What performance inhancements really work on a ranger?

[sstangsterx]

I've owned a few rangers (85 w/v-6, 88 w-4banger all 4x4) Newranger4x4 FX4 with the 4.0. between last time I owned a ranger I've had several jeeps with the inline 6cyl. 4.0. There are a LOT of crap out there for jeeps that really don't add performance, much less feul economy. I did ALOT of research on my last jeep before spending bucks on "performance inhancers". I have put larger tires on my new ranger and haul loads with it on a regular basis. You guy's are sole information resource I have to make the right decision on my ranger. I have OFF-ROAD tested my ranger VS what my 2003 jeep would do, and have found that if it had a little more ass , it could do the same job with NO problem. Please, give me all the suggestions you have. I'll weed out the dumb cap, and hopefully purchase the right stuff for my ranger. The jeep commuity was very helpful, and I'm SURE all of you are.
You can see my truck's spec's in my profile page. Thanks for any GOOD help you guy's can give me. I HATE wasting money on CRAP!!!

 

[jethro]

i put on a set of JBA headers from summit and i can tell you that there is definatley a seat of the pants difference!! I have a few other mods done and my buddy got his 8,000 lb diesel 350 stuck at the bottom of a muddy hill and i pulled him out after he overheated trying to burn his way up the hill!!! i have a dual exhaust from the cat back and a CAI from K&N and one of the three cats has been removed pulls like a raped ape now i have a locker in it and just letting the clutch out easy then dropping the hammer i can get both back tires to light up!!!

 

[JDanger]

I too will be watching this thread. Interesting.

 

[gw33gp]

The best improvement in performance for me was the Bama tune. I compared stock to the three Bama tunes (87 octane performance, 91 octane torque and 91 octane performance) with a test that I set up. It was 40 mph to 70 mph and 50 mph to 80 mph in 3rd gear. I used a very accurate stop watch to time the runs. The 87 octane performance program gave me 0.7 second improvement over stock at 40 to 70 and 0.45 second improvement at 50 to 80. The 91 octane torque is the best performance program with an improvement similar the 87 octane performance over stock at 40 to 70 but had an improvement of 1.2 seconds over stock at 50 to 80. The 91 octane performance program did not have the performance of the 91 octane torque program, although, it did have the best gas mileage of all but not enough to make up the difference on the higher cost of 91 octane fuel.

 

[sstangsterx]

Which programmer did you use with the Bama tune? I ask because on my wife's 06' GT mustang I'm using the Diablo programmer and have thought about sending it to those guy's to upgrade it to there tuning. Would LOVE to do the same for my new ranger.

 

[Roadkill]

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[Beanmachine7000]

i put on a set of JBA headers from summit and i can tell you that there is definatley a seat of the pants difference!! I have a few other mods done and my buddy got his 8,000 lb diesel 350 stuck at the bottom of a muddy hill and i pulled him out after he overheated trying to burn his way up the hill!!! i have a dual exhaust from the cat back and a CAI from K&N and one of the three cats has been removed pulls like a raped ape now i have a locker in it and just letting the clutch out easy then dropping the hammer i can get both back tires to light up!!!

These motors really don't flow enough air for the stock exhaust system to be a restriction, you can change it for a meaner sound, but the stock system works perfectly, you might gain 2-5hp (if your lucky) for the $1000+ you could spend on a header back exhaust system... Please DO NOT remove any of your catalytic converters, they are not a restriction, and it is a federal offense to do this... Your truck has a cold air intake from the factory, and the stock airbox and pipe system flows more than enough air to sufficiently feed your engine... I have a completely stock 4.0 with 3.73 Trac-Loc and it would have no problem lighting up the rear tires if I so obliged, I drive my trucks though, not abuse them...

Going to numerically higher gears will give you a definite seat of your pants improvement... If you are going to get a special tune, take it somewhere and get them to do it, those handheld tuners (in my experience) are not very useful, and the real tuning should be left to the experts...

 

[Toms01PSD]

Like Bean said, exhausts and intakes make no noticable differences in performance. They just make the truck louder. Gears and a tune is where my money would be.

 

[sstangsterx]

I will have to agree about the exhaust. I put a FULL exhaust change on my 03' jeep, only to find that it really didn't help much except at wide open throttle. The cold air induction helped more, and the best improvement I made on the jeep was the hypertech programmer. On my 06' GT mustang, I've only installed the Diablo programmer and installed a K&N filter in the stock air box. It was a very noticable inprovement in performance from stock. That is what I want to do with my ranger, find the best possible improvement without wasting money on so called performance inhancers that really don't do much of anything.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

K&N filters or any other CAI is useless on a Ranger... The stock airbox pulls air from close to the headlight, so it's actually colder than the cold air intake kits you can buy...

 

[Toms01PSD]

That is what I want to do with my ranger, find the best possible improvement without wasting money on so called performance inhancers that really don't do much of anything.

Except put a hole in your pocket.

 

[sstangsterx]

I met and talked with a guy today that has an 07' ranger with the same profile as my 08' has. He has spent 2 years trying to get the most performance and feul economy out of his rig as anybody I have talked to. Since he ownes a local parts house I'm gonna assume he knows his business. He get's 18-22 mpg. depending on driving location. The mod's he has chosen are as follows;
1. K&N FIPK cold air induction
2. Flo master exhaust. (cat back)
3. Performance programmer from Bama chips. (seems to be what everybody uses on 4.0's)
4. Royal purple full syn. oil in motor and ALL other cases.
5. 30 + pounds of cooler, beer, and ice up against the tailgate.
Not sure which did the job, but I'm looking into this!

 

[gw33gp]

Which programmer did you use with the Bama tune?

My tuner is an old SCT Superchips tuner. I originally bought it from another company that was called Apten. When I heard about Bama, I sent it to them to reprogram it to their version. I don't know the difference between mine and the later X-Cal tuner but the program should be the same.

I don't know if they have the capability to program a Diablo tuner but you could call them to find out. I understand there are some better tunes out there by other people now. I am satisfied with mine and don't plan to upgrade.

I also upgraded my exhaust to a Gibson Cat back swept side exhaust. I could not stand the hissing sound of the stock exhaust at full throttle. I did not perform any tests when I made that change but feel I got a slight improvement in mid range torque along with improved WOT performance at high rpm. I did not buy it for performance and it is not a big bang for the buck in that respect. It is a big bang for the buck in sound without being overly loud.

 

[EERNGER]

I met and talked with a guy today that has an 07' ranger with the same profile as my 08' has. He has spent 2 years trying to get the most performance and feul economy out of his rig as anybody I have talked to. Since he ownes a local parts house I'm gonna assume he knows his business. He get's 18-22 mpg. depending on driving location. The mod's he has chosen are as follows;
1. K&N FIPK cold air induction
2. Flo master exhaust. (cat back)
3. Performance programmer from Bama chips. (seems to be what everybody uses on 4.0's)
4. Royal purple full syn. oil in motor and ALL other cases.
5. 30 + pounds of cooler, beer, and ice up against the tailgate.
Not sure which did the job, but I'm looking into this!

Haha! i like the cooler/beer part!

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

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