Sorry. I live in vegas and its my daily. I use it for commuting but I always like to go on trails and stuff. I currently got it lifted on 31" with a 4in lift spindle and 2in lift in the back. My friend that has a 08 2.3 ranger has the aftermarket AFE CAI. I was thinking about putting the Injen CAI but I read that it's pointless to put on a CAI but it helped my buddies truck out. Would it be beneficial for me? Also I plan on putting a exhaust on it, maybe Magnaflow. Any suggestions?
Ok. That's what I was afraid of. Turning big tires, and pushing a lifted truck through the air is going to be difficult for a small displacement engine. I'd focus on trying to increase torque, to turn those big meats but it's not going to be easy.
Honestly, there are better options available for off-roading than lifted 4 cylinder 2wd Rangers, and your truck would probably pull decent money that you could use to buy a more fitting vehicle. But I know that's not what you want to hear.
Since its your daily, in-depth engine mods like cams are probably out of the question. They'd add some power, but peak tq would likely be higher in the rev range, and probably not be really useful for you. Custom work like turbo installs, or any engine swaps (if you have to pass emissions tests, then the boost or engine swaps might be difficult anyway) are also pretty much off the table due to the amount of time required.
So, this is how I'd approach it if I were in your situation and determined to keep your truck:
First, regear the truck so that it can apply its torque better off road. This will help the truck feel stronger both on the road and the trails. The downside is that it can decrease fuel economy because the engine will be turning higher rpms while driving down the road. Your truck should have 3.73s, which aren't ideal with a lifted truck on big tires, but you'll have to weigh that with the mpg trade off since its your daily.
For the engine, I'd focus on reducing the parasitic drag as much as possible. This will free up some HP and TQ and will probably improve your fuel economy as a daily. The best ways to do this on a Duratec are to install an underdrive pulley, and delete the factory clutch fan. Since you're in Vegas where it gets pretty hot, I would wait on the fan removal until you can get a custom SCT tuner to adjust the trigger temp of the Efan. This is also supposed to be a great way to wake the Duratec up a bit, and can correct the speedo for your larger tires. Adding an intake and or exhaust may help a bit, but don't expect too much. We're dealing with a 4cylinder here. I have a K&N on my otherwise stock 01 Duratec, and didn't notice much of a change other than the sound above 3000rpms. It definitely sounds stronger, but I'm skeptical that it made much actual improvement in power or torque and had no change in fuel economy.
So, with the gear change, underdrive pulley, tuner, intake, and exhaust you have some options to wake things up. You just have to decide if it's worth spending the time and money on a 4cylinder truck instead of getting a different truck/SUV.
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