even shorter gears than that. You could get blazers with 3.08s and 2.73s.

You talking full size blaze or small blazer?one way about 1000lbs less than an ex and one has a v8 i still think gears was my best mod so far.yes in stock form 3.27 would be ok for the highway

 

[FIND]

You talking full size blaze or small blazer?one way about 1000lbs less than an ex and one has a v8 i still think gears was my best mod so far.yes in stock form 3.27 would be ok for the highway

I meant S10 Blazers, and the 4 door ones weigh in at 3700 lbs, so they are only a couple hundred pounds shy of what an Explorer weighs, with roughly the same aerodynamics. But don't get me wrong, gears are the best mod you can do for an Explorer when you upsize tires and want to play hard off-road. Most bang for your buck, and doesn't take as much skill/time as a V8 swap. Plus, they work great alongside ANY mod you can do to your truck, including an engine swap. No matter what you do to increase power or performance, better gearing for what you want to do will make that mod better.

 

[jd4242]

I meant S10 Blazers, and the 4 door ones weigh in at 3700 lbs, so they are only a couple hundred pounds shy of what an Explorer weighs, with roughly the same aerodynamics. But don't get me wrong, gears are the best mod you can do for an Explorer when you upsize tires and want to play hard off-road. Most bang for your buck, and doesn't take as much skill/time as a V8 swap. Plus, they work great alongside ANY mod you can do to your truck, including an engine swap. No matter what you do to increase power or performance, better gearing for what you want to do will make that mod better.

Mine weighted in at 4601 with me in itbut yep totally agree.the OP said he was getting a 4" lift so im assumeing he will go with bigger tires and plan on 4x4ing it so i would say save for gears and dont waste any money on motor mods.

 

[Jason94sport]

I have 3.27s on stock 235/75s and mine runs just fine

My current X does as well, but it's a lighter 2WD sport 5 speed. The 4 door autos I had were dogs. Once I put on 31's it was really bad on the HW. Couldn't get any speed to merge or pass. If I did it again I'd swap in a 3.73 or higher axle.

 

[mr cribb]

My current X does as well, but it's a lighter 2WD sport 5 speed.

I have the 4dr version but 3.27's w/ a 5 speed. With the 30x9.5/15's that it came with, it's okay for what it is. Mine's NOT 4wd, so I don't understand the purpose of all terrain tires on my truck.

 

[cloaked_chaos]

My 94' 4 door 4x4 limited with 3.73 and 33 inch tires is the fastest one of my explorers. Most of them have the 3.73 gears and every single one except the limited has stock size tires.

It may have something to do with the 70mm mass air flow sensor housing, the large cone filter, or the flowmaster 40 that is dumped 12" past the muffler. A lot people will say those mods don't change much, but it seems to be more than enough to overcome the increase in tire size. When I first got this X it was stock and almost the exact same speed as two of my other explorers.

 

[jd4242]

My 94' 4 door 4x4 limited with 3.73 and 33 inch tires is the fastest one of my explorers. Most of them have the 3.73 gears and every single one except the limited has stock size tires.

It may have something to do with the 70mm mass air flow sensor housing, the large cone filter, or the flowmaster 40 that is dumped 12" past the muffler. A lot people will say those mods don't change much, but it seems to be more than enough to overcome the increase in tire size. When I first got this X it was stock and almost the exact same speed as two of my other explorers.

That 70mm maf is just hurting your performance unless it was tuned for your truck

 

[cloaked_chaos]

That 70mm maf is just hurting your performance unless it was tuned for your truck

I have the 70mm housing with the stock electronics. How would I go about tuning it?

 

[jd4242]

I have the 70mm housing with the stock electronics. How would I go about tuning it?

Thats the catch 22.two ways,the maf can be tuned or the ecm can be programmed for the larger maf.but in a first gen you prob wont find any one to tune the ecm and witch leaves you only tuning the maf.i think there is only like two or three maf you can tune and none are from a stock vehicle. If you dont have any major engine mods then the O2 should adjust for the larger maf but it will still run on the leaner side and especially during WOT.

 

[cloaked_chaos]

Thats the catch 22.two ways,the maf can be tuned or the ecm can be programmed for the larger maf.but in a first gen you prob wont find any one to tune the ecm and witch leaves you only tuning the maf.i think there is only like two or three maf you can tune and none are from a stock vehicle. If you dont have any major engine mods then the O2 should adjust for the larger maf but it will still run on the leaner side and especially during WOT.

Being a young guy, I do spend a lot of time at WOT. I know there are other things that are more restrictive than the stock MAF housing, but it was available to me for cheap so I bought it. The main reason I like it is because I like the noise it makes during WOT. If I wanted a lot more power I would just do a v8 swap, but I have other things I would rather spend my money on first.

Mainly, my order of operations for this X is: Capability->Appearance->Performance.

I am still working on capability, with a few mods for appearance. I'm slowly adding parts to make this a fine offroading vehicle. I installed a 5.5" superlift and 33" tires on Crager Soft 8 rims. I bought a powertrax no-slip locker for the rear, but since I have the limited slip 3.73 I am also going to buy an open carrier 3.73 axle from a second gen so I can swap to disc brakes at the same time. I would buy one with 4.10 gears but I don't have a clue where I can get 4.10 gears for the D35 cheap since I cant find a first gen with 4.10s in a junkyard. Unless I can find 4.10s for the D35 for cheap, if I were to change the gears in the front axle I would probably just go to 4.56 or 4.88 on both axles. Basically I am upgrading what I have instead of going all out with SAS and v8 swap.

 

[jd4242]

i would go 4.88.dont for get with a 2nd gen rear end swap you need to swap your MC to a 95 thats has no proportioning valve,no abs and no cruise.thats my fav swap 2nd gen with gears and locker

 

[94Eddie]

I have the 70mm housing with the stock electronics. How would I go about tuning it?

A 70mm MAF probably won't give any performance improvements on a stock engine. Even larger throttle bodies are intended for aftermarket free flowing intakes and heads. On a basically stock engine having too large a throttle body will kill low end torque and might give you a little more high end horsepower. As an example, for stock 5.0L Mustang engines the sweet spot for the throttle body and EGR spacer size is 65mm. A MAF any larger than the throttle body will not deliver any horsepower improvements.

To answer your question, there may not be any tuning to be done for a 70mm MAF on an otherwise stock engine. If the MAF is calibrated for your injector size then no tuning is necessary.

 

[FIND]

putting a larger MAF on has the same effect as a vacuum leak. You are introducing unmetered air into your system. A MAF is two heated wires, and the computer determines how much air is flowing over the by how much they cool down. From there it determines air flow based on the size of the MAF housing that the vehicle comes with. Changing housings without reprogramming means your computer will think less air is coming in, therefore your system will run lean. The MAF housing on an explorer is NOT a restriction in airflow. You would only have to worry about airflow through the MAF if you were using forced induction and did substantial work to the heads and exhaust. Using a larger MAF, even if your ECU was adjusted to compensate for it would have NO effect on the performance of your vehicle. ZERO. No horsepower gained or lost at ANY RPM, unless your engine was substantially modified. Untuned, you are only hurting your performance, especially at your top end where the computer won't be adjusting your fuel mixture based on the O2 sensor readings. Even at normal throttle conditions though, don't expect the ECU to compensate much, since narrowband O2 sensors are not that precise.

Mine weighted in at 4601 with me in itbut yep totally agree.the OP said he was getting a 4" lift so im assumeing he will go with bigger tires and plan on 4x4ing it so i would say save for gears and dont waste any money on motor mods.

That was the weight advertised bone dry without a driver. Under similar circumstances, an Explorer is just over 3900 lbs.

 

[Nedwreck]

I am running a MAF housing from a '95 Limited Explorer. It is slightly larger (had to "encourage" it to fit the factory intake pipe) and it's the type with the divider in the center as opposed to the stock one. I also have a slightly improved exhaust, a cone air filter, and run synthetic oil. Call me silly if you like, but I honestly notice a slight difference with synthetics (in MPG too).

Marginal increases perhaps, from each mod, but my friends who have stocker first gen Explorer's don't try to out run me.

Incidentally, I'm currently running 3.73's and 33 inch tires, with a speedo gear for a 3.27 diff. It's pretty close to correct.

The best thing in my opinion is to keep your truck well tuned, run synthetics, and keep the injectors clean. I favor Lucas injector cleaner (get the big bottle and refill a small bottle - you'll save a lot of money that way!).

Since we usually run part-throttle, look for things that increase part-throttle response and improve torque. There's not much we can do with the 4.0, unfortunately.

 

[FIND]

the post down the middle makes up for the marginally larger diameter. Overall, they both flow the same amount of air.

 

[Nedwreck]

the post down the middle makes up for the marginally larger diameter. Overall, they both flow the same amount of air.

I'm not sure it's identical.. but it's not a ~huge~ gain by any means. I can say eliminating the wire mesh makes no loss in the '95 unit, unlike the old one which seems to need the mesh to homogenize flow thru the unit. The 95 unit seems to do slightly better without it. EDIT TO ADD: Of course, without the screen, a means to protect large particle debris getting in is removed. Remove at your own risk!

It's nearly moot for me probably, I almost never go WOT. Part throttle free flow and lack of abrupt facings in the MAF is why I changed. In industry, I've seen some some really small things make drastic changes in airflow, even at low velocity.... again, it's probably nearly moot, but I like it.