hey everybody I am about to get a ranger for occasional around town hauling nothing big and I'm trying to decide which one. Originally, I wanted a V6, but I test drove a 2.3 manual 2WD and a 3.0 manual 2WD, and I have to say I was impressed with the power for a 4cyl. And to me the 6mpg improvement is better than the second or so better acceleration for the 3.0, so I'm kinda leaning towards a base model, but I was wondering is there any way to add 15 or so hp to the 2.3 for a reasonable price? I mean just to get a little closer to the 3.0 torque while still improved mileage. I'll probably be adding a performance exhaust and CAI setup, and some small mods, but are there any ECU programmers or anything out there for the 2.3? I'm willing to sacrifice a few mpg, but I want more than 23 for sure. And I also want to get rid of the speed limiter as I believe a vehicle should be limited by physics, not electronics. Any ideas where I could get it reflashed?

 

Go with the 2.3 fore sure!
I know the 2.3 has been used for years for racing applications so there are tons of bolt on options,you just need to dig a little for the information because it is is not as popular as some of the other engines out there. A buddy of mine did the high flow intake and exhuast systems then he threw some lower gears into the rear end and that little rangerwas a blast to drive with a manual trans!!
I don't remember the numbers but he commuted in it and the gears did not hurt milage too much.

Good luck

 

You can add a Bama Chips programmer that will up your power and torque along with letting you change rev limit, speed limit, adjust for tire size, gear changes, timing, a/f mixture, and several other features. Doug Stoddard is a whiz with Ranger tunes and a super nice guy to boot. There are lots of 2.3L Duratec parts out there, just most aren't specifically built for the Ranger. FocusSport has lots of power parts for the 2.3L.