I think the 96 ranger has 3.73 gears stock. Another question I have is what is a good performance exhaust set up for the 2.3 that won't sound like a ricer
The electric fan helped low end torque, and made the truck almost silent at idle. Get a 2.3L foxbody temp switch to run it (on at 210*F off at 185*F)
The tube header helped with the high end, took away from the low end
A full 2.5" exhaust has helped, but I'm still working on eliminating an annoying resonance at 2,000rpm. Otherwise it sounds fine.
v8 19# injectors helped the low end, but it ran so rich that you could smell fuel in the exhaust and it tripped a rich code constantly. That experiment was short lived.
Tonneau cover and garden trim front lip for redneck aerodynamics...
Synthetics all around make it run smoother, but I have yet to see the often quoted "+1mpg" for synthetic changes.
23mpg (traffic down here moves fast). At 55mph it can tag 28mpg, but I'll take the mileage hit to get there on time.
All that and...
My truck is still slower than my Wife's 4.0 automatic Grand Cherokee....