Colder Spark Plug for Tuned Rangers

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txquailguy

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Hi Mark,

Until you know the origin of the internal parts it might not be a good idea to extrapolate the the RS or the "track car".... The 2.3L Lima motor had much different internals for the SVO Mustang than the Ranger. Example. The Turbo motor had a Dearborn Shell Molded crankshaft...bulletproof compared to the cast crankshaft of the Ranger Engine... Time for some mod folks to do the deep dive in the differences....Sad that Ford Performance is not a good source of this. The old SVO was glad to explain the differences and sell you the upgraded parts for your build... Esslinger was also a good source... Someone out there knows the differences...

There is a fellow, Brian Thompson, of Thompson Automotive that may have some of the answers. He is a Ford engine builder that took the Mazda 2.3 in the later Rangers and cranked out over 300 hp naturally aspirated for me for the CORR off road series. Located in Livonia, Mi. Not sure he is still around but a good guy.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Hey Phil

I would love to talk to someone like Brian about the internals of our Rangers and just how resilient they are from the factory. IMO, the fact that we do not have forged pistons is a huge limiting factor for how much horsepower you can ultimately get out of our motors safely. Key word there....safely! I don't have the dinero to mess up one of our daily drivers because I like to go fast.
Funny, I'm pretty happy with the power I have at this point. You have to ask yourself how much is enough?

Great to hear from you and gain some wisdom as usual.....
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I am running one step colder plugs. I got them from Panda Motorsports, pre-gapped

I am running the Livernois tune and several other mods listed in my profile. I talked with Livernois and as another member stated, Livernois does not require a colder plug with their tune, but said if I wanted to it couldn't hurt

Running colder plugs is somewhat of a safety net for higher burn temps and pre-ignition. As others said you may have to change them every 20k. Running colder plugs can cause more carbon build up and a good highway run will clear that up

As far as race gas, I would recommend e85 instead. Mixing in 2gal with each tank of 91 gets you 93 for a fraction of the price of race gas. Ethanol also helps lower burn temps in the cylinder. Stay away from leaded gas or octane boosters

Just my .02. I am not an expert but have been at this awhile and formed my decisions based on research and talking with others/friends that have done this before
 
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txquailguy

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So anyone that has actually changed plugs in the 2019 Ranger.....how do you disconnect the low pressure fuel line? TIA
 
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OP-

I am running one step colder plugs. I got them from Panda Motorsports, pre-gapped

I am running the Livernois tune and several other mods listed in my profile. I talked with Livernois and as another member stated, Livernois does not require a colder plug with their tune, but said if I wanted to it couldn't hurt

Running colder plugs is somewhat of a safety net for higher burn temps and pre-ignition. As others said you may have to change them every 20k. Running colder plugs can cause more carbon build up and a good highway run will clear that up

As far as race gas, I would recommend e85 instead. Mixing in 2gal with each tank of 91 gets you 93 for a fraction of the price of race gas. Ethanol also helps lower burn temps in the cylinder. Stay away from leaded gas or octane boosters

Just my .02. I am not an expert but have been at this awhile and formed my decisions based on research and talking with others/friends that have done this before
How did you disconnect the low pressure fuel line to get to the farthest to the rear plug?
 

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So anyone that has actually changed plugs in the 2019 Ranger.....how do you disconnect the low pressure fuel line? TIA
Mark, I think Sid @Msfitoy just changed his not to long ago it was on his build thread. I'm sure he'll see this and chime in.
 


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How did you disconnect the low pressure fuel line to get to the farthest to the rear plug?
I didn't recall having to move any lines to get to the back plug...can you post a pic?
 
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txquailguy

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I didn't recall having to move any lines to get to the back plug...can you post a pic?
Sid this is the best I can do right now till I get home....there is a rigid fuel line directly above the plug closest to the fuel pump in the rear of the engine. I have a great exploded view but no directions on removing that line. I appreciate HossierT telling me to give it a little tug. I just don't want this to be an item they have modified and tugging on it would be bad. It's a simple bell shaped connector with no tabs (exploded view connector has apparent tabs). Just wondering if I need a connector removal tool of some sort? Any feedback is appreciated.
I will update with a real picture later on today...

fuel pump.PNG
 

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not sure about Ford but for fuel lines many are held with a spring type connector - you generally need a tool that pushes into the connector and thus releases the tension from the spring. It's an inexpensive tool.
 
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not sure about Ford but for fuel lines many are held with a spring type connector - you generally need a tool that pushes into the connector and thus releases the tension from the spring. It's an inexpensive tool.
Yes that is what Iā€™m curious about. Ford has several connectors like that Iā€™m pretty sure.
 

dtech

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Yes that is what Iā€™m curious about. Ford has several connectors like that Iā€™m pretty sure.
IIRC there may be an o ring in that connector that it's recommend to replace on high pressure connections.
 
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IIRC there may be an o ring in that connector that it's recommend to replace on high pressure connections.
It's the low pressure fuel connection. when I figure how to remove it safely I will look for an o-ring.
 

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I ran into this problem too with the low pressure fuel line. Thankfully you don't actually have to take it off even though it says you have to. Glad when I was able to go without because I did not want to deal with fuel on top of my engine and replacing o-rings as others have said, etc. If you are careful you can just barely slip the plug/socket/extension past it. The coil looks like you can't get it out but it it rubbery and bends
 

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I ran into this problem too with the low pressure fuel line. Thankfully you don't actually have to take it off even though it says you have to. Glad when I was able to go without because I did not want to deal with fuel on top of my engine and replacing o-rings as others have said, etc. If you are careful you can just barely slip the plug/socket/extension past it. The coil looks like you can't get it out but it it rubbery and bends
Thatā€™s absolutely correct and I was not talking about tugging the fuel line connector. I was talking about the clip thatā€™s on top of the bolt holding the coil in. Looks like thatā€™s #2 in your pic above. The coil will slide right past the attached fuel line.
 
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If it had to do with fuel line then somehow I didn't need to remove it...
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