more power 3.0

[01FordRanger]

Is there a way to get more power out of the motor?
fluid changes? Chips? Air intake.

and how much more power will that give?

thanks

 

[Robin Hood]

Chips and air intake.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0performance.html

Theres a nice list

 

[jlr23402003]

fight resistance. anything that resist your pistons moving as efficiently as possible. switch to an electric fan (after installing a 4.0 radiator) add a 180 degree thermostat, try royal purple's purple ice in your coolant, underdrive pully, switch all your fluids (oil, trans fluid, rear differential oil) to royal purple synthetics, add a cold air intake, headers and free flowing exhaust (including a high flow cat and performance muffler) weigh your tires and wheels and get a lighter combination of aluminum rim and tire. All this will lessen the strain of your engine trying to turn itself. now make it want to turn more. add a msd ignition box, coil, size larger wire, platinum or iridium plugs (play with the gap to find a powerful shot), this will make shure your getting as powerful of a spark as possible. youll probably have to go to 87 or 93 octane to properly handle the spark. get your fuel pressure checked make shure its proper. look for a adjustable fuel pressure regulator so you can run as much as you need with the ignition products. look into getting a throttle body spacer. once youve done this advance your timing and possibly switch to a better gearing in your rearend. a lot of people will tell you that this part or that part isnt worth a crap, which is true in a way. one single part wont make much of a noticeable difference but when you use them in conjunction with other parts they help each other to create more power by either creating less friction, strain on the engine or by putting a hotter shot into the cylinders. or you could look into modifying a supercharger to fit. me personally, im looking at dropping a 460c.i. engine into mine. now thatll make more power.

 

[Ranger5.0]

http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/?p=9

check that out befor doing anything mentioned. you need to keep in mind that it is a small displacment 6cly engine. An electric fan doesnt change anything, the idea is to reduce parasitic drag on the engine by removeing the fan, that works when you pull the mechanical fan out, but when you turn your new E fan on, wham, theres all that parasitic drag back, plus sume, in the form of more draw on the altinator. not to mention that most fans dont move enough air. I have an E fan and i can tell ya, it sure puts a hell of a load on the engine. Synthetics can have better lubricity propertys, but is the gain with the money spent on all the new syn' fluids? Cold air intakes dont work, thats the bottom line. Headers and exaust help, but not much, you wont feel the different with your "ass dyno". A free flowing exaust is great, but not if the restriction in the heads are still holding things back. The lighter rim/tire combo is an old drag strip trick, so it could help a bit. I dont understand why an aftermarket ignition controler is better then what ford produced..? Do you know what the octane rating means? dicking with fuel pressure will juss upset things and you dont want to upsent things, its not good. and , as far as timing goes.....arny 3.0s distributerless? im not sure ,been a while since i seen one. The TB spacer doesnt do anything either, how does it help, what does it do? It helps on TBI engines because it gives the fuel more time to mix with the air. so its moot with a "dry" TB. A lot of the stuff mentiond will also affect dependability, so, do a lot of research. If you want to feel more power, get gears best bang for buck

 

[michowski]

lawl. You must have gotten ripped off on your e fan then ranger. What I have done to my 3.0 that I noticed from daily driving that made a difference is an msd ignition coil. More voltage and less resistance in the coil help create a lot better spark and help burn that fuel easier.
I put on a e fan and noticed a lot of drag off the motor. It definatly revved up easier and gave me a nice hesitant rolling start. If I want a nice start from a light I just keep the rpm's about 1400 and she takes off and never drops in rpms. WIth the stock fan it was about 1800 rpm and it would drop and I would need more gas to keep the engine at a steedy rpm.
I switched to all synthetic fluids beginning of summer and I can say the drivetrain definatly feels a ton smoother. After a long summer of rubber burning, highway cruising, offroading, hill climbing, and just plain abuse, this oil still looks new and has kept its surpy viscosity. Royal Purple will help but power wise you wont really notice much if anything. Its more for better moving part protection then power gains.
My air intake lets my motor breath better. In low rpm situations I noticed my motor was a bit more snappy and gained a little low end grunt. Top was about the same but a very nice improvement on the bottom.
Getting some high flow cats and a 40 series flowmaster woke my mid powerrange up. From about 2500-4 grand it just all the sudden woke and just climbs so fast compared to a stock setup.

Basically anything that can help the drivetrain move easier with less resistance will add power (synthetic fluids or even new fluid). Anything that can get you more spark will benefit you (ignition coil, bigger wires, plugs). Ive gotten rid of the stock fan, air conditioning and got rid of another pulley and that takes away some resistance from the motor and makes more power.

 

[Ranger44]

E-fan's, TB spacers, MAF, Coil Packs, Chips, those K&N style cold air intakes, etc....etc.... are all expensive paper weights: I think what you are feeling is replacing worn parts with these more expensive replacements. Or just putting these "performance" parts on is making you feel like they make a difference. Like a phycologist giving a patient sugar pills to relieve a false problem. It's all in your head. Ford made these trucks a way for a reason( how often will your truck see over 6,000 rpm on an everyday basis?). If there are any gains, it's very slight, wow 3hp for $300 dollars!!!! An e-fan will load your engine down by creating a bigger electrical drag.

Throttle Cable Mod- Easy

http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Summer06/throttlecablemod.htm

Chips....wow one of the biggest jokes of them all....this will muck up everything...not to mention increase fuel consumtion....foul plugs, etc. What you want, if you have an automatic transmission, is a Programer. It will allow you to change the shift points on your automatic trannsmission, for your high reving 3.0, for better get up and mileage.

MSD packs- will not improve the spark.

Cold air kits- will only suck in hot air. Rangers actually already have a cold air intake, and actually flows more air than the engine can use. Keep a clean filter or K&N drop-in in there and you will be fine.

Exhaust, go to a 2 1/4 pipe, side exit with a flowmaster 40. It will give you a better feel and it will give a better sound. Other than that a 3.0 will not flow enough exhaust(unless it has a supercharger) to require headers or even a high flow cat.

Throttle Body and Intake- I think one thing that does work is replacing the upper intake with a later 3.0 composite intake with a removable Throttle Body, and replace that with one from a ford escape.

Roller rockers- The rollers are best noticed under load. The ones for a Mustang 5.0 are a direct bolt on. They really won't do anything for power, just make it run alot smoother at higher rpm's. (which the 3.0 likes, alot, for power)

Gears- Go to a lower numeriacally higher gear such as 4.10's. I agree with Ranger 5.0, gears will help you. Look into a junkyard and find a Ranger axle with the gears already in it, and thats a direct swap and easiest, cheapest route.

If you really want ALOT of power out of your truck, swap in a 5.0 or get a supercharger on the 3.0. Other than that, save your money and give your truck a good tune up. Nothing helps performance more than keeping your truck in good working order. For some reason people always fall into these high performance traps.... it's a 6cyl not a high performance racing V-8.

 

[Psychopete]

What I have done to my 3.0 that I noticed from daily driving that made a difference is an msd ignition coil. More voltage and less resistance in the coil help create a lot better spark and help burn that fuel easier.

Hmmm, the MSD TFI Blaster II coil seemed to have absolutely no affect on my 2.9L (besides fixing the issue I was trying to resolve). I just bought it cause I needed a new coil, and thought I'd try it. Just my 2¢.

Most 3.0L drivers go w/ 180 t-stat to band-aid pinging problems, I'd say most of the time caused by dirty MAFs, honestly I'd keep the stock 192-195 if you not have any issues and don't have to deal with extreme heat. It'll keep the heat expansion rates consistent as they have been, and will make sure all of the moisture in your engine gets out.

The more octane gas has, the more resistant it is to burning. There's an equasion to it, but I don't care to get too technical with it, I don't know a lot about it.

Ranger5.0's statements regarding the e-fan are pretty much right. I don't know that it creates more drag than a regular fan, but it certains creates drag on the engine because the alternator creates drag depending on the amount of amps that are being asked out of it. I'd only get an e-fan if you're talking about going to the track, or going mudding in deep water. You can turn it off (that's where the benefit is) on a run down the strip, or turn it off if you get too deep into water.

Headers really won't give you what you'd expect on a stock engine, although you'll see best improvement on a more performance engine.

Pete

 

[Ranger44]

Even on the new mustangs, headers only gave a 5hp gain.....

 

[Ranger5.0]

riped off on an e fan, what are you talking about haha....thats one of the most un educated things i have ever heard. You dont but a FAN based on CLAIMS that it free's up horse power, because anyone who understands parasitic drag knows that either way, there wil still be a load on the engine. Granted, the fan isnt on al lthe time, but like i said, WHEN it is, its putting a good load on the engine. If you know what amps are, and know that a higher load on the alternator makes the alternator harder to turn, the you should understand why a high amp draw from a fan causes parasitic drag.

 

[Mutant Pony]

Many people take off a bad/seized fan clutch and replace it with an e-fan and proclaim a miracle.
The fact is that a properly working clutch fan doesn't use a considerable amount of power.
Yes it has been proven in dyno tests.