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Ratio help trying to hit 110-120mph goal


LIMA BEAN

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There is no electronic speed limiter on the pre-OBDII units.

And it is possible to get those old rangers to 100. I have done it once in mine, when it had the 2.9. I needed a big ass hill to do it, but I did it.


The real problem that I think is not being taken into account is wind resistance. Wind resistance starts increasing geometrically above 65 MPH, requiring ever increasing amounts of force to cut through, this means that you hit a point where even though the engine can hit higher revs unloaded, it can't make enough power to overcome that drag. Aerodynamics are one of the biggest factor in determining that point. You could hardly make the 89-92 body LESS aerodynamic if you attached a 12x12 sheet of plywood to the front end. It's a f**king shit brick.

A couple RATO packs would help overcome the aerodynamic problems for a few minutes.
 


Colton Smith

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Hey adsm08, Oh Ok I was not aware of that and yes these trucks were never designed to go that fast on a public highway, you know it is funny how some one comes in a post a question and people answer the question and the original
poster chooses to ignore what people are telling him.
I'm not doing 100 down a public highway nor am I disregarding what you folks have to say however, whether a shit brick was designed to go 100 or not the fact is that I am building a "race car" out of something that was never meant to race in the first place, mainly on backroads in rally stages and at rally cross events and I need a gear ratio that would top out at "100"mph to keep the gearbox in the middle 2-3-4 rather than only being able to use 1-2-3 gear. With stock gears etc I will be limited to ONLY 1-2-3 guaranteed to get any kind of wheel spin/ speed/ torque out of a corner. I am trying to get some solid feedback on whether this setup could work or will not work, most of what I am hearing is b.s. that is irrelevant to the question or opinionated comments of whether the ranger was designed to do something or not. I don't care whether it was designed to go a 100MPH I want a gear ratio that will keep me in the meat of things.

Will a 100mph .79 OD trans with a 4.56 be too tall of a ratio to accomplish what I want to do or do I need to step it up to 5.13 or higher than that?? The average speed should be closer to 50-60 and I need a gear ratio that at 50-60 will keep me in hopefully 3rd gear at maybe 5000RPM (I don't want to be bouncing off the rev limiter the entire time) so I have room to play (2 gears down and 2 gears up to choose from).
 

TxGasRacer

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Hey, I meant you no disrespect with my post and you know the best thing to do would be to just go build your race truck exactly the way you want to as this is the only way you will know for sure if your ideas will work or not.Besides when you want to do something and you get nay sayers telling you it can't be done that way you just have to make the choice for your self to do what you think is the right way to do it.
 

don4331

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Colton:

Are you allowed to replace your Mazda M50D-R1 with a T5? Using an Mustang 2.3 bellhousing/5.0 gears/S-10 tailshaft (to keep shifter in stock location). 2.95/1.94/1.34/1.00/.80 ratios are much closer to what your application needs.

Are you allowed to move the gas tank behind rear wheels? Auxiliary tank actually found stock in your generation Ranger. Can you move battery?

You will be pressed to get more than 150hp NA from a Lima engine - head just won't flow enough air.*

*If you are allowed to use an Esslinger head and can find/afford one, 200hp is possible.

I bought and hopped an S-10 of this generation as there was more support and it cost less: Same engine was in the S-10 as Fiero and Pontiac made parts over the counter to make 205hp. Transmission was S-10, so swapping V-8 gears in got the close ratios. Bell spindles made lowering so much easier - lower was more important than ground clearance. I needed it as DD so stopped at 4.30s.
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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alwaysFlOoReD:

You don't want to be running at redline in 5th in 4 Lo - 'planets' in reducer would be spinning almost 19k rpms and they aren't design for that (common problem in Rubicon Jeeps, user puts the transfer case is 4Lo, Auto in Drive and then wonders why at 90km/h there are suddenly parts all over the pavement).
I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up.
 

adsm08

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Don, 88 was the last year for the dual tankers, his generation truck didn't ever have that option, and the fuel system is very different. It's not impossible, just a lot more work.
 

LIMA BEAN

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Don, 88 was the last year for the dual tankers, his generation truck didn't ever have that option, and the fuel system is very different. It's not impossible, just a lot more work.
If one had the bucks or brain then you could still order duals on Gen 2's. Pre 87's had the fuel reservoirs with filter (shallow cup), 87's up did not (deep cup) and it say's do not remove. Then the multi for switching over, everybody knows that. I have messed with 89 + gen 2's factory dueled plenty of times.

EDIT: Many Ranger owners have no clue about the fuel reservoir, it can be like a cork. 90 is about last you see it but boatloads of F-150's used that same part.
 
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alwaysFlOoReD

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Totally by accident I found that the fuel reservoir is great if you use a fuel cell. It allows you to not use foam in the tank. I've never had a fuel delivery problem in my racetruck and the style of racing I do sloshes the fuel a lot. But I also don't run below a 1/2 tank.
 

don4331

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adsm08:

Total brain fart there - somehow I read '88 Ranger. (my S-10 was '88 with 2.5l of Iron Duke I-4, not '98 with the 2.2l ecobox.)

Be nice to me; I gave blood last night shortly before the post - that's my story and sticking to it.
 

redhurricane

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to the OP:

do you have any limitations on class you want to race that would prevent you from making this happen? Turbo? engine work? heavy modifications? My ranger will go more than 100. I have parts that might help you get there. I'm passing through Vegas around Thanksgiving, too.
 

AllanD

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FOR THE RECORD:

2.9 powered Gen1 Rangers did have a "speed limiter"

an '87 or 88 2.9 ranger was speed limited to 115mph

The limiter was "hard to find", but it was there....

I found it a few times in my 87 Supercab... before the VSS got broken by something that snagged my speedo cable.
 

tcbaklash

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FOR THE RECORD:

2.9 powered Gen1 Rangers did have a "speed limiter"

an '87 or 88 2.9 ranger was speed limited to 115mph

The limiter was "hard to find", but it was there....

I found it a few times in my 87 Supercab... before the VSS got broken by something that snagged my speedo cable.
That's sort of an odd number for an American vehicle with a speed governor, maybe that was just the early days... MY '03 wouldn't go past 97mph. I raced my '90 on a very flat stretch of freeway against my friend in his tuned '96 Powerstroke (double cab, long bed, overweight and slow), my speedometer tops out at 85mph, but he claims we were both going "somewhere over 100mph". These trucks definitely have the capability to do so. I've got a classmate with a stock '92 2.3L who has claimed to hit 105mph...
 
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