I drive a 1996 AWD Explorer. Any thoughts on improving bottom end torque & improving gas mileage would be helpful. Perhaps installing a true dual exhaust system? Also,any way to soften up the ride.Thanks.

 

Which engine??

 

Engine:5.0

 

How much improvement do you want and how much are you willing to spend. If you're looking for a lot then a positive displacement blower is the ticket (NOT a centrifugal). You'll gain maybe 40% throughout the entire RPM range of the engine, but you'll spend close to $4K by the time you're done. A cam and kit will work wonders in terms of waking up your GT40P heads. Cost is only about $300, but you have to tear the engine down pretty far to do the install. Most bang for the buck may be a set of 1.7 ratio roller rocker arms (stock are 1.6 ratio). They act like a poor man's camshaft. They increase lift by about .030 without affecting dwell or overlap, are computer friendly and don't harm emissions enough to put a properly maintained engine into violation. Sources are Crane, Ford SVO (who buy theirs from Crane) and Harland Sharp.

Don't forget the obvious stuff, either: a good COLD air intake, a cat-back exhaust, a Crane Hi-6 or MSD ignition, underdrive pulleys, etc.