Do larger throttle bodies really work?

[Ramcharger90]

@pjtoledo mentioned that the Taurus 3.0 was not the same engine as the Ranger. It was made with a different cam.

That was enough to make me change my mind. That 60mm Taurus TB may provide a little extra power at certain RPM but maybe not enough to make this project worth it.

So when the 3.0 died in my 98 the guy got a 3.0 from a Taurus swapped the intake and oil pan etc around and put it in. He said the truck moved better then the other 98 3.0 5spd he wrecked. So who knows.

 

[Lefty]

So when the 3.0 died in my 98 the guy got a 3.0 from a Taurus swapped the intake and oil pan etc around and put it in. He said the truck moved better then the other 98 3.0 5spd he wrecked. So who knows.

I think you are right. I'm sure there must some power gain. @4.0blue98' mentioned a nice improvement, but he's done a lot of other good things for his engine and exhaust system too. I'm not sure how much or whether this project alone is worth the effort.

 

[Lefty]

I was talking about the actual intake behind the throttle body, the part bolted to the engine.

Although, on my 93, I felt like the plastic plenum from filter box to throttle body was restrictive. I rebuilt all that with aluminum tubing and silicone couplers from eBay.

And you got a noticeable power gain after the upgrade?

 

[fastpakr]

I think you are right. I'm sure there must some power gain. @4.0blue98' mentioned a nice improvement, but he's done a lot of other good things for his engine and exhaust system too. I'm not sure how much or whether this project alone is worth the effort.

There will certainly be a perception of a gain with a larger throttle body, because the same pedal movement will open up more airflow. That doesn't mean the maximum amount of air/peak power has increased. But during daily driving it will feel more powerful simply because you'll get the power you want with less throttle input from your foot.

 

[Lefty]

There will certainly be a perception of a gain with a larger throttle body, because the same pedal movement will open up more airflow. That doesn't mean the maximum amount of air/peak power has increased. But during daily driving it will feel more powerful simply because you'll get the power you want with less throttle input from your foot.

You don't think think it would improve the 0-60 time?

 

[fastpakr]

The only way it would have any impact in that regard is if it was so small that at WOT it was creating a restriction. That would be a pretty epic engineering failure.

 

[Bgunner]

It would depend on how the air enters the intake and intake ports. Have a watch of the linked video. This is on a single carb built Ford engine (for tractor pulls) where he puts a lower filter plate on it and runs the dyno (has base measurement without filter plate, lower filter plate and with air filter runs on the dyno back to back with graphs) showing gains.

Some HP and Torque can be gained with a change to how the air flows into the intake albeit not much but a measurable difference. You really would need to put your truck on a hub dyno to see the changes you are making. Doing it wrong would give a negative impact on it.

On the older 3.0L that have the circular to oval and split back to circular runner between the air box and intake like mine and @ericbphoto's original tube you would see an improvement with doing what @ericbphoto did on the dyno as the air would flow more freely through the tube but again it would be a small improvement at certain RPM ranges.

The older 3.0L needs the lower intake changed over along with the upper to accommodate the larger throttle body as the upper intakes are not a direct swap. The larger throttle body's can not bolt to the older upper intake as they are part of the upper intake and not removable. This was changed through the years and made as a two piece. All this info is here in the tech sections and throughout the forums.

 

[Curious Hound]

And you got a noticeable power gain after the upgrade?

Barely, if any. It's mostly for "peace of mind". A naturally aspirated motor is only going to suck in It's designed volume of air at atmospheric pressure. To get any more, you have to compress the air, making it more dense. That takes a turbo charger or supercharger.

 

[Lefty]

Barely, if any. It's mostly for "peace of mind". A naturally aspirated motor is only going to suck in It's designed volume of air at atmospheric pressure. To get any more, you have to compress the air, making it more dense. That takes a turbo charger or supercharger.

Thank you Eric!

 

[Lefty]

It would seem as if those larger 60mm throttle bodies worked well for the 3.0 liter Taurus which was manufactured with a different cam. Members here have explained that the Ranger 3.0 may report a slight improvement in performance, but nothing really significant, nothing unless one more work on the engine and the exhaust system.

 

[stmitch]

It would seem as if those larger 60mm throttle bodies worked well for the 3.0 liter Taurus which was manufactured with a different cam. Members here have explained that the Ranger 3.0 may report a slight improvement in performance, but nothing really significant, nothing unless one more work on the engine and the exhaust system.

The 60mm throttle bodies used on the Taurus and Escape came on the 3.0L DURATEC engine. It was DOHC, and was able to move a lot more air, particularly at higher rpm. The Duratec shared nothing at all with the pushrod Vulcan 3.0L.

The Taurus got both the Duratec and the Vulcan 3.0, and I'm pretty sure that both were offered simultaneously for a couple of years. So you have to be very specific about which 3.0L Taurus engine you're talking about.

The Taurus with the Vulcan 3.0 has the same diameter throttle body as your Ranger with the Vulcan.

 

[Lefty]

The 60mm throttle bodies used on the Taurus and Escape came on the 3.0L DURATEC engine. It was DOHC, and was able to move a lot more air, particularly at higher rpm. The Duratec shared nothing at all with the pushrod Vulcan 3.0L.

The Taurus got both the Duratec and the Vulcan 3.0, and I'm pretty sure that both were offered simultaneously for a couple of years. So you have to be very specific about which 3.0L Taurus engine you're talking about.

The Taurus with the Vulcan 3.0 has the same diameter throttle body as your Ranger with the Vulcan.

Yes, of course. Others have mentioned this too. It doesn't really matter where that 60mm throttle body comes from. It will do little to increase the performance of the Ranger 3.0, mostly because it comes with a different cam.

 

[stmitch]

Yes, of course. Others have mentioned this too. It doesn't really matter where that 60mm throttle body comes from. It will do little to increase the performance of the Ranger 3.0, mostly because it comes with a different cam.

No, what I'm saying is that any cam difference between Ranger Vulcan and Taurus Vulcan isn't the driver of throttle body size, because the Vulcan gets the same size throttle body whether it's in a Ranger or a Taurus.

On a naturally aspirated engine, the throttle body size is determined by the amount of airflow that the engine can process in a given time period. Cam profile can impact that a little, but it's more about cylinder head design and rpms. That's why the DOHC Duratec with 4 valves per cylinder gets a larger throttle body than the cam-in-block Vulcan with it's 2 valve heads. The Duratec flows more air, especially at higher rpms and Wide Open Throttle, so it needs a larger throttle body.
Forced induction changes things, but that's not what we're talking about here.

 

[scotts90ranger]

There will certainly be a perception of a gain with a larger throttle body, because the same pedal movement will open up more airflow. That doesn't mean the maximum amount of air/peak power has increased. But during daily driving it will feel more powerful simply because you'll get the power you want with less throttle input from your foot.

Exactly how the "zip tie mod" gets people "more power", unless the spring is really collapsed all it does is move the pedal 1/4" toward the driver...