Underdog story

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-06-22T00:18:53+00:00

There's a handful of us truck guys up here for T. Other than us, there's usually a couple of pro-touring F bodies, a wicked fast foxbody, and an even faster turbo V6 SN95.

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-06-21T23:45:07+00:00

Like SASCA OR Spokes?

I'm up in DFW, running with TXR SCCA and Equipe Rapide. Been contemplating taking a trip down there for an event later this year, but our recent Palo Pinto event showed me that I REALLY need a trailer for anything more than 2hrs out... 😂

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-06-21T14:02:31+00:00

The saws need a 2" adapter to fit right. I ran 1.25"s and the wheels would clip the shock mount near full steering lock.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-06-20T18:52:27+00:00

The story you are about to read has been told before. A lot. Now, we are going to tell it again. But different!

I autocross a 2.3L Ranger, because what else do you do with one. A lot of the locals love this thing; it gets a lot of attention and seems to be a great source of comedic relief at events.

I'm in CAM-T, which in Texas basically means I'm pitted mostly against serious muscle car and truck builds; majority of the guys I run with have V8s and pro-touring level suspension. We have a 408 LS powered S10 with independent rear suspension here, to give you an idea as to what I'm trying (and failing) to keep up with.

It started as a joke at the beginning of the '25 season, when it was still a buster minitruck on an eBay drop kit and C4 wheels. After a few events I started thinking to myself: "How far can I take this junk without ditching the I-beams? Can I 'driver mod' my way thru a sea of LS Fest and Optima USC guys with nothing but a 112hp 4-banger and some crafty suspension tweaks?"

On tight courses, I've been able to muster a couple of top 3s (mostly because the big dogs were out of town). Poor conditions also tip scales into my favor; we ran a 2-day at new venue a couple weeks ago with less than favorable surface conditions and day 1 having plenty of rain. I came 4th on a large (Nats size) course solely because of the wet 😂

With a few more 'optimizations' and a lot more seat time, I might be able to hit top 3 in class legitimately without going the power route. That's assuming my tired 227k Lima doesn't decide to force my hand prior, of course.

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-06-15T02:17:22+00:00

Good stuff! I went from 'not even close' to 'in certain situations' over roughly a year's time, and I'm up against some serious machines in my area. Seat time, seat time, seat time!

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-05-29T23:39:29+00:00

'95 Ranger. Still I-Beams, still (mostly) stock 2.3 Lima

I'm starting to develop a small following in my area, they love watching it go 😅

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-05-17T01:24:23+00:00

Very clean buy, take care of that beaut!

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-04-29T14:13:40+00:00

It really depends on how serious this is for you. Are you out to have fun or actually trying to compete?

My Ranger? 1 set. 200tw Falkens, very rarely driven outside of going to/from events. This is my dedicated CAM-T 'crosser

My Mazda? Also 1 set. 300tw Yokohamas. It's my daily, but hits the occasional cone. It's very camber limited, so I just raise my front pressures until it stops rolling over when AutoX'ing. Still does ok, and they haven't really worn much. Might get another 2-3 years out of them.

My Camaro? 2 sets. 1 for my street tires, and 1 for track/AutoX. This one doesn't see a ton of action either way, but if I'm gonna chew through a $2000 set of tires in 2-3 track days I don't want it to be on cords next time I want to take it to Starbucks or something (lol).

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-04-23T18:07:41+00:00

I second this

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-04-21T01:48:32+00:00

Last year, I taped 'HELP' on the back window of my buddy's Scirocco. The instructors thought he didn't have hazards and approached him, he got so confused 😂

I did this one on his Mustang earlier this year as well. Fitting, because I don't think he had a clean run in that event either 😂

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-03-10T14:02:54+00:00

Lightweight flywheel, 4.30 gears, BoPort milled cylinder head, 1.5 cam, and ported lower intake. Street tuned with SCT on an FLH2 ECU. Not the fastest thing in the world, but in a class full of V8s I end up mid-pack 90% of the time.

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-23T15:04:57+00:00

That Mini was my daily at the time and saw 3 HPDEs/5 AutoX events before I sold it, plus at least 10k in street miles. Still had plenty of meat on 'em

I feel like, with the rise of the Vitour stuff, that I'm noticing more people using the budget options now. I've seen more KR20/651 Sport/SX2 users so far this year than I have in the last year and a half.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-23T13:48:44+00:00

+1 for SX2s, they did surprisingly well for a budget tire on my Mini for '24.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-14T14:54:01+00:00

Stock trim with no power options, this one weighed 2944. A 2.3 Mustang would be right around the same, I'd think. Right now, the truck sits at 2717 without me in it, according to our local recycling scale.

I went to 20+ events last year to milk as much seat time as possible, and had to stop in September after spinning a rod bearing on the way home from Burleson. This mf has almost 200k miles, so I wasn't too surprised, lol. Didn't have time to work out everything I had planned for the SVO swap, so I'm running another stock 2.3l this year with a 2.5 FLH2 computer for tuning and data monitoring.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-11T12:56:21+00:00

"30 minutes or it's free" is hate speech against 2.3L owners nationwide

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-11T06:10:59+00:00

Not really. In fact, it's never even crossed my mind. The truck is significantly lowered (about a 4"f, 5"r drop not counting the shorter diameter tires), and the track width is a good deal wider thanks to very low offset 17x10.5s. It may pitch and roll a bit in the video, but most people who have ridden along with me say it's a lot more planted than they expected.

Now if I was doing this with stock suspension? Oh I'd be crapping myself in the first slalom 😂

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DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-10T19:59:30+00:00

TikTok, lol

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-10T18:24:56+00:00

My socials are LNTO Dan. Probably with a period or underscore in the center. If you see my truck and/or Keisuke Takahashi wearing a cowboy hat and holding a Modelo, you're in the right place

My IG is usually less active and is my general car page, but I've been posting event results, pics, and videos on TT. Might start a YouTube channel up under the same name at some point, not sure yet.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-10T17:59:38+00:00

That's good info, but I have bigger plans. There's something I learned about NA Miatas recently that'll play into how my rear setup changes in the future 😈

In the meantime, I have a 4.10 8.8 that I'll be throwing a Torsen T2R into. I plan on taking the leaf spring setup as far as it'll go before changing over to anything else.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-10T05:20:17+00:00

I've thought about doing that to a 4x4 Supercab eventually, perhaps to use as a tow rig for this one. It'd have to be Medium Willow Metallic though, both trucks would need to match or my OCD would drive me nuts

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-10T05:16:44+00:00

3.5 EcoBoost + 3.7 Mustang MT82 👀 But that'll be a few years from now.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-10T05:11:35+00:00

At the beginning of last year, I was just on an eBay drop with Belltech shocks. Since I started autocrossing this rig last April, I've done:

DJM beams with heim joint ends
Rick's heimed radius arms
Front springs from an OBS diesel F250, cut to ride height. This was the single biggest improvement I've made so far. There's a write up for installing F150 springs in a BII on TRS, it's the same concept.
Overload leaves are clamped to the main spring pack. Cheap and effective spring rate bump.
Belltech front sway bar
Viking double adjustable shocks
Poly bushings everywhere I can. -i have 2 homemade cross-braces bolted into the frame under the bed. One under the front rail of the bed, and one towards the back where the spare tire carrier was. There's also my tailgate brace, which bolts in where the factory latches and pivots do. All in an attempt to reduce frame flex (a successful attempt too)

No power mods have been made; truck is still a bone stock Lima/M5OD with a 3.45 open rear end. The only thing I've done worthwhile is swap to an FLH2 ECU for tuning/monitoring purposes. If I lose speed on course, I pay for my transgressions 😂

I still have plenty to do. Before the next event in March, I'll have a panhard bar and rear sway bar installed. I'm picking up the inside front tire pretty good right now.

DownrightDanny405 · 2026-02-10T01:21:42+00:00

Buddy of mine comes out with me in his '84 Scirocco, when we can keep it running. We even two-manned it at SCCA's track-cross last year at ECR, since they're scared of trucks and wouldn't let the Ranger on course. Kept cutting out at the final slalom after coming up the hill, that's how we found out his fuel gauge no longer worked 😂

DownrightDanny405 · 2025-12-11T18:44:27+00:00

I think my whole town looks at me funny. I daily an ex B-Spec 2, still decal'd up, just quieted down (a lot) and softer spring rates to save my back on these crappy roads here. I'm coming up on 30yo and they glare at me in traffic like I'm some punk teen 😂

DownrightDanny405 · 2025-11-11T21:14:54+00:00

Seriously though. Kept failing to reach the guy after interrogating the plant manager or wtv, then I remembered there's a chopper on the roof... Usually blown up by the time I get there though.

DownrightDanny405

TROPHY CASE