I just want to know how I can get more speed and more power on my 99 4.0L 4x4 ford ranger with out spending to much and I have already done the throttle trick

 

throttle trick?

this is a good article.
1994 Ford Ranger - Custom Ford Trucks - Mini Truckin' Magazine

new plugs and wires
bigger throttle body and MAF sensor
headers, exhaust, CIA, injectors

 

No not really.

There is only one way to make any engine have more power, raise the amount of air it can use.

Ranger 4x4 weighs about 3,500lbs
If you were to put the 4.0l in a 2,000lbs vehicle it would "feel" like it had more power, but power is the same, power to weigh changed, lol.

Any power increase for the engine comes when you add more air, so you can add more fuel.
Gasoline releases the most power at 14.7 to 1 air to fuel ratio.
If you just add more fuel you lose power and waste money running Rich.

5.0liter engine has more power than a 2.0liter engine because it can used more air so can use more fuel and get more power, simple physics at work here.

A gallon of gasoline has XX amount of power stored, you can only get XX power and no more from that gallon of gas, you can get less power but never more power.

So to get more power from an engine you have to get more air passing thru it.
Larger Cam does that
Super or Turbo charging does that
Boring or stroking does that

Now changing to higher compression ratio also adds power, and without adding more air.
But you do get stuck with running higher octane fuel.

NASCAR allows unlimited air use for the most part, except at two tracks, at these tracks engines have to have "Restricter Plates" installed, what do they restrict?
Air flow is what the restrict, lower air flow = lower power = lower top speed
These guys have very very large budgets to build powerful engines with gobs and gobs of horse power, and that can all be "restricted" by just limiting air, lol.

Point being, if you want more power you need more air, anything else is a waste of time


You can change current setup to higher gears in front and back differentials.
4.10, 4.56 or so will give you faster 0-50mph speeds but highway MPG will go down.

Rangers have tuned exhaust for mid-RPM range, you can get low-RPM range exhaust, so better starting speed, but less power at mid-range.

Electric radiator cooling fan frees up 2 to 4 horse power, over the belt driven fan.
And better MPG as well.
Not alot of power or MPG change but not 0 either

 

That was not the link i meant to insert!
LOL
4.0L V-6 Tuning Tricks - Engine Performance - Ford Rangers - Ford Explorers - Sport Truck Magazine

 

Ron-
So will opening up the intake system with less restrictive parts like a larger MAF and throttle body get more air passing through it? will it make a difference in power?

In your opinion, what is the most restrictive component in the intake? Just from eyeballing, it looks like the MAF housing is the smallest diameter... Also, could these be bolted on to the stock airbox & airtube and see results since the stock CIA is 200% setup?

 

Throttle plate restricts the air the most, lol.

Looks can be deceiving, you would need to measure throttle body opening and then any other narrow passages from throttlebody to fresh air vent to see if they might restrict air flow at WOT(wide open throttle) because that is the only time restricted air flow would matter, running at 1/2 throttle means the throttle plate, again, is the restriction :)

You can install a vacuum gauge in the cab to see if you have restricted air flow.
Intake vacuum is created by the cylinders wanting to pull in more air than is available, so vacuum indicates restricted air flow, restricted by the throttle plate.
At WOT vacuum should drop to 0 and stay close to 0 if there are no restrictions.

Obviously you want to do this at highway speeds and to BE CAREFUL.

Simply blipping the throttle wide open in the driveway won't tell you anything about restricted air flow into the engine under load.

Cab vacuum gauge is also good for other uses, best fuel economy is when vacuum is the highest, and nothing wrong with getting best MPG when cruising along, so you can save gas money to put into engine performance when not cruising, lol.

Intake Air systems are designed to take advantage of air velocity.
Like scavenging exhaust systems.
If you use the correct size smaller tube and it flows into a larger tube you can create a low pressure that actually pulls in more air than just a straight thru larger tube would.
It is a science and beyond my pay grade.


Air filter setup is 200%, so filter can get 50% clogged up before effecting engine performance.

 

Thanks Ron!!

Have you installed a vacuum gauge on your ranger? Is this relatively easy, or something to take to a mechanic.
Where do you tie in the gauge?

 

Find a vacuum gauge you like the look of, that can be mounted, actual numbers are better than just colors.

On the upper intake manifold, drivers side toward the back is the Vacuum Manifold, there are several vacuum hoses hooked up there.
And there are often 1 or 2 unused ports, they just have a vacuum cap on it.

Or you can put a "T" on any of the smaller vacuum lines

You need to run the vacuum hose into the cab.
Check out the E-brake cable grommet in firewall, there is often enough room to bring in the vacuum hose thru there.

 

Awesome! Looks like I'll be able to do it for under $30, With a LED Gauge with #'s and a single pod pillar mount.

Under the hood today, found the unused ports, very accessible pretty confident I can do it myself.

Where do I splice into the power, or just run directly to the battery?

 

Never used a digital gauge, would prefer needle myself, no power needed unless you want it back lit for use at night

No, do not hook to battery.

Google: automotive fuse tap

In cab fuse panel you need to find a fuse that only has power with key on, and use that to power the LED gauge
For back light, if needed(probably not with LED type), you would need to splice into a dash light wire, often ashtray courtesy light is easy access

 

yes analog needle gauge, LED backlight LOL :) and ill look into it, back light isn't a huge priority. Thanks Ron!!