What to do first!?!?!

[02 ranger]

I am on vacation right now and i am goin to have about $200 that i can use for my truck. I just wanna know what will give me some extra horsepower and torque as well as an increse in fuel economy. I dont want to change gears. I was thinking on a throttle body spacer or a fuel catalyst... if they work. My truck is a 2002 ford ranger xlt super cab 4x4 4.0l v-6 sohc. If u need any more information please feel free to ask! Oh and btw-i need something that i can do in under an hour and not to complicated!

 

[02 ranger]

http://www.fitchcatalyst.com/details.php?prodId=2&category=20
This is a fuel catalyst that i saw. I have read many reviews and it appears that everyone who owns one is extremly happy with them. I know it would be more than $200 but i dont mind paying $50 more. Anyone have a first hand experiance with them?

 

[Big Jim M]

Trust me there is nothing you can do to that beautiful engine that actually will give any good responce for $250.
Save your money and when you have enough put gears in there.
Big JIm

 

[r1hatman]

Bigger pipes!

 

[Larry's shee]

Good tune up ,clean MAF, change oil, air filter, change trans oil ,etc,etc. From what I,ve seen on here you either GO BIG ($$$) or stay on the porch.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Yeah with the 4.0L sohc you really can't get all 3 of those. you either get more fuel economy and less power or more economy and less power.

And almost all of them require more then 200 bucks and 2 hours of time.

 

[Ranger Kip]

how about throwing it at it, going to do that anyways, save up!

 

[Nhaz]

theres nothing you can do for 200 bucks that will improve the engine performance.

You can waste the 200 bucks on all those gimmicks they sell.

and strange as this may sound. better fuel economy for under 200 bucks? Get it waxed! like water wont touch it waxed.

 

[ArkieDave]

Electric Fan

Removing the stock belt driven fan and replace with an electric fan will free up a tiny bit of power. No power drain at highway speed when a fan isn't needed.

 

[oldschool1955]

There is no replacement for cubic displacement! V8 it and be done. You need to decide sippy staw fuel economy or tire shreading power can't have both without having very deep pockets.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Removing the stock belt driven fan and replace with an electric fan will free up a tiny bit of power. No power drain at highway speed when a fan isn't needed.

Witha properly working fan clutch there should be absolutely no power loss at highway speed or even driving around town. Infact you would probably lose fuel economy because an electric fan pulls alot of power, I noticed this when my moms subaru fan would kcik on the engine would drop a couple hundred RPM's and then make up for it by going up a couple hundred above idle. The only place an electric fan would have advantage over a mechanical fan would be on a trail where the vehicle works really hard and doesn't move fast enough to keep air moving through the radiator.

Some things you might think about doing for fuel economy...
- Switch to synthetic oil and motorcraft filters (the synthetic oil really isn't that expensive especially if you get it in the 5 quart jugs from walmart same stuff AWESOME price, and motorcraft filters can be had for around 3 - 4 bucks and they are factory FORD recommended what the dealer recommends can't be that bad?)
- Ride a bike to work? Or change your driving style, if your going for fuel economy why do you need power? Don't gun it at stop lights (its not a race)
-Keep it as close to the speed limit as possible when driving over 60mph (it has been proven that your fuel mileage rapidly decreases once you get it over 60 mph.)
-Remove extra weight from your vehicle, every 100 lbs can reduce fuel economy by like 2 - 5%.
-Keep the vehicle waxed and clean like Nhaz said... It really helps! (and it keeps your paint from oxidizing or fading.)
-Keep your tires properly inflated or even over what the sticker says. My truck wants like 32 and 30 but I just keep the pressure at 35psi.
-If you wanted to go a little extreme... I would get a 98 - 99 ranger with the vacuum hubs and swap out your live axle setup for the vacuum hub system minus the vacuum hubs and get yourself a set of manual hubs. You'll save oodles on the 4x4 system that probably doesn't get used all that often both in gas and parts.
-Different tire can help too. if you are running A/T or M/T tires do you really used them and need them? unless you live on a dirt road or go to the beach or mud pit often get a good set of H/T's they will have very little rolling resistance and the tread will last insane amounts of time and miles.
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