Is that even doable? I see them cheap now with the 5.0 motor and thought, it can't be that bad? I know of the Firestone tire issue so that's getting taken care of a good new set when needed (speaking of which, how wide can we go with wheels? 9"?). I don't know if there's any aftermarket to help with the cornering thing in the first place.
I've driven my 00 explorer for years and now own 3 2nd gen explorers, one with the 5.0
The 5.0 isn't at all fast and they handle about as well as a top heavy truck chassis can, better really.
http://www.explorerexpress.com/
The recipe is fairly simple. Drop them down to lower the center of gravity, put larger sway bars on to limit roll, add the widest, stickiest tires you can and have reasonable expectations.
You might be able to find some random Saleen parts from an old XP8, but that's probably not as easy as it sounds.
Very useful site, that should be a nice headstart. Do you have any knowledge on what kind of rear suspension the Explorer uses? I know it's a solid axle, but I'm not sure if it's a 3-link or 4-link, Quadrashock/panhard bar, etc.
In reply to Dootz :
The "Firestone tire issue" should have been taken care of 20 years ago when they recalled them.
I was working at a Goodyear retailer at the time. Firestone was paying us a bounty for DOT numbers cut from the sides of the recalled tires, basically the price of mounted and balanced new tires. Everybody wanted their free tires, we'd get days where we didn't have time to do anything but 5 tires on Explorers, except for the ones where they already had new road tires installed but they still needed the spare to be replaced on Firestone's dime.
And, again, 20 years ago... if there are still Explorers out there on the pre-recall Firestones, they need to be replaced for other reasons!
I had a 97 5L for years. Great truck. Handled pretty well.for what it was.
TBH, I dont remember the rear suspension design other than stick axle and not quad shock. There was some kind of transverse stabilizer shock on the rear which helped snap body roll immensely when replaced. It also had the biggest factory front sway bar I've ever seen.
For all the info you ever wanted, check out explorerforum.com. there are some serious street guys over there as well as off road.
BTW, Saleen did build a few of the Gen2 explorers. Might see what they were doing.
From what I remember part of the problem was they also were recommending a lower tire pressure (for a nice cushy ride) that contributed to instability. I knew a guy that went out and bought one of them when all this happened, because their value tanked, and he just put different tires on it and inflated them correctly and enjoyed his vehicle.
I had an 01 SOHC V6 Explorer with the Explorer Express lowering kit. I think it lowered 2" front and rear. The rear was just blocks(spring under axle) and the front was just torsion keys. I had to buy new shocks for the truck though as the lowering really made the ride stiff. I went with KYB's and it improved the harshness quite a bit.
Also, 95-04 Mustang GT/Cobra wheels fit great.
Dootz said:Very useful site, that should be a nice headstart. Do you have any knowledge on what kind of rear suspension the Explorer uses? I know it's a solid axle, but I'm not sure if it's a 3-link or 4-link, Quadrashock/panhard bar, etc.
Solid axle (8.8) with leaf springs. Most will have disc brakes, and many had factory limited slip differentials. Don't think there's much of anything else going on besides a rear sway bar.
infinitenexus said:From what I remember part of the problem was they also were recommending a lower tire pressure (for a nice cushy ride) that contributed to instability. I knew a guy that went out and bought one of them when all this happened, because their value tanked, and he just put different tires on it and inflated them correctly and enjoyed his vehicle.
Sort of. The story I heard is that they recommended low tire pressure so the trucks would have lower grip levels, so they would be less likely to roll over. The difference between the 26psi spec and overheating tires is very low. IIRC, Explorers fitted with Goodyears from the factory had a 30psi spec, or maybe 35.
You can thank these trucks for mandatory tire pressure monitoring systems as a result.
I tipped my grandma's Explorer on its side after losing control on a damp, curvy, hilly road with extremely old rock-hard tires that may or may not have been Firestones...
Don't be like me. Good tires and driving slower would have prevented it.
Also yes you should slam it to the ground and put big box flares on it for 335-wide racing tires. 
what I find scary about the whole firestone thing. I still the occasional Explorer with the sidewalls whitened from under inflation rubbing the sidewalls off.
Side note: if anyone wants some great insight into how the Explorer came to exist and how the Firestone "thing" all went down, Blood Highways is an excellent read. Prime example of a team not standing up for the "do it once, do it right" method of development and trying to make something good happen at a price point, using what they had to work with. All of that, combined with a semi-uneducated buyer pool who thought SUVs could handle like sedans, ended up the way we all saw it.
I had to dig deep for this one. It has been minute since I owned one
Most you find will have the rear leafs sagging. I restacked my leaf springs, then added a block. Drop keys in the front on the stiffest t-bars available, to get the height down while upping the rate. Explorer Express rear sway bar and good shocks all around.
This Mountianeer had 17x8's with 275/55 tires. My current Forzda Branger with the same torsion bar front suspension is fitting 18x10's with no rub at the same ride height.
Handling is not earth shattering, but certainly above a tolerable average for the typical street daily.
ive owned 8 explorers, 6 of which have been Gen 2's. There is just something about them and enjoy driving them.
Came across this post searching for something so figured id add a little info. This is an Explorer i built back in 1998 and was a very fun vehicle that to this day i still really miss. Started as a 1996 Limited V8 AWD with 20K miles i bought from my father who ordered it from Ford. It was lowered using the Explorer Express kit which consisted of different keys for the front torsion bars and rear blocks. The explorer is a rear leaf that runs under the axle. I also had the Explorer Express heavy duty sway bars which were basically the same as the Saleen XP bars. I also ran Edelbrock shocks that Explorer Express sold that were re-vavled for their lowering kit. With the 17x9 Cobra R wheels and 275x55x17 Pirelli tires, it handled fantastic for a SUV. Under the hood i installed Ford Racing Explorer specific headers, Ford Racing roller rockers and Double timing chain, 42 lb fuel injectors with aeromotive rails, crane cam, powerdyne supercharger (with 9lb pulley and kevlar belt), MDS DIS4 ign, Fuel pump, custom exhaust, SCT dyno tune, baumann stage 4 shift kit, and a few other things. It sounded great and was surprisingly fast. Was a fantastic vehicle that kind of did everything. Hauled my snowmobile trailer, was great to camp in, and launched from red lights in the rain like crazy. 
Ford 'improved' the handling of 3rd gen Explorers from the factory by making it lock up its rear tires intentionally so it would spin out instead of flipping over. 
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