Well, after dumping more money into other projects other then my truck, I have decided to keep the Ranger for awhile longer (I was looking to trade for a crew cab F-150)

So, with boat hauling season not too far away I'm looking to perk up the ponies on my truck. For starters, a full service including all fluids, tranny flush, fuel filter and new spark plugs (she has 70K right now) Beyond that, maybe an intake and exhaust. Maybe a tuner someday? I'll see.

Speeking of exhaust, I've had three on my Ranger throughout the years. First was the Roush Thundertbolt that I got right before they ran out of them. Great deal for the money. At first I liked it, then decided it was too quiet. I removed the muffler and installed a Y-pipe, no muffler. It was louder, but low-end power went down. Next came a straight through Magnaflow round muffler. Helped some, still didn't like it. Next was the stock exhaust again, been like that for a year now.

Now I want an exhaust again, but this time it's going to be a single in/out just like the factory. I don't want to lose torque and have to listen to daul pipes buzzing while towing for hours to the lake! I'm down to Gibson, JBA (Magnaflow knock-off) or Dynomax.

If you have any of these how do you like them and how have them held up?

Thanks!

 

Couple more mufflers, and you're gonna be an expert.

 

i just got a dynomax super turbo and its too quiet for my liking but based on your comments on your other pipes you should like it

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=79591

 

If your really wanting to focus on towing.. forget the exhaust. A towing tune for 93 octane is a much higher priority. They can slightly raise the shift points, decrease the shift time, and have the TQ convertor lockup right after the shift. This will DRAMATICALY improve power and driveability.

I tune my own and have even eliminated the 1-3 skip shift on my towing tune.

Rich

 

Rich, I know you have spent alot of time on your tune as well as many other areas on your truck. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way my truck pulls my boat for being stone stock. I just lock out OD and hit the gas!

How much $$ are we looking at to get a tune like yours? Remember, my truck is STOCK.

 

I should add.....the best gas I can buy in my town is 89, 10% ethanol blend.

 

Really.. for towing on 87 octane all they will change is tranny functions. Same tranny settings for 93...
With 93 octane they can increase timing quite a bit. That helps when pulling up to speed.

Locking the convertor up sooner is what makes a big big difference when pulling a heavy load. (my boat is 3500lbs)

As far as cost.. get a x-cal 2 and tell them you want a towing tune. What ever a tuner will sell you one for. ($300?) Hopefully your tuner of choice will have put the reaseach into it and give you some improvements.

My generic suggestions would be.
1) Raise shift points at less than 20% throttle
2) Lock the convertor right after the shifts (but dont let rpms drop below 1300
3) Reduce slip times

As for engine. I leave fuel alone but use about 2 deg less than my dd 93 tune.


Rich

 

Ok...tuner aside, should I go Gibson? I want a quieter, more pleasant sounding exhaust. Low noise in cab at highway speeds. Single in/out is all I'm after here.

 

I have had the Gibson stainless single in/out on for about four years now and have been very happy with it. It's quiet inside the cab with a nice rumble outside without sounding ricey at any RPM.

 

i had the gibson dual sweptside, wasnt loud enough for me, but for what u want there is nothing better then the gibson

 

i honestly dont think youll be able to feel the much of a difference just from exhaust..itll add like 5whp i dont think you can feel a 5hp improvment

 

Gibson for sure I have the Gibson extreme dual exhaust and its perfect not to loud but definitly not to quiet. its got a nice rumble to it when you give it some juice. If I were you I would just get the extreme dual exhaust it looks sweet on the truck.

 

I run magnaflow single in single out. And its not to loud and my truck tows great with it and the front end is louder than my exhaust