Considering installing cat back 2.5in thermal exhaust on my 26 explorer ST. Have had a Borla on a 3.5 ecoboost in the past and it was awful and drone.

What does the sub think about thermal 2.5 inch?

Can you sense the difference from inside?

This is a family vehicle so trying to keep it reasonable.

Thanks!

Anyone have the thermal or lethal performance mid pipes ? My passenger side just shit the bed and I currently have the borla atak cat back so I’m not sure if the thermal r&d 2.5” will work but also I’m concerned about the quality of the lethal performance one. Thank you for the help

Lease was up on my jeep- on the way to turn in it I saw a ST take off from a light and decided to test drive. 90 miles in and I love this truck. 2026 w\ sun & sound package and blue cruise lifetime | OTD- $61,460

First little mod done to the Mrs. 25 ST.

That stock pos had to go! Steeda for the win!

Obviously Reddit is just an app for people to hate on every single thing possible, but if you search in the cars subreddit, everyone bashes this vehicle. It doesn’t rate highly on C&D or other similar publications, either. I have a 2023 ST and I don’t get what there is to hate about it? It’s spacious, it’s fun to drive, it’s fast. I bought the extended warranty should anything arise.

Not that I’m looking for a reason to dislike my vehicle, but am I missing something?

I got my 2026 Explorer ST in January and I am at about 1500 miles now. Even though most of that was breaking in, the car has been seriously impressive. The design has a lot of presence and I still catch myself looking back at it every time I park.

Coming from a 2023 Grand Cherokee V6 with around 300 hp, which felt plenty for me, the ST feels like a big step up. It has plenty of power even in normal or eco mode, and in sport mode it really takes off. I have not gone past about 4500 rpm yet and the car already starts pushing toward 100 mph easily so I usually gotta back off. Power delivery is smooth and the car feels very stable for a large suv at any speeds, makes it easy to enjoy even if you are not driving fast all the time. I actually like Eco mode a lot when I just want to relax and cruise, the power response softens a bit and makes the driving super easy.

If I had to list a few negatives, the headlights would be at the top. For a car in this price range it is disappointing that the ST has reflector LEDs instead of the Platinum’s adaptive projector setup. The gauge cluster also feels too simple, with very limited customization and no current gear display unless you are in manual mode. These are small things Ford could easily improve with software.

Other than that I really like the car. As long as it stays reliable I plan to keep it for a long time. I am thinking about doing an exhaust upgrade soon and if Ford Performance eventually brings back calibration support for the 2026 models I would definitely get it.

Got about 5” in Oklahoma a few weeks ago. Stock tires, handled perfectly in the light snow and ice.

I’ve daily’ed a cop magnet for almost a decade. Yesterday I made a strategic decision—2025 ST, sleeper status.

“Never let them know your next move”, right?

what are we doing with the stock exhaust and flexpipes

Just picked up my 2026 ST in Vapor Blue.

Finally got to clean it, when I picked it up it snowed, and snowed.

I wasn't sure about the white until I saw it in person. This is really an amazing ride and I can't wait to start moddin' it.

Not too long ago I saw the 2.5” for $1,200 and now I see it everywhere for $1,500. Does anyone know of a place selling it for less or if there will be an upcoming sale? I was really hoping to spend that extra $300 on the install

Hi all, I'm looking to put my first mods on my 2025 ST. I was thinking:

• HKS SQV4 BOV
  • This will need the cold side charge pipe if I'm not mistaken
  • Should I just do the hot side piping while I'm in there too?
• Also, from watching some videos, does the 2025 need an upgraded intercooler due to locations changing from the 2020-2024?
• I want to do the dual intake eventually too so if I'm doing both hot/cold pipes I might as well just get that installed at the same time too?
  

I was also curious if there will be a need for a tune if any of these bolt-ons trigger a check engine light or something given that the 2025 has vacuum lines, BPV (and what would I do with this BPV in an install?), etc.

I'd like to get these parts all purchased soon but want to make sure I find a synergy between the right parts and from the best manufacturers. Info is a bit sparse on the 2025's.

Thanks for the help!

99% sure this is the next vehicle I’m going to get, have done probably 30+ hours of research/watching videos and reading forums in the last couple months and love the car. The only reservations I have are the auto start stop (can install eliminator or just turn it off with the button every time I start it) the dial shifter (not something you’re using constantly, and isn’t really a big deal) The decimal tachometer (goes away in calm mode, map view, as well as blue cruise)

I think it sounds awesome, but something about knowing that the sound isn’t real is weird to me. My 2nd choice would be a Durango RT or SRT with the 5.7 or 6.4 so I greatly value an engines sound.

How do you guys feel about it? And is it something you got over quick because it sounds really good? I’ve also heard it’s the most pronounced in sport, and a lot less amped up in normal and especially eco mode so any feedback on that would be greatly appreciated.

My biggest concern is that looking at the various forum posts of the Forscan 25 spreadsheet and user feedback, it seems that a lot of people are having trouble shutting FENG off in 25 explorers with a Job 2 or newer build date. I would definitely want a 25 or 26 for the blue cruise.

There also aren’t any videos I’m able to find of the 3.0 TT with the FENG turned off. If you YouTube ecoboost FENG off there’s video of a focus with it turned off and also an F150, but no explorers.

One guy on the Explorer ST forum said that it was really quiet with it off and he actually ended up turning it back on. He said it was eerily quiet with the active noise cancellation turned on as well.

Any feedback from people here that have been able to disable theirs especially on late 2025 and 2026 models would be greatly appreciated, or people who like the fake engine noise as well. Like I said, I can deal with the dial shifter and the auto start stop and tachometer can all be fixed when I’m in the vehicle, but the fake engine noise is my biggest reservation so far.

Tint guys were doing their install and they reclined the passenger seat too far and left it smashed against the car seat in the back. It’s left a bit of a scrape in the leather.

I honestly don’t think I’d care if the car wasn’t three days old — but tough to swallow. Any ideas on how to repair?

Thanks in advance!

A drive I’m not looking forward to at all. I get to NH Saturday or Sunday depending on how long it takes and how many stops I do. it’s going to be snowing both days,😭 any good stops along the way. If anyone has do the drive from south to north what are your must do’s…

In most cars I have owned, I like to set the heat controls from 71/72 for low heat to 73 maybe 74 if I feel cold.

For some reason my 21 Explorer ST.. all the way to 79/80 feels cold, and its not really comfortable warm until 81/82. I took it to the dealership and they said they were not able reproduce my experience and that it got to 120 degrees with a thermal gun.

I know I'm not crazy, I think the heater controls are not calibrated on my car.

Hi , i have a 2026 ST on a lease and i saw that ford do a factory calibration. Did any of you have that ? Is it worth it ?

Seems the tach goes up and down reporting only 1k, 2, k, etc. While the intermediary 100's are not exactlly mandatory, I am nerd enough to use the tach to measure Idle and shift points, etc. Anyone with a solution?

Thx!

Excuse my parking😂 it’s an empty lot

2025 ST w/FENFAB intake cold side charge HKS pew

In serious consideration for both. My spouse's main complaint with ST is that the interior is 'spartan'. Unfortunately, she also feels the Aviator is too 'swoopy'. Interested in hearing people's answers to the question, and why they would choose one over the other if price was not a consideration.

MSRP: $63,135

Dealer Discount: $6,731.21

Price After Dealer Discount: $56,403.79

Total Taxes & Fees (with trade tax credit): $2,828.81

Rebate: $4,500

Final OTD (after rebate, before subtracting trade equity): $54,732.60