Dual Exhaust vs Single Exhaust

[Daily Driver]

Single/ Dual

I ended up with a single cat back. I looked into duals but did not want to have the exhaust too big and lose bottom end power. I also did not want to play with all the extra effort putting in a dual for looks when the same size single could be put in easily and be out of the way.
I also thoroughly dislike seeing more smoke or condensation burn off coming out of one pipe than the other. Got mine at Summit for $150, though I saw them for $100 before. More $ for other mods.

My thinking was diameter is diameter so if it comes out one hole or 2 it does not matter. However if you tune it and do it properly, say with eventual headers and cam and true dual exhaust and such, that may be a different ball game. Either way, I figured I did not have a race machine so some help at reasonable cost is what I wanted.

There are a lot of reasons not to get a 4.0: Not much more HP, less reliable, history not as long, from what I hear they are more difficult to work on...

If you really wanted easy HP in a little truck there is the stock 4.3 Vortec in GM trucks with 200 HP and more right off the bat. But HP is not everything. For example here you would have had to buy a Chevy.

 

[Hahnsb2]

Thanks for the tips.

The only reason I don't like revving it is that I'll be watching my gas gauge go down. I'm 18 years old, trust me, I want to rev the shit out of it, but I also don't have a pocket load of money to spend on gas...

How much would an intake do? It may allow the engine to free up so i can rev it easier...

Letting it rev freely is better on gas than holding it in the next higher gear and lugging it.

The intake wont do much. IMO your best bet is the 1.7 roller rockers, I love the differnce they made on my 5.2 (some low end from the extra lift but mostly a top end gain), and they did help boost the gas mileage. Overall between the exhaust (I highly recomend Aero Turbine mufflers), M1 intake manifold and rockers, I picked up about 1MPG mixed and 2MPG highway. It gives most V6 trucks a run for their money in the MPG department.

There are a lot of reasons not to get a 4.0: Not much more HP, less reliable, history not as long, from what I hear they are more difficult to work on...

It not the HP that matters, it's the low end (and flat torque curve) torque, it's what makes the 3.0 a car engine and the 4.0 a truck engine.

 

[Daily Driver]

Hansb2,
You are correct re HP v torque. Most people driving Rangers or any little p/u seem to have a car with a big open trunk. I use the bed, and tow my travel trailer w/it and the car motor still works fine. Naturally a 302 would be nice or a 351 would be better but the 182 works well enough. When I tried a 98 with a 4.0 I did not see that much difference. Maybe it was just the truck I drove.

Having tried the 4.3 though, that thing will move a cargo Astrovan. If geared the same should haul a$$ in a P/U. But there is that drawback.

 

[Daily Driver]

Just wanted to subscribe...

 

[Airmaster]

Hansb2,
You are correct re HP v torque. Most people driving Rangers or any little p/u seem to have a car with a big open trunk. I use the bed, and tow my travel trailer w/it and the car motor still works fine. Naturally a 302 would be nice or a 351 would be better but the 182 works well enough. When I tried a 98 with a 4.0 I did not see that much difference. Maybe it was just the truck I drove.

Having tried the 4.3 though, that thing will move a cargo Astrovan. If geared the same should haul a$$ in a P/U. But there is that drawback.

I'm actually kind of a Chevy guy(main reason I went for a Mazda badged Ranger ), so a 4.3 wouldn't be out of my way.

Have any 4.3s been transplanted into Rangers? I'm guessing a new ECU and wiring would have to follow if you switch to a Chevy engine vs Ford, am I right?

 

[Airmaster]

Oh and thanks SixFoFalcon and Hahnsb2, added to your rep...

I may just go for a Catback, and some 1.7 rockers. If I really get into it, I might try headers, but my experience with aftermarket headers isn't too great, most of my friends with them ended up getting cracks in them, and they rusted as fast if not faster than plain stock steel headers....