2.3L ('83-'97) 2.3l Engine upgrades

[JediJesus]

I have a 2wd 1992 Ranger, 2.3l L4, with the 5 speed manual, and I'm wanting to make faster, while still being a daily driver. I don't have any specific HP numbers I want to hit, but I want to make it more fun to drive. The truck is already super fun to drive, cause it's small and handles decently well. I've already done a few cheap things to increase throttle response and what not like the ziptie on the throttle cable and remove the air silencer in the intake pipe, and that made a big difference (got the thing up to ~95mph when the speedometer only goes to 85mph)!

So I was wondering if anyone knows where I can go to get a performance camshaft? Also if there's any other engine mods I should do along with a cam? Or if there's something that I should do instead of a cam? Any advice helps!

Also, keep in mind my experience level, I'm 18 and new to modding engines for performance, I've only ever done maintenance, and repair jobs. The biggest repair I've done is replacing the front left outer stub axle shaft and wheel hub on my '95 Ram 1500.

One last thing. I have been through other threads on here and other forums looking for some answers, but I wanted to post my own and get some personal feedback.

 

[lokalzer0]

I have a 2wd 1992 Ranger, 2.3l L4, with the 5 speed manual, and I'm wanting to make faster, while still being a daily driver. I don't have any specific HP numbers I want to hit, but I want to make it more fun to drive. The truck is already super fun to drive, cause it's small and handles decently well. I've already done a few cheap things to increase throttle response and what not like the ziptie on the throttle cable and remove the air silencer in the intake pipe, and that made a big difference (got the thing up to ~95mph when the speedometer only goes to 85mph)!

So I was wondering if anyone knows where I can go to get a performance camshaft? Also if there's any other engine mods I should do along with a cam? Or if there's something that I should do instead of a cam? Any advice helps!

Also, keep in mind my experience level, I'm 18 and new to modding engines for performance, I've only ever done maintenance, and repair jobs. The biggest repair I've done is replacing the front left outer stub axle shaft and wheel hub on my '95 Ram 1500.

One last thing. I have been through other threads on here and other forums looking for some answers, but I wanted to post my own and get some personal feedback.

I'm with you...so any info would help

 

[bobbywalter]

anything you do for the low hanging fruit is a waste of time and money. cams port and polish intake ect... it is the most amount of dollars for least amount of power.



simply put....just put a turbo on it with a size up injector and live with 4-5 pounds of boost.

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[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, that, would be the most bang for the buck... not recommended to exceed that boost level though on the stock cast pistons...

Cam won't make staggering difference until out of daily driver rpm range.

Check the axle gearing and tire size, in the '80's and early '90's Ford liked to put really tall gears in the axles which made the least powerful engines feel really gutless... my '97 has 4.10:1 gears and it is pretty nice to drive and has power everywhere as long as I'm in the right gear (within reason, it's still a 200k mile old 105hp stock powerplant...), but I played with tire size to get the drivability I wanted...

You'd get more gain from porting the head than a cam I'm pretty sure... at least with stock everything else.