New Owner

Hello.
I recently purchased a 2002 ford explorer XLS, v6 2WD, its my first ford and first vehicle that's less then 20 years old.
I do have a couple of Questions
I drive a minimum of 200 miles a day, 5 days a week for work.

First thing I want to try and do is increase gas millage, even if its just a few mpg it will help.
Looking around the internet a lot of people suggest cold air intakes, new exhaust and throttle body spacers.

I don't have a ton of money to spend so I would like to get all this done for less then 500.
Are the $230 k&n air intakes necessary, or will the cheaper $100 ones work the same.

Does the throttle body spacer really help?

Is the $400+ magnaflow catback necessary or can I use the cheaper $150 mac catback.
Also would a dual outlet muffler and dual 2" exhaust out the back help, or would straight dual exhaust help, and i know full dual exhaust will be expensive, but i know people.

and next Q.
I need to keep this thing runing as long as possible, I would like to get the same 270 miles I got out of my astro van (still running, just needs a new front end and my wife hates it, thats why i got the explorer).
it just turned 60,000 miles, I am keeping up with oil changes as much as i can, doing it every month, so its around every 4/5,000 miles. had transmission flushed last month.
What other things should i keep up on to keep this running.

Last Q.
Recently tried to rent a trailer from uhaul. they wont let you if you drive a ford explorer. any one know why?, and what can I do to fix this problem if I buy a trailer.

Thanks
Mike C.

Recently tried to rent a trailer from uhaul. they wont let you if you drive a ford explorer.

I'd be curious to hear a reason why an Explorer solely is not allowed either.

What I think their intent was is to say that if you planned on using just the bumper mounted hitch for the job, then they wouldn't let you do it.

Nope, on another popular Explorer forum it was explained and is strictly tied to Explorers from the days of the rollovers. They have no problems with renting to Mountaineer or Aviator owners, but blanketed the Explorer model. It doesn't even matter if it's a 2002 or newer Explorer with the revised suspension and lower center of gravity.

As for the other mods to improve performance, my feelings are none of them will improve fuel economy and may actually go the other direction because you'll enjoy the new exhaust sound or feel of power. Instead, you'd be better served to save the money you would spend on those mods and apply it towards your fuel budget and focus on maintenance and driving habits. Make sure your tires are properly inflated and check them regularly. Check your air filter with each oil change, use the properly grade and weight of oil, avoid rapid acceleration, coast up to stoplights rather than accelerating to them and braking at the last moment, don't haul around that tool chest full of items you might need some day, etc.

-Rod

Huh, thanks Rod, that's interesting to know.

so its related to rollovers?, when was that fixed.. well made less of a problem any suv is going to have rollover issues.
I would like to buy and keep a small trailer around, for when I need to haul various things. I looked it up i have a max pull of about 1,400lb, i probably wont pull over 800lb, just don't want to have to worry about anything weird that caused uhaul not to rent to explorers.

and to edit my first post, i meant 270,000 miles on the astro.

and is it better to use or not use cruise control?
currently does not work, just wanted to know if its better on the engine and gas millage if i take it to get it fixed.
right now i just rest my foot in the same position at about 70mph on flat, drop to about 65 going up hill and 75 going down.
is it better to keep doing that or have the cruise control constantly fluctuating the accelerator?

Yep, it's related to the rollovers. As you mention, vehicles with high centers of gravity will be more prone to rollovers, and I feel the root cause was people not making sure their tires were properly inflated and over-reacting when they did have a blowout, so if that is the case, I'm not sure I would say the issue has been fixed. However, Ford addressed the issue for the 2002 model year by going with the independent rear suspension and lowering the center of gravity.

I suspect your 1,400 lbs is the cargo capacity rather than the trailer towing capacity. That seems low for towing capacity....

The cruise control typically will improve fuel economy slightly be being a bit better than the human foot at maintaining constant speed. If it were my vehicle I'd want to get it fixed just because I hate knowing that something isn't right/doesn't work. Plus it could be a result of a problem with some other system that may not be working right and impacting performance elsewhere (ABS system, transmission speed sensor, etc.).

-Rod

I get my cruise control fixed for free, there's some recall on it.
"Causes loss of break fluid".. wtf?.
I've never been to concerned with cruise control, the last 3 vehicles I have owned (except my wifes car), the cruise control didn't work, so i don't know what im missing

and i did look it up after you mentioned 1,400 was low. its actually over 3,000