2.9 Mods-MPG and Power

[Blacksheep]

thousands of dollars for headers? wow dude, those must be some bad ass headers! how did doin mods to a 2.9 "ruin" the engine? if its built rite, then it should help it (obviously) yea, true that it prob would be cheaper to go ahead and do a swap and be done with it, but he said he didnt wanna do a swap... so that leaves him with buildin up a 2.9

holy shit, i have a 2.8 in my ranger. gee whats the diff. in a 2.8, and a 2.9, hmmm the 2.8 has a carb and the 2.9 is efi. o yea, 0.1 L. my bad! so just cuz i dont have a 2.9 i know nuttin about them? ur rite im sry, well not really. i didnt mean to piss u off or anything like that, i was just sayin that i think what u said is wrong. if headers were useless then they wouldnt make them at all. im not tryin to get into a arugement over something stupid like this, so sry if i pissed u off. but, thats they way i feel about them. but yea i do agree that doin a swap is the cheapest way to have more power in these trucks. but u can ALWAYS make a moter stronger. ALWAYS

 

[Sunk]

People make plenty of useless crap and try to get you to buy it. This is America.

And there are more differences between a 2.9 and 2.8 than carb vs. efi.

 

[88mudder]

do some headwork on the heads
Longtube headers with dual exhaust
58mm throttle body off a 86-87 2.9
computer chip
4.10 gearing is good
mild cam

If your motor is healthy then these mods will make a big difference vs stock

 

[Hahnsb2]

thousands of dollars for headers? wow dude, those must be some bad ass headers! how did doin mods to a 2.9 "ruin" the engine? if its built rite, then it should help it (obviously) yea, true that it prob would be cheaper to go ahead and do a swap and be done with it, but he said he didnt wanna do a swap... so that leaves him with buildin up a 2.9

holy shit, i have a 2.8 in my ranger. gee whats the diff. in a 2.8, and a 2.9, hmmm the 2.8 has a carb and the 2.9 is efi. o yea, 0.1 L. my bad! so just cuz i dont have a 2.9 i know nuttin about them? ur rite im sry, well not really. i didnt mean to piss u off or anything like that, i was just sayin that i think what u said is wrong. if headers were useless then they wouldnt make them at all. im not tryin to get into a arugement over something stupid like this, so sry if i pissed u off. but, thats they way i feel about them. but yea i do agree that doin a swap is the cheapest way to have more power in these trucks. but u can ALWAYS make a moter stronger. ALWAYS

Why would anyone take advice from someone who couldn't spell their way out of a paper bag

The problem is, most "mods" do nothing for low end torque, which is what really matters and is why the 4.0 stomps all over the 2.9, polish a turd and it's still a turd. Of coarse there is always more power to be had from any engine, however did you know the 2.9 already makes more HP per volume than a 5.8 lightning engine? It's wound up like a 2 dollar watch, asking much more from it is a pointless battle. And like Sunk said, there are many differences between the 2.8 and 2.9.

 

[rickcdewitt]

thousands of dollars for headers?

holy shit, i have a 2.8 in my ranger. gee whats the diff. in a 2.8, and a 2.9, so sry if i pissed u off.

you have to approach it as a system,not throw on a few parts.that costs thosands.pissed me off? no.typing yourself into a corner?yes.
take a chill pill,there are general consensus's about all the rbv engines for good reason.hang on the site for a while and you will see that no one is picking on you.it looks like you have put a decent amount of work into your truck,stick around and you might learn why hopping up the small engines besides a turbo 2.3 isen't cost effective.its mostly about the bling factor when you open the hood

do some headwork on the heads
Longtube headers with dual exhaust
58mm throttle body off a 86-87 2.9
computer chip
4.10 gearing is good
mild cam

If your motor is healthy then these mods will make a big difference vs stock

go ahead and do it all,throw in port matching,multispark,cold air,k&n,etc.and you will have still wasted a few thousand,while at the same time moving the powerband even further up the rpm's.great for a 4x4 and costs as much as a rebuilt 4.0l.while probably killing your mileage.

now if i had a rebuilt a 2.9l in a clean 2wd truck like pychopete i might think about playing with it for the hell of it.but the 3.0l would probably be a better engine for that application as well.

Why would anyone take advice from someone who couldn't spell their way out of a paper bag

The problem is, most "mods" do nothing for low end torque, which is what really matters and is why the 4.0 stomps all over the 2.9, polish a turd and it's still a turd. Of coarse there is always more power to be had from any engine, however did you know the 2.9 already makes more HP per volume than a 5.8 lightning engine? It's wound up like a 2 dollar watch, asking much more from it is a pointless battle. And like Sunk said, there are many differences between the 2.8 and 2.9.

LOL,you said it all.

 

[Blacksheep]

Why would anyone take advice from someone who couldn't spell their way out of a paper bag

oooo i guess u really got me there.... what are u, my english teacher????


they only thing i was sayin is, headers arent useless.... thats it. the dude a ? how to get more power out of his 2.9. he didnt ask if yall think its worth it or not. i told him the same thing 88mudder did. which is true. that will get u more power out of the engine. ok, yall think its a waste of time and money? well dropin in a 4.0 is a waste of time and money IMO. if ur gonna do it. then do a 289 swap, or a 5.0, or hell even a 351. why take out one v6 just to put a nother one? cheaper? maybe.... more power sure, common, yea deff. but all and all any way u look at it. its pointless to do a 4.0 swap again IMO. but i guess it all depends on what ur power goals are, and what u wanna do with the truck. u want high hp and tq to get over that rock, or through that puddle, or laugh at ur v6 buddys when ur flyin rite by them, go v8. if not, then the 4.0 is just for u

 

[Hahnsb2]

oooo i guess u really got me there.... what are u, my english teacher????


they only thing i was sayin is, headers arent useless.... thats it. the dude a ? how to get more power out of his 2.9. he didnt ask if yall think its worth it or not. i told him the same thing 88mudder did. which is true. that will get u more power out of the engine. ok, yall think its a waste of time and money? well dropin in a 4.0 is a waste of time and money IMO. if ur gonna do it. then do a 289 swap, or a 5.0, or hell even a 351. why take out one v6 just to put a nother one? cheaper? maybe.... more power sure, common, yea deff. but all and all any way u look at it. its pointless to do a 4.0 swap again IMO. but i guess it all depends on what ur power goals are, and what u wanna do with the truck. u want high hp and tq to get over that rock, or through that puddle, or laugh at ur v6 buddys when ur flyin rite by them, go v8. if not, then the 4.0 is just for u

No but I'm tired of douche bags on this forum who won't take an extra 30 seconds to spell better

I would rather have a 4.0 than a 5.0, the 5.0 makes more torque but it takes till over 3000 RPMs to make it, the 4.0 makes it down low and holds it in a flat line, which is what matters.

 

[Blacksheep]

Wow i cant spell. big deal, but thats besides the point.

and im not tryin to start anything, but 5.0's make tq way before 3grand. and its the tq that pushes the big tires. and what does it matter what rpm they start makin tq? when im goin through a hole, im tryin to get the tires spinin fast. so that takes high rpm. atleast thats how we do it in the south.

 

[Hahnsb2]

And that's why no-one takes the south seriously. Go drive an engine with a torque peak of 2000 RPM and an engine with a torque peak of 6000RPM and tell me which one is more drivable. That's why the 2.9 sucks compared to a 4.0, to get mine to move anywhere it has to be revved to 3500-4K to shift, otherwise it's a total turd. A 4.0 makes as much as a 2.9 peaks at (170 Ft-lbs at 2600 RPM) below 1200 RPMs, and doesn't fall below 200 Ft/lbs until after 4K, it's a better truck engine and it's more drivable. It's the same reason a 3.0SHO engine would suck in a ranger, because it's too damn peaky. Most all 2.9 "mods" raise the torque and power peak, making it less drivable. I still think with a chip, headers, exhaust and some porting you'd be lucky to get 15 more HP, it will will be higher in the RPM range. If you do it right like I'm doing, my 4.0 swap will be free, can't say the same for buying all the crap to polish the turd that is the 2.9. Listen to Rick, he's been there, done that. He put a bunch of crap on his 2.9 and discovered it still sucked and put in a 4.0.

 

[0ldman]

You'd probably like my 2.9. I'm looking to get more rpm out of it. Slightly modified exhaust, good low end torque, but no power to speak of over 2000rpms. The torque curve on the 2.9 flattens out and gets weak pretty quick in my 88 and my paw in law's old 87.

I'd rather have torque peak around 3000, better for highway, but it looks like the only way to do that is with a camshaft swap. The exhaust doesn't look that bad for such a small engine. Nothing like what Ford did with the V8's.

That being said, it is nice to finally drive a stick that I can shift at 1700rpms in town and not stall the damn thing. 22mpg on average, city and highway driving.

 

[Blacksheep]

ok, im not denying that the 4.0 is a better moter than the 2.9. im not tryin to "defend" the 2.9. but if u think that the 4.0 is a better moter than a 5.0. then ur fuc*in crazy. who cares about the "diveableity" of a engine, when ur talkin about v6's? if u dont like the 2.9 change it, which is what ur doin. good, great. but u make is seem that the 4.0 is the "holy grale" of engines, when u step back and look at it. its just a pos just like the 2.9, sure its not as much as a pos as the 2.9, but still a pos. ur wanna drop a 4.0 in ur truck. get one out of a s197 mustang (2005 +) those are the only 4.0 worth taklin about. but still pretty much a pos.

and what are u? a yankee who cant stand the south? u think ur better than me cuz u live up north. lol? the south aint as stupid as people ( like u) think we are. wow, lol

 

[Hahnsb2]

ok, im not denying that the 4.0 is a better moter than the 2.9. im not tryin to "defend" the 2.9. but if u think that the 4.0 is a better moter than a 5.0. then ur fuc*in crazy. who cares about the "diveableity" of a engine, when ur talkin about v6's? if u dont like the 2.9 change it, which is what ur doin. good, great. but u make is seem that the 4.0 is the "holy grale" of engines, when u step back and look at it. its just a pos just like the 2.9, sure its not as much as a pos as the 2.9, but still a pos. ur wanna drop a 4.0 in ur truck. get one out of a s197 mustang (2005 +) those are the only 4.0 worth taklin about. but still pretty much a pos.

So by your mentality why don't I just put in a NASCAR small block? It's called working within reason and using the proper engine for the application. Bigger isn't always better either, I'd rather drive my 2.9 than a 3.0 that makes 10 more HP and 5 more ft-lbs yet it has to spin 1000 RPMs faster to do so. Like I said before, drivability is important, put a honda 4banger in your truck with 300HP and compare it to your truck with a stock 4.0, the 4.0 truck will be much more enjoyable to drive because the honda engine makes all it's power at a high RPM and is not suited for a truck, why can't you understand this?
Another example, go tow a large trailer with a 400HP cummins and do the same with a 400HP small block and tell me which one tows better.
If you want to hit a mudhole like a tard and bounce off the rev limiter, a peaky engine is for you, if you want to do some precision wheeling that takes talent, a high reving engine wont cut it because wheel speed isn't the answer, you need control, nor will it work on the street, not everyone wants to rev the shit out of the engine to make it get out of it's own way. All you're doing when modding a 2.9 is raising the power curve making it more useless.

and what are u? a yankee who cant stand the south? u think ur better than me cuz u live up north. lol? the south aint as stupid as people ( like u) think we are. wow, lol

I rest my case...

 

[Sunk]

I drove my buddy's truck earlier, and with the 4.0 and 3.73s, it turns 33s better than my 2.9 ever turned 31s with 3.73s. I was accelerating up hills with the tach reading less than 2 grand. Good luck doing that with a 2.9. I often wish my truck was a 2nd gen, so then I could have swapped in a 4.0 much easier when my old 2.9 blew in october. I just swapped in a newer 2.9.

The only thing I've got over his truck is about 4-5 MPG

 

[thoughtcriminal]

I didn't really want to do a swap just yet. I want something different. Either high mpg with enough power to out run moped or a tire smoking, honda beating, little V6. lol

you can put a supercharger quite easily and (comparatively) cheaply on a 4.0.
just sayin...

imo, 2.9s are junk. take this opportunity to get an engine that won't crack every time you try to drive it rough

not to mention, I'm fairly certain I have seen looking around that 4.0s get better economy than 2.9s

 

[rickcdewitt]

they only thing i was sayin is, headers arent useless.... thats it. the dude a ? how to get more power out of his 2.9. -and he was told by 88 mudder and me(i doubt you even know what speed parts are sold for a 2.9)and then advised its not worth it- that will get u more power out of the engine. ok, yall think its a waste of time and money? -yes because its not very usable power,are you too stupid to understand that?- well dropin in a 4.0 is a waste of time and money IMO. if ur gonna do it. then do a 289 swap, or a 5.0, or hell even a 351. why take out one v6 just to put a nother one? cheaper? maybe.... more power sure, common, yea deff. -sorry a 4.0 swap is much easier and cheaper and weighs the same as a 2.9 so it will handle the same and you don't need an alignment.and it bolts right in.there are a lot of people who would say a small block is worthless in an rbv- its pointless to do a 4.0 swap again IMO.

yeah i woulden't do it again its already done!

if u think that the 4.0 is a better moter than a 5.0. then ur fuc*in crazy. -i'm not making blanket statements about which is better,its all relative to what vehicle the motor is going in.my mustang is getting a small block and the ranger has the best engine for what most people do with them(4.0l)- who cares about the "diveableity" of a engine -umm everyone who uses their truck anywhere but the drag strip- ur wanna drop a 4.0 in ur truck. get one out of a s197 mustang (2005 +) those are the only 4.0 worth taklin about. but still pretty much a pos. -do you have any idea how expensive and a pain in the ass that would be?-

and what are u? a yankee who cant stand me? u think ur better than me cuz i'm as stupid as people ( like u) think i are. wow, lol

i fixed the last part for you,

give it up its obvious you don't have experience with anything thats coming out of your mouth