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  #1  
Old 01-23-2010, 01:33 PM
MeanGreen3.0 MeanGreen3.0 is offline
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Default 3.0L performance

To me a stock 3.0 is a pretty good motor. It has its ups and downs. the downs are the pinging under a hard strain. I understand this to be detonation. Now my question is what would be the best bang for my buck in the performance department? should i invest in a Cold Air Intake, a computer tune, and dual exhaust (which i already have installed on my truck). Im speaking for all 3.0 owners.
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1997 Ranger primer 5.0 HO T5
1994 Ranger XLT Cayman Metallic 4.0 auto 2wd
1994 Ranger XLT Currant Red reg. fleet side 2.3L 5 speed 2wd
1999 Ranger XLT Jalapeno Green reg. cab flareside bed 3.0L I kind of wrecked this one.
1988 Bronco 2 Eddie Bauer 2.9L OUT OF ORDER
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  #2  
Old 01-23-2010, 03:02 PM
Jp7 Jp7 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MeanGreen3.0 View Post
To me a stock 3.0 is a pretty good motor. It has its ups and downs. the downs are the pinging under a hard strain. I understand this to be detonation. Now my question is what would be the best bang for my buck in the performance department? should i invest in a Cold Air Intake, a computer tune, and dual exhaust (which i already have installed on my truck). Im speaking for all 3.0 owners.
You didn't search before you posted this. Instead of bashing you I will just give you the facts.

The 3.0 comes with a cold air intake from the factory. Changing the intake won't give you any more power, or better economy.

Dual exhaust will slow the exhaust down which causes a loss of torque. This is a fact contrary to a common false statement "you need backpressure to make torque"

Changing the fuel and timing maps will yield performance gains, if you have access to the software to do it.

Your ping under knock is a result of lean mixtures or too much advance under high loads; because something isn't working as good as it used too.
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  #3  
Old 01-24-2010, 04:17 PM
MeanGreen3.0 MeanGreen3.0 is offline
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sorry dude i didnt know i was supposed to search.

the setup under my truck is factory cats into a single inlet dual outlet cherrybomb muffler. 2.5" pipes from front to back.

were would i look for soft ware to do so? and whats not working right to cause my knock?
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1997 Ranger primer 5.0 HO T5
1994 Ranger XLT Cayman Metallic 4.0 auto 2wd
1994 Ranger XLT Currant Red reg. fleet side 2.3L 5 speed 2wd
1999 Ranger XLT Jalapeno Green reg. cab flareside bed 3.0L I kind of wrecked this one.
1988 Bronco 2 Eddie Bauer 2.9L OUT OF ORDER
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  #4  
Old 01-24-2010, 04:52 PM
98blownranger 98blownranger is offline
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if you look at a saleen or roush mustang or any other after market high horsepower car/truck they do not use the factory airbox
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  #5  
Old 01-24-2010, 05:35 PM
Jp7 Jp7 is offline
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Originally Posted by 98blownranger View Post
if you look at a saleen or roush mustang or any other after market high horsepower car/truck they do not use the factory airbox
Good point - both saleen/roush have highly modified engines that would be restricted by the stock airbox, which is only not a restriction with a motor that behaves on stock level (saleen/roush are far from that)
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I'm dying to see this at night. Someone go tell the sun to give up already.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beef08 View Post
Your the man, you bring our dreams to a reality within the lighting spectrum
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCobe View Post
Jp7 you always do AMAZING work! Hats off to you sir
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People so often confuse "hating" with "knowing better".
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  #6  
Old 01-24-2010, 05:39 PM
Jp7 Jp7 is offline
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Quote:
sorry dude i didnt know i was supposed to search.
We all make mistakes

Quote:
were would i look for soft ware to do so?
There are handheld tuners for your truck. I don't think the ecu has been publicly hacked because its not a popular ecu for tuners. In other words, you can't download the open source software like ecu-flash for example.

Quote:
and whats not working right to cause my knock?
Could be anything. Did you say you seafoamed?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
I'm dying to see this at night. Someone go tell the sun to give up already.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beef08 View Post
Your the man, you bring our dreams to a reality within the lighting spectrum
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCobe View Post
Jp7 you always do AMAZING work! Hats off to you sir
Quote:
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People so often confuse "hating" with "knowing better".
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  #7  
Old 01-24-2010, 05:52 PM
mb128 mb128 is offline
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well if you did exhaust and cold air would you get more power?
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  #8  
Old 01-24-2010, 06:35 PM
Jp7 Jp7 is offline
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Originally Posted by mb128 View Post
well if you did exhaust and cold air would you get more power?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
I'm dying to see this at night. Someone go tell the sun to give up already.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beef08 View Post
Your the man, you bring our dreams to a reality within the lighting spectrum
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCobe View Post
Jp7 you always do AMAZING work! Hats off to you sir
Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
People so often confuse "hating" with "knowing better".

Last edited by Jp7; 01-24-2010 at 06:57 PM.
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  #9  
Old 01-24-2010, 11:07 PM
bigcountry bigcountry is offline
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you dont need a CAI for a truck that doesnt make enough power to need more air untill you start kicking up the power like boreing the block bigger pistions upgraded ecu programs and bigger injectors and so on and so on. so why upgrade the most simple thing on our trucks and think that it will yield the power gains that all the companys say their CAIs will produce. if you do a CAI and a exhaust you wont see many gains your seat of the pants dyno will tell you wow big difference but the realy dyno well your feelings will be hurt after you see the numbers. now if you want performace that you will need to break into the motor for tom monora racing offers a stroker kit for the 3.0 and after market heads with up to 3 angle valve jobs and porting and polshing. after that i would go with their 60mm throttle body,free flowing headers,high performance cam
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  #10  
Old 01-25-2010, 10:22 AM
MeanGreen3.0 MeanGreen3.0 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jp7 View Post
We all make mistakes



There are handheld tuners for your truck. I don't think the ecu has been publicly hacked because its not a popular ecu for tuners. In other words, you can't download the open source software like ecu-flash for example.



Could be anything. Did you say you seafoamed?
i was thinking of like a diablosprt, sct, or a hyperchip max energy.

no to my knowledge seafoam has never been used in my truck. i bought it from the guy who serviced it since new in 99. i was thinking maybe the trucks fuel map is running lean. because we all know that the factory computers are watered down for fuel economy.

my truck is more a DD than anything. i just want a little more umph in the low end. i dont really want to change the rear gear ration. i like the way the 3.73 is balanced.
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1997 Ranger primer 5.0 HO T5
1994 Ranger XLT Cayman Metallic 4.0 auto 2wd
1994 Ranger XLT Currant Red reg. fleet side 2.3L 5 speed 2wd
1999 Ranger XLT Jalapeno Green reg. cab flareside bed 3.0L I kind of wrecked this one.
1988 Bronco 2 Eddie Bauer 2.9L OUT OF ORDER
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  #11  
Old 01-25-2010, 11:27 AM
Jp7 Jp7 is offline
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Quote:
i was thinking maybe the trucks fuel map is running lean.
a quick glance at the fuel trims will tell you this....

Quote:
.....we all know that the factory computers are watered down for fuel economy.
I don't mean this the least bit offensive but this statement shows you don't truely understand modern computer engine management: I want to help though!

First of all, watering down the fuel - EG "Water Injection" is done to try and get a bit of timing for torque - normally a turbo-car trick.

Your truck is targeting 14.7, aka stoich in closed loop.

If you were referring to "water down" as in < 14.7, it only reaches this when under high load/open loop. The oxygen sensors are not working in open loop.

Why would running rich benifit for fuel economy?
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Looking for a professional retrofitter to add HIDs or LEDs to your Ranger? PM me if your looking to have work done, and have cash to spend.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
I'm dying to see this at night. Someone go tell the sun to give up already.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beef08 View Post
Your the man, you bring our dreams to a reality within the lighting spectrum
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCobe View Post
Jp7 you always do AMAZING work! Hats off to you sir
Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
People so often confuse "hating" with "knowing better".

Last edited by Jp7; 01-25-2010 at 11:29 AM.
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  #12  
Old 01-25-2010, 12:46 PM
MeanGreen3.0 MeanGreen3.0 is offline
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Your right. haha i really dont know much about a computer controlled vehicle. im stuck in the days of carbs.
ill take any bit of knowledge i can man.

so the 14.7 is the air/fuel ratio. and thats about all i comprehend at this moment. ive been in class since 9:25 this morning. i got another 2 hours to go.
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1997 Ranger primer 5.0 HO T5
1994 Ranger XLT Cayman Metallic 4.0 auto 2wd
1994 Ranger XLT Currant Red reg. fleet side 2.3L 5 speed 2wd
1999 Ranger XLT Jalapeno Green reg. cab flareside bed 3.0L I kind of wrecked this one.
1988 Bronco 2 Eddie Bauer 2.9L OUT OF ORDER
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  #13  
Old 01-25-2010, 02:18 PM
Jp7 Jp7 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MeanGreen3.0 View Post
Your right. haha i really dont know much about a computer controlled vehicle. im stuck in the days of carbs.
ill take any bit of knowledge i can man.

so the 14.7 is the air/fuel ratio. and thats about all i comprehend at this moment. ive been in class since 9:25 this morning. i got another 2 hours to go.
I'd be glad to offer any help you need.
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Looking for a professional retrofitter to add HIDs or LEDs to your Ranger? PM me if your looking to have work done, and have cash to spend.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
I'm dying to see this at night. Someone go tell the sun to give up already.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beef08 View Post
Your the man, you bring our dreams to a reality within the lighting spectrum
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCobe View Post
Jp7 you always do AMAZING work! Hats off to you sir
Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
People so often confuse "hating" with "knowing better".
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  #14  
Old 01-25-2010, 02:54 PM
Gearhead299 Gearhead299 is offline
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i'm just gonna add a little input from my experience having owned two trucks with 3.0s, i got the first one in highschool and in lack of knowledge spent too much money on performance mods that didn't do anything so let me sum up what i've tried and what it did

throttle body spacer: made my truck whistle at certain rpms
jet performance chip thingy: no real power gain from what i could tell, seemed like the truck held gears longer before shifting (that was a while ago so i could def. be wrong)
home made CAI: its an adaper bolted to my MAF so i can clamp on a K&N cone filter, more power? not really, made the truck a little louder compared to a stock filter with no air silencer, on my 2wd it does consistently get 2mpg better than it did before (i was surprised too)
underdrive pulleys: i guess they helped a little but can't say for sure since i put them on at the same time as an electric fan
electric fan: helped tremendously on my old truck by virtue of the fact that the clutch fan was seized and therefore ran constantly, put it on the 2wd at the same time as the pulleys simply because i had them sitting around and said why not? helps a little in low rpm, but its no 500hp gain

hope this helps a little, like i said, its simply what i have observed with my two 3.0s
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  #15  
Old 01-25-2010, 03:14 PM
Jp7 Jp7 is offline
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Originally Posted by Gearhead299 View Post
home made CAI: its an adaper bolted to my MAF so i can clamp on a K&N cone filter, more power? not really, made the truck a little louder compared to a stock filter with no air silencer, on my 2wd it does consistently get 2mpg better than it did before (i was surprised too)
You must have had a really dirty and clogged filter if this made a mileage difference.
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Looking for a professional retrofitter to add HIDs or LEDs to your Ranger? PM me if your looking to have work done, and have cash to spend.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
I'm dying to see this at night. Someone go tell the sun to give up already.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beef08 View Post
Your the man, you bring our dreams to a reality within the lighting spectrum
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCobe View Post
Jp7 you always do AMAZING work! Hats off to you sir
Quote:
Originally Posted by FireRanger View Post
People so often confuse "hating" with "knowing better".
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