We have seen all kinds of tuning projects, and it’s the ones like this track-focused Ford Explorer ST that leave us wondering the most. It is a successful one, too!
According to Kevin, from the USA, he has the coronavirus pandemic to thank for locking him down at home and making him want to try something new. At first, he simply wanted to go for a new exhaust system and a slight engine tune for his Explorer GT. But you know how these things go: once you’re hooked, there’s no stopping.
He went on to retrofit the SUV with upgrade turbos, a high-flow air intake system, blow-off valves, downpipes, cooling system components, and countless other niceties like that. In the end, the stock 3.0-liter V6 was no longer stock at all and slammed all four wheels with a total of 666 metric horsepower (657 hp / 490 kW).
The most challenging bit was to make sure everything fit, according to Kevin. Apparently, spare parts market has never been that good for the Explorer ST, and he had to experiment with installing different things and seeing how they would perform. Much went wrong, but he still did manage to build an off-roader capable of running a quarter-mile in 10.9 seconds. The work is far from over, as Kevin wants to boost the engine to at least 1,000 hp and possibly get rid of some excess weight in the process (talking about the seats here, of which the Explorer still has seven).
We are excited to see how things work out for this unique build!