Someone needs to get me off this Speed addiction. I am looking into a ranger do to the fact I have to commute to work each day. It is a identical to my fathers B2300 (2.3 w/ 5 spd) 2WD short bed single cab blah blah blah. Well I know the 2.3 is the Lima engine AKA Pinto 2.3 and it dawned on me. What would changing the cam shaft do?

I found this from memory

Comp Cams 2.3 Ford Hydraulic Cam and Lifter Kit, 1500-5500 RPM - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop

As you can see its a comp cams cam. I was wondering if it could be put in a 96 2.3 with no problems, and would it effect my mileage badly? I can live with performance and same MPG, just dont wanna lose MPG.

I know it all has to do with affective power range and that would put you in cruising speed in OD, in the power range, which seems like it would benefit us.

I wanna stay N/A and just have a sporty little truck I can drive daily and save fuel with. I have thought about a 2.3 Turbo setup but I know with a turbo I would keep my foot in the boost, and get like 10mpg lol. So I am up for all info to help. I plan on just the basics, header, exhaust, intake, and other small things. Would like to swap the cams if it can be done and wont harm anything. (Since electronics are so damn finicky) I plan on improving air flow, and I do not need to hear the 'Engine is like a air pump' thanks you very much. I understand that and I hold diplomas in Auto tech and repair and the same for diesel lol. Just here looking for tried and true knowledge.

EDIT:
Anyone have any experience with the JET chips you can get? Are they worth the money? Cause I know it use to be you had to tell the the size injectors and such your running and to me it seems like if you did a cam swap, injectors, and other things you should be able to get better performance and mileage out of your parts with a JET chip. But I do not know if they are worth buying or not.

 

That cam won't help much but it is a small improvement. The best thing you can do for the 2.3 lima is to open the exhaust ports. There are several articles on the web about how to do it. I have raced these engines and you can make some power but it takes a lot machine work to get there. Chevy rods and Keith Black pistons and a ton of head work.

 

Proper porting and larger valves are very doable. But your best bang is installing turbo internals and turbocharging it. The turbo setups get good gas mileage, lots of power. You can improve the economy on a turbo setup by limiting boost and using a proper tune.

Jet chips are obsolete on your setup, what you use is a tuner. SCT is one of the most recommended.