2004 explorer exhaust and shocks?
 

if I get my exhaust replaced, can I do away with a cat-conv. while I'm at it without messing with the computer? Also, what Shock set do you recommend for this vehicle?

any advice on making this thing handle better, She's old, and has 175K miles on her. I travel some pretty curvy and hilly roads to and from work. besides the shocks and struts, I'd love some advice on this.

Ride adjust shocks on it or standard shocks? Limited and EB usually have the Ride adjust which is a different animal than regular shocks. Look up shocks and there are quite a few posts on opinions of the different brands. There are a few on the different mufflers too.