"The dynamics targets for the new Explorer were clear: Make it ride and handle better than ever before, including being more stable, safer, easier to drive and more reassuring. In order to achieve that, we had to start over and design the first purpose-built chassis for a Ford SUV - an all-new Explorer from the tires to the roof-rack."
        - Dale Claudepierre, Compact Sport Utility Vehicle Line Director

• New independent rear suspension with "porthole-in-frame" design, allowing for an additional third row of seats and seven-passenger seating, as well as improved ride and handling
• Better off-road capability with increased ground clearance and better approach and departure angles
• Coil-over-shock and short- and long-arm (SLA) front suspension
• New AdvanceTrac™ interactive vehicle dynamics system, combining the benefits of traction control and electronic stability (yaw) control (available later in 2001)
• Improved Control-TracTM 4x4 system
• Improved turning radius, and steering column and steering wheel enhancements
• Standard antilock brakes with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and improved brake operation

The 2002 Ford Explorer's new independent rear suspension is literally at the base of the vehicle's most significant innovations - including its improved ride, handling and package. Added to this are a stiffer frame, more precise steering, new front suspension, improved powertrains and several chassis detail changes - all of which work to fulfill Explorer's promise of offering a significantly smoother and more pleasant driving experience.

The dynamics team focused on four key attributes related to the driving experience: agility, precision, stability and comfort. The objective was to create the ideal balance between the four without making compromises.

Explorer's new independent rear suspension (IRS) system replaces the former solid axle design. IRS offers significantly better handling over both smooth and rough surfaces. Working with the new front suspension, IRS reduces rear-end squat during acceleration and front dive/rear jacking during emergency braking.

IRS offers ride and handling benefits over a solid rear axle design because each wheel reacts independently to bumps in the road, moving both up and rearward to absorb the bumps and reduce impact harshness. The result is improved ride quality.

Because each component performs very specific tasks, the suspension can be designed to be extremely stiff laterally, while offering more longitudinal compliance.

These two important functions are more easily separated than in traditional solid-axle designs, which typically offer high longitudinal stiffness - because the axles are bolted to long leaf springs and, thus, offer imprecise lateral control.

The IRS's ability to soak up longitudinal forces, such as those imposed by potholes or sharp pavement bumps, translates directly into a more comfortable ride and reduced harshness. Maintaining lateral stiffness helps keep the rear of the vehicle from swaying side-to-side in bumps or maneuvers. Likewise, it reduces sensitivity to wind gusts. In addition, the suspension's ability to maintain optimum contact between the tires and pavement also helps communicate important feedback - handling "feel" - to the driver through the steering wheel.

In highway dips, Explorer's suspension is designed to deliver a ride that's plush without wallowing. In abrupt, high-speed lane changes, Explorer is designed to respond quickly to steering and track predictably.

Explorer's new IRS configuration also is designed to drastically reduce rear-end skate, which is the lateral movement that occurs when a vehicle with a solid rear axle travels over sharp bumps or washboard/corrugated road surfaces.

The new suspension has a short- and long-arm (SLA) and coil-over-shock design. The upper control arm is cast aluminum. The lower control arm is stamped steel.

The IRS configuration permits the rear floor of the vehicle to be lowered nearly 7 inches. This lower floor allows the new Explorer to offer an optional third-row seat with plenty of headroom and without compromising cargo space or utility. Even with the lower floor, overall ground clearance was able to be improved an inch - which strengthens the vehicle's off-road capabilities.

This innovative packaging of the new IRS system is achieved through the "porthole-in-frame" design technique. The design is related to the way the rear half-shafts are packaged - literally via holes in the frame versus under the frame.

A traditional truck or SUV frame is straight from front to back, with ladder-like braces across it for strength. The line cannot be completely straight, however, because it would run into the rear axle assembly.

That is why nearly every manufacturer puts a large semi-circular bend in the frame to follow the rear wheel well. The rear axle then runs beneath it, which limits interior space. For Explorer, using the traditional wisdom would have meant a narrow third-row seat.

To overcome these obstacles, the Explorer team members had to think differently.

"After a brainstorming session one day, we asked ourselves why we were trying to work around the frame. Instead, we decided to put a porthole in it and work with it," explains Manfred Rumpel, chassis integration manager. "We worked out some calculations in basic frame theory and physics, and we were able to prove that a porthole-in-frame design would have all the necessary strength and much better packaging flexibility."

The circular hole on each side of the rear frame is reinforced with a steel tubular tunnel that provides exceptional strength and room for the half-shafts to move.

Rumpel and other team members have applied for five patents on Explorer, including the "porthole-in-frame" design.

Other rear changes include the shock damping, which has been increased to reduce suspension bounce and make the vehicle feel more firmly planted on the ground when traversing rough surfaces and undulating roads.

A new hollow rear stabilizer bar is used. It is nearly 40-percent lighter than the previous solid bar but provides comparable performance. Urethane bushings - used previously in front stabilizer bars only - are now used in the rear. The change further helps to isolate the driver from road noise.

Explorer's front suspension also is a short- and long-arm (SLA) design with significant revisions such as a shorter front-end overhang that result in a tighter turning circle (36.7 feet versus the previous 38.4 feet), crisper steering, improved response to sharp bumps, better cornering capabilities and enhanced durability.

The front suspension also uses a coil-over-shock design, replacing the previous torsion bar arrangement. Switching from torsion bars to coil springs reduces rough-road steering column shake and ride harshness by allowing suspension components to better absorb fore-aft impact forces when a wheel hits a sharp bump. Coil springs also maintain vehicle ride height better than torsion bars - thus reducing the potential for front-end realignment in older vehicles.

Shock damping has been increased, as in the rear. Also changed are all-new upper and lower control arms, bushings, and stabilizer links and retainers. The stabilizer bar is held in position with urethane bushings that offer better on-center steering than traditional rubber bushings.

Also improved is the "scrub radius" - the distance between the tire centerline and the point at which an imaginary line between the upper and lower ball joints intersects with the ground. It has been reduced from 2.5 inches to 0.5 inches. Minimizing the scrub radius improves tire wear and straight-line tracking by reducing pull when front braking is uneven.

Driver feedback also benefits from a considerable attention to detail. Explorer's brake pedal is designed to be firm and progressive, allowing the driver to modulate braking force by feel. Acceleration is strong at tip-in, without excessive whine and roar. The throttle-cable was tuned to damp vibrations that could travel via the cable through the accelerator pedal and to the driver's foot. The engine is designed to sound reassuringly healthy under full-throttle runs, but disappear into the background at normal speeds.

AdvanceTrac™ Interactive Vehicle Dynamics

Explorer will be available with AdvanceTrac™- a computer-driven interactive vehicle dynamics system - later in 2001. It is Ford's first SUV available with such technology. The system enhances stability in extreme driving conditions when drivers misjudge speed or road conditions.

Developed in conjunction with Ford's involvement with Formula One racing, the optional AdvanceTrac™ system monitors driver inputs, such as steering, throttle and brakes, and the corresponding vehicle response - yaw, lateral acceleration and wheel speed - to control brake force distribution and vehicle stability.

AdvanceTrac™ helps maintain vehicle stability at the limits of tire adhesion via a combination of yaw rate sensors, the antilock braking system and traction control system.

Data from the yaw rate sensor, a steering-wheel position sensor, a lateral acceleration sensor and wheel speed sensors are monitored through the ABS control module.

When required, AdvanceTrac™ applies the brakes at one or more wheels to correct excessive yaw. If the vehicle's yaw rate is excessive in a turn, brake force on the outside front wheel helps keep the vehicle on the desired path. If the yaw rate is lower than that intended by the driver, force is applied to the inside front brake.

Explorer's antilock braking system with electronic brake force distribution will be offered from introduction. The fully integrated AdvanceTrac™ system will be introduced later in 2001.

Improved Control TracTM 4x4 Performance

Explorer's optional Control TracTM four-wheel-drive system has been refined for 2002 to make it more "transparent" to the driver, while improving its abilities in limited traction situations. (For details, see Powertrain/Drivetrain section.)

All Explorer models are equipped with power rack-and-pinion steering, in addition to the steering improvements provided by the revised front suspension geometry - including a 1.7-foot tighter turning radius. The system has a modified steering linkage that results in a more precise feel.

A tilt/rake steering column is standard on XLS and XLT models. A combination tilt/telescoping, rake/reach column is standard on Eddie Bauer and Limited models. The steering column tilts over an arc range of 2.8 inches and telescopes over a range of 1.8 inches.

The steering wheel itself also has been redesigned to improve its feel across a broader range of hand sizes. Key changes include re-profiled detents on the backside of the wheel.

Explorer's four-wheel disc brakes have been improved for quieter operation and more responsive pedal effort and consistency.

Explorer's four-wheel, three-channel antilock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) is standard. The ABS controls the front wheels independently and the rear wheels in tandem during heavy braking - to improve vehicle control.

The ABS with EBD employs dynamic proportioning to achieve shorter stopping distances. It works by measuring braking force versus traction and allocating brake force to the wheels that have the best grip for stopping even before the ABS system kicks in. This helps reduce the braking distance.

The front discs have: larger rotors (305 millimeters compared with 286 mm) for reduced operating temperatures; new low-metallic-content, non-asbestos lining for reduced noise; stiffer calipers with added lining volume and swept area to provide more uniform brake pad loading for reduced noise and wear; and an optimized brake pad insulator for reduced brake noise.

The rear discs increase from 11.2 inches to 11.8 inches (285 mm to 301 mm).

Explorer is available in a wide variety of tires and wheels - all carefully selected to match and enhance the vehicle's dynamics capabilities. They include P235/70R16 all-season tires for the XLS and XLT series. The all-season tires are engineered for improved ride, steering, noise and fuel economy.

For the Eddie Bauer and Limited models, Explorer is fitted with P255/70R16 all-terrain tires. They are engineered for improved ride, fuel economy, noise reduction and all-weather capability.

The tires are mounted on 16- by 7-inch wheel designs - varying from full-face steel and cast aluminum to cast five-spoke aluminum and chrome full-face steel, depending on the model.