- Joined
- March 4, 2007
- Messages
- 26,320
- Reaction score
- 122
- City, State
- anaheim hills,california
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 95 ranger 4x4/ 91 X 4x4
...These are some of the mod's I have done, or am doing in the near future to my stock 95 2.3L Ranger in the Smog Restriction State of California...
...These mod's have kept my truck legal while getting the most out of my 2.3L for relatively cheap...I am not saying this is what you should/could do, this is what I have done.....This is not been dyno'd or anything...If you have some tips or tricks to share, please post them up..
___________________________________________________________________________________
Tuneup and Maintenance...
Goes without saying...A well tuned up vehicle with proper maintenance will out perform every time..We all get behind in this but this is crucial if you are trying to get more mpg or hp out of these little motor's...
Before starting on mod's to your vehicle, I can not express how important it is to do a full tune up and maintenance on your vehicle, then start from there..This also includes all fluids, belts, hoses, filters, proper air in tires, etc.
Timing Belt...
Probably the best maintenance/performance/economy mod's I have done with the most noticeable gain..These last about 60,000 miles and need replaced...When I replaced mine I noticed increased horsepower and about 70 miles per tank difference on long highway drives...
Free flowing cat-back exhaust...
This is keeping everything legal on the vehicle but improving it only to get gains from what's existing or can be tweaked...This is what I did with my exhaust with results...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185154
Coil packs...
When was the last time these were changed on your Ranger...These take 2 coil packs and they do serve different purposes..If you can not remember when they were ever changed or they are original, it may be time to swap a new pair in..
Electric Fan...
I have not done this mod yet but will in the future...You hear all the time from the V6/V8 crowd how much power is being robbed by the stock fan...This is highly noticeable on these I4's..
Intake Air...
I have kept mine pretty much stock on this truck with the exception of the K&N washable/reusable drop in filter...
..Stock filter about $16..
..K&N drop in about $50..
...Intake air Resonator...
This is mainly an intake air muffler to quiet engine noise...This also has a big intake pipe restriction in it and I've swapped mine because I usually have this truck loaded when climbing hills and I need all the help I can get...
Instead of buying a CAI with pipe and all, this was a good solution for under $2 and I don't have to do any modifications for the vent tube or sensors located before or after the resonator...
..."That's it officer, that's the culprit..."
..The replacement pipe I used is 2-1/2" with 2-7/8" o.d...I had the choice of using 2-1/2" electrical grey pvc pipe found at HD for $8 plus a 10' stick or, I found this 2-1/2" well sleeve pipe at Ace Hardware for $1.59 a ft...The magic number I needed was 8 1/2" long and I had them cut it to size for me...This is a comparison of the two side by side...Inlet side...
...Tail side to motor...Notice the perforated holes...This side is about 2 1/2" I.D.
...Almost 2 1/2" I.D...
...This is the inlet side of the resonator...1 1/2" I.D.
...Sanded the outside and ends, chamfer'd the inner and outer edges, and a little paint...
...Threw it in and with a few trail runs, it will look as dirty as the rest of under my hood..
...On to the other end of the intake....On my Ranger from the filter box, the intake does not go to the front of the vehicle...The stock part and placement of this is a small tube aimed to the rear of the truck, sandwiched between the fender and inner fender..
...I removed the one push button pin on the top and then pulled straight up on the filter housing...This is how it sat in the truck...
...And this is the bottom side of it...
...This intake tube is actually all rubber...The actual opening on the end only measured slightly over 1-1/4"...
...So I removed it to see what was the opening size to the filter...I measured about 2-1/4" so, I left the small tube off and will run it this way to see how it works out...
_________________________________________________________________________________
...No parts were harmed in the removal and all parts are being kept in possible re-installation shape..
_______________________________________________________________________
..Latest update to this intake set up..
..I went on a long desert trip and needed to add a second battery...The best spot to add this was where the stock air box was...I pulled the stock air box out, mounted the battery and threw in a $20 pre-oiled Spectre filter on the end of the tube I had previously made...
...There were no ill effects and it ran and still runs better than ever...The tube will get shortened a bit and I did get to test the $20 filter out in the desert trip for about 1000 miles...For the money, it worked out well...:biggthump
...These mod's have kept my truck legal while getting the most out of my 2.3L for relatively cheap...I am not saying this is what you should/could do, this is what I have done.....This is not been dyno'd or anything...If you have some tips or tricks to share, please post them up..
___________________________________________________________________________________
Tuneup and Maintenance...
Goes without saying...A well tuned up vehicle with proper maintenance will out perform every time..We all get behind in this but this is crucial if you are trying to get more mpg or hp out of these little motor's...
Before starting on mod's to your vehicle, I can not express how important it is to do a full tune up and maintenance on your vehicle, then start from there..This also includes all fluids, belts, hoses, filters, proper air in tires, etc.
Timing Belt...
Probably the best maintenance/performance/economy mod's I have done with the most noticeable gain..These last about 60,000 miles and need replaced...When I replaced mine I noticed increased horsepower and about 70 miles per tank difference on long highway drives...
Free flowing cat-back exhaust...
This is keeping everything legal on the vehicle but improving it only to get gains from what's existing or can be tweaked...This is what I did with my exhaust with results...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185154
Coil packs...
When was the last time these were changed on your Ranger...These take 2 coil packs and they do serve different purposes..If you can not remember when they were ever changed or they are original, it may be time to swap a new pair in..
Electric Fan...
I have not done this mod yet but will in the future...You hear all the time from the V6/V8 crowd how much power is being robbed by the stock fan...This is highly noticeable on these I4's..
Intake Air...
I have kept mine pretty much stock on this truck with the exception of the K&N washable/reusable drop in filter...
..Stock filter about $16..
..K&N drop in about $50..
...Intake air Resonator...
This is mainly an intake air muffler to quiet engine noise...This also has a big intake pipe restriction in it and I've swapped mine because I usually have this truck loaded when climbing hills and I need all the help I can get...
Instead of buying a CAI with pipe and all, this was a good solution for under $2 and I don't have to do any modifications for the vent tube or sensors located before or after the resonator...
..."That's it officer, that's the culprit..."
..The replacement pipe I used is 2-1/2" with 2-7/8" o.d...I had the choice of using 2-1/2" electrical grey pvc pipe found at HD for $8 plus a 10' stick or, I found this 2-1/2" well sleeve pipe at Ace Hardware for $1.59 a ft...The magic number I needed was 8 1/2" long and I had them cut it to size for me...This is a comparison of the two side by side...Inlet side...
...Tail side to motor...Notice the perforated holes...This side is about 2 1/2" I.D.
...Almost 2 1/2" I.D...
...This is the inlet side of the resonator...1 1/2" I.D.
...Sanded the outside and ends, chamfer'd the inner and outer edges, and a little paint...
...Threw it in and with a few trail runs, it will look as dirty as the rest of under my hood..
...On to the other end of the intake....On my Ranger from the filter box, the intake does not go to the front of the vehicle...The stock part and placement of this is a small tube aimed to the rear of the truck, sandwiched between the fender and inner fender..
...I removed the one push button pin on the top and then pulled straight up on the filter housing...This is how it sat in the truck...
...And this is the bottom side of it...
...This intake tube is actually all rubber...The actual opening on the end only measured slightly over 1-1/4"...
...So I removed it to see what was the opening size to the filter...I measured about 2-1/4" so, I left the small tube off and will run it this way to see how it works out...
_________________________________________________________________________________
...No parts were harmed in the removal and all parts are being kept in possible re-installation shape..
_______________________________________________________________________
..Latest update to this intake set up..
..I went on a long desert trip and needed to add a second battery...The best spot to add this was where the stock air box was...I pulled the stock air box out, mounted the battery and threw in a $20 pre-oiled Spectre filter on the end of the tube I had previously made...
...There were no ill effects and it ran and still runs better than ever...The tube will get shortened a bit and I did get to test the $20 filter out in the desert trip for about 1000 miles...For the money, it worked out well...:biggthump
