- Joined
- Jan 29, 2010
- Messages
- 2,287
- Reaction score
- 650
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Central Indiana
- Vehicle Year
- 2000
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 3.0
- Transmission
- Manual
Yeah, the Ram is heavy. Its also got a bigger engine, that will meet the OPs power goals more easily and more reliably.
If we were talking about a stock 4Bt, thenn it wouldn't be so bad, but a 500hp 4Bt is going to require upgrading/strengthening pretty much every mechanical part of the truck. By the time you add the 4Bt (they weigh about 750lbs) the heavy trans to handle all of that tq, the frame bracing to handle the additional weight and tq, and the axles to handle the tq what started as a 4000lb Ranger is probably getting very close to (or exceeding) 5000lbs, and all of a sudden, the Ranger's weight advantage isn't so great anymore.
Add to that the fact that you can just go buy a Ram in a couple of hours and skip all of the time and work required to do a complex swap like this (sinice the OP says hes "not the best fabricator") and it makes the choice pretty easy in my eyes.
A 4Bt Ranger would be cool. No argument there. But I'm not convinced its the best option here unless Mrs OP won't have it any other way.
If we were talking about a stock 4Bt, thenn it wouldn't be so bad, but a 500hp 4Bt is going to require upgrading/strengthening pretty much every mechanical part of the truck. By the time you add the 4Bt (they weigh about 750lbs) the heavy trans to handle all of that tq, the frame bracing to handle the additional weight and tq, and the axles to handle the tq what started as a 4000lb Ranger is probably getting very close to (or exceeding) 5000lbs, and all of a sudden, the Ranger's weight advantage isn't so great anymore.
Add to that the fact that you can just go buy a Ram in a couple of hours and skip all of the time and work required to do a complex swap like this (sinice the OP says hes "not the best fabricator") and it makes the choice pretty easy in my eyes.
A 4Bt Ranger would be cool. No argument there. But I'm not convinced its the best option here unless Mrs OP won't have it any other way.