I made arrangements that same day with a local tire shop, and had the original Firestone’s traded for a set of 30x9.5 Dunlop Radial Rover RV’s, which served well for 70K kms.  (Wish I knew then what I know now, and would have gotten 31’s at the time, but was steered away by the tire shop, as they figured I’d have clearance problems)  Coming from the 5.0L Mustang background (also owned an ’88 GT for 4 years) I was certain to be improving the Explorer’s performance as well. 

I started with items I knew worked in my Mustangs.  K&N replacement filter, Taylor Spriro-Pro wires, and after the initial break in period, synthetic oil.  Since then all of the lubricating fluids have been changed to synthetics.  For more performance I added the Borla cat-back exhaust, and removed the stock air silencer assembly.  Future performance mods will include a KKM kit, larger MAF and throttle body, then possibly headers and a chip last.

For the interior several creature comforts have been added.  I had a Kenwood cassette head unit installed that controls a Kenwood 10 disk CD changer custom mounted in the rear area where the cargo-net used to be.  Very nicely done, it looks factory and is hidden from prying eyes.  A Clifford alarm was also installed to protect my investment.  Work was done by Car Toys of Seattle, WA.  I hard wired a Uniden radar/laser detector to help protect my wallet and recently replaced the factory speakers with MB Quart 6.5" separates front and 5.25" mid-bass drivers in the rear.  I also have a Uniden Pro 520xl CB radio and Wilson mag-mount antenna that goes in and out whenever on an outing or extended trip.

As a member of several BC 4 wheeling enthusiast groups (BC Off Road, BC4x4, 4WDABC) it quickly became obvious that clearance was not the Explorer’s strong point when on outings.  As the aftermarket suspension companies are still afraid of the Explorer IFS (Infernal Front Suspension) my options were limited.  I started by replacing the worn Dunlops with a great new set of 31x10.5 Yokohama Geolandar A/T’s.  After much discussion on the 4x4central.com message boards I decided to tackle the "torsion-bar" adjustment on my own.  I gained 2" of lift in the front, and it was a relatively easy do-it-yourself job.  For the rear I took the truck to T&S Suspension, where they did a re-arch and full length add-a-leaf to the stock spring pack.  Completed the job with Teflon spacers.  The rear was now sitting 2.5" higher when the truck rested again on it’s wheels.  The front was backed down a ¼" due to concerns over the CV Joint angles.  The ride is now more firm, but certainly not harsh.  Immediate improvements in relation to body roll and tire clearance.  Where I had slight rubbing in the rear with the 31s at full compression, it is eliminated now with the 2.5" rear lift.  Visually the Explorer now appears more off road worthy as well.  Future mods will include longer replacement shocks (Edelbrocks most likely) and removing the rear swaybar for more articulation.

Of course you’re never really done building when you have a 4x4 that you take off road, but here is my wish list in most probable order of acquisition.  Rear locker, KKM, larger MAF and throttle body, shocks, poly-bushing kit.  All the while I’ll be "Exploring" beautiful British Columbia!