Hey everyone as you can see by the title its my first post on here so please take it easy on me if I posted in an incorrect area and such. Recently picked up a bronco a few days ago from a buddy of mine that's going into the marines and I previously had a 2001 dodge Durango v8 magnum. With that being said before I ask my question yes I know they're different engines and bodies ect so please spare me the grief. My questions is I am so use to the v8 magnum that I feel my bronco is a bit cheesy on the power specially with its fuel consumption. What are some things that I can look into for some more power as well as fuel efficiency? With that being said I absolutely love the looks of the bronco it sounds nice the ride hight is perfect for me not too high or too low. I just feel I'm getting jerked around on the power, maybe I'm wrong and I just haven't really put it to the test. I've had plenty of every day driving with it even previously before purchasing.
I have stock 31' tires on there everything is stock as far as I am aware. Thanks for reading and hopefully y'all can enlighten me to some bronco wisdom and knowledge.

 

Welcome,
is the bronco auto or manual?

couple things to understand is the 302 is a rather underpowered motor for a vehicle that weights over 5000lbs. with that said there are some things to help you out to a degree. first i would look into getting some headers, aftermarket or custom y pipe, hi flow cat and better muffler. keep the exhaust size no larger then 2.5 until you exit the muffler. a good tune up with motorcraft copper plugs/cap/rotor, some plug wires and bump the timing up to 12-14*btdc. search a bit on here to learn how to up the timing properly. I would also get the fuel filter changed unless you know its been replaced recently. DO understand that bronco wont probably see anything better then 17mpg on the hwy. if its a manual tranny you might squeeze a bit more out of it but dont hold your breath.

get us some pics of your rig, take a couple of under the hood as well.

 

Okay great thank you for some options and things to look into I am not a very vehicle savvy person I am a machinist and a lot thing people explain or tell me makes sense so I may have a lot of questions coming your/y'all's way. Ill upload some photos here shortly and also have a very nice mom and pop mechanic so anything I can't grasp and do my self I'm sure he will be able to do and I'm sure like most funds aren't exactly all at hand so once I learn a bit more I guess Ill have to prioritize and work my way on up. I plan to have this vehicle for a whole and don't mind working on it.

 

OP here, forgot to answer your first question it is an automatic.

 

lyhere are some photos werent exactly sure what you were wanting so I took a 360 essentially. and there you have it, hopefully if it dries up here shortly Ill be able to get under her and take some photos in needed/wanted.

 

That is one sweet looking Bronco. Welcome to the forum, I am sure you will love it here. The Bronco as I am sure you are aware, is heavier than the Durango you used to have, and is underpowered. I would suggest a good tune up, and bump the timing as previously stated. That will improve your initial acceleration away from a light. Search the threads for the six liter tune up. It essentially is a coil change with new plugs and the above mentioned bump in timing. I have not tried it yet, but will do so next month when funds permit.

Headers and a complete exhaust will set you back quite a bit in funds, but there are things you can do with very little time or money. One is make sure all your tires are properly inflated, another is no jack rabbit starts. Anticipate the lights and drive accordingly. As mentioned above this is a 5k vehicle, and will not see great mileage figures. I estimate I get 10 mpg in town and 15 on the highway, but that is only an estimate as I have not checked it yet, except for an off road trip where I got 8 ( Mine is the 351 however, you might get slightly better.

Again, welcome to the forum, and feel free to ask any questions you have, remember the only stupid question is the one not asked. Enjoy your stay here.

Jim

 

Yeah what nighteyez said is good! I have done all that and it has helped. I have a 302 also, but a manual transmission so that kinda helps with my mileage. I also have 33" tires with a 4" lift which doesn't help, but with the tune-up and headers/exhaust, I get about 16 highway and 13 city. If I drive on a city road (around 45) and get green lights (parts of Scottsdale here in AZ), I get up to 18mpg, but my tank averages about 15-14.

Another thing I did which I noticed 1mpg increase ( I pay very close attention to my MPG) is to get the K&N FIPK kit for the bronco. It comes with a cone filter and bigger air intake tube. Some people say it's a waste of money (its like 280) because you can do mods yourself to get similar results, but I'm glad I bought it. There are other ways you can make the air intake more efficient quite cheaply, (like wrapping the tube in foil, replacing the stock square filter with a K&N square one.), but I wanted the engine bay to look as clean and professional as possible. However, look into modding/buying a better air intake and you should notice a small increase in MPG.

I'm wanting to change gears in my truck to get more torque with the 33" tires, but I don't know if that will help or hurt my mileage. I don't want it going down!

Nice Bronco by the way!

 

the 302 intake actually outflows the 5.8 efi intake so no need to change anything there. also that motor has mass air so other upgrades can be done that will improve performance for sure but understand that in some cases could affect MPG. the 302 is a hi reving motor that makes its power higher in the rpm range thus will use more fuel. stay up on the standard maintenance and drive it.

 

Sounds great guys thanks for the info and options now to see what I actually wanna do first! Thanks for baring with me and not being ****** haha and as well for the compliments on the bronco. Very exited to work on it and truly make it my own!

 

you could cut the Rot out of those fenders and run and extended fender flare or not, either way it would look good for sure.