Horsepower

[Trailborneranger]

I'm a young man. I was wondering if there are any cheap tricks to add some horse power. Any tricks?

 

[RonD]

Get rid of the belt driven fan and put in an electric fan, frees up a few HPs

"Tech Articles" is a good place to get ideas and "how-tos"
Top of any page in the banner, 3rd from the left, click it

 

[straycat]

Yea!!! Put in a V8!!! No bolt on HP parts....unless you spend the money.....just turbo it.

 

[swynx]

when i got rid of my stock exhaust the truck felt faster. i assume i just moved the powerband into a different are of rpms that i actualley use. also the noise might make it feel/sound faster.

its a truck its not going to be fast, get a car if you wanna go fast. its designed to be fast. other than a turbo/5.0 your stuck, even then so it wouldnt be as fast as a 5.0 mustang or a turbo car of any sort.

plus, these trucks makes torque... down low.

 

[bmerr98]

Yup. What those members said. No matter what you do (within reason), it'll still be a truck. They're good at being what they are and doing what they're made to do, and like anything else they'll serve well for a long time if you keep them maintained and treat them decent.

I do understand that acceleration and speed are fun, especially in the "testosterone fueled years". If that's what you're after, I hate to say it, but a Ranger might not be the best choice unless you've got money to burn. What's the old saying? Speed kills...Drive a Ranger and live forever!

 

[BLOODBANE]

Nah, dont listen to these guys. You could stroke a 351 and build some major HP, narrowed 9" out back and some tubs, your Ranger would haul a$$, BUT, its gonna cost you and arm and a leg (and it will still be a brick on wheels). I have about 6k in my 347 and Im only making around 425hp. I did all my own fabrication to put it together (original 302/C-6 combo), so it wasnt that bad for me (mainly engine cost).

If you want to go fast, buy what goes fast. If your just looking for some pick-me-up for your Ranger, looking in the engine section for tips/tricks for your engine/year

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Ford was pretty stupid on their gearing in the 90's too, a regear might help more than anything. Especially if the tires are not the stock size.

My parent's had a '94 Explorer with 3.27 gears. The power was there (or so people say about the 4.0) but it was a gutless turd to drive. People say they are trucks and all that... trucks shouldn't have to downshift twice to drag its empty self up a mild hill to maintain 60mph. It wouldn't show my dying 2.8 Ranger with 3.73s much in a race either.

 

[swynx]

Ford was pretty stupid on their gearing in the 90's too, a regear might help more than anything. Especially if the tires are not the stock size.

My parent's had a '94 Explorer with 3.27 gears. The power was there (or so people say about the 4.0) but it was a gutless turd to drive. People say they are trucks and all that... trucks shouldn't have to downshift twice to drag its empty self up a mild hill to maintain 60mph. It wouldn't show my dying 2.8 Ranger with 3.73s much in a race either.

yeah i would have to agree, toyota and nissan both had 4.10 4.3x 4.56 and i think even 4.88 gears available in automatics, they atleast put a 4.10 as the lowest gear set. meanwhile weget a 2.3 with 3.73, and the similar sized toyota has 4.56+, in my mind every truck should come off the line with 4.10

 

[SOAD4.0]

If your driving a 4.0, I found this page a while back that had a couple mods.

Http://ford40.com/airbox.shtml

I haven't done this because I'm not really dying for more horses but I'd be curious to see if it really works

 

[swynx]

If your driving a 4.0, I found this page a while back that had a couple mods.

Http://ford40.com/airbox.shtml

I haven't done this because I'm not really dying for more horses but I'd be curious to see if it really works

i assume this would work as its just like adding a leaf blower to the intake, which i have seen make improvements, also the air in the wheel well ought to be cooler to.

 

[AgPete139]

Really, man, like the guys above said, there's not much in the way of HP. If you have the 4 cylinder or 3.0L V6, you could swap in the 4.0L. It's a total drag and drop procedure, but takes some know-ho to plumb up the lines and wiring.

If you have a 4.0L already, then the best bet is to throw on headers and lifters for more duration. Some of us have tried it, like Destroyer000, myself, and a couple others. It's definitely worth it and easy, but it's not exactly the best cost-wise.

On that note, I have some brand new Pacesetter (I believe) headers for a 93-97 4.0L. I never mounted them on my second 4.0L Ranger.

But, the best bet for power is a Mustang 5.0L swap. I'm sure this is more than you bargained for.

No other easy power adders are available. Don't buy in the the K&N craze. It makes it sound throatier and meaner, and betters your throttle response, but gives you no additional power.


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If you want better acceleration at the cost of top end speed (do you really need to go 105 mph?), then switch out your rear axle gearings to a numerically higher number. ONLY good things will happen if you do this. Better mpg, better torque & acceleration, and more fun driving. This MIGHT change your cruising speed of 65-70 mph & MPG depending on which gear ratio you choose though. Don't go too high.

Meh.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

Nitrous.

 

[BLOODBANE]

If your driving a 4.0, I found this page a while back that had a couple mods.

Http://ford40.com/airbox.shtml

I haven't done this because I'm not really dying for more horses but I'd be curious to see if it really works

This is similar to how I did the snorkel on my Explorer...

Uses the factory air filter in stock location. I dont know about anymore power out of it, but I dont have to worry about it taking a drink.