TheTwanksta's 2006 Ranger STX "Street" Project

The Twanksta · #1 09-05-2012, 01:23 PM

I guess its about time to post one of these since I have something halfway worth showing again. Ill start with a little history..I have owned a ranger since I was 15 years old(now 26) and have never lost my love for them, something just always brings me back. IMO, its the best small sized truck on the market. When I was 15 I bought a 94 Splash and up until I was about 22, I spent a LOT of money on it. It had a DJM 5/7 drop, 20's, cut-through stereo, the whole nine yards. Unfortunately, this truck was stolen in Tampa and completely stripped. Still miss that truck to this day.

My 94 Splash at Slamfest 2005 - STOLEN

NEW PROJECT -- 2006 Ford Ranger STX 3.0L 5 Spd

CURRENT MODS
Pioneer AVIC F90BT Double DIN w/ GPS, Bluetooth, iPod Control and Back-Up Cam
DJM 3/4 Drop
Roush Front Sway Bar / BroncoII Rear Sway Bar
20x8.5" -- 245/35/20 Hankook Ventus V12 EVO's
20x10" -- 275/40/20 Hankook Ventus V12 EVO's
PowerSlot Slotted Brake Rotors
Hawk Performance Ceramic Brake Pads
Access Vanish Tonneau Cover
XLT Grille/Bumper
Hornblasters Train Horns (200psi)
6000K HIDs(Headlights)
3000K HIDs(Foglights)
LED Tailgate Light Bar

100% Stock 2006 Ford Ranger STX w/ 40k Miles

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Still 100% Stock STX Interior. I love my plastic lined floors!

As I am writing this, the truck now has 130k on the odometer! Runs like a champ and still looks brand new!

Yes, that is the OEM radio bezel.

Most people call me crazy, but I hated how the stock STX bumper hung down like 4-5" lower than the rest of the truck. Its a look that some like and I was fortunate that it was pretty well sought after. I traded another Ranger owner straight up for his XLT bumper that was the exact same color, so it was a win win for both of us.

Before.

After.

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After switching out my bumper for the XLT, I decided to also change out my grille for the chrome "mini-superduty" style XLT grille. I still like the STX grill(and I kept it for that reason), I just felt that the XLT grille makes the trucks look like its brand new, now even to this day people think my truck is brand new. If I ever go to a dark wheel setup, the STX will go back on.

Before.

After.

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Recap

So now we went from this..

To this..

Added 6K HID Headlights / 3K HID Foglights

And a rear LED tailgate strip.

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I happened to run across a set of wheels from a customer of mine that were made for a mustang. We worked out a trade for some detail work and Ive had them for about two years brand new in the box, just waiting for tires. My original tires were pretty much brand new and I couldn't afford the tires I wanted to put on them, so they sat in my garage for a couple years. So just about a month ago, I finally got them installed.

FRONT: 20x8.5" -- 245/35/20 Hankook Ventus V12 EVO's
REAR: 20x10" -- 275/40/20 Hankook Ventus V12 EVO's

Before.

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I couldnt stand the wheel/fender gap, so I ordered a DJM 2/3 drop. After installing, I ended up with a 2/4 drop and found out the front was sitting on the factory bump stops. Ive since removed them and my total drop was 3/4 with Energy Pancake Bumpstops front and rear.

Pictured: 2 Front Drop(on bumpstops) / 4" Rear Drop(on lowest shackle setting)

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Anybody looking to lower their Ranger, even 2 inches up front, will need a set of these to have functioning suspension again. The front of my truck dropped an entire INCH after removing my stock bump stops.

Energy Low Profile Bump Stops PN#9.9132R

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My Roush Sway Bar Kit from HillBank Motorsports just came in today, so Ill be hopefully installing it today after work. I was going to do the BII, but didnt feel like waiting any longer and you cant beat this kit for the $$. It is essentially a stock 4x4 Front Sway Bar and rear sway bar. Ill let you guys know if it makes a difference!

The Twanksta · #2 09-06-2012, 09:36 AM

Got the Roush Sway Bars installed yesterday after work. All in all it took me about 3 hours, if you have done it before, could prob get it done in less than two..

I installed the rear sway bar first since I knew it would potentially give me the most trouble after reading about the driver side link/gas tank issue. I just unbolted the two straps holding the tank and pushed the tank over an inch or two while I tightened the nut for the sway bar link. The passenger side was cake, took like two minutes. The front was as easy as taking 6 bolts out, swapping the sway bars and putting the 6 bolts back in!

I used these instructions(http://george-novak.com/swaybars.html) and they helped a lot. The kit did not come with any, I found these while searching before I bought them.

Initial Impressions:

REAR: I installed the rear bar first and took it for a test ride to feel the difference before installing the front bar. I could tell a difference, especially when turning hard, but it was not a drastic change in the overall ride. I definitely recommend putting a rear sway bar on if your truck doesnt have one, but I will be looking for a BII bar still for increased stiffness in the rear.

FRONT: After the rear sway bar was complete, I installed the front. As soon as I sat in my truck, before even moving, I immediately noticed the truck was a lot stiffer. The front bar is where the most noticeable difference was made. I proceeded to take it for a quick test drive and the front suspension felt much tighter and the side-to-side "wobble" when pulling to driveways, etc. is nearly GONE. It also gives a feel that the front spring rate is a little higher, it doesnt bounce up and down nearly as much as it did. With some good shocks(I am still on OEM), the front should be very tight!

With BOTH bars installed, the truck stays very flat, even on a long 70mph sweeper on some backroads! (could push it to 85mph no issue, I was still taking it semi easy since everything was new

)

mas09ts · #3 09-06-2012, 01:12 PM

Dude your truck is awesome, by far my favorite 2wd!!!

The Twanksta · #4 09-06-2012, 01:20 PM

Thanks man, I appreciate it! I still have plenty of changes in store for it!

The Twanksta · #5 09-07-2012, 08:19 AM

My luck, the day after I install the Roush Sway Bar kit I find a BII Rear Sway Bar an hour away. IMO the front Roush bar made more of a difference than the stock rear sway bar did anyway. Looking forward to seeing the difference between the stock 5/8" Ranger bar and the 1" BroncoII rear sway bar. Going to pick it up this afternoon!

Stinkbaitj · #6 09-07-2012, 08:29 AM

Very clean and nice. Most people don't know there is a fine line between a nice lowered ranger and bro truck. You have done a great job so far. Keep it up!

--1993 ford ranger ext cab 3.0 v6--

The Twanksta · #7 09-07-2012, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stinkbaitj

Very clean and nice. Most people don't know there is a fine line between a nice lowered ranger and bro truck. You have done a great job so far. Keep it up!

haha! thanks man!

edgeman4.0 · #8 09-07-2012, 08:37 AM

The 20's make it look "bro" no matter what you do to the truck. The rest is nice, but 18's would look way better.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using tapatalk 2

The Twanksta · #9 09-07-2012, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgeman4.0

The 20's make it look "bro" no matter what you do to the truck. The rest is nice, but 18's would look way better.

18's are definitely in the plans, I just had these laying around so I threw them on for now. IMO it would look stupid on 18s with only a 3/4 drop, too much wheel/fender gap. 18s wont go on it until its at least at a 5/5 or 5/6 drop.

Myke_ · #10 09-07-2012, 03:20 PM

i wanted the stx bumper for a while but the new one looks so much better.. i want that stx black grille you have tho lmfao

The Twanksta · #11 09-08-2012, 01:35 PM

Finally found a BroncoII Rear Sway Bar local, I was holding my toungue until I saw it with my own eyes, as I had to drive two hours to pick it up! haha!

For those of you who have been looking for one of these bars, check out http://www.car-part.com. They have about 30 BroncoII registered in their database across the country. I happened to find one in Lakeland, FL, two hours away from me. I sent an email and had a reponse the next morning. I sent my payment and had them hold it for me and drove down to pick it up the same day. You will want to make sure they go and actually MEASURE the bar. I made it very clear I wanted the 1" rear sway bar and everything was perfect!

Here she is in all her glory, straight out of the salvage yard. I paid $50 for it and they pulled everything for me.

Cleaned up good as new with a little purple power!

Here, you can really see the difference between the stock ranger sway bar(this is the rear bar in the Roush kit from Hillbank Motorsports) and the BroncoII sway bar:

The end links were different from the ones I had installed on my Ranger, so I was worried it wouldnt fit without replacing the ranger endlinks with the ones from the BII, the bar was also shaped a little differently. Good news guys, it bolts right up with the stock ranger endlinks! However, I may try installing the BII endlinks as well(new ones with Energy bushings) since they look a little beefier and they are shorter.

Please excuse the dirty truck, its been raining every day here in Central FL. Getting ready for the new transplant!

You can clearly see here the difference in the thickness of the sway bars.

The Twanksta · #12 09-08-2012, 02:11 PM

And since I teased you guys a little bit, here is a shot of my train horns from Train Horns & Train Horn Kits: Loudest Horns Available. I have upgraded them with 1/2" airlines and 200psi, LOVE having them when someone pulls out in front of me or starts merging into my lane. They straighten up real quick! They have been on the truck for over 4 years now and never given me a single problem!

The Twanksta · #13 09-09-2012, 11:23 AM

BII Rear Sway Bar Initial Impressions:
Definitely can feel the difference. My truck started out with NO rear sway bar, then a few days ago I installed the Roush kit(I figured Id never find a BII, haha). But this allowed me to get a feel for the stock Ranger sway bar for a few days, which actually made quite a big difference over stock as well. I took the rear sway back off before installing the BII bar and went for a drive around the block, amazing how sloppy the rear felt!

Now, with the BII on, it was just as big of a difference as it was going from no sway bar to the stock Ranger bar. One of the biggest differences I noticed around town is that the truck no longer "rocks" side to side when pulling into a driveway or uneven surface, which used to annoy the crap out of me. Now it just stays FLAT, it really takes a lot to get it to lean now. The BII bar is definitely a suspension upgrade I recommend to all "Street" ranger owners.

The Twanksta · #14 09-11-2012, 08:15 AM

Found out the new Roush front sway bar actually needs upgraded(wider) End links as well, which did not come with the kit. I found that the hole in the upgraded sway bar is actually larger than the hole on the stock 2WD front sway bar.

I didnt notice this when installing it, but after a week of driving on it, I started to hear a clunking noise up front. Turns out the play between the endlink rod and the hole in the new sway bar allowed the bar to break on of the bushing out, allowing even more play in the sway bar/end link.

So today, I picked up some Moog replacements for a 4x4 Ranger since that is what this front bar came out of. On the 4x4, they have a "Heavy Duty" replacement option, which has a larger (7/16") rod and much nicer bushing than OEM. I will be installing them later today when I get out of work, they should work much better than the OEM.

The Twanksta · #15 09-11-2012, 04:30 PM

Was able to get home in time to install the new end links today after work, man they were TOUGH to get in! Tons of play in the oem end links, the new Moog ones were TIGHT! Should keep the front end pretty solid now. From what I could tell on the ride home, its even stiffer now than it was before. Im loving it, truck handles great!

Factory Sway Bar End Link vs. Moog Upgraded "Heavy Duty" Sway Bar End Link. The real difference is the actual bolt size that goes through the sleeves is much larger. You can sort of see it in this photo, the bolt size is just barely smaller than the gold sleeve, then compare that to the exposed bolt on the stockers.

Installed: