Have questions about performance upgrades

[Pure Horsepower]

Hi,
I have a 1995 Ranger that has the V6 4.0L engine in it. I am looking for more performance out of it. The reason for this is because I have a boat that I want to pull and need a little more horsepower and torque. I do have a K&N filter in it as of now but that isn't enough. I don't want to spend a lot of money on it.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me.

 

[yob_yeknom]

I'd say your next step would be an aftermarket cat-back exhaust.

 

[tbomb]

i say go with a chip. i saw the biggest gain of all my mods when i installed my chip (i have a superchip.) only one catch with a superchip - you can only use premium gas, and with gas prices this high, you might wanna wait till they go down to get a superchip, or maybe get a hypertech, i dont think you need premium gas for that one (i could be wrong though and it might require premium.) just stay away from JET chips -- a lot of people are very unhappy with them. granted, some people like the JET chips, but no one ever complains about superchips or hypertech.

 

[Pure Horsepower]

Hey thanks for the info.
This Ranger has Fords Off road package and is 4wd. Its running on 85 octane fuel now. I was considering a chip but i wasn't sure. I been reading other threads and some of them went with superchargers and new throtle bodies. Whats the scoop on those?

 

[espnfreak]

85 wow, i thought 87 octane was the lowest they went. you must be running on some REALLY crappy gas!

 

[tbomb]

yeah, i thought 87 was the lowest too, heh. anyway, unless you have the 4.0 OHV engine (not the 4.0 SOHC), youre pretty much out of luck as far as superchargers or throttle bodies are concerned...i think. there arent any aftermarket blowers or TB's for the SOHC that i am aware of, but i may not be aware of everything.

 

[SteveVB]

gears?

What size tires and what is the axle ratio. I would get a cat back , and then I would think of some gearing options 3.73s min for towing I would assume with stock size tire. Probably get more bang for the buck than a 3000 S/C (Summit Racing has them- bolt on 6 hrs + tuning time, check out Alecs threads)

 

[tbomb]

stevevb, thats the supercharger for the 4.0 OHV, the one alec has, no one makes one for the 4.0 SOHC.

 

[Alec]

Pure HP,
I'd see which gears you have and think about upgrading them. Look on your drivers door for a sticker with your axle code, then go to http://www.users.qwest.net/~ntrpriz/main.htm to decode it. I'd recommend 3.73 gears for towing with stock size tires. SteveVB had the right idea. If you still want more performance from your engine, I'd recommend a custom catback system (usually cheaper than a manufactured one) and a chip, Hypertech or Superchip. The gears and power mods should really pep up your ride. The only thing about the chips is that you should run premium gas if you have one.

Good luck!

and BTW for everyone: 1995 Rangers have the OHV engine.

 

[Pure Horsepower]

Jas84
Wyoming's fuel goes 85, 87, 91. The prices are $1.63, $1.68, and $1.73. That is one of the reasons that I run 85. Being 15 with a Hardship licences with limited wages I have to run that low of octane level. I live at 7000 feet and this truck gets about 20-21 mpg running at 80 mph . It has 235/85/R15 size tires on it. They are BF Goodriches long trail tires. This truck is running great on the 85 octane fuel. The exaust is clean and doen't smell. I'm running Autolite platinums and they are clean as well.

So could this be a facter in power?

 

[Pure Horsepower]

Ho another thing.

What about the air flow into this truck. I don't know about Explorers but this truck's air sucktion is inside the passenger side fender. Is there anything i can do myself to help it out?

 

[flyguy]

For real power increases, it would appear the supercharger is the only way. With my mods listed below, I gained 21hp at the wheels.

 

[mikeresin]

i think that he has an OHV engine becuase it is a 97. in wich case he can get an instacharger. what i would do is get a cold air induyction system and mass air sensor and throttle body and spacer, then if you wanted to het the heads ported and polished. getting the p&p will add just as much hp and torque as a supercharger for a third the money. then i would put in a new high performance cam and headers while they have the engine puled for the p&p. all together it will prolly cost ya $2k, but you will be runnin 14's in the 1/4.
then if you wanted to you could add the supercharger after the p&p and it would fly. but if ya did that you would pretty much have to beef up the whole drivetrain and tranny. but thas expensive. ima end up doin it but thas me.
dont get a damn chip. save yer money and put all yer mods on at one time then go get it customed tuned at a dyno shop.