looking for a little bit of power


LeaderOne

10+ Year Member

Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Messages
2
Points
3,001
Vehicle Year
2004
Transmission
Automatic
Well I Purchased my 04 ranger 2wd 2.3l a week ago and since I live on the big island of hawaii I need a bit more power to get up to the varying elevations. My first trip up to any elevations and the truck seemed very weak and I had to practically floor it to get up there. I heard of a chip that can give some performance improvements? what kind of gains could I get if i spent about a 1000 dollars? and would they be worthwhile? If not ill just slowly jug up those volcanoes :D
 
so after a little more research I see that there isnt too much to be done.

Port heads
Chip
Exhaust

What kind of gains would these things get? Im not expecting a monster 2.3 haha
 
you will get some noticeable gains, but they wont be anything drastic. Should be enough to get ya where ya need to go a little easier so you can enjoy yourself a little more.
 
i found this place on google the other night, they have some bolt on stuff thats pretty cheap, ill probably buy the egr and pcv kit once i get my next pay check. They claim they are going to have a header for the 2.3 eventually.

http://www.dangerranger2300.com/

:dntknw:
 
Last edited:
Intake, exhaust and mod chips may help with higher RPMs, but really do little for typical driving. One of the best things you can do is check the differential gearing and tires. I think typical rangers come with a 3.73 ratio. In hilly areas, I'd go with the 4.10 ratio.

My ranger 04 4cyl 5spd came with 3.73 grears and P225/70R15 tires. On I75 in Southern KY, I could hold speed okay on the hills without downshifting. What tires do you have? If someone put on a wider diameter tire, it is too much for the 4 banger. Dropping down to a 26" diameter tire should give good hill performance. If you don't want to change the tire size, you have to change the differential gearing and this can be costly.
 
Turbo 2.3

Find your self a 2.3l turbo donor car and swap that motor in there asap IMHO.. prolly find a donor car for less than a grand.. Turbo motors are unaffected by elevation. under boost the turbo will compensate and reach the same manifold pressure :):headbang:. Your stock motor and set up will handle a little bit of 5-7 or psi boost.. maybe just find a manifold and turbo pieces plumb it in and have the waste gate adjusted low.. ranger station has a 2.3 turbo section. with a 2.3lT swap you can make over 200hp with little modification and the torque band under boost will put a huge smile on your face!! don't boost tooo much unless you have a 8.8 rear and the stronger tranny out of the donor car. 87-88 thunderbird have a hydrolic t5 that hooks up to stock ranger clutch pressure line.
 
"I live on the big island of hawaii"


No sympathy from me. LOL! Unless it's geared differently then my '02, you may have other problems.
 
Doing anything about it will cost more than it is worth worrying about.

I experience the same thing here. I can zip uphill with east at low elevations. Once I get around 6000 ft I notice less power. By the time I get to 9000 ft performance is poor. All vehicles experience this.
 
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