Power Upgrades for Mountaineer

[imq707s]

I've got a 97 Mountaineer (just like an explorer) with a 5.0 v-8 in it. I use it to tow my friends boat, and also my drag car. I know that it's going to be tricky to get a bunch of extra power out of the motor without killing the gas milage even more. Has anyone upgraded to a cat-back exhauast or new computer chip to up the power. Any tips or tricks to get more power out of the 5.0 motor? Thanks

[Euroski]

Might want to consider changing the axle gear ratios. That 5.0 should pull just about anything under 3000lbs without problem.

[Glenn]

I’m towing my Vision with an ‘88 5.0 l Mustang LX sedan. First thing I did when I bought the car new was pull out the air silencer and install a K&N. This shouldn’t hurt your fuel economy. I also put in a 2 ½ inch cat back Dynomax system. This will also free up a few horsies without hurting economy. My Mustang came with 2.73 gears. Great for economy but lousy for pulling. I replaced them with 3.55’s. Gears will hurt your mileage though. I recall reading a while ago that you have to be careful how big a gear you put on the newer OBDII Fords with an automatic tranny. Something about the computer getting confused and not shifting if I recall. You might want to check with your dealer about that.

Glenn

Be careful when making mods on a 5.0 that drags around a lot of weight. You can't afford to trade low end torque for midrange on a 4200 Ib vehicle. My 5.0 Explorer came factory equipped with 3.73 gears which are plenty for me. A good catback exhaust and a K&N filter are certainly good low hanging fruit, but will likely not give you the extra low end torque we so love when towing.

My next mod. would be a whipple or roots type blower (not centrifugal) with a better exhaust as suggested earlier. They produce boast down low in the RPM band and make a 5.0 feel like a 460. I would contact both BBK and Kenne Bell and see if they have a kit for your application. A 6 Ib. kit should suffice. It won't be cheap ($2.5K to $3K), buy hey, what is anymore? Just make sure your ignition system is kept in optimum condition as the increased cylinder pressure can induce misfire.