I'm looking into possibly building a cold air intake for my 07 2.3l Ranger. I have 2 questions.

1.Will it help HP and/or mpg?
2. What should I make it out of? PVC, ABS?

Before anyone starts saying "you should just buy one pre-made", that's not an option. I'm either going to make my own, or not do it at all. I can not justify spending so much money for something that is so simple and for the performance that it gives, it's not worth it to me to buy a pre-made one.

Now with that out of the way, I was originally had the idea of removing that restrictive air silencer(tapers from as little as 1.75") and replacing it with pvc tubing running from the old air silencer hole to behind the bumper. It will not only be of large diameter to increase the amount of air that can enter the airbox, but also it brings the cooler air down near the bumper to increase performance(even if slightly). Now I've heard from people saying that pvc would break down under the engine heat. Is this true? If so, how would ABS fare?
Thanks for any help you can give.

 

1. maybe, nothing drastic
2. I dont think it will matter, what ever is easiest to get and fit.

post pics of before and after plz.

goodluck

 

It will help horsepower and mpg. You might want to put a less restrictive muffler on it too.

 

Not speaking from experience, but I'm not too sure about using PVC. I know that code for hot water pipes around here calls for CPVC -- and I think that temp is part of the reason.

ABS seems generally tougher.

Good luck,

 

Time out, the 4 cylinder rangers are amongst the most highly efficient designs available for fuel economy. What makes you think a different intake would help mpg. I could see increasing peak hp, but the factory unit is designed for maximum mpg. Any alteration is likely to penalize mpg.

 

ford2go is correct. Hot water pvc is specially formulated to withstand heat up to the boiling point of water and a bit more. Cold water pvc much less. I'm not sure what the general temps under the hood amount to but are surely less than 212*.

That being said, I would probably use aluminum tubing or ducting for durability and weight. 4" tubing and a variety of angled joints are readily found at Lowes or Home Depot. There are even wall register outlets that have rectangular openings like 4"x8", 5"x12", etc, and taper into the pipe sizes at the other end. These would be useful for inlet scoop shapes and such.

Thin aluminum like that is also very easy to work with.

I plan to use this material myself when I do the cold-air inlets on my trucks.

Hope this helps,

Rob

 

I would go with ABS. It is a good insulator, fairly light, and very durable. Aluminum is a good conductor, which heat the air, partially defeating the purpose of a cold air intake. Though if it were me, I'm leave it alone and focus on just doing a catback. I don't think you'll gain much on the intake side, its already larger than what the engine needs.

 

I don't really care too much about a mpg increase. Like you said, the Ranger already has very good fuel economy. I just don't want to see a mpg decrease. I've heard of that happening, but I think it was just a few people who removed the air silencer and left the hole where it was. Thus allowing any and all hot air from the engine to enter.

 

Exactly. If I wanted to use metal ducting, I would want to insulate it. I'd look into abs first, though.

 

LOL I have an idea. I use a register for the intake and get this type. So I can close the intake when it's wet out.

 

That's pretty good. Mad.

I was actually refering to the metal box that that fits in, but hey, your idea has merit.

 

Sticking with the home improvement theme, you could simply use some metal skinned A/C flex-duct that is already insulated. It should be able to withstand the underhood temps, as I think that it is rated to about 250* (for forced air furnaces and such).

Actually, I'm glad I thought of that. It would work great. It's flexible, got about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of insulation on the outside, some have metal outer coverings, it's light, though a little bulky. I know it comes in 4" dia and I'm sure I've seen 3" somewhere.

I think I'll look into that a bit more. My goals are a little different than yours (I'm after a ram air effect and as much pressure/flow as I can naturally get into the motor. That means scoops with large inlet openings to an 'air dam' area, if you will. I'm thinking of the two flat areas on either side of the radiator in my Ranger. I could enlarge the openings already there, mount my inlets, run the duct up over the fender liners on both sides, and then to the air cleaner... It should provide massive amounts of exterior air.)

But I'm getting carried away here.

Good luck

 

The cai won't do a thing on your 4 cylinder but whistle. For a intake to work properly, you need a new tune that will adjust the air fuel ratio for the amount of incomming air and then the spent gases need to be able to get out. When you do an intake you also need a free flowing exhaust and a tune. Bama sells engine programer for the duratec 2.3 that adds quite a bite of hp and torque by it's self and really works well with an intake and exhauist. These ssystems are made to work in conjunction with each other for the best result. The heart of any modern engine mod is the computer tune. With just an intake you will be disapointed, but with bama and an exhaust, you will feel it in the seat of the pants WOO WEE!!!!! Doug at bama is a ford guru and does nothing but ford tunes. He's a god around the country in mustang circles and also does great things with ford trucks. I had bama on my 04 ranger 4x4 with an intake and exhaust, that thing wouls fly. I picked up 20 hp and 25 foot pounds of torque. Any modern engine mods should start around bama and work from there, you'll be so happy you did. You can contact Doug at bamachips .com.

 

For the love of crap, Wendell! I ask about CAIs and you give me the whole sales pitch. I know of plenty of people that are happy with just a CAI. I don't want a new exhaust, and chip, and who knows however many things that I "need". Sounds to me like your a salesman for bamachips. Either way, I'm only interested in cold air, at least right now.

 

None, I'm no salesman, just someone who has been modding a long time. Putting an intake on a 2.3 will do nothing but waste your time and money. Been there done that. Of course alot of people hear the whistle and think they have more power, but the dyno never lies. Sorry to burst your buble, just sharing what I've learned from messing with rangers and other fords for a long time. I will keep my coments to myself, experience is the best teacher.