Discussing my 2001 Ranger 4.0 SOHC, 5R55E, 4x4, 1.5" Poor Man's Lift, 32x10.5 tires on stock rims.
I've been all over the web and I've found plenty of discussion.....BUT....I'm finding much of the information is either very old, or tuners/chips have been discontinued (X3 for example), etc...
What I'm looking for is torque. I live in Canyonland and rarely see 55 mph. My day is spent mostly under 45 mph. I'm not concerned about MPG as I'm either burying my foot into it going uphill, or pulling the gear selector down to coast downhill. I do occasionally pull a small trailer.
I've learned (read?) that If someone types the word "chip" into their keyboard, it is met with a flurry of "Snake oil, don't work, waste of money," and more rude responses that I won't repeat here. This leaves tuners.
I've also learned (read?) about tuners that if you bypass the chip scam and go with a tuner, that those who have custom tunes, think canned tunes are a disappointment and/or not worth the money for the performance gains.
Bottom line is, I'm not looking for blistering my 0-60 times, or lighting up and shredding my brand new A/T tires or improving my MPG. I'm just looking for a little more spunk down on the bottom end, whether through chip or tuner.

Suggestions, or any new info would be greatly appreciated.

 

There are many chips out there that are junk and even the good ones have problems. The chip contacts that piggy back on the computer tend to oxidize and are problematic. I don't think the good chips are even available anymore. Tuners that plug into the OBD II port and reflash the computer is the best way to go. Even many of those don't do a lot to improve performance. I bought a programmer by Superchips that provided a little improvement in performance but not as much as I wanted. Eventually, I found out about a tuner called BAMA that had great reviews. I contacted the them and he told me he could take the Superchips programmer and install his tunes. I sent it to him and he installed a 89 octane performance tune, a 91 octane mpg tune and a 91 octane performance tune.

I was very happy with the results. I did some before and after acceleration times and got some significant improvements. I ended up using the 89 performance tune most of the time because it is the most economical and still had improved performance. The BAMA tunes not only had better acceleration, it made my Ranger more drivable. Engine compression deceleration was noticeably improved and shifting with the manual transmission was quicker. This was due to the rpms dropping off faster and the slight hesitation on acceleration after shifting was gone. He also bumped up the speed limiter so I would not run out of speed when passing. He offered to increase the rpm limiter but I elected to keep that stock.

Unfortunately, BAMA no longer installs tunes in programmers. I am sure there are still good tuners out there but don't know who they are. I have no need to keep up with it because I am very happy with what I have. I am pretty sure Superchips programmers are still available and may have improved their tunes but I think you should be able to find better tunes for the Superchip programmer.

 

After tons more reading, I opted to order the Diablosport Predator 2.
Good reviews, currently on a good sale and also, when I belonged to the Challenger forum, it was the preferred (canned) tuner, at that time. Looking forward to reporting results, pro's, cons.

 

Installed the "87 Perf" tune, adjusted shift pressure slightly, set rear end ratio to 4.10, and set tire size to 32". Limited canned tunes for the 2001 4.0 SOHC but probably due to the fact I got the CARB Approved (50 state legal) unit.

Yes, it's spunkier, especially from 2500 up. Is it like "WHHHOOOAAA!!!!! HANG ON! WE'RE REACHING ORBIT!"? No....but a noticeable difference. Plus once cruise is reached, it seems less foot is needed to maintain cruise speed.
This could be fun to mess with..... I may try "tow" next. See what it does to the low end.