2022 Ford Explorer Platinum ST

And Esssssss Teeeeeeeee owners thought you Platinum buyers bought the car for fancy interiors and chrome "upgrades." Note to self, Platinum owners got their cars because they thought they were getting the equivalent of Audi's because of some Tri-Diamond perforated leather seats. Got it, thanks for clearing that up.

Parts manufacturers must love people like you!

Oh I absolutely bought the Platinum for the bougie interior! Though I personally don't like the showyness of all the chrome...as for the Tri-Diamond perforated leather, my wife's '18 Explorer has that but I guess I missed out. Now I'm feeling cheated! Lol
Unfortunately, you're not wrong! I ask myself regularly why I do it, and then I drive it and it all makes sense. In that moment at least...

Still waiting on axles...in the mean time, my tint appointment finally came. Added 35% ceramic over the stock all around and a 5% on the top of the windshield. Also added the thin blue line American flag on the rear side windows.

First world problems, the saga continues. Explorer went back into the paintshop. Can you guess why?







Yep! You guessed it! The biggest issue is the peeling paint, but the paint techs also touched the original paint along the roof line, A pillars, B pillars, C pillars and front fenders/hood with some sort of chemicals on their hands in turn wrecking the clear coat. If you look closely at the blue painted "Explorer" you'll also notice that they had zero attention to detail. This is true for all 3 locations. Looks good from far, but is far from good.

I understand growing pains, but this lack of workmanship and detail is just embarrassing. I know the owner's work has been impeccable but his guys'...we'll not so much. There were flaws from the get go, but the peeling was progressively getting worse. (I could have taken it back sooner, but I wanted to drive it for a bit before taking it back. So far the paint shop has had it roughly as long as I have.) The owner was very embarrassed, to say the least, and agreed that he would personally redo the job and fix all the handprints, etc. Of course at no cost. 3 weeks and I'll get her back. I'm hopeful that the axles and rear crossmember/subframe will be in by then so I can get them installed along with the Steeda lowering springs, shocks, and struts, and the roof rack delete and finally the Velgen VF5s in 22x10.5 and 315/35/22 Pirelli PZ4s. After that there will just be a few little details and that will conclude the parts install of stage 1...unless Adam at ZFG feels the SPD DPs will add anything for the 91/E50 tune. Then comes the research and planning for stage 2, sometime next year.

So far for stage 2 I'm thinking a built 10R80 instead of the Level 10 10R60, HPFP, injectors, turbos, maybe a bit of internal engine work (if I can find a reputable shop) and the likes. Also open to any ideas/suggestions.

Sorry you have to deal with it but from your first pics…this was always going to happen. They didn’t prep…at all.

I'm following your build closely. Sorry about the paint problems, but I'd agree with @UNBROKEN it didn't look kosher from the first. Hopefully they'll get it right. But....since you ask for "ideas/suggestions", in terms of the engine mods, I think I'd look at that last. The trick is to achieve the HP you want while keeping the torque numbers reasonable. And especially to avoid high torque numbers at low RPMs. I've always been curious about upping the rpms on the stock engine. The cams have enough lift (don't have duration numbers) and there's no other mechanical reason this engine won't run to over 7k rpm unless the valve springs aren't up to the job.

The recent information (which may not be reliable) shows dyno charts from Kruppa's ride over 7k rpm on the stock engine. That opens up a lot of room before I'd look at the 10R80 option. For example, if you could sustain the cylinder pressure to produce 500 lb/ft of torque, at 6K we're talking 571 crank HP on gas (around 510 WHP). At 7k, that would net over 667 crank HP (around 605 WHP). Those numbers are less than other dynos I've seen showing that much torque through the 10R60 even though it's only rated around 442 lb/ft. Remember average cylinder pressure is torque- the higher RPM we can sustain that torque the more HP.

The only way to achieve it of course is with higher flowing compressors and turbines. I'm more of a street/sleeper type of person. I'm not drag racing from every stoplight and could care less about trying to mix up blends of ethanol, so for me, I'm looking at 93 (10-15% ethanol) for a daily driver.

Thank you I can't say that I'm terribly surprised, but I really wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Still disappointing. I talked to him about the lack of prep and specifically asked that he remove the texture and do a better job sanding on the chrome pieces. I didn't take any pictures, but the paint on the grill was also already failing. Not as badly as the plastic, but still way worse than it should have been after just a couple of weeks. As you mentioned, all goes back to the lack of proper prep, or no prep at all. Fingers crossed that round two goes better.

If all else fails, I'll take it to one of the premium body shops. I'm hopeful it doesn't come to that, but the fact he allowed this type of work to leave his shop shakes my confidence a bit...

Thanks for the suggestions. Forgive my ignorance, if I'm reading correctly, you're suggesting higher flowing turbos and modding the engine to allow for higher sustained RPMs?

I also like the idea of a sleeper, though I'm still stuck on getting into the high 600/low 700 WHP numbers. Irrational to be sure. I can't help but think that if I can get into 550WHP on 91/93 octane for daily driving, I'm guessing it wouldn't be too difficult to get into the high 600/ low 700 WHP on either an ethanol blend or full ethanol?

If the 10R60 is rated at up to 442lb/ft of torque, wouldn't the 500 lb/ft of torque lead to early transmission failure or what am I missing? It seems the popular route is going with a Level 10 bullet proofing. My thoughts were that a built 10R80 would be a bit more money, but would be much stronger? I haven't read/heard of anyone actually having done this conversion and haven't started reading up on it yet, so don't know if it's even possible.

I'm suggesting that based on what I've seen from certain dyno runs you wouldn't have to modify the engine to achieve higher RPMS. And yes, higher flowing turbos are a necessity for the power you want to run.

You're always free to run ethanol or mixtures- bear in mind that you need a lot more ethanol than gasoline so getting to the big HP numbers will require injectors and fuel pump.

Although the R60 is rated at 442 torque, you can bet there's leeway there. Especially since we've seen stock 10R60 over 500 lb/ft on several different dyno runs. Remember also, 500 lb/ft at at 2500 rpm is more stressful on parts than 500 lb/ft at 4500 rpm.

So I'm advocating a frugal approach that will allow you to add parts in the correct sequence while limiting your dollar outlay. An intercooler and a tune are known quantities. Looking at your aspirations, I'd do turbos and downpipes and stretch the rev limit up. I believe that will get you to the 550 WHP you're looking for albeit at a higher RPM. It'll also keep the torque to a reasonable number. If that's not enough then you'll have to do the injectors and pump and start running ethanol or heavy blends.

Thanks for the feedback!

Can you give us a ballpark figure as to the cost of your project?

Did my wife put you up to asking this question?! lol I feel like this is almost like asking a lady her age...or worse...her weight! Maybe I'm wrong...or just overly sensitive...lol

I've probably put more into it than I should have. Some of it could have been avoided had I started with an ST in the first place. As I understand it, the Steeda shocks and struts are OE ST. Axles have taller gears on the Platinum so those are being swapped, though I'm getting the Torsen LSD in the process, so that should be cool. Roof rack delete is a factory option, so that could have been avoided. STs come with black accents, Platinum comes with brushed chrome. Blacking it out would have been avoided. I'm sure there is more that wouldn't have been needed...moral of the story, save yourself a boatload of money and start with an ST

LOL but then you miss out on the adaptive headlights, the leather stitched dashboard and the ugly? two scheme interior color. I hate teh brush chrome on the Platinums, could've gone with something nicer/luxurious like the mesh grill Cadillac's put on higher trims.

The St's Don't have the adaptive headlights? That's odd smh.

Nor projector housing's either. I believe these are only Platinum exclusive.

Just got the email from the dealer which I've been waiting for since the middle of May. All of my parts are in! Front ST axel, rear axle with Torsen LSD, rear 4 bolt subframe, and roof rack delete!
I'm hoping to get the Explorer back from paint next week and then it'll go in to the dealer to get all these parts installed. They'll also install the Steeda springs, shocks, and struts.
I took delivery on May 11. With the silly paint snafu, I've only really been able to drive her for 3 weeks. Sometimes I forget I even have her. It'll be nice to get her back and have the majority of stage 1 complete. Really looking forward to the ZFG tuning!

Nice! Exciting times for sure!

You're going to have the fastest best handling 20+ Explorer Platinum, thats for sure.

Always go to the premium shops when it comes to paint. But your almost done now so I guess it dont matter. I hope the owner takes his time and does it correctly.

Just remember building it is half the fun enjoy it.
I have a car that is in its 4th year of build.

You're absolutely right! Previous work was flawless, though admittedly I've never seen any of his work on plastic. This job was doomed from the start with the lack of proper prep work. Admittedly I was very ignorant and didn't know any better. I've definately learned the hard way, which, despite my best efforts, tends to be the way I learn best I may get burned again, but I'm choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I hope I don't get burned again, but time will tell.

Words to live by. Thanks for the reminder