How can I improve ride quality on a 2000 Explorer?

New tires, inflated per the vehicle manufacturer's requirements. Look for tires that Tire Rack reviewers save have a good ride.

Ed

Is there anything else that can be done? The tires on the vehicle now are almost new, inflated to 36 psi.

Would new springs, bushing kits, sway bar links, tower braces, or anything help?

Thanks

-J

36PSI is pretty high. The MAX PSI on the side of the tire is NOT the pressure you want in the tires.

What does the users manual for the truck say? How about the label on the door?

"Masospaghetti" wrote: (2000 Explorer Sport 98k)

Replaced all shocks with Monroe Reflexes. The body movement is better controlled but the ride is still very harsh and uncomfortable. What could improve the ride on this vehicle, or trucks in general? _____________________________________________

Some possible ways:

1.) Increase the unsprung weight ratio by carrying a heavy load of sandbags, concrete blocks or scrap steel.

2.) Increase the unsprung weight ratio by using lighter tires/wheels/shocks/springs/calipers/axles/brakes.

3.) Use the lowest recommended tire pressure.

4.) Lower the spring rate by removing some spring leaves or by installing softer springs (add spacers to restore body height.)

Good luck.

Rodan.

Why not try lowering the pressure to the correct pressure as listed on the tire placard....

Ed

On a 2000 Explorer? I know it's not supposed to be funny, but.....

Really though - I thought it was supposed to be 30 PSI. I think they were recommending 26 PSI all the way up to the 2000 model year, then they had the Firestone Wilderness tire debacle. So I guess I'd say 30 PSI and check the pressure every couple of weeks.

I assume the OP is not riding around on the sub-standard Firestone tires, so setting the pressure at the correct level is the proper thing to do. For a

2000 Explorer I believe it is either 30 or 32 psi all around.

For all those that think the Explorer debacle wasn't due to the tires, go check out the injury loss rating for Explorer from that era - it is much lower than average and far better than other similar 4 door SUVs in its class. The whole "Explorers are death traps" was a media event that had very little basis in fact. I can't let Ford completely off the hook since they were stupid enough to install Firestone tires in the first place, but once those tires were on the junk heap where they belonged, the problems largely disappeared. Unfortunately the press never bothers to go back and apologize for bad reporting....

Ed

I thought 2000 was the last year they had the recommended 26 PSI.

Certainly any vehicle with a high-mounted engine and high COG requires a certain amount of respect for its different vehicle dynamics.

However - didn't the 2000 model still have a solid rear axle? I thought the independent read started with the 2002 model year. It was still pretty much truck like, and lower pressure did in fact give a softer ride to compensate for the inherent harshness of the setup. Most of the newer SUVs seem to be passenger car chassis based. They're not terribly off-road capable, but so what?

Frankly - I do get the sense that a better tire than the Firestone Wilderness would have been able to survive that 26 PSI recommended pressure. BTW - does anything in that size come with a nylon cap?

Its simple you should of never bought a truck and expected a good ride. Its like the morons who buy SUVs and complain about the price of gasoline. The problem is your own stupid choice of vehicle.

The original recomended tire pressue depended on the tires installed on the truck. It was 26 psi for the P235/75R15 optional tire size. After all the bad press, Ford sent out sreplacement stickers that upped the recommendation to 30 psi if you were running Firestone tires. Even at 26 psi, properly constructed tires would have been able to safely support a properly loaded Explorer with more than a 15% safety margin. Don't forget, both Nisaan and Toyota sold mid-sized SUVs that had the same pressure recommendation for similar sized tires. And finally, even at the height of the phony crisis, the accident rate for 4 door Explorers was lower than for Toyota 4Runers.

In 1996 50% of the 4 door Explorers got Goodyear tires. They did not suffer the same high failure rate as the Firestone tires.

Ed

The problem was that people started at 26 psi and then let the tires drop in pressure from there quite a bit.

the easy way - throw a few hundred pounds of anything in the vehicle. the smart way - trade off the explorer and get something other than a suv the hard way- replace the springs with soft ride springs

Even Ford tried to improve ride--to the extent of recommending, iirc, 28 psi. DON'T DO THIS. FORD WAS SUED COUNTLESS TIMES FOR THIS ERRONEOUS ATTEMPT. Be sure any shock is NOT a high performance one--Loses body-shift control, however. Use pressure on any low side of tolerance specified, if any, but NOT as low as Ford's attempt above. Have trim shop add a thickness of foam under seat outer cover. Next time, drive other brands and maybe buy a GM? or Chrysler? or??? I'm afraid the poor ride is inherent to the Explorer. s

Thanks for the advice, asshole -- I didn't buy the explorer FOR the good ride, I need it to tow a trailer -- however Im trying to make it as comfortable as possible.

My mechanic recommended around 36 psi for this vehicle, saying that 26 psi is too low for a vehicle this heavy.

And 36 is nowhere near the maximum pressure. The max pressure is listed as 50 psi.

If you're towing a trailer, I'd not worry about comfort so much and worry about stability instead.

nate

One of the best things I did to make my 3/4 ton Dodge custom van driveable was to install Bilstein shocks. That plus antisway bars turned an evil handling bitch into a rather comfortable ride.

Dont know if the same would apply to you.

Thanks for the reply.

What are "Antisway bars"? Is this the same thing as a sway bar?

I know my Ex already has sway bars front and rear, would getting heavier duty ones help? (is this what you are referring to?)