who can lower a 2003 Aviator in CALI

[Jason69]

I want to get my 2003 Aviator lowered, Does anyone know of a place & # that will do it in SO California?

 

[Black Magic]

I am sure this is the best place that I know about:

 

[X~FACTOR]

Oh my God!

Damn, it's shorter than a station wagon. Does that even roll?

 

[XplorerKid]

Re: Oh my God!

Originally posted by X-factor
Damn, it's shorter than a station wagon. Does that even roll?

by the looks of the frotn wheels i think its on bags..............
so they would jsut air it back up to drive it .........

PEACE

and also thats one bad Explroer!!

 

[TAS98xlt]

Those are some crazy ass videos in that site

 

[diablo5969]

Wow, cool! I didn't know we actually had anyone on the site with an Aviator.

I'm sure that will look badass lowered

 

[JOHN V.]

The Aviator has a totaly different suspension than a gen 2 Explorer. It has an independent suspension with coil springs at the rear like a 2002-2003 Explorer. They are difficult to lower because thay only have about two inches of ride travel. We will carry the Eibach springs at Explorer Express when they come out sometime in June. They will offer at 1.6" drop at the front and a 1.1" drop at the rear. These springs are engineered for a drop that still allows for decent ride quality. Anything custom will get marginal results as far as ride quality. I don't think that you want to hack up your new Aviator with bags like the Explorer in the picture. These new Eibach Springs should work on the Aviator. We have a set of prototype Eibachs on our Silver X. We are also working on a rear sway bar that should work on the Aviator.

John V @ EE

 

[4Wheelin]

West Coast Customs can do it. Check them out at westcoastcustoms.com , they just bagged a 2003 navi or aviator (cant remember which one it was) for shaq.

 

[Jason69]

Thanks, Great News! When I called EE the lady had no current info available. That was the first place I looked.

Correct, I don’t want to jeopardize the integrity of the ride quality because I know Lincoln has fine-tuned the ride, as it’s even different than the 2002/2003 Explorer. I am only looking and expecting to change the springs. I still want to tow my boat and a Toy Box w/my quad in it. If I go too low I wont be able to get it up the driveway. I guess rear bags would be affordable addition too, just to level out when towing.

Oh yea, I was only expecting to spend 4 to 7 hundred.

What do ya think?

I forgot to mention i'm getting 20' rims what's the best tire size to slap on???

 

[JOHN V.]

This is the most current information we have. We spoke to Eibach last week. They plan on releasing the 2002 - 2003 Explorer lowering springs in June. We will have them as soon as they are available. They will not have a seperate part number for the Aviator. The Aviator suspension did start out as an Explorer suspension. They tweeked it for smoother ride etc. These springs should work on the Aviator. We do have the prototypes installed on the Silver X. They did use our vehicle for the prototype work. The ride is firm but not bone jarring. The amount lowered is not drastic, but it still gives a lowered appearence and improves handling. We know there is no other alternative right now. We have been working on this for two years. The list price for the Eibach springs is $300. If you want to be our Aviator tester, I will give you a special price. If you ever have technical questions about upgrades for your vehcile, feel free to ask for me personaly.

John Vanek,
Operations Manager,
Explorer Express

 

[Jason69]

John,

Thank you for the offer… especially on the technical side, sounds like a plan. Have you ridden in the Aviator? It too has a firm; sport like ride it’s surprising how well it handles Take one for a test ride or you can test mine after I get my new rims/tires.

Will you also work w/me in the install? I don’t know if I want to play with such a new vehicle. But I’m pretty mechanically inclined so if you think it’s a moderate R&R job, I’ll do it.

Jason

 

[JOHN V.]

Jason, I would love to take a ride in the Aviator. I would also like to get it up in the air and take a look. We are interested to see if some of the refinements could be used on the gen 3 Explorer. I have read about some of the suspension tweeks that were done and it sounds like they made a difference.

If you wanted to make the trip we could do the job in one day. We are up north in the San Francisco Bay Area. We could do the job for you or we could talk you through it. It requires a spring compressor and a lot of patience. Fortunately we have some experience from trying different shock and spring combos on the Silver X. First we have to wait for the springs to become available from Eibach, then we can take it from there.

John V @ EE

 

[Jason69]

OK. I'll look forward to that in the future.

I know you don’t recommend going larger than 17" on the Explorer, but I really want the 20' rims so I’m going to go w/them. So the scenario is:

Wait on the E Springs until June and get the Rims now. Since I know it's a drop less than 2" I don’t think I should get too large of tires like 45 series... because what if it scrapes? But if I go too low like 245/35/20's my ride might suffer. 40 series tires are very expensive because it's an odd size. But that is probably a safe bet.

Do you think your new (prototype) springs will work w/45 series tires w/o scraping? What size do you recommend? Should I go wider? I like the Zanetti “Five” 20’s in chrome.



Thanks

 

[JOHN V.]

Hey Jason, Sorry about the delayed response. The largest tire size we recommend is the 285/50-18. That is the actual size we have on the silver Explorer X. We have heard of mixed results with 20" wheels/tires. First of all the ride quality will suffer. This is just the price of admission. Some owners with 20's complain of vibration problems and poor braking. I can not suggest what size would be appropriate to stay away from rubbing. The first thing is you want the the outside diameter to be within 3% of the original tire diameter. You can go on www.tirerack.com and browse for tires. If you go to "specs" you can find the diameters sizes. The other thing that makes a difference with rubbing is the offset of the wheel you choose. It would be best to find the closest offset to the stock wheel. Your success with your wheels and tires come down to the proper size. Many tire shops in L.A. will be glad to sell you something if it bolts on to your truck. Tire Rack has a feature that suggests wheels and tire sizes. They even show you what it looks like on your vehicle. Let me know how it goes.

 

[james t]

most guys who run 20's on explorers use the 275/45/20. for whatever reason, that is a very "cheap" size... ive seen Goodyear GTII's in that size for $130 apiece before. this will give you a 29.5" diameter which is very close to most stock explorer tire heights. that size also has a 5" sidewall height which isnt to rough a ride in a 20" tire. FYI, i run a 275/50/17 on the rear, and the sidewall is 5.4", which gives me only 0.4" more sidewall. ride quality suffers slightly mainly because of the added unsprung weight of a 20" wheel/tire combo.

 

[Jason69]

OK Thanks for the tip on not going over or under 3% keeping that in mind, I'm going with the Zenetti S40 Five. It's a five spoke 20" wheel that's got a high offset, like 40 or so and I'm pretty sure it's 8.5" wide.

The Stock set up is a P245/65/17 on a 7" rim (I don't know what the offset is, Do you???) The section width is 9.6" with an over all diam. of 29.7" 700 revs. per mi.

The new set up will be wrapped in TOYO Proxes ST 295/45R20 114V an overall diameter of 30.4" (2.36% larger than stock) The section width is 11.8 which is 22% wider, but that shouldn't be a problem, Isn't the rubber on Silver X 11.7" wide, with an overall diameter of 29.2"??? If so than I'll be a 1/2 inch taller than you. Do you think my tires will fit Silver X being that it's dropped. I hope so because I'm planning on going with the 1.6" drop when it's available.

 

[Black Magic]

JASONESQUIVEL Do you have any pics of your truck?

 

[Jason69]

No, I still need to put them on a CD, but they are bone stock photos w/only the front windows tinted. My digi cam is in the shop. I'll take some as soon as i get my camera out.

 

[cwally]

The springs for the Aviator are different than the ones on the Explorer. I have an Aviator and got springs for the 03 Explorer and the fronts fit fine, but the rears are smaller. (diameter). I have the ground force srpings that lower it 1.6 inches, but they did not work. Even the techs at the Lincoln dealer thought they were the same. I bought one front and one rear factory spring, and am going to give it to B&G Springs so that they can make one. It sucks cuz I paid for the springs and the install and they didn't work. Money down the drain.

 

[Jason69]

Saw your Avi, looks great. I just got my 20 " wheels slapped on last night & my rear spoiler/wing. She needs to be lowered now. Definitely rides a little harder and takes more foot pressure to stop. It's a little slower off the line so I'll need to re-gear to a something like a 4:10.1 in the future.

Hopefully I can find a good intake & exhaust set up soon to make up the difference. It also needs a shift kit! Have you had any luck finding aftermarket hop up stuff???