• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Explorer ST Forum and Explorer ST community dedicated to Explorer ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Explorer ST Forum today!


Best tires and rim size for racing

Messages
1,799
Reactions
1,307
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
#21
800 is a great goal on forged intervals. I’d be less concerned about the drivetrain than I would be about steering and suspension. Hard cornering can easily exceed design specs on things like control arms and end links. I’ve seen a 130mph track wreck from a snapped control arm. Totaled car and injuries. It’s a pretty heavy vehicle to begin with so hard cornering forces abound. The control arms in my CTSV were bigger than my arms and I’m not small

I think you are on track with the cornering being more of a concern than high HP acceleration. You can improve aero as you mentioned. I’m actually surprised by the aerodynamic efficiency of what is basically a box.

Good news is the ST appears to be a damn safe chassis!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

OP
bbbart
Messages
48
Reactions
10
Points
2
Location
Chicago
Vehicle
Ford Explorer ST
Thread Starter #22
800 is a great goal on forged intervals. I’d be less concerned about the drivetrain than I would be about steering and suspension. Hard cornering can easily exceed design specs on things like control arms and end links. I’ve seen a 130mph track wreck from a snapped control arm. Totaled car and injuries. It’s a pretty heavy vehicle to begin with so hard cornering forces abound. The control arms in my CTSV were bigger than my arms and I’m not small

I think you are on track with the cornering being more of a concern than high HP acceleration. You can improve aero as you mentioned. I’m actually surprised by the aerodynamic efficiency of what is basically a box.

Good news is the ST appears to be a damn safe chassis!
Agreed. Seeing the aftermath of Explorer wrecks is very confidence inspiring, these things are tanks.

Pretty much have everything covered except control arms and confidence-inspiring coilovers. I had front end-links replaced about 300 miles ago with the Steeda's and will be looking checking to see if my rear-end links are aftermarket or stock soon.

I'm waiting to see the reviews on the Speedlogix rear control arms to see if they'll be ideal for my air suspension setup or whether I would have to switch to coilovers.

Apparently there is an option for JRZ coilovers out there but it's looking like $10k+ so hopefully Bilstein comes out with something in between the quality of the BC Racing BR and JRZ RS Pro 3.

Looking into control arms at the moment. I just spoke with Speedlogix today and am planning on ordering a front control arm with the spherical bushings within the next couple months.
 

UNBROKEN

4000 Post Club
Messages
4,951
Reactions
5,898
Points
352
Location
Houston, TX, USA
#23
Avoid everything Speedlogix makes like the plague. They build trash.
 

OP
bbbart
Messages
48
Reactions
10
Points
2
Location
Chicago
Vehicle
Ford Explorer ST
Thread Starter #24
Avoid everything Speedlogix makes like the plague. They build trash.
They redesigned the front control arms to be slimmer so I'm hoping that would solve any issues. We really need to see a review of their updated version to know for sure.

I really don't like to see people having issues with earlier versions of their parts, but if it can happen to Steeda, it can happen to anyone imo. I'm acutely aware of the drama surrounding their business.

At this point, I'm thinking that even if it's exactly the same as stock, the billet materials up front should at the very least offer peace of mind if plowing through under steer on a rough road and or improve the steering feel.
 

Messages
1,968
Reactions
914
Points
162
Location
Nevada
Vehicle
'20 Raptor, '22 Explorer ST, '14 GT500, '03 F150
#25
Agreed. Seeing the aftermath of Explorer wrecks is very confidence inspiring, these things are tanks.

Pretty much have everything covered except control arms and confidence-inspiring coilovers. I had front end-links replaced about 300 miles ago with the Steeda's and will be looking checking to see if my rear-end links are aftermarket or stock soon.

I'm waiting to see the reviews on the Speedlogix rear control arms to see if they'll be ideal for my air suspension setup or whether I would have to switch to coilovers.

Apparently there is an option for JRZ coilovers out there but it's looking like $10k+ so hopefully Bilstein comes out with something in between the quality of the BC Racing BR and JRZ RS Pro 3.

Looking into control arms at the moment. I just spoke with Speedlogix today and am planning on ordering a front control arm with the spherical bushings within the next couple months.
Stay away from Speedlogix. Can’t emphasize that enough.
They redesigned the front control arms to be slimmer so I'm hoping that would solve any issues. We really need to see a review of their updated version to know for sure.

I really don't like to see people having issues with earlier versions of their parts, but if it can happen to Steeda, it can happen to anyone imo. I'm acutely aware of the drama surrounding their business.

At this point, I'm thinking that even if it's exactly the same as stock, the billet materials up front should at the very least offer peace of mind if plowing through under steer on a rough road and or improve the steering feel.
Steeda has been rushing undeveloped products to the market. Quality producers like Fenfab don’t do that, so it’s not “if it can happen to Steeda it can happen to anyone.”
 

Messages
1,968
Reactions
914
Points
162
Location
Nevada
Vehicle
'20 Raptor, '22 Explorer ST, '14 GT500, '03 F150
#26
100% agree with all of your points. I'm not trying to be the first one to hit 200mph unless there's a tempting financial incentive. All the data points to it being a reasonable expectation with all the new parts. I just want to make sure I'm overbuilding it for my goal which is a reliable 800whp. We believe 800whp is a very safe number for the new block and have the fueling and turbos to push it up well above 1000whp. 800whp for several months will likely expose some more weak links, whether that's the differential, crankshaft, driveshaft, or something else, remains to be seen.
1,000whp is a way too ambitious for stock frame turbos.
 

Messages
1,968
Reactions
914
Points
162
Location
Nevada
Vehicle
'20 Raptor, '22 Explorer ST, '14 GT500, '03 F150
#28
He has Kevin’s old ST
Oh I remember now. Forgot about that. OP probably should’ve mentioned that for us short term memory folks :) But still, me statement stands because Kevin had a custom single turbo setup right?
 

Last edited:
OP
bbbart
Messages
48
Reactions
10
Points
2
Location
Chicago
Vehicle
Ford Explorer ST
Thread Starter #29
Oh I remember now. Forgot about that. OP probably should’ve mentioned that for us short term memory folks :) But still, me statement stands because Kevin had a custom single turbo setup right?
It has two Xona 5451S turbos. The plan is to downsize to 4951S. Not trying to ever run a tune higher than 825whp | 825lb/ft until someone else pushes the engine further and finds the limit though so I was hoping to get the flattest power curve that could make 800whp reliably.

https://xonarotor.com/products/xona-rotor-49-51s-ball-bearing-turbocharger

https://www.maperformance.com/produ...-ultra-high-flow-turbocharger-280-570hp-12010
 

Messages
173
Reactions
77
Points
27
Location
Houston, TX, USA
#30
I read your initial post a few times and maybe I missed it, what kind of racing are you doing? Real track racing or finding a twisty back road?
 

OP
bbbart
Messages
48
Reactions
10
Points
2
Location
Chicago
Vehicle
Ford Explorer ST
Thread Starter #31
I read your initial post a few times and maybe I missed it, what kind of racing are you doing? Real track racing or finding a twisty back road?
Ideally both. I'm being told I'm getting ahead of myself and should focus on suspension before tires though.

I don't mind it being slow for a track car, but want to handle reasonably well and increase the G-force by 0.1-0.2 on a skidpad test without switching from the air suspension to coilovers ideally.
 

Messages
173
Reactions
77
Points
27
Location
Houston, TX, USA
#32
What rules do the groups around you have for SUVs? Some don't allow them at all. For something like the Explorer brakes and suspension for sure are first.
 

OP
bbbart
Messages
48
Reactions
10
Points
2
Location
Chicago
Vehicle
Ford Explorer ST
Thread Starter #33
What rules do the groups around you have for SUVs? Some don't allow them at all. For something like the Explorer brakes and suspension for sure are first.
Sounds about right. I will look into it closer to the completion date.

The brakes are great but the air suspension will never outperform coils; hoping we can tune it to perform better without overstressing the bags. If we can get them to be at a high PSI while lowered, it should reduce the body roll but that's a big if.
 

UNBROKEN

4000 Post Club
Messages
4,951
Reactions
5,898
Points
352
Location
Houston, TX, USA
#34
Sounds about right. I will look into it closer to the completion date.

The brakes are great but the air suspension will never outperform coils; hoping we can tune it to perform better without overstressing the bags. If we can get them to be at a high PSI while lowered, it should reduce the body roll but that's a big if.
Are the bags isolated side to side?
 

Messages
167
Reactions
69
Points
27
Location
Canby, OR
Vehicle
2022 Explorer ST
#35
I would love to see a video of one of these taking a corner at 150 MPH!
 

OP
bbbart
Messages
48
Reactions
10
Points
2
Location
Chicago
Vehicle
Ford Explorer ST
Thread Starter #36
I would love to see a video of one of these taking a corner at 150 MPH!
Shouldn't be too long. Another member has an ST without a sunroof on JRZ RS 3 Pro coilovers that would be perfect for this kind of driving. The absolute best setup for grip and cornering performance.
 



Top