16 year old questions

hey yall im 16 and just got a car for my b day it is a 1991 ford explorer and iv alredy given it a 3in body lift it looks awsome and i wana keep modifying it and iv been asking around on what to do next and  the last site i posted on said to sell my car which is to expensive for a 16 year old to drive and bye a lil car and save mony for education i was tottaly disapointed how could a 4 wheeler site say that thas like slander to the name of there site well so im asking again do u think after tires i should go get a 2 in suspension lift from skjaker than a rear locker or go into some engin performance like cold air intake exahust throtal body spacers and stuff or do u agree with them please say u dont well the happyist of off roading to u guys

josh

just watch out w' the cold air intakes, as they are usually vulnerable to water.  As far as an offroader being to expensive, no way.  I've had my '93 F-150 on 35's for about two years now (i got it when i was 16), and though gas and isurance are a little higher than my friends w/ street vehicles, i think its definately worth the extra cost.  Just play nice with those axles, and maybe think about a good limited slip insted of lockers because parts do get expensive quick, and lockers love breaking stuff.  As for engine power, if you have the V6, i'd say find an after cat exhaust, or have a muffler shop make you some pipes w/ glasspacks or cherrybombs (my friends 4.0 litre ranger was quickened up and sounded awesome w/ glass packs and dual after the cat) and a K&N filter.  You may also want to have the gears changed if you are gonna have someone do the differential work for you.  Good luck w/ the exploder, it should turn out to be a nice little trail rig.  

keep it if it is already paid for and any can be fun it is whatever fits you.  I have friends with trucks from 1/2 to 1 ton trucks and others with jeeps and amigos.  If you need tires do them before the lift if not wait till after.  It can get expensive or not depends on you.  The more traction your tires get the better you go and the more other will break.  So a locker can cause you to break more parts while if a tire slips sooner it will be easier on the drivetrain.  Depends on where you want to go.  Just keep doing things here and there to get to what you like.  It will be good.  Bought my 73' k-10 2 1/2 years ago and had a few people give me old parts since they no longer had a chevy.  Get out to a club and meet a few people and just slowly work into it and enjoy the explore.  Talk to alot of people and look at local pull aparts for some parts or vehicles for up grades as time goes by.

Nice ride do the lift and be care full about the intake I hydroded my 98 mazda with a 4.0l and threw a rod berring. Got a new motor still owe my dad for. My mazda bacicaly the same as your exploder they do fine everywhere keep the intake up.

hey thx for all the help  

when i turned 16 i bought a 1988 ford ranger supercab. it had a 2.9L motor and 5 speed. it was essentially the same thing as your explorer, mechanically. i added a 3" body lift and put on 31x10.50 tires. then i put on a set of Daystar 2" coil spacers and 2" blocks in the back. next i put on 32x11.50r15 kelly safari awr tires. the truck looked huge, and would go through anything. just a few things to remember:

      1. Lifted trucks drive differently. You can't drive as fast.

      2. Big tires + wild driving + suspension lift = lots of broken u-joints

      3. If you touch anything at all on the suspension, get it alligned. Lifting the front suspension on a "twin i-beam" suspension system such as a ranger or explorer changes the camber, and will wear out a set of tires fast.

as for the motor, these trucks have plenty of power to get around, and all i done to mine was i added dual exhaust, which helped very little if any at all.

as for getting a cheaper car and saving for an education, that's bologna. you're 16, have fun, drive what you want. a few years from now, you'll be in college and be broke, and won't be able to. i'm 19 and in school and can barely keep gas in my blazer.

if you want, e-mail me and i can send you some ranger pic's and a little more detail on what i done to mine.

evan

theyopper@yahoo.com

Saving up a little money though as that person suggested on that other website isn't that bad of an idea becuase you never know when you might need to buy parts after going wheeling  

Hey im Joseph from Gradendale Al,and hif i was u i would go with the intake b/c u'll get more horse power or something to give u more horsepower.And pluse its your chocie so u do what u want to do.Just haller at me.Sen me a pix of ur car.

Later Joseph

hey yall thx again for the info and the soport into your great sport thx alot

josh