Small things to do for extra power?

[Robin Hood]

I'm looking to spend just a few bucks.... But what can give me just a little more power. Lately I have been using a little bit better fuel, which actually has given a decent boost...

Any ideas?

[fastpakr]

'Better fuel'? There is ZERO power added by using higher octane fuel. While there are engines out there that will monitor for knock and determine the octane of the fuel being used, then adjust timing accordingly, none of the RBV motors will do so. You are doing absolutely nothing by spending more on high octane fuel other than wasting money by purchasing gas that is (quite literally) harder to burn.

There are NO cheap boosts in power. Keep the truck tuned up and pay attention to when you shift (assuming you have a manual transmission).

[BDAB]

Power costs money. but one cheap thing you can do is advance the cam timing (cost of a timing chain and gears marked for different degrees on advance, gaskets, less than a hundred bones). I have always had decent torque increases by doing that. Stay away from anything on Ebay that says it plugs into your computer and increases power. Best power mod for a 3.0L is swap in a 4.0L ;)

[Robin Hood]

Hmm. Well it wasnt my money I was spending on the gas... oh well.

Yeah 4L swap... you give me the engine and I'll do it.

haha.

[Southern3.0]

Go to a 4.10 gear or bigger

then there's a power programmer from Bamachips for $400 that will give you a few horse, and they help the low end, part throttle, and over all driveability. You can get an under drive pulley from rouge (sp?) performance for $80 and they say its good for like 8 hp, I dunno but I only hear good things about them and how they help alot across the whole rpm range. Then you can do Roller rockers for $250 that are good for 10 hp I think

As far as a CAI or cat back exhaust there really no power to be had there, JBA makes headers but Ive read they dont do anything. Electric fans are junk, all the ebay stuff (Intake temp sensor resistors, Tornado intake deals, electric supercharger etc) are all crap. Someone makeaas a cam ported heads and lower intake for the 3.0 but Ive never read anything about them and there big money.

[Mutant Pony]

Go to a 4.10 gear or bigger

then there's a power programmer from Bamachips for $400 that will give you a few horse, and they help the low end, part throttle, and over all driveability. You can get an under drive pulley from rouge (sp?) performance for $80 and they say its good for like 8 hp, I dunno but I only hear good things about them and how they help alot across the whole rpm range. Then you can do Roller rockers for $250 that are good for 10 hp I think

As far as a CAI or cat back exhaust there really no power to be had there, JBA makes headers but Ive read they dont do anything. Electric fans are junk, all the ebay stuff (Intake temp sensor resistors, Tornado intake deals, electric supercharger etc) are all crap. Someone makeaas a cam ported heads and lower intake for the 3.0 but Ive never read anything about them and there big money.

I agree. 3.0s like rpms. Mine pulls 24mpgs sitting at 3000 rpms. Running below that sucks gas.
I've been playing with 3.0s for a while now but, my best running one is stock. I just run it above 3000 most of the time.

[MrE_Powers]

1 roller rockers give a little hp by keeping the intake and exhaust valves open longer means more air.
2 your engine computer is not programed optimized so a new "tune" can help that( and boost any other mods)
3 bigger intake and exhaust by them selves will not improve power but together they will.
4 under pullies will not create power but they will free up some taken by steel pullies at the cost of alternator out put (only noticeable at idle)
5 or you can go turbo or supercharger.

and add all of these up

check out this site
http://rogueperformance.com/WelcometoFredland.html

[Robin Hood]

Thanks for the link!

:D

[Wicked_Sludge]

do the half shaft mod (on rogues site). thats free and from what i hear, it helps. the TB is the single biggest bottle neck on these engines...so start there.

if you have a dremmel tool, port matching the heads and intake would give a noticeable boost.

if your engine isnt DIS, you can advance the timing to actually gain a benefit from running a higher octane fuel.

[ChrisR1S]

As previously mentioned, prob the MOST noticeable "extra power" would come from reearing your rear.

[Robin Hood]

re-gearing? is that what you mean?

[Wicked_Sludge]

haha, re-earing :D

ya im pretty sure he meant re-gearing :)

[jmzneal]

HOW DO YOU RE-GEAR AND WHAT DO YOU BUY TO DO IT??? I have a 94 2.3 and need all the extra power i can get out of it.

[Wicked_Sludge]

regearing the differentials for a lower ratio.

you need a ring and pinion set and an installation kit. the installation isnt usually something someone with no experience can do the first time on their own. it takes a few special tools and some knowledge of how to properly set up the gears. if you dont get it just right you will burn through your brand new gears in no time.

a downside to lower gearing is higher RPM at highway speeds.

[jmzneal]

ie lower gas milage for long trips right....but faster accel...what do i ask for at the parts store??? i have a '94 2.3 xlt 2 door Ranger 5 speed

What were you saying about a throttle body being a bottle neck???

[Southern3.0]

Jegs ans ring a pinions sets and the installation kit for pretty cheap

I think Jegs brand gears are like $150, I'm not positive tho


Your petter off going to the Junk yard and getting a rear end w/ the gears you want

[Wicked_Sludge]

ie lower gas milage for long trips right....

not necessarily. your engine gets its best fuel economy at its peak power RPM...which is well over 3 grand for most RBV motors. i can gain 4MPG with my 3.0 just by using 4th gear on the highway rather then 5th.

most parts stores dont carry ring and pinions. its more of a specialty part. your best bet for buying new would be to swing by a local 4x4 shop and have them order (and install) your gears. the cheapest route would be to go to a junkyard and find a truck with the gearing you want, then swap the entire axle into your truck.

the throttle body on the 3.0 engines (most RBV engines for that matter) is much smaller then the rest of the intake system. meaning its costing you more power then any of the rest of the intake system. if you want to do any 1 modification to your intake to increase power output, start at the throttle body.

[jmzneal]

k..i've read the link about boreing out your oem TB and don't like the idea of all the hassle..i'll find one that'll fit a 2.3.... i do how ever like the MAF mod and will try it...also will get not fully unrestricted muffler and try to find some one that will tapp out the manifold to match like the link said.... i think coil pack is a good idea and a higher rearend gear.... i have 225-45 18's what gear should i use for best Gains so i don't lug up hills and stuff anymore....i was thinking 4.11??? Man i was begining to think i was stuck with the "I think i can, I think I can" mind set or a full engine swap to get any hp gains out of this thing....Thanks ya'll

just out of curiosity what kind of gains does these little mods do..like 1-2 each or more???

[BDAB]

thats 26" over all diameter............ whats it got now? 4.10's might be a little too low geared ......... for your engine 4.56 would be a good ratio for 31" tires ....... I would look for something close to 3.92......... 3.73's might be a little strung out....... 4.10 might be your only choice........ find an explorer axle with a 4.10 L/S .......

[Wicked_Sludge]

2.3's have tons of aftermarket support. i wouldnt write that motor off unless you turbo it and still dont have enough power :D

gearing is largely personal preference. you need to decide on a balance between low speed acceleration and highway RPM. like BDAB said, 4.10's might be a little deep for those small 26" tires.

knowing what gear you currently have may help you decide what gear to change to.

all the intake mods will help a little here and there...but dont look for any single huge boosts in power. its a matter of adding all the little mods up.

replacing just the muffler on your truck isnt going to help at all. a full cat-back type system might, and a header definitely will help.

[BDAB]

since you have the 07, I would seriously consider the 2.3T swap for your 94......

[jmzneal]

(header) i absolutly can not find one...looked every where...if ya'll could give me a direct link i'd bout kiss you on the lips....i know the muffler aint going to do alot but it in conjunction with the Cold air intake,MAF mod, unrestricted air tube, larger TB, match ported Manifold, high flow Cat, and the ingnition coilpacks, larger rear end gear, and any thing else ya'll want to add to it and i think i'll be happier with my 2.3.

Throw it out and i'll look into it....MAF tonight i'll post a pic if i get done b/f dark
thanks for the sug with the Explorer rear end i'll enjoy the l/s too if i can just find one...

[BDAB]

you'll have to build a header..... I seriously recommend a tri-y (will help to boost low end torque) but your best gain will come from installing a turbo or doing a 2.3 turbo swap.

[jmzneal]

My girl got out of class early so i spent the evening with her. I still need to work on getting an amp rack built too b/c it gets real hot under the tonneau cover during the day and it throws my amp into thermal quickly.....

The MAF has a plate that's held on by torx heads on the back side of the area i'm to cut out...is it okay just to chop all that out any way and just leave the litle round part????

If I go to get a TB what do i ask for...could i just get one off a dif model that'll bolt over and help me out any????

By FULL CAT BACK does that include a Cat Cov too or would any high flow work???

are the electric flex lite fans any good...what should i look for????

what are the benifits of a new cam?????

I'm wanting to do alot but i'm limited in my knowledge of this kind of motor. Plus no one in my family knows anything about these little engines either...if it were a 302 or 351 it would be whole new story. Not looking to do a 2.3T swap unless a motor just pops up and kicks my shins out from under me...LOL

[Wicked_Sludge]

the pics show that you just leave the round part (the sampling tube). you need to leave enough meat on there to re-install the heating element afterwards (you'll see what i mean when you get it apart).

i dont think any stock TB is going to help you (except maybe one off of a turbo 2.3, but i have no idea what size they are). there are quite a few aftermarket TB's available for that motor, just look around online.

cat back means just that...everything behind the cat (and not the cat itself) the cats used in these trucks is already as high-flow as your going to get....replacing it is just wasting money.

dont bother with an electric fan. a properly functioning viscous clutch fan doesnt soak up any more power then an electric and its likely you'll loose cooling capacity and run into overheating problems with an electric.

a new cam is a good idea. you can probably find them pre-ground for that engine. and if you do a custom grind, you can make it to your specs to get the power curve exactly where you want it.

pretty much everything your talking about doing here is going to help the engine ingest more air. the computer will read this and compensate as best it can with more fuel...but unfortunately it has a limit. ford didnt exactly go overboard on fuel system capacity on most of its motors. your stock engine probably has 14lb injectors, which should be good up to right around 150HP. if you manage to make more then that, you'll run lean and burn things up. (just something to keep in mind if you really get serious about building this motor up...you may be looking at having to do fuel system mods later down the road.)

[Southern3.0]

http://www.need2speed.com/vb_forums/images/smilies/hijacked.gif

[jmzneal]

I'll look into finding a set of new injectors like maybe 16lbs or something little like that...also will try to clean up and mod out the TB off my junk 93 that i wrecked last year...the manifold should be easy to port match from what i can see on Rouge's site. The Air Temp Sensor thing with the resistor looks like it would be benificial if i did it right and maybe put it on a switch so i could turn it off when i didn't need it....what's your opinion on that one??
Also would getting a tuner or chip or both be good to reporgram after all this is complete.
Do you think i'll get 150HP out of these little things??? That's 50 over stock which is pretty good considering all this is really just mods to existing stuff and a intake

[Wicked_Sludge]

what's your opinion on that one??

dont.

you might be able to squeeze 50 more horses out of that thing. more "possible" then "probably" i'd say.

[jmzneal]

http://www.axcessmypics.com/photos/photo03/16/62/4c09e22aa2b2.jpg
this is a pic of the TB...is it suposed to have stuff gunked up in around it like that....the upper intake manifold was like that as well....also what is the thing that goes from the manifold to the header and has an electrical thing hooked to it?? should i clean every thing out and tap everyting out bigger or just certain things.... now that i've taken off the upper manifold i want to go ahead and do the entire thing... fuel rail including new injectors and i took off the header pipe as well so i can start heat wrapping it...any thing i should watch out for???
(stupid question) which end of the engine do you change the cam from cuz if i can do it from the front w/o having to pull the engine i can go ahead and order it b/f i start putting everything back together..maybe pull the radiator and clean it out while i'm in there...change some gaskets clean some things change the timeing belt....
i'm starting a whole new thread about cams b/c i want to learn about lobes, and what makes which one dif and better for dif apps...
This makes me happy that i'm finally learning how to work on my engine by myslef and totally redoing the entire topend and it's only going to cost me time and effort and a few hundred bucks oppossed to a shop charging me 50 bucks an hour.

[Wicked_Sludge]

clean as much of that gunk out of there as possible, its bad stuff.

the thing that goes from the manifold to the header is your EGR tube (emissions device). you can clean it (in fact, you should if its coated with carbon, but DO NOT MODIFY it. if you do, you'll mess up your EGR mixture which will throw everything out of wack.

you can clean and polish every part of your intake if you want. you probably wont want to attempt to increase the bore of the intake runners, but port matching the upper and lower intakes, along with the heads and exhaust manifold would be a good idea. the ideal outcome is a smooth path for the air to follow, with no casting lines, sharp corners, or rough edges to slow it down.

the cam probably comes out the front.

doing the work yourself not only saves you a ton of money, but it allows you to take pride in your truck, knowing you built it the way it is with your own hands. you know its done exactly how you wanted it done.

[Robin Hood]

Make your own thread. You don't even have a V6 you have a 2.4 I4. Make your own thread in the 4 banger section.

kthx.

[Wicked_Sludge]

while he doesnt have a v-6, everything that has been discussed so far applies to either motor. you hadnt posted in several days so i figured you were just sitting back and soaking this in.....guess i was wrong. :huh:

[Robin Hood]

Well I think he can make his own thread.

I'm debating what I want to do. The truck isn't mine. Its my dad's.

I drive it more than anyone though. I don't know how much longer I will be driving it because I'm getting my GMC up and running.

If it was my truck I'd save up for a V8 swap.